My Q1 2024 & Beyond

My Q1 2024 & Beyond

by | Feb 29, 2024 | Gaming, Review, Upcoming

If this isn’t a solid representation of my gaming style…I don’t know what is.

 

2023 ended with the obsession of my favorite gaming genre – open world.  I played several hours of Ark Survival Ascended, Starfield, more Ark, sprinkled with a little Disney Dreamlight Valley, Smallworld and Hogwarts Legacy.  On to 2024 and my obsession hasn’t changed, but the games sure have.  Let’s see what random titles I’ve been interested in lately and take a look at what I’m excited for in Q2 and beyond.

Lethal Company

Is this really a surpise?  I think everyone has heard of Lethal Company by now.  Technically this game released in October 2023, but I’m still playing it because it’s THAT fun.

I’m not sure its “one-man-band” dev, Zeekerss, was ready for the viral effect it had on the gaming community, but it continues to entertain.  With the infinite number of mods that are being utilized and the shear amount of creative content it has provided for players, it’s no wonder this game is still a favorite.

The moons are simple, yet terrifying.  The concept is simple, but almost gets lost in the hysterical comedy of the “great assets” succumbing to their untimely death by dead girl, then realizing everyone on the team is dead and you all just got fired by the company. Choatic, hilarious, fun.

It recently grabbed the 2023 Steam Award for Better With Friends and I couldn’t agree more.  If you haven’t played this yet, grab a few friends and prepare yourselves for laugh out loud jump scares and make sure to ring the Collection Bell SEVERAL times.

Deep Rock Galactic

I was really living under a rock with this game – pun intended.  This game caught my eye while tracking the 2023 Steam Awards – it was nominated for the Labor Of Love Award (congrats to RDR2).  I didn’t play it until I barged into my sister and sister-in-law’s game on New Year’s Eve.  I never thought I’d have so much fun being a grumpy dwarf who smashes rocks, kills bugs and chugs beer!

The gameplay moves in a way that is really fun to play with your dwarven buddies as each character can progress with a particular set of skills (insert Liam Neeson here) that will make your team a well rounded mining machine.

I am no pro gamer.  If I’m in a squad, I am not that jack of all trades, good at everything type of player. I like contributing a single skill that I can manage and execute well and with precision.  This game let’s me do that.  I can be a Scout and I can be the best Scout with the best grapple gun and illuminate our cave with the light of a thousand suns so we can get the mission completed.  Expect me to have an OP Scout and level 1 everything else in this game.

A top-down single player game was released earlier this month that is sure to entertain, as well.  Find Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor here.

FOR KARL! (I still don’t know who that is…)

A Little To The Left & Cat Search In The Wild West

Ok. Now I implied in the beginning that my gaming style can get a little wacky.  Hear me out…open world is arguably my favorite genre, but I didn’t come up with “PointeAndClick” because I really liked giving every key and button a hotkey assignment (and yes, there IS supposed to be that extra ‘e’ in pointe, but we can discuss that later).

I found these games by pure accident while perusing the Steam Store and niching down to the genres I enjoy.  I enjoy cozy, point and click puzzle games.  These games are so nice to explore and allow myseslf a break from the labor intensive grind that open world games are known for.

Cat Search is quite literally that – you’re searching for hidden cats in a side scroller and it’s great. And I 100% the game in 23 minutes. AND…it’s free!

A Little To The Left is an organization puzzle game and scratches that itch to tidy while also procrastinating actual real life chores.  I also love that they’ve included “Daily Tidies” so even when you’ve finished the game – you’re not finished.

It’s nice to have a couple quick puzzle games in my back pocket for those days I just want to game and chill.

Palworld

This game.  This game has me in a chokehold.  I haven’t played for a few days and I’m trying to find an excuse amongst all my IRL responsibilities to get back in game and check on my pals.

It’s no secret that this game has taken over the gaming world, though at the time I’m writing this, there are several that are ready to take the Top Spot and even more promising games yet to be released.

This game checks all the boxes for me and my gaming style.  It has a

big map to explore, bosses to defeat, base building, cute pets and I can play with my friends!  And I’m definitely no expert in the gaming field, but this game just seems so…clean.  It’s fun, it’s pretty, it’s entertaining and I don’t see myself letting go of this game any time soon.

Currently I’ve progressed over 100 hours in game and I’ve reached the point where I can’t spoil much for myself – so I’ve turned to the Paldex to enhance my playing experience.  My latest favorite tool is the breeding calculator that I used to breed my OP Fenglope Athena.  My next project will be to breed better workers and find an amazing setting for my third and final base build.

This game has made headlines, both positive and negative press, but for me this game will suck me back in like a toxic relationship every time.  Just like Ark (…Ark 2 is releasing this year), just like No Man’s Sky (…Hello Games has Light No Fire coming).  I need more computer space!

Gaming Forward

There is definitely space for many games to have been on this list, but these just happen to be the games I enjoy playing at this time.  Several other games are sure to entertain and I may decide to pick them up eventually:

I’m also super excited for the rest of Q1 and already have several 2024 (and some I’m thinking will be 2025) titles wishlisted.  Some titles include:

To name a few…

I want to know what you’ve been playing.  I want to know what you’re excited for.  I want to know what gaming genres you enjoy.  Give me all the good titles past, present and future.  There’s so many wonderful games out there, and I want to see the gems!  Happy Gaming!!

COzy Grove

by | Feb 9, 2022 | Review, Gaming

Let’s go camping as a Spirit Scout!

Cozy Grove is a sim game where you, a Spirit Scout, camp on an ever-changing island. Your objective each day is to help the ghosts bound to the island and uncover new secrets. The game is from a Seatle-based studio calledSpry Foxand published byThe Quantum Astrophysicists Guild.

 

Features

  • Beautiful, dynamic, hand-drawn landscapes that come alive when you help a spirit in need.
  • Dozens of memorable characters and spirits for you to find and befriend. Each spirit has a unique, extensive story for you to unravel over time.
  • Collect spirit animals, craft decorations, go fishing, and more!
  • 40+ hour campaign filled with side quests, designed to span months of playtime.
  • New activities, items, and outfits to collect every season.

My thoughts

Cozy Grove, like many other games, caught my eye because of its art style. It’s super cutesy and reminded me of Don’t Starve a little in its roughness. Simulation games are a favorite of mine so I immediately put Cozy Grove on my Steam wishlist. It’s since had several seasonal updates and I finally got the chance to play it a bit over winter break.

As expected, the game is extremely cute. Character customization is pretty basic but just enough to make a character your own. Dialogue is well written, simple, and actually feels worth reading. (I’m a serial offender when it comes to just skipping through game dialogue, sorry game devs). The tutorial is nice and to the point and establishes some story basics. Controls are simple and this is definitely a game I’d love to play on the switch and kick back on the couch.

The story lasts a long time, with tons of quests, so you could easily play this game for a long time. Most people seem to enjoy playing it for a few hours here and there. I believe this is a great way to experience it as well because you are less likely to get burnt out on it and it makes it last. So if you’re looking for a casual game with great vibes to enjoy in small chunks, I highly recommend giving it a go.

Where can I play it?

Cozy Grove is available onNintendo Switch,Xbox,PlayStation,Steam,Epic Games Store,Apple Arcade for $14.99

Welcome to Wytchwood

by | Feb 2, 2022 | Gaming, Review

Wytchwood is a neat gothic style storybook type adventure RPG game developed by Alientrap Games and published by Whitethorn Games. You can play Wytchwood on PC, or any console. The artwork reminds me of a detailed popup story book. The gameplay is smooth for both keyboard, mouse, and it is also fully controller capable.

Upon starting the game you (the witch with a pot on her head) wake up in your cottage and from the get go it draws you in by looking at all the items just scattered around. Just like any good witch you need a grimoire. Your grimoire will help you learn new potions to use along your adventures. The evil goat in the yard will order you to collect souls to complete his contract. You will need to collect items through out the areas to make your tools to be able to collect other items.

There are several types of areas to adventure through and find different ingredients. Hack your way through the forest or stomp around the swamp. Make sure to talk to the interesting people you find along the way as each folk person you find has their own story and will help you along the way. Don’t forget to use your special “Witch’s Eye” to scan over items, By using the eye it will help you remember potions and be able to scan monsters to see their weakness.

With any crafting game it can become a bit grindy. However Wytchwood has so much character between the stories, puzzles and just over all scenery it is hard to get bored. I very much enjoyed this horrifyingly adorable game. Keep in mind the game does have blood, some violence, and an odd sense of humor!

Where can I play it?

You can grab Wytchwood on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Playstation, and Xbox.

ACADEMIA: SCHOOL SIMULATOR

by | Jan 30, 2021 | Gaming, Review

Ever wanted to see if you could do a better job running the education system?! Well now you can with Academia: School Simulator! Let’s see if you can make it suck less than your actual high school did. Academia gives you all the tools you’ll need to design, build, and welcome in students, teachers, and staff. You’ll work towards goals to earn grant money and increase the reputation of your school, passing up any rival schools in the rankings (I hope). The game just released on steam so grab it while it’s fresh!

First Impressions

If you’ve watched the trailer or seen the game at all you’ll of course get some very familiar vibes from a game called Prison Architect, which is developed by a completely different company but has the same artist Personally, I haven’t played it and have limited experience watching the actual mechanics so I’ll have to leave it at face value. From what I’ve seen, however, I’d saySqueaky Wheelhas done a good job of taking the style and making it their own.

I really like this style of game. I like the art, I like the challenge of it, and overall I had a lot of fun playing it. I’m looking forward to playing a lot more of it and hope they continue adding to it over the months to come.

Gameplay

At the beginning of the game, you are able to choose all your school’s basic attributes: title, motto, colors, uniforms, principal type, and difficulty level. There is a decent amount of customization to change the gameplay and I started on just normal default to test things out. I didn’t really see a lot of tutorial type pop-ups or guidance but that could have been me not paying close enough attention. As a result, I felt a little thrown into the game ut since it’s not my first time playing a builder game it wasn’t too much of an issue. If you aren’t however it might take you a few minutes to get acquainted with the UI and hotkeys before you feel comfortable.

In order to make money in the game, you will have to select grants and do the objectives to earn funding. You’ll have more money to start building with if you start on easy mode, which I highly recommend if you’re new to this style of game.

The first thing you’ll need to do is build an office and hire your principal. There will be 15 students in each class (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) so you’ll build 1 classroom for each and hire a teacher for each school subject. Be sure to pay attention to the grants in your list so you know what you should be building/aiming for. Be sure you read everything because that’s where to tips are on how to find things in the UI!

Check! Done! Woo!

Do you like that dopamine hit of accomplishing goals and checking things off lists? If so you’ll love this game! Seriously, I was plowing my way through objectives for grants for the few hours I played. It feltgooooooood y’all! Very satisfying. I totally built my school in perhaps the most inefficient way possible but hey, it was still a fun time. Lessons were definitely learned for playing through it next time.

In addition, there are little scenarios and events that pop up throughout the game that give you a little extra to break things up and add something new. You’ll get an end of the year report to give you stats of how you did in several categories and give you a rank. A lot of information can be found out during the year via the different UI and charts.

Aesthetics

I really do like the graphics in this game. Everything is simplistic but nice and clean. Text is easy to read and nothing hurts my brain. There’s even a warning at the title screen which is animated to make it static to avoid dizziness/illness – something I greatly appreciate as someone who’s got pretty sensitive sim sickness.

Grab yourself a copy!

Grab yourself a copy on Steam or via myHumble Bundle (Disclaimer: I get a kickback, thanks guys)! Academia: School Simulator on sale for 30% off for the next 5 days!

THROUGH THE DARKEST OF TIMES

by | Aug 15, 2020 | Gaming, Review

Wander into Germany during the rise of the Nazi party in Through the Darkest of Times, brought to us by Paintbucket Games and Handygames. Lead a resistance group in Berlin to gather information, help free the people, and weaken the regime. And do it on any device you like!

Art, history, & strategy

The artwork for Through the Darkest of Times is a striking style that instantly captivated me and is the primary reason I sought out a key to review. I’ve been playing it on and off for a while now on my phone, which honestly has been really nice because I can do that anywhere. Every time I get to see a new scene I’m reminded just how gorgeous the game is and really lends itself to telling such a generally bleak story.

Obviously, the game’s story is rooted in actual events that happened leading up to World War II and you play as the leader of a resistance group. Every day you choose new tasks for your team to do like gather supplies, convert new supporters, spread the truth, or even attack special points of interest to weaken supply lines or gather vital documents to use against the regime.

Even on mobile, the controls are super easy to use and the game doesn’t take much time to understand how to play. It’s a well-built interface and I haven’t run into asinglebug. But the real star of the show is the stories and how your choices affect outcomes.

Throughout the game, you’ll have choices to make that will direct what happens to your character and how the story progresses. Personally I think I played a very linear character that had set ideals but I’d be curious to go back through the story again and choose other reactions to events and maybe build up a character who takes a more aggressive approach instead of the quieter more passive stealth game I played. It’s definitely worthy of replaying to find out what things change.

Get your copy today!

I’m excited to report that this game is now available on mobile, PC, PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. While I enjoyed the freedom of playing it on my phone I think having it on a larger screen would be really nice and I’m looking forward to playing it on stream or YouTube some time in the near future.

Grab yourself a copy in theGoogle Play Store,Apple Store,Steam, or included in the AugustHumble Bundle Choice!

#Disclaimer: A product key was provided to me for review from Terminals. The review is 100% my unbiased opinion of the game and I played it only on mobile (Android).