Recent reviews by Elkian Lionblood

Immortal Life mixes two genres - farming sims, of which I'm already a fan, and cultivator sims, which I've had an interest in but no real chance to try before.

It's an interesting game that balances those concepts - instead of leveling up individual skills, for instance, the use of those skills grants both Cultivation EXP and a skill-specific bar, the latter of which unlocks a special move. When your Cultivation bar is full, you go into the dream world (essentially) and do a brief combat gauntlet, and can take 3 of the unlocked moves with you. This gives some motivation for branching out.

While it's not perfect, I found myself really engaged pretty fast. The storyline is a little bare but decent, the characters are largely fun (sometimes they get a little one-note, but there's a few events here and there that help break that up a little). The art is good, though there's a few times where the visual contrast (white text on white background, neon green monsters on a bright green background) is so garbage that it legitimately affects the gameplay. Also, if you're playing a female character, you can basically give up on ever having pants. The gameplay can be a bit clunky in places, but it's also added a lot of neat ideas that improve QoL in some interesting, theme-appropriate ways. You can summon a raincloud to water your crops or a tornado to plant them, for instance.

One thing I really like about Immortal Life is that the farming becomes more important as you play, rather than less.

The game has a slower pace than Stardew or Harvest Moon imo (though some of that ymmv based on how fast you want to Do All The Things). New seeds, facilities, and areas unlock over time. The most recent story quest event I did literally just makes you wait for a day or two, but there's a good reason for this. (NPC affection rises comparatively slowly as well.) And time is never really wasted in this game - anything you can do will help you improve in some way. Fishing will bring you ingredients or quick cash while building up both the Fishing Skill Move and base Cultivation bars. Increasing your Cultivation and improving the sect will have a number of effects, especially on the budget you collect at the start of each season. Everything you do will have some kind of useful impact down the line.

Also, one REALLY nice thing is that the game will let you farm crops out of season! They'll have reduced outputs based on when you harvest, but I love that it doesn't wither half your field when the clock strikes twelve.

The biggest issues aside from rough gameplay are some minor translation/cultural problems. It took me a while to figure out what a solar term exactly was, and figuring out how to schedule lectures is a part of that. There's also just some rough patches in conversation or quest assumptions, though the quest log usually helps iron that out. Though I will say the translation of riddles and puns in the festivals done really well for most of them, and I know that isn't easy to do.

Overall, I've found Immortal Life to be a pretty interesting game with a lot to enjoy.

Terraformers is an... odd game. I enjoyed it, I think it does a lot of things very well, but it has some rough edges and balance issues.

As someone who enjoys 4X games like Civ but doesn't like the combat element, Terraformers is a great experience. There's events you have to grapple with, but none of them involve other empires trying to steal your land and kill your people. In fact, pretty much any hold you solidify remains yours for the entire game. Thus, part of the challenge is strategizing how to proceed in a way that won't undermine your later efforts.

One thing Terraformers does that I really appreciated is it injects an almost roguelite element - you have different scenarios with different goals which you can keep ramping up, challenging your own times, and win experience for. The experience unlocks new buildings, projects, and leaders as you go (current cap is level 34). As someone who theoretically wants to replay Civ as a conqueror or religious leader but keeps getting boxed in, this is a really nice feature. If you want to go greedy resource-grabber mode, there's a challenge for that; one for terraforming, ecology, science, expansion, space projects, etc.

The game does have some awkward elements. The constant raising standards for Support applies a natural pressure, but sometimes it can get out of hand with little recourse. Some random events are so resource-intensive that they can change the scope of the game in one turn (ie the Earth crisis, which I pretty much always either take the embargo hit on or just restart). It is pretty easy to get comfortable and never use certain cards. Some effects don't synergize in ways that totally make sense - especially terraforming, I'm confused on why we can only have 1 animal in any zone. I know some of that is just gameplay mechanics issues, but it stands out in a game that talks about trying to turn Mars into Earth 2.

Overall I enjoyed Terraformers -even more than I did Per Aspera, and possibly even Civ 6- but it has some clear room for improvement.

I picked up HH through a Humble Choice, and it's been a very interesting experience. I've never played a game quite like it before. It's sort of an exploratory turn-based RPG, but there's more going on. You can die in the tutorial (and in fact I did until I got the hang of things). In some ways it reminds me a bit of Civilization games. There ARE other 'countries' and they ARE out to get you. HH bypasses most of the other routes in Civ games, though, and streamlines it into a combat-specific game style. It's very hard to describe and a little frustrating until you learn the rules, but very intriguing.

Hero's Hour has good music and usually good art (sometimes the sprites can be a little difficult to read), and the gameplay has a few bumps but overall works well. I like that it allows bypassing Certain Win fights. Combat is varied and a lot of things factor in - magic, how built up your town is (do NOT neglect to build up your capitol), combatant types, commander levels. You can swap soldiers and gear between commanders, dig up treasure, and get luck from rainbows. There's a lot of variety yet consistency that keeps the game fresh but fairly readable once you know what you're doing.

If you're a fan of strategy RPGs with a Civilization bent, this might be the game for you.

I'm not sure if you could call this a 'walking simulator' but that's one of the closer descriptions I can think of. In Other Waters is a fairly linear story-telling experience, and a fascinating one at that. The tale is told almost entirely through in-game UI, to the point that a new icon appearing, or the screen darkening, caused an emotional reaction in me. Aside from that, there's character logs, a few yes/no answers, and a lot of exomarine xenobiology. It kind of reminds me of Subnautica, including the resource management aspect, but it's very much its own game.

In Other Waters is a game that is going to be huge for some players and a non-starter for others, and that's okay. If you're looking at this description and think it sounds boring as hell, then you've probably accurately assessed how much you're going to like this. If interactive stories and sci-fi mysteries are your bag, you may enjoy this.

If it has flaws, it's the gameplay - in particular, some traversals are awkward or close enough that they can be difficult for players, and sometimes the direction isn't as clear as it could be. It's fun to poke around and explore - that's a huge part of the gameplay - but sometimes you may want an objective marker. If you can get past that, I wish you the best.

Related games: Gone Home, Tacoma, Subnautica, I Was A Teenage Exocolonist (vibes)

This game is full of ghosts.

That's not a spoiler, it's something you learn the first time you open the in-game menu.

I've seen bits and pieces talking about What Remains of Edith Finch that imply it's beautiful, melancholy, and inspiring. I'm not arguing those points - the game reminds of both Gone Home and perhaps even moreso, Tacoma - but it misses a core aspect of WRoEF:

This game is weird.

That doesn't make it bad. It's part and parcel with the whole story, part of its charm. But if you're expecting a sober, somber, serious tale with a happily ever after, this isn't the game for it.

What Remains of Edith Finch is, to put it bluntly, kind of bonkers. It's about death and dealing with death, it's about imagination, it's about legacies. It's full of whimsy and gallows humor, often at the same time. It is full of Dead Kids. There's sharks, drowning, schlock horror comic books and bad decisions involving sledgehammers and brick walls. There's a house that's alive while all of its occupants are dead. There's a man who loaded a house onto a boat to escape a curse, synchronized swimming bath toys, and dragons.

The thing about this game is that it never fully defies possibility or belief, if you look at it right. Many of the stories are fantastical, but only 'unbelievable' if the narrator is reliable, which is never a given.

There's a lot more, but I've probably spoiled something already.

The game is beautiful, funny, and tear-jerking in its ways, with great attention to detail (at most points) and strong voice acting and music composition. Every part of the House has life breathed into it, so to speak.

The cons are clunky gameplay at some turns - this is first and foremost a 'walking simulator'/living story. It's also easy to get disoriented or turned around at some points. Sometimes this plays into the idea, though, that a real person is struggling to navigate the house and the challenges it presents.

If you enjoy story-centric games such as Gone Home and Tacoma, and even Superliminal to some extent, and don't mind a little clunkiness (and absurdity) then this game is for you.

VS is a fun game that combines some different elements of classic arcade/retro console with a sort of roguelike system while not being specifically any of those things (if there's a term for this genre of game I've forgotten it sorry). You start your first run. You don't know what the hell is going on. Through trial and error, you start leveling up, getting new items, and killing things better.

The visuals and SFX are masterfully crafted to feel rewarding and distinct. Treasure chests pop and sometimes there's fireworks going off as the cheery music informs you that you Won Big! The writing is funny (in menus and bestiary entries, no in-game text aside from coffin popping afaik). The balance is shockingly good, making each run feel worth something, providing some kind of constant progress. I still don't know what Eggs do.

One thing I really like is how the character designs obviously riff on Castelvania (which I haven't played) while showing a clear understanding of why the original designs worked to begin with. That's an overall vibe of the game - the retro references are made with a clear head and mesh with everything else. I've played some 'retro'-inspired games that copied over mechanical elements that were born of hardware limitations, games where you can tell the devs never once considered that. Vampire Survivors dodges that pitfall masterfully.

My only real nitpick is this game is probably not very playable for anyone with colorblindness, particularly red-green I think.

While the Pokemon-inspired elements are pretty visible, I wouldn't call this an actual Pokemon clone. Cassette Beasts is more of a classic RPG, an open-world game in its way. It gives you a bunch of Main Quests and Side Quests, hints on how to get overworld skills, and then lets you loose. It's not a Metroidvania either, I think, but the primary roadblocks are either enemies to defeat or skills you don't have yet (like swimming, etc.). There's nothing blocking you off from an area except your base ability to get inside. Nothing is stopping me from tromping around the snow zone, but my ally helpfully warned me that the local monsters were probably too tough for us.

My only real problem with Cassette Beasts is the sometimes janky controls, and most notably the platforming. The good news is that the plot-relevant platforming is on the easier end, and usually isn't in an area rife with respawning enemies to drag you down.

Aside from that, CB has good music, decent art, and a really intriguing story. Everyone has either washed up on this interdimensional beach or descended from people who have, and not everyone is from the same universe. Your character decides to try and find a way home, and uncovers some mysteries of the island in the process. One thing I like about the story is the mentions of various new areas and things cropping up periodically, so it feels less like a Chosen One situation and more of happening upon these things while doing our own Main Quest. You can do things in any order you like, pretty much, especially once you unlock most of the overworld travel skills. Each ally has a Personal Quest line to fulfill, increasing friendship and giving you motivations to do different things and visit different areas.

Mechanically, the battles are really interesting. There is a level of 'mon-collection, but it works differently than maybe any game I've seen before. "Capturing" a 'mon results in the player getting a baseline copy of it - a tape - that then the player or your partner can transform into. The game is really good about letting you try to capture a 'mon without killing it, though there are downsides if you aren't careful.

Elements work partly in a Super Effective format, but the game gives even more incentive to pay attention because moves have different effects depending on types. For example, hitting a Water type with a Fire move grants the Water 'mon the buff Healing Steam, which does exactly what it says. On the other hand, the Fire 'mon taking a Water hit will Extinguish it, tanking its damage output. You can eat damage and race to finish a fight with a type disadvantage, but the smarter move is to swap around to get the best lineup for the situation. (You can also attack allies or yourself to trigger Buffs the same way.) This makes for a really interesting, dynamic system that keeps the player on their toes. I don't want to describe the entire combat system for 5 paragraphs, but suffice to say they found a pretty good balance that definitely evokes Pokemon types at times, while still feeling fresh and new and relevant to the current setting.

The player and your partner, as well as certain foes, can also Fuse - creating a dual-type 'Mon with the stats and moves of both parties, and combined AP gauge. This has its benefits and drawbacks, and makes for a really interesting option to spice up boss battles or create special encounters.

Lastly, a really neat thing about the combat system is that transformed humans - the player party, and opponents - have a separate health gauge. Overflow from knocking out 'mon HP will affect this, and it's possible to shut down an enemy with a strategic, concentrated maneuver, preventing them from pulling out their next tape. It's a neat way to reward players for thinking ahead, without making battles impossible if you miss it.

There's way more that I haven't gotten into, but suffice to say that I'm having a really good time. CB is an okay pickup for Pokemon fans - it's not unlike[/i a Pokemon game - but I will say that the general vibe is very different from a core Pokemon game, which is why I want to stress the inaccuracy of the "clone" claims. Honestly, it feels closer to Digimon in some ways, but I know less about that series than Pokemon, for what that's worth.

Most important points: yes, you can pet the Ooblets, AND dress them up in funny accessories, AND put them in little cars.

Ooblets is a pretty good game so far. It's also funny to me because it's the second time in a week I've picked up a "Pokemon clone" game that... is not a Pokemon clone.

If I had to compare Ooblets to an existing game, I would actually go with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. NH, specifically due to how the game starts. Both games have a sleepy kind of pacing that's trying to remind the player that you don't have to grind every minute of every day. As far as I can tell, days of the week in this game exist mainly to plan out Dance Barn tournaments. Nothing is on a timer. You can't get everything done in one day and honestly, once I managed to internalize that, I started having a much better experience.

Ooblets does have 'mons that you can raise and battle, and recolor+sparkly versions (catch-em-all does pay off, literally, but it's not on a crunch). Until you open the Dance Barn, you might end up going a day or two with no 'battles' at all. The battle system is simple in a good way, and the individual strength of your Ooblets is less crucial than strategy skills. Knowing what your opponent can do and how to counter it can help, but nothing feels insurmountable even when I lose.

One thing I find super neat is the way challenging wild Ooblets work - you need to pay a toll, and each Ooblet type has a different price. The price is the same across varients, however - so if you've gotten some Frubtose, you might find yourself waiting to see if tomorrow will have an Unusual or even Gleamy Clickyclaws available. Each game day starts with a report of what Ooblets are available and where, and you can check your bestiary at any time outside of battle to see what each one needs (provided you've encountered them before). This lets the player strategize if you aren't at the point where whatever resource is easy to get, yet.

The game has some mechanical jankiness at times, especially oversight (ie trying to check that Ooblet report or see what Hankerbot told you), but overall the game lacks urgency, so if even failing doesn't sting like it might in a game where that has more major drawbacks.

The farming system is pretty interesting, and there's friendships, quests, and a wilderness area to develop. You can dress up your character and get new hair and new hair colors (not sure if it's possible to change name or skin tone fwiw). You can 3D print figurines of Ooblets you've found. The fishing minigame is painless and always pays out to some extent. Overall, it's a very enjoyable experience to just pop in for an in-game day or two. Plus, you can save anywhere, not just by sleeping.

One thing to note is the game is relentlessly whimsical, in the way that will either drive you up the wall or renovate your entire vocabulary (or both). If that's not your thing, this may not be the game for you.

Let's Build A Zoo is, surprisingly, a pretty fun game.

I say "surprisingly" because it is, mechanically... kind of a disaster? And yet somehow, it still works.

The art is good. The music is... kind of nonsensical, but good. The writing tends to be pretty funny, tongue-in-cheek without usually being TOO cheesy.

The gameplay isn't a hot mess - it's several tepid messes piled on top of each other. Nobody on the UX team seems to know what a global menu is. Pausing in menus? HA! Good one! Sometimes counters count down while you look at them, but others don't, depending on context. The only way to overview every staff member in the game is by clicking the zoo gate. Yeah, you check staff by clicking their respective buildings or the zoo gate. Staff menu button? Lmao. Game options? We have 4 or 5 of those, maybe. Every new animal has to have its diet adjusted manually, but you won't know this until you start getting complaints about nutrition. Know what else is manual? Refilling food stocks! There's heat maps, but they're inconsistent, based on some unspoken context depending on when you open them. It's possible to unlock cloning long before you figure out how to build different bathrooms. Animals in pens are scrolled by clicking a button at the bottom of the screen, and God help you if you click out of the box. The game will SCREAM at you for having Enrichment at 90% instead of 110%, but you can overload an enclosure by double its capacity with only a red number popup when you do so.

The (teeny, tiny, expandable-yet-unresizable) notifiers menus at the left of the screen let you "track" items rather than... taking you to the relevant screens? Get 4 births since you last checked? You're gonna have to open the tracker and manually check each enclosure! Because the only birth it'll show is the first(???) one of that batch.

And in spite of all this, it is a fun, funny game. I don't like the knifesedge of possibly messing up because there's no kind of global overview, but it's a fun game. People will try to sell you painted animals, animatronics, or abominations against nature (the latter group you can report, or sell your excess animals to, or both). Conservation is a ridiculous mess, but it's still nice to feel like I'm somehow making a difference. There's tons of silly stuff.

Ultimately, I'd much rather see a remake or sequel headed by someone who knows how to make a video game (tbh, if someone told me this was made for tablet and then ported by one person with no budget and a 2-day deadline, I'd believe it), and I doubt I'll pick up the DLC, but in spite of a ton of problems and bizarre design decisions, Let's Build A Zoo manages to be really engaging. Get it on sale, though.

TLDR: If you wanted a Subnautica with slightly less time pressure and things trying to eat you, you may enjoy this. BUT, the game is currently not at an Easy To Pick Up stage.

The Planet Crafter is a pretty fun game (I recommend the demo: you can load the save into your main game!) if you like terraforming stuff. I like the pacing - the default gameplay setting is pretty good at putting on enough pressure of Do Things Or Die while still giving room to freestyle a bit. Once you get your feet under you and start generating essentials like food and water, the game opens up more to allow wider exploring.

There's a bit of a narrative and I do like it, but to be honest you don't have to follow it if you don't want to. It does give you some pointers and hint at locations I don't know when I would have found on my own. Outside of that, once food and water becomes easier to obtain, I enjoyed being able to set my own goals - while actually having a way to do that, between the unlock projections and various wrecks scattered around the map.

One thing the devs have done pretty well imo is make the base of the game solid. Even though it's a little bare-bones and occasionally buggy (pretty light on the bugs so far for me, actually!), the fun is there if you're the kind of person this game is for.

The major drawback at this time is a lack of description and direction. While I appreciate not being railroaded, it is a bit frustrating to get into the midgame-ish area and have to constantly check the forums to see if anyone knows how to get Bee Larvae or how I grow trees. Things unlock on different tracks, which is occasionally an issue when one of the unlocks is crucial to the last 6 things I unlocked actually... doing anything. Some of the descriptions are a little too vague - I haven't made a Recycling Machine yet, actually, because I'm not totally clear on what it does and don't want to go through the hassle if I don't need it. These flaws are annoying, but pretty understandable on a game that is still in development. It took me about 10-ish hours of gameplay for this to really become a problem, so it's up to you whether that's a dealbreaker at this time.

Pros:
-appealing visuals; pickups have unique designs that makes them easy to ID at a distance
-decent sound: chill BGM, scary storm sounds, decent SFX
-good pacing
-decent but noncritical story
-un- and re-building things is very easy, so it rarely feels like I've totally wasted a decision
-basebuilding is pretty fun
-environments (planet and wrecks) are pretty interesting and fun to explore
-a lot of freedom of choice once you get started
-gameplay is economical and pretty smooth

Cons:
-limited direction and description, making much of the late game difficult
-could use some more explanation at the start
-Unity makes water go through walls which can be frustrating (electronics+most equipment don't work underwater)
-minor visual problems like slow loading or visible seams
-in-game settings are weirdly limited
-occasionally clunky gameplay
-selection for unbuilding things is hard to direct and leads to a lot of accidentally destroyed rooms