Recent reviews by Droog

I'm surprised by the hype around this game. In its current state, everything feels mediocre, and a few things even feel bad.
- Exploring the world is unrewarding. All I could find in the first few biomes were empty buildings and the same handful of enemies (the majority of which were animals, which killed the fantastical vibe of the game for me).
- Enemy AI is simple, so combat ended up being spammy and uninteresting. There are some mechanics that require finesse, like dodge rolling and perfectly timed parries, but these never felt worth the trouble.
- Inventory management is a nightmare. A good portion of the loot is clutter that you don't need for crafting, and armor, even when it's equipped, takes up one of your precious inventory slots. And to make things more tedious, there's even an encumbrance system.
- The building system is clunky, with components not wanting to snap together when trying to place them.

One positive is that the game is only $20 USD. Really though, there are plenty of games at the same price-mark that will be much more fulfilling than Valheim.

Creaks is a fantastic casual game. The art style and atmosphere are extremely charming, while the gameplay is consistently rewarding. The difficulty even managed to hit this sweet spot where each of bite-sized puzzles got me thinking without being frustrating. The game is short, but I really appreciate that it didn't overstay its welcome. Definitely worth a buy if you like chill puzzle games.

If you enjoy board games or exploration-focused roleplaying games, For The King will likely scratch that itch. The gameplay is elegantly simple, but varied enough that repeat playthroughs are still satisfying. This is also one of my favorite games to play with friends. Coordinating to overcome random events and turn-based combat just leaves you craving more and more.

While the fantasy setting of the game is fairly generic, it also isn't overcomplicated to the point that it needs explaining. At the end of the day, I adore the visuals and sound design that the developers have put into the game and I think that helps make it unique.

I was very excited going into the alpha for this game. Upon first glance it was everything I wanted it to be, however, after only a few hours of playtime I found myself getting bored. It became very obvious that each match I played was more or less the same. While the game is visually stunning, it just doesn't seem justified that this game should cost 60 dollars when there is not nearly enough to do in it. Again, this is only the alpha stage in development, but there will have to be drastic additions for it to make sense to drop that kind of money on it.