Recent reviews by toutvabien

literally the peak of indie gaming imho. a small indie studio from canada, single-handedly made one of the games of the century, defined a genre, all while the whole AAA industry casually sucked and scammed your average Joes... Starfield? no way, i'm buying that crap. Rimworld is offering a better experience in all bloody levels. you want to colonise? you want to fight space punks in an unknown future? you could find a plentiful mecha hives, raiders, pirates and even outlandish tribes etc. and no ones there to stop you from harvesting organs for profit, human trafficking and slavery in this dying, forgotten planet. it's kind of historical to what happened in our world for some millenniums just before everyone's very eyes. and in fact, maybe still is happening while everyone denies and dismiss all the probabilities.

this is going to be a small rant. whatever. the modern world is trying ignore the cruelty of the past, the violence of the humankind to itself and nature, acts of intolerence etc. and cope with it in all possible ways. the modern era has truly some improvements albeit the reminders of the ancient inhumanity are still laying around, underground, maybe next to an ancient city layer, maybe 6 feet under it. just like you know, through time, organic components become fossils. a source for essentially 'modern world'. from petrochemicals to plastic and oil. ironically, we use them to power our vehicles, to make some tyres, to make basic and essential tools to survive and thrive, all while giving out a ton of sizeable goods and money to the holders of these resources etc. and all of the cruelty is suddenly forgotten. the transaction is completed. the cycle repeats itself in a much similar way. not that i'm supporting such things. i'm choosing to not subsidise or turn blind against these violences and inequalities between all groups. to say the least, we already live in a nearly an identical simulation of Rimworld irl. it is because that Rimworld is a 'world' with constant aggresion, survival of the fittest. and i don't think all of us are fit to such a cruel world in any way. unless we don't ignore the very facts just like everyone does. order brings chaos. and vice versa. i think the world we live on is just as doomed as Rimworld.

nothing is set as a goal in Rimworld, unless if you want to leave this corrupt place altogether, you could go for the stars and never come back again. and that's depressive yet realistic af.

also a technical side note: remember to make your player.log file on /locallow to read-only. or your logs can take up as much space as a couple of Starfield copies in terms of gigabyte or even terabytes. other than that it has an amazing modding community. truly a masterpiece to the core.

a comic-like visual novel game about the yearning of a loved one, embracing the evergrowing shadows of the lack of parents and and making proper goodbyes that's implementing a really simple yet creative and interactive panel usage with photography based puzzles and cognition igniting simple brain teasers etc.

it resembled and gave me some Hades and Spiritfarer vibes, in a way. since all of these games are also utilising story-telling via visual poetry, and not just the words; so, i've quite liked the art style.

CoA is an exceptionally qualified indie gem IMHO, a fast-paced top-down action and tower defence hybrid. Totally and truly worth checking. It is an addictive title in a way. It could be one of the few hardcore TD out there. And the game has quite a replayability since the possibilities and situations are pretty much endless. Elements, combos, weapons and towers etc. you can really stand out with your unique strategy in this game.

After trying the game with Belgium and France, I've decided play as the sick man of Europe, namely Ottoman Empire. It was my first proper playthrough after nearly 10 hours of tutorial as Belgium and OP France. I quickly conquered Arabian peninsula then went on Suez, took my former states from Egypt and made Egypt my puppet, then Greece, Algeria, Persia, Oman and Morocco. I haven't paid attention to Tanzimat thing in early game so that trait gave me an event where some minor nations like Serbia, Wallanchia, Algeria, Tunis etc. became free from my reign. So, they were at the gates of the two demons, Russia and France. I ignored these bloody minor bugs there and completely build economy, trade, production. Before that, I've already made a trade union and defensive pact with the mighty British Empire and went on fully to colonization. Congo, was my first colony, then Gabon and gold filled Middle African regions came by all the while we were controlling the seven seas with British. Literally there wasn't a single trade route on sea that wasn't in our control. Just wild. It boomed my economy to the moon. The only thing i regret is that it was too early for me to conquer North Africa, before that tanzimat trait failed. I've lost these North African regions despite i've fight bloody hard against both Russia and France (more than 1500 troops) -just imagine the mess- with our trade unionist British. And that time my army wasn't necessarily modernized to say the least. The good thing is that China doesn't involved in this ♥♥♥♥. If China was there and fighting against us, we would just better be in 6 feet underground than fighting against 3 of top nations. There will be a time when the French colonies will be nothing but a history and Ukranie will be free again from the arrogant Bear. Loyal Japan and Korea will be our friend against all the odds, the possible Chinese occupation as do English and Austria. I've learned a lot from this single playthrough alone. And filled my cup of tea to take a revenge soon. Vic 3 is a recommendable game even at this point. Since I've played way too many Paradox games such as CK1-2-3, Vic2, EU3-4, Stellaris you name it. I geniunely love the portraits and the musics. Really wants you to industrialize things. Economy play, is way too powerful IMHO let alone the diplomatic plays. Embargo'ng nations to the core until they gave up is quite tense. All in all it's a solid game or rather a simulator to experience, or strategize with.

UBOAT is one of the closest and best depiction of WW2 USW (unrestricted-submarine warfare), ASW (anti-submarine warfare) and general SW (submarine warfare) that illustrating the naval conflict during the period that we could get anytime soon IMHO. Since the game is historically accurate, every single component of the sub, is basically true to its original form. U-boats were deadly for sure for both cargo, transport and military vessels at that time period. They even added the milk cow (Milchküh) namely the U-Tanker which is the resupply version of original U-boat designs. But if you are not a WW2 enjoyer, or you are not into that sort of settings, you'll eventually just get bored in such a short time like me.

All in all, it's a well made game. Despite the publisher. I'm saying this because I've played an unwanted amount of PlayWay games that are all 'simulators' of something and it becomes quite repititive after a while. All the games look like cheapass clones of each other game etc. IDK. All seems like cash grab titles, I guess that sums it up...

Anyway, I've played UBOAT on hardest possible difficulty and campaing, so it was challenging and time consuming. Yet, i have enjoyed my time, listening old school radio, diving periscope depth to use hydrophone time to time to catch cavitation and calculating the target bearing, speed and distance to torp them. Actually I like the first person POV that reminds me some old but gold milsims like Dangerous Waters etc.

Surely worth a play. Again, despite the PlayWay; so good job Deep Water Studio.

What an amazing game, from OST to the basic intutive gameplay elements and to the core. To simply put, The Red Strings Club is a jaw breaking game. The story reminds so many little unnoticed detailes about the very existence of our integrity, primal feelings, fears and many more.

Nothing in this game is predictable, there is no turning back, there is no such a thing called past in this game. There is no saving points or safe locations. You only progress towards the very end and future that awaits us in which you may find yourself, in hatred, discomforted or unpleasant or maybe completely otherwise, like in an europhic last trip, finding some meaning behind all of these story events when the curtain is finally removed.

It is so rhetoric, obviously, yet so simple, in plain pixels... That's just a wild game. Definitely worth a try. I've worked as a bartender in the past, reading people is not an easy task to accomplish and that can only be done with the mindset that the bartender in this game has, by letting them do their thing in their little corner, just like in life, no force, no pressure, no, nothing. Things will eventually come up by... and when that happens, you'll certainly recognize the true, unstoppable power of communication that's happening in the first place by the help of the words that are quite old -as old as humanity- and antique... Anyway, I'm out.

CMANO is absolutely the best and the most updated mil-sim to date that you can find out there that is open to commercial use and distribution.

It's so detailed that you can easily just lost time through reading raw infos placed in multiple databases right after WWII era to hypothetical near future, to get some idea about the vessel/a-c or any unit, weapon etc. that you are planning to use. That's also includes the cancelled projects as well.

The learning curve is huge. There are multiple steep slopes that you will find hard to accomplish to reach. But after some time, you'll eventually pass that point and get all the things for you to create your own scenarios, detailly.

CMANO is a real time strategy game that is focusing onto real/hypothetical world conflicts. It's more of a tool than a game. You can simulate whatever you like. Just like trying to hunt down a Soviet or Post-soviet SSBN(code for the Nuclear-powered Ballistic Submarines) with a GUPPY-III that's built around 50s.

Or you can make a one-vs-all entire Chinese naval fleet. Choice is totally yours. You can create your own approaches by changing engagement doctrines. It's just wild. Totally worth it. Many people rightfully complains about Tacview but I like to see the action so, that's a plus IMO.

Trombone Champ is the one and only GOTY imho. It is certainly a pretty moddable, customisable and memeable one to say the least. Way easier to get a grasp of it than the other rhythm based games like OSU etc.

This is one the games that you cannot get tired or bored of. And no, it is not a 70 bucks triple A or some high end ♥♥♥♥, yet it is definitely high end to the core when you're trying to account the things that make an indie rhythm game a far superior one from all of these craps and make it so shine, like no other ever managed to do. That can be considered as a satirical and even an existential success.

It's so comforting to see an Indie title to outlive and outplay the entire AAA gaming industry single handedly. Kudos to Devs and community.

Edit: I've nominated this game for 'The Best Game You Suck'.

WTC: RP is a 'not so canon' sequal in a way, to its predecessors. If you haven't played or give some time to the early games, you probably need some time to catch the drift here, unfortunately. Though, it doesn't necessarily mean you can't play or experience this title, singlehandedly without having try to other ones.

In fact, you can play this game as long as you don't mind the storyline overlaps or certain flashbacks where you can find yourself in a place that you cannot understand the arch. On the other hand, WTC: RP offers quite humorous experience. It gives out because the plot writers are from UK, I reckon, hence the name WTC (Welcome to Chichester)

Anyway, if you are in dire need of some relaxing, comical, cute, life of slice kind of a visual novel to dive in, you are right on it.

I was so reluctant to whether to play or not but in the end I've chose to experience this title a bit and let me tell you, it is an addictive yet also one of the most immersive sub-management-survival game where you can play as a medic, engineer, mechanic security officer or captain.

While these player classes may have seem a little irrevelant when you are playing singleplayer, it is definitely the major part of multiplayer servers. I'm kind of a submarine game/simming enthusiast myself. I've literally played the early 2000s sub-naval warfare sims to latest ones. It may seems like that the Barotrauma is not that realistic at first look but it is when you consider the components and usage of these equipment in a simple or complex submarine. IMO the basics are quite realistic and interestingly comparable when you take into an account with a real thermonuclear powered submarine such as HMS Vanguard SSBN.

As I've mentioned before, I've waited over 3 years to finally play this game. I wasn't quite sure about that it would interest me at all. Nonetheless, it was a delightful experience to the core. And I totally recommend this one to the people who have take interest in subs recently.

The game shines in terms of game mechanic and replayability which are some key points to become successfull in such a genre of game. But what's more interesting about Barotrauma is that the game constantly reminding you the harsh reality that you are trying to survive or overcome with pretty gore, dark themed sound effects and tracks. That's why people still play, actually. It makes you forgot the very existence in this planet earth and transfers you to a virtual, tramuatic submerged environment. It is the combination of a pure chaotic beauty of a CO-OP survival and unexpectedness of AI.

In short, a game to unironically lose some grasp or to unwind for which coincidentally having literal heart-attacks and jumpscares, all around.

What are you waiting for pal? Go on board into.