Recent reviews by MogsK

A fun little arena shooter with roguelite elements. I questioned the balance at first, as enemies can be real bullet sponges on your first run, but once I started engaging with the upgrade system, the game's core loop started to shine. Having enemies get tougher each time you die in exchange for greater XP rewards creates this arms race that incentivizes really thoughtful approaches to each run, as keeping your deaths low and your XP gains high can turn you into an absolute god.

I also like the narrative at play. You're some sorta private cop, you don't want to let your boss down who has put her faith in you as the next elite in your company, you've got a friend named Ruth who gasses you up constantly, it's charming window dressing that makes the simple core loop really charming and fun to engage with repeatedly.

Haven't completed a run yet, but am having a blast in my many attempts. If you enjoy these sort of fast-paced fight>upgrade>die>repeat games with minimal downtime, it's well worth the price of admission.

A delightful little love letter to Link's N64 era mixed with the esoteric vibes of the Warrior Cats mythos, Paws for Adventure manages to capture what seems to have evaded several games of the last few years: the simple pleasure of being a cat. Granted, this isn't the plush and pampered lifestyle of a house cat, that all goes out the window within the game's first minutes, but by the time you find yourself mastering the art of sneaking up and pouncing on a bird before it flies away, or deftly darting left and right to take on a creature thrice your size with nothing but your claws, you'll really find yourself absorbed in the feline mindset.

Pairing this experience with a charming little tale about the politics of cat clans, the mysteries of the spirit world, and the musical magic of meowing makes for a gameplay experience that had me grinning ear-to-ear throughout. This is all helped by the game's excellently chosen Kevin Mcleod soundtrack and retro visual design, made especially authentic by being made in a retro engine, Blitz3D, which gives it a sense of having found a hidden gem tucked away in the shovelware section of a games shop.

Really, the only drawbacks in my experience were a few glitches I encountered, but none were gamebreaking, and all seem to be either addressed or are planning to be addressed in the near future, so I can only imagine other's experiences will be even smoother than mine.

If you're in the mood for a nice little ~6 hour adventure of Ocarina of Time by way of Erin Hunter, there's really nowhere better to turn!

Beats were sublime, visuals a delightful neon assault on the eyes, just wish it could have been longer!
Allowed me to play as a ♥♥♥♥♥ frog breakdancing 90% of the cop population off the surface of the planet.
10/10

Mummy Sandbox is a real little gem of a game.

It does an incredible job of evoking a certain sort of surreality I associate with sitting up late at night playing DOS edutainment games rendered in the earliest forms of 3D. Each section of the game is comprised of a small gameplay area centered in a linked series of evocative and nicely arranged vignette spaces that manage to make a really strong impression despite most taking only a few minutes to figure your way through. This tone is further cemented by a delightfully gonzo art style that pairs cartoony 2d drawings with voxel models combined with a soundtrack made up of simple, yet rich, loops which make every area feel distinct.

The gameplay is fun and straightforward: point and click puzzle-solving mixed with a block placing/destroying mechanic that reminds me a lot of the fun of the original Minecraft alpha, being plopped into a small space full of dirt blocks you can remove and, eventually, replace, giving it a very zen garden-like quality as you experiment with how to progress. It does an excellent job at staying fresh by slowly adding fundamental abilities and puzzle items to your kit, condensing a really pleasing rhythm of progression into a roughly one-hour experience.

Took me far too long to get around to playing this, but I'm glad I finally did. If you've played any of Z. Bill's other games, you know what sort of vibes to expect, and in that regard, Mummy Sandbox does not disappoint -- would gladly get stuck blind in a ballpit for five minutes again!

Edge of death is one of the most refreshing things I've seen come out of the niche of super low-budget indie horror games in a while. If you've already found yourself looking through these types of games, I imagine you're not expecting the bleeding edge of survival horror gameplay, but rather something more in a B-movie vein that makes up for a lack of polish or innovative design with unique creative choices and a whole lot of heart, and Edge of Death has these things in droves.

Will it scare you? Probably not, but by the time you've moved past the dingy hallways and cheap (but seemingly tongue-in-cheek) jump scares of the first 20min or so of gameplay, and you're talking to a whale while a lofi hip-hop beat that incorporates the same scream sound effect that was being used to startle you minutes before into a drop plays in the background, you'll realize that was never the point in the first place. Edge of Death is a horror game to be sure, but it is not a "scary" game, rather it's a game about scary things: death, grief, loss, and how often we are powerless in the face of these things.

Is what it has to say about these things particularly novel or thought-provoking? Not necessarily, but what they do feel is incredibly human which is I think what I enjoyed about this game the most. From the writing, especially the ending which honestly had me a bit misty-eyed as it delivered its final thoughts, to the way it pulls from other horror gaming staples in a way that feels more like homage than mindless cribbing, and the unique graphic design choices in its cutscenes and manual (yes, it comes with a slickly designed game manual), all really made me feel the human touch behind the game itself, something I think often gets lost in even small-scale indie projects like this one.

Now, I haven't had much to say about the gameplay because, honestly, there isn't much to say. It's mostly walking and encountering strange or disturbing things, only some of which can actually hurt you, with occasional combat. There is a pretty steady rhythm of maze sequence, surreal set piece, maze sequence, etc etc with a little bit of "find the item" thrown in here and there, but let's be real, this is the bread and butter of these sorts of games, and Edge of Death executes the formula well.

There are a couple sequences that caused me a fair amount of frustration. The "Memory" level has you shooting at very bullet-spongey enemies who have no response to getting hit and simply vanish when they die, making it ambiguous whether you are hitting them at all with your very limited ammo supply (secret chicken power-up notwithstanding), and the monster in the "Gamma Experiment" sequence has very inconsistent sound cues that allow it to ambush you around corners in a way that is less tense than it is obnoxious. However, these sections are relatively short, and the immense amount of good will I had from the rest of the experience made me more than willing to grit my teeth through them just so I could see what was going to happen next.

If you're the sort of person who comes to games like this to experience the creator's take on the genre formula, rather than the relative "quality" of the gameplay experience, then I think you'll really love this one. If you've ever sat and unironically enjoyed a Neil Breen film, I think you're the right sort of person for a game like this. I know I am, and I cannot wait to see what this developer comes out with next!

The bad reviews I saw for this almost turned me away, but having now completed a few runs, I am extremely glad I thought better of it. As an avid fan of both 4x/city builders and roguelike/lite games, AFATE manages to strike a very pleasing balance that doesn't compromise on any of the qualities of either genre that make them two of my favorites.

If I had to draw a direct comparison, it's very reminiscent of how fresh the changes made to city planning in Civilization 6 felt when it first released, with the importance of careful planning and consideration for both nearby valuable resources and foresight for expansion dictating where to park your caravan at each stage of your journey. However, since this is something you do at each location you arrive at, rather than being something only done at the very start of the game, you get to spend more time really optimizing your placements and getting a good idea of how best to utilize each map. Perhaps a bit hyper-specific, but it's a gameplay loop I am incredibly fond of and am very glad to see it here.

As for the roguelite aspects, it's very much in the realm of your FTL-likes, where you find yourself journeying from node to node across a world map, making your way to higher ground as an oncoming flood threatens to drown all the little critters you are responsible for guiding. Each stop tasks you with reaching certain milestones, either in the form of a resource quota, or by training up your tribe into various specialized jobs, and you have a limited number of turns to perform this task before the waters come to claim you. The timer tends to be pretty forgiving, but what makes it interesting is the various hazards and unfortunate events that can befall you, complicating the act of simply sending your "pupils" out to gather resources.

Looking at the negative reviews, the complaints I am repeatedly seeing all boil down to the old adage of RTFM. The chief complaint is that the game has brutal RNG, but this is only true if you engage with none of the systems it provides to give you the opportunity to survive any of the catastrophic random events that are thrown at you. Train one of your pupils to be a druid and they can forewarn you about what the effects of exploring a ruin will be, and at higher levels even allow you to turn ones with negative outcomes into positive ones. Investing in upgrading your caravan with a Council allows you to conduct rituals to mitigate, or even sometimes outright eliminate, impending bad events.

These are not deeply hidden or cryptic mechanics, and playing through the tutorial campaign will quickly and clearly acquaint you with them, as well as the charming lore of the cozy little world this game takes place in. Suffice to say, play the tutorial, learn the mechanics, and save yourself the frustration of trying to play a hybrid of two already complex genres without actually knowing how (not to mention the embarrassment of leaving a scathing review that indicates as much.)

All-in-all, this is definitely one of the more forgiving entries in either of its composite genres, but it still offers a nice challenge and level of depth to be entertaining for a few runs at a time. As you complete runs you unlock more advanced tribes which offer an array of modifiers which will likely push the game's brutality factor up considerably, but for now I've just been enjoying getting acquainted with all the ways a standard run can go and piecing together the lore and mythology that all this is grounded in.

If you like the idea of a slower more methodical FTL crossed with a cozier, more small scale 4x experience, it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

A potentially fun game ruined by abysmal balancing, still relatively little content, and a downright sociopathic playerbase. Honestly, was more fun when the balancing and lack of content were even worse, but people who enjoyed the social aspect of the game still stuck around. Ever since they got rid of the dedicated PvP mode though, every game instance has become nigh unplayable as you either engage in PvP or have whatever you want to do constantly interrupted and ultimately ruined by people only interested in grinding their PvP ranks. Would have recommended a couple years ago, but now, absolutely not. They even have the gall to shoehorn in a battlepass for a game that still ultimately feels not just unfinished, but lacking any actual plan to become a finished product.

It is somewhat unfortunate how frequently media which wears its pop cultural pedigrees on its sleeve tends to offer little else beyond simply gesturing at implicitly shared touchpoints without doing much to add anything new for people who find them otherwise meaningful to enjoy.

What is fortunate however is how Alien Scumbags manages to do an excellent job of sidestepping these common pitfalls, playing fast and loose with its often sophomoric but endlessly charming sense of self-referential humor that speaks more to a sincere love of the films and game it riffs on than the more cynical approach that seems to drag down a lot of the other meta-referential games I've encountered.

More importantly, beneath the playful wrapping of pop references is a solid little game that is a ton of fun to play! With a Doom's worth of different weapons to choose from, an entire cast of unlockable characters, each with special abilities that alter the game's tight controls in different ways (i.e. fashion-challenged hero The Flash(er) can run super fast while Isaac Clarke lookalike Dead Spaceman gets to move around in low gravity, allowing for some amazing gun acrobatics,) and levels packed with different interactable and destructible physics objects which can be used to as deadly effect as any gun, Alien Scumbags manages to pack a lot of incentive to retry it's relatively short campaign (~2-3hrs on a first playthrough) by providing so many different ways to approach each stage.

Whether slow and meticulous, clearing each room completely, looking for secrets in every corner (of which there are many!) or barreling through at breakneck speed with the heart of a speedrunner, the game can be approached a number of different ways with each feeling both distinct and well-supported by the game's core mechanics.

The only major drawback is the limits placed on directional aiming, only making it possible to shoot left, right, and directly upward. This somewhat limits just how wild your gunplay can get, but the controls more than make up for this with excellent feeling jump physics that make maneuvering yourself into ideal positions a breeze. Beyond that, I would have loved a bit more variety in the various environmental objects you can utilize, and really just *more* in general, but this isn't really a huge mark against the game as it simply means it only left me wanting more of what it had to offer!

Also, as someone who's dabbled in competitive speedrunning, this game feels like an excellent way to practice the various particulars of how to approach a game and streamline one's approach to it. For those who haven't much speedrunning experience, but want to give something accessible a try, I would definitely recommend this.

If you've a soft spot for 80s/90s sci-fi, boomer shooters, and/or particularly bawdy humor, you may even find yourself chuckling at the dev's sense of humor which is always a big plus from me. The soundtrack is incredible, ramping up in tempo as your health decreases, leading to a variety of soundscapes that always keep the tone a bit tense which is important because, for all its jokes and sideways glances, it manages to sneak in a couple genuinely creepy moments tucked into a story that calls back to late nights spent up reading creepypasta,

All in all, a very fun and solid little experience!

If you're like me, you've watched GDNomad grow as a dev, switching engines, trying more complex forms of storytelling, even going so far as to deepen the lore that remains consistent through all of their games, and you've loved every minute of it.

I first played My Bones ages ago, and it struck me as something, while not sophisticated or very evocative, it still shown through as something made by someone with a passion for horror and a desire to express it through making games, and while I've seen the countless accusations that they just keep releasing "the same game" over and over as a cash grab, I've played all of their games, and they show a steady course of improvement, finally leading to the development of Unity-based games which are prettier, more stable, and allow for a somewhat more mature and tone-appropriate approach to design and storytelling, and that's why I'm so happy we now have this remaster.

It demonstrates exactly what GDNomad was trying to do with the original, but instead of just waiting around until they could create something perfect, they used it as a stepping stone to getting better and better and now it's gone full circle, a short but solid little horror story, maybe not scary, but honestly, horror doesn't need to be scary, it just needs to be good horror.

Despite its occasional awkwardness and still somewhat rough translation, it shines as an example of how a dev can grow through sheer perseverance and dedication to developing their craft. Frankly, if these had been released for free on Game Jolt, people would be all over them, but because GDNomad charges money, people have inflated expectations, but I paid the price of admission (when stuff was on sale, mind you) and it's been worth every cent, even the stuff that crashes half the time has been made worth it seeing the direction the dev has been going in, and if you're a fan of a more grindhousey, Ed Wood style of horror, this remaster is an excellent place to start your GDNomad collection!

Hmmm, what to say about Fingerbones? Well, it's very short, and for horror games, short means you have to be creative with how you manage to scare the player.

Is it creative in that endeavor? I'd say yes, fairly so. Starting in a stark room with harsh light pouring through the window sets a very grim tone that definitely fits the eventual outcome of the story, and the way that the game progresses from there to progressively deeper and darker locations gives the game a good symbolic flow, but does it actually manage to scare the player?

Unfortunately, I'd say no. The game compensates for its short playtime by relying on the shock value of its horror, with the power of its reveals relying on the player being disturbed by the implications of the story. However, I feel that novelty is an important aspect of good horror, and while the final revelation this game provides is indeed terrifying, without having the time to build the necessary tension, it just comes off as cloying and cliche.

Also, the clarity of the clues given to help the player solve the few puzzles in the game, all of which involve entering various passwords into the same computer terminal, are a bit vague and when I finally figured them out, I felt more frustrated than clever for having done so. They also require the player to repeatedly backtrack to the starting room which sort of breaks up the tension that comes with descending into deeper and deeper darkness, which is otherwise the most powerful builder of fear the game has.

Still, it's not bad, not great, but it hits all the right marks for atmosphere, aesthetic, and tone. I feel like the creator absolutely has the potential for greater things, and for a free game that kills about a half hour, it's not bad, so ultimately I'd say give it a look.