Recent reviews by Deekow Stu

I won't say that it dethrones Vampire Survivors as I think there are some things that still does better, but...

This game absolutely adds to the genre well. The quests are different, and feel more directed. The manner that they're revealed is certainly clever (even if it's just flavor, since you complete them automatically, even if unrevealed), they definitely give you a focus for progression. The Diablo feel is something I scoffed at reading reviews, but I have been humbled - it's real, and it's brilliant. Career/roguelike progression is deeper than VS. While the secondary abilities are somewhat welcome, I do miss the overall weapon/ability selection of VS - this game does tighten that up though, and so far, I haven't found a broken build yet, so I have to play a bit better/smarter. Maybe that's a good thing... if I want to go full on blast mode, I can always fire up VS again.

That the price point for this genre is as low as it is is amazing, so much value here. Welcome to the family, Hallos of Torment.

It's not POE or D4 or LE, but it's Warhammer 40k. It's guns and swords and chaos and Eldar and loot, loot, loot. It's subtle in its approach to endgame and mechanics along the journey, but it's fun. And unlocking all the seasons was the best call for a game that seems like it might be on its last legs.

Stuck for hours on character customization... incredible stuff.

The game itself is fun. It's deep & strategic and pretty great at immersing you in the world of Erannorth. More of the same from Erannorth Reborn, with some fine tuning and focus on streamlining the play.

The true gem of it all is the developer. While there are paid DLC (worth it!), he pours love into the base game on a very regular basis for free. And this isn't just a hotfix here and there; it's full on content updates of hundreds of cards, revisions of the rules, and additional things to do with the game. It's pretty fantastic to get regular updates that always encourage me to log back in and check out what Raven's been up to this time...

If Sherlock Holmes played Slay the Spire

Wow. I came to this expecting another Slay the Spire clone. While it certainly has its roots there, this is a solid evolution of the emerging genre. You have the roguelite elements, the card selection, the character powers... but you also have deep (and difficult to obtain) permanent progression elements. If I had a con, it would be that they're too expensive for what you get... but at the same time, it's also a pro, because it's definitely not handed to you. Those progression elements (passives, especially) really make me feel like I'm developing something unique every run, rather than just putting together the optimal card set and hoping for the best.

However, there are two elements of Tainted Grail that truly stand out as being all it's own:

Music. Wowza. The music is dark, grim, a bit futuristic, and really meet the theme of the chaotic elements of the Wyrd so well. It's not like anything else I can think of, and it's perfect here.

Top billing goes to story, though. As an older guy, I'm a little fatigued of story after a lifetime of playing RPGs. Somehow, the story here though is just brief enough in chunks, and... weird enough... to keep my full attention. All the NPCs have their stories and quests, and there's an interweaving that I'm still catching on to ~30 hours in. And I'm captivated. Every time I run into an NPC in the game area or the town when they have something new to say, I'm hungry for it. I still have quite a ways to go there, but I'm truly enjoying the story in a way I haven't in a video game in a very long time. It's brilliant.

The summoner is just outright fun, and all the additional content just fleshes this game out all the more. If you like Erannorth Reborn, this is a must buy.

I love board games, and I love board game apps even more. The biggest problems with board games are setup, tear down, and getting people together in one place. Normally, most board game apps solve all three problems. However, this game just doesn't have enough meat to it to make it worthwhile. I still play the actual boardgame from time to time, but getting someone else online just never happens, and the setup/tear down issues aren't really a problem here. And it's just not strategic enough to really hold my attention.

It's definitely fun enough. Old school deckbuilder with a lot of flare, especially in later expansions. Earlier deckbuilders could be drab affairs, but this one kicked it up a notch with some chaos.

I love this game and I hate it.

First off, it's simply beautiful. Even among top AAA MMO titles, Final Fantasy games are above and beyond anything else in the market. Even as old as this game is, nothing else holds a candle to it that's come out even in the last year.

Second, the job system is fantastic. While you always have to level a new job, it's no less tedious than starting a whole new character on any other MMO. Being able to switch on the fly means flexibility.

However, the game mechanics feel dumbed down. In the face of overcomplication of classes in other games, that can be a bit of a blessing. But, I find myself getting bored easily. While other games joke about certain classes and their simple rotations, FFXIV lives the meme. That's where I get bored, that's where the game feels exactly the same after the first 20 levels. With the disclaimer that I haven't done -much- raiding in FFXIV, what I have experienced hasn't really gotten my attention.

So, about once a year, I play this for a month, get bored, and move on. That said, I still highly recommend it. I know the boredom is my own deal, and this game does have a lot of great content to experience and explore.