Recent reviews by Lucidreamer

Let's School, despite being a little bit rough around the edges, is a really fulfilling school management game. It kind of reminds me of some of Kairosoft's titles--however, this game is refreshingly complex compared to many of its rivals. For example, each facility placed increases administrative strain on you, the Headmaster--so you are compelled to create administrative departments, led by qualified school staff. And you get to name those departments, and give their leaders fancy titles. This can eventually lead to a sprawling (but oh-so-satisfying) bureaucratic apparatus of departments answering to departments answering to departments. Imagine the paperwork!

I have to give serious props for the graphical design, and attention to detail. There are small things, like how each student has a book bag that they hang on their desks during classes, or how only certain students will actually bring their own lunches, and when they do, those lunches actually appear on the wall as objects. Or how the various forms of transportation students use to get to your school---by train or by bus or by bike---are rendered. It's all very... cute! And the art style is simple, vibrant, and comforting.

Of course, you can tell that it's not strictly feature-complete. The end game is pretty aimless, for example. The game could do with some more challenge, especially once you overcome the initial financial difficulties. It is currently way too easy to schedule classes to guarantee everyone passes a given semester. And some mechanics--like school security, guidance counselling, extracurricular activities, and student relationships, are only half-implemented. But the potential is certainly there.

As it is, Let's School is a lovely school management simulator, with great visual design, a lot of charm, and an okay simulation. Its difficulty leaves something to be desired, and its as-of-yet unimplemented features might turn you away, but honestly, I think it's absolutely worth the price on novelty alone. I have never attended a high school in Japan, nor any other country for whom this game was obviously inspired by. But I can't help but leave every session of this game feeling oddly nostalgic, like I've just relived a pleasant memory. Soooo... yeah! That's my take.

While I often find that exposing myself to video games with dark and depressing settings has a tendency to worsen my own depressive tendencies, Pathologic 2, for all of its pain and suffering, doesn't have that effect. Something about the way it implores you to fight against it in order to achieve victory is... almost exhilarating. Every small victory feels awesome.

A surprisingly robust grand strategy game with a tantalizing early game and a fun mid-game, but the endgame leaves a bit to be desired.

You'll be surprised by how the game, and your experience with it, really starts to evolve as the world state progresses. Each city conquered, each public industry built, each new military unit or technology builds upon the other, until you realize, with pride, that your tiny little steppe village is now an urbane, cultured, shining beacon of vice and si - err, democracy. Yes. A shining beacon of democracy.

The war, military, and staff aspects of this game are absolutely top-notch, and I had a lot of fun just playing around with my cabinet and developing new models for vehicles. The top-down turn-based combat is pretty interesting; imagine Hoi4 but put through the engine for a Civlization game. It can be a little clunky and you're basically forced to micromanage everything, however. You're well-rewarded for making good tactical decisions, both on the front and in the bureaucratic offices, as military research, model design, staff operationalization, covert operations, and even diplomacy are all very important in your quest to conquer the world. The game's politics, however, might dissuade you from making such good decisions, as factions (made up of all your military, bureaucratic, and cabinet leaders) will always be making demands, and you might decide to make certain sacrifices in order to ensure a certain faction stays in power, or to ensure a rogue faction doesn't.

(can I just say that the model design is like my favorite part of the game that's not the actual fighting? I love model design. I love how you can name your models, and I love how iterative designs have better stats based on how much field testing you've done with them. As an engineering student, I find the implementation of model design really damn cool)

I feel like the civilian aspect of the game could be developed more, especially from the midgame onwards, after your realm has become sufficiently "civilized." I wonder if maybe a good downside to having a big, prosperous nation with a lot of free, happy people is that civilians start using the trains and bus networks more - taking capacity away from the war going on on the other side of the world. I dunno; it could add some interesting tension.

Also, there's not much really to do once the endgame rolls around. By this point, you've basically already won the planet; even if all the major powers in the world joined a coalition against you,you could still defeat them all. The power disparity is too great. And they won't besides, because you're allied with half of them. Also, the longer the game gets, the longer the wait between the turns is, which makes playing big games a chore.

But overall? This game. This game is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ gorgeous. It's a godsend for weird people like me who wanted to play a game about war logistics and got bored with Anno, Civ, Stellaris, Hoi4, and Alpha Centauri. If you have a lot of free time and really enjoy the intersection of traditional grand strategy and logistics/production games, then I absolutely recommend this game. If not, then I'd say try it out with caution. This is a really, really, *really* niche game, but a rewarding one.

Yeah.

A very interesting experience, for those who like minimalist pixel games. Kingdom is cryptic and stubborn yet beautiful and rewarding, although you may find that it might take hours before you finally understand how to play. Despite its pixelated graphics, Kingdom cleverly portrays itself in a way that is eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing, and just makes you feel good.

This was well worth the money I paid for it, ESPECIALLY considering the fact that it's rival, Simcity, originally sold for 60$ where I live. Great game! Won't stop playing for awhile...

One of my most trusted soldiers said to me, on the eve of what was to be my reckoning, that I was destined to lose that battle. The Sarranids were crafty, clever, and their troops were well-armed. They had big, steely-eyed horses, they had expert archers and skirmishers, their steel was thought to be the best in Calradia. What did I, a Vassal of King Graveth, the true king of Calradia, have? A band of tribesmen, a few souls competent enough to hold a crossbow or a spear, but nothing more. Indeed, destiny was a harsh mistress.

But I defied destiny. Was it luck or circumstance? No matter the reason, the Rhodoks pulled through that day, damn the odds, and we drove those desert-dwellers away from our homeland. And from that day forward, since that defiance of destiny herself... I knew that I would one day lead my King Graveth and the Rhodoks to reunify all of Calradia, this divisive land.

Liked the game, because it inspires me like the merciless beating of an army corps' drums.