Recent reviews by Avenar

This feels like "Redwall meets Frostpunk, with Rogue Legacy sprinkles". A mix i did not expect to work, but makes for an endearing setting with your little animal themed villagers, amids rough resource shortage and dangerous events everywhere.

Basically you build your base, manage your resources and keep people from losing resolve, during the frequent storms that threaten to ruin your settlement. And then every few cities, the game tallies up, resets the world map, and you get to start over with slightly better bonuses.

Surprisingly deep gameplay, lots of advanced fetures and loads of "knobs" to turn to finetune what is best for your villages.

I did not think i would like this game, as much as i ended up doing, and i am very glad i ended up giving it a chance. There are still many many hours of gameplay for me left in this gem.

The game is an awesome mix of a turnbased strategy game and a roguelike with a long-term progression scheme.

The visuals are gorgeously detailed 8bit-inspired pixel graphics, making it appealing to both younger and nostalgic audiences.

There's a ton to experience and lots of replayability, and i will definitely be buying the full version when released!

Rise to Ruins is an amazing take at city-management, with a side of Tower Defence added into it.
As the protective deity on the rise, you start out with just a handful of villagers, and experience the joy of seeing your city grow, your population rise, and your influence increase, through proper management, city planning and (hopefully) your ability to keep the monsters at bay.
For an early access game, this is surprisingly well-rounded, with many hours of gameplay in it, just to master the basics, and several more gameplay modes once you've grown accustomed to the game.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys real-time strategy, city simulators or even 4x enthusiasts, whether you're new gamer and looking for a genuinely fun and challenging game, or you're an old gamer who craves that nostalgic settlers/majesty feeling.

Pros:
- Solid gameplay!
- Long lasting game with near-infinite replay value.
- Nice thematic soundtrack.
- Several game modes: You get to pick how much of a challenge you want (or no challenge at all, if you prefer just building your pretty city)
- Constantly expanding game with frequent content patches, so there's always something new to try.
- Dev said he would never ever make paid DLC. All updates are just free extra content.
- Beautiful 16-bit graphics.
- It has doggos.

Cons:
- Well... it's early access.
- Difficulty is... Difficult. Unless you disable enemies completely, you're definitely going to fight for your life. This might be a pro to some people though.
- No cattos.

Overall the game is far more finished than several AAA releases these days, and the gameplay is fun and engaging. Definitely a good buy, if you're even slightly curious about this game genre.

Vampire is an old game by todays standards, and easily clunky at parts. Attempting to look at this game without rose-tinted nostalgia glasses, it's a game with several flaws and a dated engine.

However! What this game does well, is atmosphere, writing and characters. And those things are incredibly important for any game wishing to tell a story.

Yes, this game manages to scare. Yes, this game manages to make you care about several of the people you meet, and yes, this game manages to drag you in, identify with the character you play, and keep you invested.

I realize that by now this games graphics will put off a lot of people who needs more realistic animations, but if any of the following points sounds like something you'd enjoy, i wholeheartedly recommend giving this game a try:

- Character Sheet: You pick every step of the way exactly how you want to develop your characters abilities, whether you enjoy improving your social skills, basic stats or combat strength.

- Multiple sollutions: Almost every situation in the game can be solved with either sneaking, social skills or raw force (guns blazing). You can play the game pretty much as you please, and enjoy the feeling of succeeding in the way you chose.

- Side Quests: Yes you can rush through the main story if you so please, but the large amount of sidequests allowing you to explore the lore and the people that make up the cast, allows you to really dive into the game world.

In the end, it all comes down to personal taste, and there will probably be as many people who doesn't like the game, as people who does. But for the ones it does appeal to, this is a gem you'll be glad not to have missed.

By now an old game, it none the less remains a solid platformer with responsive easy controls, intuitive design and fun game mechanics. In short, it's a very well-designed game, with gameplay that remains as fun today as it were when first released.

As if that wasn't enough, the story itself is also a gripping tale, that remains everpresent even while roaming the different areas of the game, and the creator managed to put a lot of emotion into very few and simple effects.

Put together, this is a definite recommendation for anyone both young and old, as long as they can enjoy a good platforming game. And if you haven't tried one yet, this is a good place to start.

Amazing gameplay, exploration options, and replay value. If you enjoy fantasy in any form or way, you'll enjoy this. If you enjoy being creative as well, double the bonus.

While arguably not the most challenging of games (once you realize "dying" have no real consequences), it's got intense atmosphere, vast exploration possibilities and lots of different activities to do, should you find yourself bored with simply advancing the story. People looking for a challenge might be better off steering clear of this title, but anyone looking for simply "experiencing" should definetly consider playing this game.