Recent reviews by Deviation

Pros

• Active community
  
• Entertaining gameplay
  
• Large pool of maps

Cons

• RNG based accuracy
  
• Poor optimization and performance
  
• Poor melee combat hit detection

Skip to the bottom for my final thoughts

Holdfast: Nations at War, which I shall refer to as simply Holdfast, is a massively multiplayer first-/third-person historical shooter in the same vein as Mount and Blade: Napoleonic Wars. Fight in battles with up to 200 players across many different maps, factions and classes.

Communal fun
As I mentioned in the introduction, Holdfast is a massively multiplayer first-/third-person historical shooter, set in the Napoleonic era. If you know anything about history, you'd know that the weaponry they used in that era was somewhat primitive and extremely inaccurate. This is very much true in the world of Holdfast, and any semblance of accuracy can be forgotten entirely. This is a game that relies very heavily on large-scale coordination. Whether you are an attacking army or defending, you cannot simply rush in alone and expect to make a large impact. Luckily, there is an in-game voice chat that is extremely active, allowing you to not only communicate within your team but with the enemies as well.

This game is incredibly entertaining if you let it. There is an option to mute voice chat, however, I would say that community interaction made up the bulk of the fun I had. Grouping up behind a hilarious officer while someone blasts metal through their mic for a massive charge into the enemy stronghold is a frequent occurrence in every match.

There is a good amount of replayability available through multiple different game modes and maps for you to enjoy. Furthermore, there are a plethora of different classes; ranging from infantrymen to cannoneers, to cavalry and everything in between. In addition to the mainland battles, there are also naval battles (with smaller servers) that are quite fun as well.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2040384124

Holdfast is a historical shooter set in the Napoleonic era. While there is no plot to this title, history buffs are sure to appreciate the historically-accurate environments, weaponry, ships and more that are offered.

As you can see from the Steam store page, the graphics are passable but aren't incredibly good. Ground textures are clearly repeated, leaving noticeable patterns in the ground. However, with upwards of 150 unique players in one server at a time, better graphics could considerably affect performance (more on that below).

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2040384183

On the other hand, the audio in this game is done incredibly well. There are support classes that you can play, such as Drummer, Bagpipes, Fifer, etcetera. All of which have a rather large selection of era-accurate military pieces (i.e Scotland the Brave) that you can play for your team. Musician classes actually play a vital role as they apply buffs to all within earshot, and stacking musician classes playing the same tune increases the buff percentage.
Unfortunately, with the addition of in-game voice chat, mic spamming music is quite common, but you have the option of muting individual players if you wish.

Holdfast is currently selling for a fair USD 20 on the Steam store. There are no micro-transactions besides the Loyalist Edition/Upgrade, which only grants you cosmetics with no gameplay benefits. The community is quite active, and there is an endless amount of replayability.

Unfortunately, I ran into a bug where my screen would freeze for 1-3 seconds. This bug was not uncommon, and I could expect to run into it a few times every game. While this definitely made an impact on my enjoyment of the game, I rarely encountered the game in actual combat when it would matter, rather when I spawned, changed classes or died.

Unfortunately, I had an average FPS of 35-40 FPS, depending on the number of players per server. Naval battles, which caps out at 80 players, performed much better than land battles. Although I don't have the best rig, I was expecting to get higher frames than what I got.

Vive la France!
All in all, I had a blast with Holdfast. Although I ran into an irritating freezing bug, and generally had poor performance, I really enjoyed the gameplay and especially the community. I wholeheartedly believe that Holdfast is well worth its price tag, and you can expect to get much more than your money's worth of entertainment.

Click here to view my complete rating chart, and what this rating means.

Transparency Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product from the developers for review purposes.

If you liked this review and want to see more, check out our Steam Curator Page, the Original Curators Group. Thanks!

Pros

• Relaxing gameplay
  
• Great soundtrack
  
• Beautiful map to explore

Cons

• Lacking in replayability

Fly, you fools!
Feather is a relaxing zen-like flight simulator game unlike any other, in which you control a bird flying around a group of islands. There is no combat or threats of any kind, interaction with other characters, story, or questing. You are simply left to your own whim. The islands are yours to explore, and there are many secrets and hidden areas for you to discover. There are three different birds to find, many different landscapes to soar through, and even subterranean cave systems.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2027786845

The controls in Feather are very fluid and feel great. If you prefer, this game fully supports gamepads/controllers, but I had no problems playing the game with my mouse and keyboard. Although I spent my time entirely in singleplayer, Feather also offers "seamless online multiplayer", however, I cannot attest to that statement.

Right from the get-go, Feather gives you control of a bird and sends you off to explore to vast unknown. There is no story or plot in this game. Everything is left entirely up to you. What happened to the humans who obviously once ruled the islands? Why is everything in ruins, decrepit and left to rust away?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2027786862

In all honesty, I might even be glad that there is no backstory. Without a convoluted and, quite frankly, unnecessary story for a game such as this, you are left to immerse yourself as a bird, who doesn't really care for the comings and goings of humanity.

Feather is an absolutely beautiful game, both in its graphics and audio department. The soundtrack, made up of nine unique songs, is incredibly relaxing. If you wish to change the track, you can simply fly through one of many portals scattered around the map. The graphics look brilliant, and I especially love soaring high above the island, looking down from the clouds.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2027786888

If you want to give the soundtrack a listen, you can find it in its entirety on Bandcamp.[mitchellpasmans.bandcamp.com]

Feather is priced at a decent $9.99 USD. While not incredibly overpriced, some could argue that the game doesn't provide enough replayability, however, the game does give you plenty to explore. Personally, I would recommend that you wait for a decent sale before purchase.

I didn't run into a single bug or issue in my time playing Feather.

Feather ran smoothly on my computer, and I believe that most rigs shouldn't have a problem running this title. If you're unsure, take a look at the minimum and recommended system requirements on the Steam store page.

Fly, fly away
Feather, to me, is definitely a game that you pick for 20 minutes to an hour at a time. It's great for unwinding after a stressful day. Soar through the beautiful landscapes, listen to some great tunes, take a deep breath, and relax.

Click here to view my complete rating chart, and what this rating means.

Transparency Disclaimer: I purchased this game as a part of the Humble Australia Fire Relief Bundle.

Like the review? Consider checking out and following My Curator Page for more!

Pros

• Fun gameplay
  
• Well-directed cutscenes
  
• Unique character design and customization

Cons

• Riddled with bugs, performance and translation issues
  
• Outdated graphics due to the long development time
  
• Pay to win
  
• Cringeworthy voice acting

Kingdom Under Fire II is the long-awaited sequel to Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, developed by Korea-based Blueside and published by Gameforge. While development for Kingdom Under Fire II initially started in 2008, the game suffered from extensive setbacks before finally releasing in November 2019.

Total War: BLACK DESERT ONLINE
Kingdom Under Fire II, which I shall now refer to as KUF2, is an MMO blend of RTS and Hack'n'Slash games, closely resembling the lovechild of Black Desert Online and the Total War series. I personally played through the majority of the game's story missions mostly in the Hack'n'Slash mode (hero mode), only using the RTS mode (strategy mode) when necessary, or when controlling troops. However, both systems are done competently, and the game's large-scale battles are quite fun regardless of which system you play in.

You can choose one of six gender-locked classes, which you can then customize to your liking in their in-depth character creation menu. The six classes (Ranger, Spellsword, Elementalist, Gunslinger and Berserker) all differ wildly from one another in both unique character design, playstyle and abilities. Furthermore, there is a plethora of different types of troops, including but not limited to: crusaders, bowmen, artillery, cavalry, etcetera.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2012642612

Questing in KUF2 is incredibly boring, and is mostly made up of fetch quests, "kill X amount" quests, and talk to different NPC quests. However, questing is necessary to unlock new areas and missions, and you can skim through them relatively quickly. You can auto-path to destinations by right-clicking points on the map, which is incredibly useful when having to travel between areas constantly.

Community
Currently, there are only two KUF2 servers: a North American server and a European server. While this means that the small player base isn't spread across multiple unpopulated servers, queue times are still long, to the point where I stopped queuing all together and stuck to solo missions. For a server that should have the players of an entire continent, the world chat is still relatively inactive. Moreover, there is a large amount of Chinese and Korean players in the game, making communication and party-finding difficult. There is also an in-game guild system available if you are interested in joining or creating a guild.

A kingdom aflame
One hundred fifty years after the events of the first Kingdom Under Fire, the nation of Azilla is under attack by the vile Regnier and his Encablossian monster army. After selecting your class when creating a character, you are shown a cinematic based on what you chose. The cinematic explains the background of the hero (class) and the beginning of the Encablossian threat. The game centers around three factions, the Human Alliance (the good guys), the Encablossians (the new bad guys) and the Dark Legion (the old bad guys).

The story to KUF2 is serviceable, but all the dialogue is one-sided (you aren't given dialogue options, nor shown what your character says), so all interactions show the NPC in question talking to themselves. Like I mentioned in the introduction, the developer of the game, Blueside, is based in Korea, and as such the game has a large number of translation issues. On top of the already-confusing one-sided dialogue, the mistranslations add an extra obstacle in understanding what's actually happening. Even the subtitles in the introductory cinematics aren't correct.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2009775564

Strangely, the soundtrack to KUF2 is a mix of thematic fantasy music (understandable), and heavy metal. I understand that the original Kingdom Under Fire game had heavy metal in it as well, but it doesn't really fit the theme of the game. However, during the chaos of the battles, the heavy metal is an unsurprisingly good accompanying soundtrack.

Like I mentioned, there is voice acting in KUF2, but not throughout the game. The cutscenes are fully voice acted, but in the game world, the characters only have a few lines of generic dialogue that they repeat incessantly. The dialogue you read during quests aren't voiced at all, but the NPC's generic voice line will always play when you talk to them, so their tone of voice can vary wildly from what they say after. As well, in the cutscenes, none of the voice lines are in sync with their mouth animations, possibly due to them being originally animated in Korean.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2009775632

KUF2 plays similarly to most other Korean MMOs, including their frequent pay-to-win mechanics. The review copy of KUF2 I was given included the War God edition of the game, giving my characters significant boosts and starting items. While I played through the majority of the game using a character that had the War God boosts, I created a character and played it without ever accepting the perks. I found that progress was quite a bit slower without the starting troops, XP and mount you are given, on top of the other bonuses.

The base game is priced at $30 USD, which for an MMO is already quite high. There are also three more tiers of increasing value. The highest tier, War God (the one included in my review copy), costs a whopping $100 USD. Perhaps strangest of all is that the mount you are given in the War God package is one of the most common mounts I see other players riding.

From the moment I first tried to launch KUF2, I ran into an issue with the game's anti-cheat and was unable to play the game. While this can be attributed to EasyAntiCheat and not to KUF2 itself, my problems didn't end there. Freezing for a few seconds is not infrequent, especially when opening new menus or loading into new areas. Because the game is always online, I also ran into connection issues and lagged occasionally. The first time I created a character and went through the tutorial, I encountered a game-breaking bug that forced me to restart the game.

During the strategy mode (RTS) portions of the game, I saw significant FPS drops in large battles due to the large number of entities on screen. This is normal with these types of games but when paired with the small freezes, large battles can be quite difficult to play in strategy mode.

Fallen Kingdom
KUF2 is a game that has tons of potential, but currently falls short. While the gameplay is a fun mix of Hack'n'Slash and Real-time Strategy, KUF2 is plagued with a large number of issues with bugs, performance, translations, audio, and more.

Click here to view my complete rating chart, and what this rating means.

Transparency Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product for review purposes via review code.

If you liked this review and want to see more, check out our Steam Curator Page, SirAlexander's Review Club. Thanks!

Pros
+ Great pixel art graphics and soundtrack
+ Good plot and humour elements
+ Great aesthetic

Cons
- Awful controls
- Unable to take Steam screenshots (F12 key)
- Long respawn times
- Unskippable monologues

Skip to the bottom for my final thoughts


Ministry of Broadcast is a story-driven puzzle platformer set in a near-future Orwellian world, developed by Ministry of Broadcast Studios and published by Hitcents and PLAYISM.

War is peace
I'm going to commence my analysis of Ministry of Broadcast with my biggest and issue with the game: the gameplay itself. As many other reviewers have pointed out, the unresponsiveness of the controls made the game an entirely uphill battle. In the official Store page, the game compares its gameplay to the likes of the 1989 adaption of Prince of Persia or Oddworld: Abe's Exodus, then following that line with "Ministry of Broadcast revives the spirit of classic cinematic platformers where players need nimble run-and-jump reflexes". Nothing in the game's controls screamed "nimble run-and-jump reflexes" to me. Slow, sluggish and hair-pullingly frustrating platforming is what I got instead.

To give credit where credit is due, I had a good time trying to solve the puzzles, and I did have to stop and really think hard at times, but my enjoyment was constantly stopped in its tracks due to the incessant deaths by awful controls.

Freedom is slavery
Ministry of Broadcast takes place in an Orwellian dystopia, in a world controlled by an authoritarian government known as the Regime, led by the ruthless Grandmaster. You play as Orange, a man who enters "the Wall Show" in an attempt to win a visa to visit his wife. Along the way, you'll meet the strange cast of characters, one of whom is a talking crow, and uncover the mysteries of the Regime.

Exposition is frequently given in monologues delivered by the Crow and is mostly unskippable. Luckily, they aren't that long but are often in awkward spots that break the flow of the game. Also, if you keep an eye out during your playthroughs, there are always tons of neat little Easter eggs hidden all over the game's environment waiting to be discovered.

Ministry of Broadcast features excellently done pixel graphics with a great accompanying soundtrack. At one point in the game, there is even a fully voice-acted cutscene. Ministry of Broadcast's level design is fantastic, and, as previously mentioned, keen players will notice a plethora of Easter eggs hidden all over the game.

Ministry of Broadcast took me about 7 hours to complete. With a price tag of $15, I would recommend waiting for a sale before purchasing solely due to the game's poor controls.

The only issue that I ran into, which could perhaps not be the developers' fault at all, was the strange issue of not being able to take Steam screenshots (the F12 key). I could still open the Steam in-game overlay but was unable to take screenshots. Which was a shame too, because there are tons of cool shots waiting to be taken.

I ran into no issues with performance in Ministry of Broadcast, and you should not have any problems running the game either.


Ignorance is strength
Ministry of Broadcast is a game that shines in all departments except the arguably most important one: gameplay. If it weren't for the awful unresponsive controls, Ministry of Broadcast could easily be one of my favourite story-driven puzzle platformers. However, as of posting this review, the developers are still actively updating the game, so it is possible that the controls may be fixed in the future.

Click here to view my complete rating chart, and what this rating means.

Transparency Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product for review purposes via Curator Connect.

If you liked this review and want to see more, check out our Steam Curator Page, SirAlexander's Review Club. Thanks!

Pros
+ Good-looking and unique art design
+ Fun yet challenging puzzles
+ Lots of variation keeps the game from becoming stale

Cons
- Music cuts out occasionally

Skip to the bottom for my final thoughts


The Pedestrian, developed and published by Skookum Arts, is a 2.5D puzzle platformer with a unique art design based entirely on signs that released on January 29th, 2020.

More puzzle than platformer
In The Pedestrian, you play as a stick figure traversing a 3D world through signs which you must manipulate to your benefit. The gameplay itself is hard to explain, as you unlock many different mechanics the farther along you progress. At the core, you must rearrange and connect signs in a logical order to complete the task of that particular level, say, opening a door.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1987955701

I would sometimes find myself breezing through levels, while other times finding myself stuck for many minutes on the rearranging screen, deep in thought, trying to figure out how to continue. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The sense of self-improvement and progression in this game is strangely profound. After a new mechanic is introduced, The Pedestrian gives you a few levels to get the hang of the mechanic, possibly master it, then throws you a new bone.

The Pedestrian follows your journey as a two-dimensional icon of a man or woman (think of washroom gender signs) making its way through a three-dimensional busy city's signs. Along the way, you'll explore many different environments, such as sewers, buildings of all shapes and sizes, subway systems, etcetera. While there isn't a real "plot", I actually found the lack of exposition to be calming and befitting of the game's minimalist aesthetic.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1987955858

The art design in The Pedestrian is very unique, and the game itself is incredibly good-looking. While the main gameplay takes place on signs, the environments provide a great backdrop, are nice to look at, and make the world feel lived in. The soundtrack is nice on the ears and relaxing, but I found that the music would sometimes cut out entirely until I moved on to the next level, leaving me in silence.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1987955571

The Pedestrian was originally successfully Kickstarted and has a price tag of $20. The length of the game depends on your puzzle game affinity, but most can expect to beat it within a few hours. I'd suggest purchasing when on sale.

The only bug/issue I ran into was the aforementioned music cutting out, which fixed itself when I advanced to the next level.

The Pedestrian ran well without issues on my computer, but its 3D backgrounds could potentially affect performance on older computers. Modern computers should have no problem running this game at 60 FPS.

Show me a sign
The Pedestrian is a very enjoyable and relaxing 2.5 puzzle platformer with a very unique art design. If you're looking for a good puzzle game to put your brain to the test, I would highly recommend checking out this title.

Click here to view my complete rating chart, and what this rating means.

Transparency Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product for review purposes from the developer

If you liked this review and want to see more, check out our Steam Curator Page, SirAlexander's Review Club. Thanks!

Pros
+ Huge expansive open world
+ Fully voice acted
+ Builds on the Elder Scrolls universe
+ Active player base

Cons
- Some dislike the combat (varies per person)
- Issues with server performance, especially with PVP
- Hefty file size

Skip to the bottom for my final thoughts


With the latest expansion Greymoor on the horizon, I thought I'd write my review for The Elder Scrolls Online a few months in advance for new players who may be interested in the game currently. It's best to get a head start before the content drops!

The Elder Scrolls Online, which I shall refer to as ESO, is a popular open-world MMORPG developed by ZeniMax Online Studios, and allows its players to explore a vast amount of Nirn during an unfamiliar time period in the Elder Scrolls universe.

Play as you see fit
One of the best features of ESO which I highly commend is its easy accessibility to all players. That isn't to say that the game is easy - rather, it doesn't punish new players for mistakes they may make in the early stages of the game. Trust me, I myself made countless mistakes across a few characters before really getting a foothold. The learning curve may be a bit steep, but the early stages aren't absolutely brutal on new players. Feel free to put your character points into whatever you deem fit - you can always respec your points cheaply later on when it really matters.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1975511257

I'm not the best person to go to in terms of advice for beginners; there are plenty of in-depth beginner guides that can help you off your feet. But if you like going in blind as I did, know that it's never too late to follow a build. Furthermore, ESO is available to play in two main ways, PVE (player vs environment) and PVP (player vs player). I personally stick to the PVE aspects of the game, notably dungeons, delves and questing. I haven't quite gotten to the raids yet.

Choose your role (Damage Dealer, Tank or Healer), set up your skill bar and prepare for battle. I've heard mixed reviews of ESO's combat system, but I personally have no problems with it and enjoy combat. Furthermore, there are currently six playable classes (four of which are available for free with the base game), ten races (nine of which are available for free with the base game), and thousands of unique viable builds to choose from for your gaming pleasure.

Puts the Massive in Massively Multiplayer
One of my biggest gripes with ESO, that is also simultaneously one of my favourite features of the game, is its ridiculously massive world that is incredibly easy to get lost in. But with great power (huge 3D world with nice models, fully voice-acted characters, etcetera) comes great responsibility - in the form of 100-odd gigabytes on my hard drive. You read that right: over 100 glorious gigabytes of disk usage.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1975507520

On the other hand, ESO is also massively multiplayer in the sense that it is still very much alive. Unfortunately, the game isn't cross-platform, but on NA PC you still see other adventurers *mostly* wherever you go. The community is also *mostly* friendly, with many guilds waiting to welcome you in with open arms. By the way, you can be a member of up to FIVE different guilds, so there's really no excuse not to make some friends.

If you're the type of player who likes playing through content by yourself, don't worry. You're not alone. You can play through the majority of ESO's content, sans high-tier PVE challenges.

In my humble opinion, ESO is one of the best MMORPG story content-wise. I used to be the type of player who would skip through dialogue and cutscenes to get straight to the combat. Eventually, though, I started taking the time to listen to the fully voice-acted dialogue. Some quests are certainly better than others, but overall the quests are of good quality. I highly recommend you level your main character through questing rather than grinding. Not only do you get to experience the quest, but you can also get unique rewards and lots of XP.

ESO is a great looking game and is again one of the best MMORPGs visual-wise in my opinion. I'll admit, there are definitely some meshes that look better than others (outlier examples), but for the most part, the game looks great. I really enjoy riding on my mount from point-to-point rather than just teleporting. The better rig you have, the better the game looks. The soundtrack is also superb, and as I've mentioned, the dialogue is fully voice acted.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1975507736

In terms of the base game, which frequently goes on sale, there are hundreds of hours of content available with no other purchases, microtransactions or otherwise.

The Business Model
On the other hand, there is also a plethora of paid DLCs, expansions, and microtransactions available in ESO's Crown store. The game's premium currency, Crowns, can be traded among players in the form of gifting items in exchange for gold. This is often done through middlemen and can be risky. ZeniMax offers no other form of currency exchange. There also exists a paid membership, ESO Plus, which is not required for the base game, that grants subscribers unlimited access to all DLC (excluding new expansions), a number of crowns and other benefits.

Again, the aforementioned microtransactions are not at all necessary for hundreds of hours of enjoyment, but I myself have made purchases on the Crown store and am currently an active ESO+ subscriber.

In the actual game itself, you don't run into issues all too often. I experience the occasional crash, but this may not necessarily be due to ESO. Regarding server performance, however, much of the community have raised complaints about the poor performance of the games servers and matchmaking capabilities specifically. This problem mostly applies to those interested in PVP, however, problems do exist with the Dungeon Finder (hit-or-miss queue times).

In general PVE play, especially if you're sticking with the overworld content, you shouldn't experience many problems. If necessary, restart your game every few hours to keep the memory usage low.

My computer (see below) has no problems running ESO at high settings, however, I acknowledge that for lower-end rigs you may encounter difficulty in running the game. Make sure to check the minimum specifications, and if your PC has equivalent or better parts. The in-game settings menu allows you to customize the graphics settings to suit your needs.

CPU: i7-8750
GPU: GTX 1060
RAM: 16GB DDR4

Greymoor is coming.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited is one of the best MMORPGs currently available on Steam. Play how you want in the game's expansive world, against other players or enemies, and prepare yourself for the Dark Heart of Skyrim.

Click here to view my complete rating chart, and what this rating means.

Like the review? Consider checking out and following My Curator Page for more!

Pros
+ Unique path-building element
+ Requires you to use your brain
+ Decently smart AI

Cons
- Priced harshly for an Early Access title
- Not much content currently
- Very buggy

Skip to the bottom for my final thoughts


If you think you've seen something like A Long Way Down before, you wouldn't be wrong. While not exactly an original idea nowadays (games like Hand of Fate, Darkest Dungeon and Slay the Spire), A Long Way Down manages to combine many staple RPG game elements into a decently fun rogue-lite experience.

Build your Decks
One of the main gameplay elements of A Long Way Down is its deck-building component, in which you must choose from a selection of cards you obtain to build your perfect hand. There are currently only 40 unique cards to choose from, and you only have 15 card slots in your deck, so there is a decent amount of replayability available if you want to switch up your deck each playthrough, although your success rate may vary. To be honest, my deck didn't go through much variation in my time with A Long Way Down. I saw no reason to fix what wasn't broken, as my deck worked very well. You can also upgrade your cards and equipment using "powder", a magical substance you collect from recycling cards/gear, completing sidequests and killing monsters.

My go-to strategy for beating the game in its current state was to fully upgrade my Falchion sword to Legendary tier, and then proceed to slaughter my way across the game's procedurally generated map. Every attempt at a level can be wildly different, with certain map configurations presenting more danger than others.

Pathfinders
The other main gameplay element that I found to be particularly unique (correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first game of this subgenre I've played that has this element) is its path-building elements. Did I mention that the overarching "big bad" of the game, the Dungeon Master (admittedly a not-so-original name) uses your own path-building cards against you? The AI for the Dungeon Master is surprisingly advanced and seems to actively work against you, placing cards in ideal positions for enemy monsters to attack you or meddle with your paths to hinder your progress. If you run out of path-building cards (there are nodes you can re-supply at), which happens more frequently than you'd think, you're pretty much forced to restart the level.

The game's combat is action-point turn-based. You have a certain amount of action points per turn, with each card having its own action point requirement. This is certainly a tried-and-true gameplay mechanic frequently seen today in games such as Hearthstone, and works just as well in A Long Way Down.

With the path-building mechanic, you must plan a path where you can attack your enemies first - whoever gets to the other first gets the first strike. Healing can be infrequent depending on world generation, and you may have to fight your way through numerous enemies, one after the other, for a campfire to rest at. Enemies may also be lurking in resource nodes, such as the aforementioned campfires, chests and shrines, requiring you to battle them before getting to your loot.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1972661218

Assemble your crew... kind of.
Currently, there are three characters (including your own) that you can play with on your team. However, one of them is only in the tutorial, so there's actually more like two playable characters. There also isn't really a reason to use the other character, and to be completely honest, I never used her at all and didn't even bother to remember her name. The only real use for a companion is to sometimes act as a damage sponge if you use the Taunt card (which I didn't), or hope that the enemies attack her instead of the main character, Sam. If your companion dies, all is well and you get him/her back upon reaching the next level or failing the current one. But if Sam dies, then you're sent back to the start of that level.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1972661568

Speaking of which...
The rogue-lite elements of the game are the backbone of A Long Way Down. So how does this game's take on the rogue-lite genre hold up against other games?
Well, to be completely honest, kind of middlingly well. After every death/failed level, you're given an amount of powder that you can use to upgrade, clone or craft new cards. But after every successful level, you're taken out of the dungeon with all the cards/gear you collected in that particular level run. Every death/life significantly contributes to your character permanently (for that save slot), and doesn't take long for your character to get powerful. I believe that this really emphasizes the "lite" in "rogue-lite". Progress feels more tangible, but yet also cheaper because your failures are not punished, rather rewarded with powder.

The story of A Long Way Down follows Sam, a slave during the American colonial era. The timeline of A Long Way Down jumps all over the place, with characters such as a Roman legionnaire and an Egyptian princess. The story begins with the death of Sam, off-screen, and his rude reawakening in Limbo. You are guided by Ma'Bri, a priestess, who informs you of your unfortunate circumstances. Even worse, Limbo is the realm of the Dungeon Master, a crazy, depraved, mummy-looking guy who is hungry for your soul. During your descent through Limbo, you are pitted against the Master's many strange minions, such as Paros and Zanahoria, two bosses you face.

Currently, you can only play through two stages after the tutorial. After defeating the final boss Zanahoria, you are met with a congratulations screen informing you the game is in early access, and asks for your feedback. The story doesn't really develop to that great of a point, but has some elements of humour in the dialogue.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1972662269

The art of A Long Way Down looks nice, but there are very few tracks, which get repetitive fast. The characters' look can be changed depending on what gear you wear, which is nice.

At the moment, there isn't really too much content in A Long Way Down's early access build. It also comes with a hefty price tag, and I can honestly say that it might not be worth the value, unless it goes on sale. Definitely worth watching the game for future updates.

During my time with A Long Way Down, I was met with many, many bugs that definitely had a negative impact on my playthroughs. For example, not being able to use health potions in battle. Understandably, this game is in early access, however the amount of bugs is a glaring issue for sure.

This game is not demanding, visually or otherwise. My computer had no problems whatsoever, and neither should yours. If necessary, play in windowed mode.

A Long Way Down the Early Access Rabbit Hole
In closing, A Long Way Down is an early access game that certainly has potential. In its present state, and it's present price tag, I'm forced between a rock and a hard place with recommending this title. Worth a purchase to support the developers during a sale.


Transparency Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product for review purposes via Curator Connect.

If you liked this review and want to see more, check out our Steam Curator Page, SirAlexander's Review Club. Thanks!

Pros
+ Great for beginners
+ Priced very reasonably
+ Straightforward, clean and sleek User Interface

Cons
- Not as powerful as industry-standard software
- If you're already experienced, this may not have all the tools you need

Skip to the bottom for my final thoughts


Movavi Video Editor Plus 2020 is popular software company Movavi's 2020 installation into their small-but-powerful Video Editor Plus line of video editing software. Go figure? Anywho, you can take this review with a slight grain of salt as I am not a qualified professional to speak on the technical specifications/long-term usability of this product. I myself do not possess an incredible expertise with video editing, although I may have more experience than most (going into a film program in Fall). I can say, however, that Movavi Video Editor Plus 2020 could possibly be one of the best options of video editing programs for beginners, especially those looking to make gameplay-centric videos.


As I just mentioned in the introduction, Movavi Video Editor Plus 2020 is, in my opinion, one of the best video editing programs for beginners. I wish I had access to a program like this when I first started throwing together YouTube videos on Windows Movie Maker.

One thing that I very recently went through was opening up a new video editing software, Adobe Premiere Pro in my case (provided for free by the college I attend), seeing the user interface pop and... I'm overwhelmed. There are so many things to look at, to consider. What do all these buttons do?

Movavi gets that. Look at the Steam store screenshots yourself and compare them with Adobe Premiere Pro. Obviously, when you drop a few buttons to clean up your screen, you lose some functionality too. It's a given. But for beginners, you start up this piece of software for the first time and aren't immediately swamped by information. The UI is clean and sleek and very user-friendly.

Like I said before, I can't really comment on the specifics of the power of this software. There are plenty of in-depth analysis articles on the Internet by certified people, and Movavi themselves list all the different features of their program. Many general tools and functions found across industry-standard programs are found here too - such as multitrack editing, built-in transitions and titles, and a wide array of supported file importing and exporting. If you want my anecdotal opinion on Movavi Video Editor Plus 2020's features, it is perfectly competent and powerful. Beginners wouldn't be able to tell the difference because they wouldn't be using the advanced tools anyway.

Short List of Powerful Features
-Supports 4K editing
-Special effects (chroma key, slow motion, the normal works)
-Large timeline and multitrack editing
-New media bin allows for greater ease of use

Movavi, in a display of consumer-friendly practices, has priced all editions of Video Editor Plus at $59.95 CAD. There really isn't any reason not to buy the latest version, which has been significantly revamped since the 2015 release. The price-tracking website IsThereAnyDeal lists this program's historical lowest price at $35.97 CAD, which is very reasonable when compared with other video editing software. Also, one thing to note is that all copies purchased on Steam come with a lifetime license, not a 1-year license or anything else.

Not to sound like a billboard for Movavi, but they honestly do produce great tools for gamers, especially those looking to potentially make a name for themselves in video content producing. I know, a bit late for the YouTube boom - but better late than never, right? Anyway, Movavi offers tons of other related tools, and even a separate, more expensive video editing software which I do not own, and thus cannot comment further on.

Like the Bethesda Creator Club, Movavi also offers pay-to-use effects on its store. Not at all necessary for use, and I have not used this functionality at all.


I ran Movavi Video Editor Plus 2020 without so much as a hint of a problem in my time with the software. Exporting videos is fast, as is the program itself. Note that I didn't use this for any large projects, so your experience may vary with project size.


Is less more?
Turns out, yes. Yes, it is. Movavi Video Editor Plus 2020 is a perfectly capable piece of video editing software that holds its own and can pack a punch. Perfect if you're looking to dabble with video production and are overwhelmed by today's industry-standard programs, this program is very user-centric and proud of it.

Click here to view my complete rating chart, and what this rating means.

Transparency Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product for review purposes via Curator Connect.

If you liked this review and want to see more, check out our Steam Curator Page, SirAlexander's Review Club. Thanks!

Pros
+ Silly fun
+ Short rounds
+ Free-to-play

Cons
- HIt-or-miss matchmaking
- Games feel same-ish after a while, lack of variation
- Combat is very random and unpredictable (not necessarily a con)

Skip to the bottom for my final thoughts

Quick, silly and non-serious
Paunch is a free-to-play online one-on-one dueling game with simplistic combat and an absurd premise. Whether you want to hurl boulders at one another or charge with the fury of The Amazing Bulk, you really can't go wrong with giving this user-defined "Masterpiece" of a game a try.

Paunch is a one-on-one dueling combat game, in which you and another are pitched against one another in a procedurally generated caveman-era arena with boulders scattered about to serve as your projectiles to throw with murderous intent at your opponent.

Kill or Be Killed
The heart of Paunch lies in its chaotic yet highly amusing combat. There are two ways you can down your opponent - via flying boulder or with a well-timed punch to the head. I personally prefer to throw my rocks with pinpoint accuracy, and try to line up a throw with where my opponent is going to be, not where they are presently. If you get knocked down, don't worry. You spawn again in a violent explosion from one of the rocks - yes, the very rocks you throw - born anew yet defenseless for the first few moments. There is one less rock to be thrown in the arena, and time is running out.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1967771827

Highly Competitive...
... Well, not really. Paunch has a season system, which your dueling wins or losses make up. There are two game modes available in Paunch - Duel or Spar. Dueling puts you into the game's matchmaking system that randomly pairs you up with another Paunch player looking to similarly bash your head in with a flying rock. Sparring allows you and a friend on your list to be put into an arena together, allowing for a lot of great gaming moments. Paunch is a perfect example of a game that you can play for a few minutes or play for a few hours and enjoy every minute of; the gameplay is fun and enjoyable and everyone knows not to take it seriously.

At the time of review, Paunch is in its first season, with Bob as the character and "Highlands" as the map. This is due to change in the future... who knows what the developers have in store?

Every new match procedurally generates a new match, keeping things fresh. New environments also have an impact on the game itself. Like the teachings of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he who controls the high ground has the significant advantage. Ridgelines can also give you a minute to hide from enemy projectiles and to search for a rock of your own to pick up. Remember - you only get to throw it once.

Microtransactions...?
Paunch has one DLC product available on Steam and is only there if you wish to support the developers. It gives you cosmetic perks and is a sign that there is potential for more customization options in the future of the game.

It might be best to leave Paunch as is without questioning its absurdity. There is no story to Paunch, and perhaps it is best that way.

Paunch's soundtrack consists of two tracks, a menu theme and an in-match theme, both of which contain cool 808s. The graphics are mediocre and aren't anything to complain about. The sole character - who both you and your opponent play - Bob, looks very interesting to say the least, and contributes to the entertaining combat. As previously mentioned, every match procedurally generates a new map, changing up the look and keeping things fresh.

Paunch is a free-to-play game and is currently using about 1GB of my hard drive, so I'd say that it really can't hurt at all to give the game a try. You and your friends can face one-on-one in a fight to the death - for free.

To be honest, I can't really see myself playing Paunch for much longer than I have currently. There are only two game modes, and matches start to feel the same-ish after a while. If you have group of friends who are actively interested in playing, then I can see continuing being worth it.

Paunch's one-on-one dueling system is based on peer-to-peer connections and, as such, contains all the problems that other peer-to-peer connection games do. Some games are laggy and can disconnect you all together. Paunch is also far from bug-free, and I encountered glitches that spawned me underneath the map. trapping me, and forcing to me forfeit the match, thus causing me to lose my oh-so-precious season points.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1967771965

Paunch ran at a buttery smooth 60fps the entire time I played.
In match performance varies greatly as the connections are peer-to-peer. The majority of my games were connection problem-free.

Note that this experience may differ based on your system.


Paunch your way to victory
Paunch provides a unique and hilarious one-on-one dueling experience. Take nothing seriously and immerse yourself in the absurdity of Paunch. Matches are short and the combat is fluid. Perhaps not the best game to play in public unless you're fine with explaining the two Bobs on screen. Besides that, Paunch holds up very well on its own as an interesting free-to-play game on Steam.

Click here to view my complete rating chart, and what this rating means.

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