Recent reviews by THE WIZARD

when i was very little, i went camping for the first time. it was me, my mom, my dad, and my sister, and we went to celebrate my mom's birthday in late july. i remember burning my finger on the metal ring 'round the campfire, and nursing it with the cold side of my pillow later at night. i got to try s'mores for the first time. i remember the smell of the smoky air.

there was a week period where i was told to stay at a summer camp situation against my will. the only respite i had from it was the gorgeous woodland; i often dreamed about running away into it, never to be seen or found again, becoming a wild beast. (i didn't yet know about therianthropy.) and the stars were beautiful when we all slept on the ampitheatre stage that one night.

i remember camping out in a neighboring reservoir some years later, a few years after my mom passed away. i was staying with a friend's extended family and my sister for three days out in the wilderness. i remember the lake was really cold, and i was too afraid to kayak because of my lack of balance. i remember yelling a swear word really loudly in unison with other kids, seeing who would get in trouble first. i remember reading a morbid book about yellowstone deaths in my tent and getting scared. i remember when a bunch of us went to a nearby rock and talked about whatever around it, and i liked looking out over the lake. and i remember the pillbug i saw before i had to leave.

my dad has, since, taken me - and my sister, before she moved overseas - out on some early morning fishing excursions. mostly at a reservoir, but other times deeper in the mountains. i always enjoyed the smells and sounds of the woods. i would describe it as PNW-like, which feels fair, considering this was in northern california.

i'm saying all this to give context to my personal experience with WEBFISHING, a laid-back multiplayer game about fishing in the woods. i can't help but let my camping experience color my playthrough of games like it. it is extremely cozy, in the most specific way. it's late summer, turning autumn. there's lakes and the ocean (which i've seen once or twice in my life at all) and rivers and TREES.

i think it does what animal crossing wishes it did to me. i can play as an animal - in fact, that's the only choice (cat or dog). i can play with other animals, and walk around and enjoy the scenery. and i can draw on the ground with chalk, and dress myself however i want.

the biggest draw this game has, to me, is the nostalgia factor. it's so... i don't know. it feels authentic to what i remember. heck, even the trash cans scattered around is authentic. it's a campground.

this game has elements of interactivity that really charm me. i like the chalk drawing. i like the outfits. i like the fish, and the fishing system itself - although simple - doesn't feel like a chore. the color palette the entire island has really nails the end-of-summer vibe, too.

i think one of my only points of complaint would be the music. as cute as it is, it could really use more music; i had the one track play too much, so i ended up disabling it, but if more were added at some point, i might turn it back on.. i also want to complain about how many times the word boy/guy/dude is applied in contexts that it's meant to be "gender neutral"; i know enough (trans) girls that are bothered by this that i am also bothered by it. not that they need to be removed, but any sort of inclusion opposite of this would be really nice (ie "koi girl" and similar).

anyway. that's my review of WEBFISHING. i like it, and it reminds me of when i was a puppy. it's casual and feels easy to pick up again after not playing it. it's not trying to be too complex or deep, and i think it succeeds in what it wants to be - a relaxed game to play with your friends.

as interested as i was in the old version, i was never able to get past the ui and shortcuts needed to memorize in combination to just figuring out how dwarves work.

that said...... the steam release entirely fixes that for me! the menus are easy to use and the controls are less obfuscated, making this a great version for new players. the pixel graphics are very charming and delightful. the fact that modding is available means it can be made even MORE accessible, too.

i would like if the zoom would scale the graphics without antialiasing, and would be happy to see sound-modding support in the future. but i think that's my only gripes. other than that, the game runs well, and the announcement log isn't too obtrusive at all while also giving the right amount of information.

live and drink! wait, wrong game...

i dunno, ive never been big on royale games but this one has animals, so like, duh, i tried it and loved it. i think this game would benefit the most from 1) a better feedback/report system, and 2) new maps to cycle through.

i think the report system especially should take priority. as of writing this (7/14/22), the only way to report people is either at the end of a match (with a dropdown and text box), or on the discord (which i refuse to join because i hate joining servers).

other than that, i think the gameplay is addictive and i like running around and attacking people.

its vr

so i love monster collecting games like this.... though, generally, they tend to bore me if they follow the same story beats and style of Pokemon, the biggest of the moncollecting genre.

that said.... i don't get that with coromon at all! it feels different enough that i don't feel like i'm playing Just Another Pokemon Game, or even the feeling of playing a knockoff.

i like the system for alternate colors much better than shinies. the battle system works nicely. the ui is pleasant to use and look at. and i really enjoy the monster designs - usually they are hit or miss for me!

i think, most notably for me (not that it is a big deal in the actual game), there's no gendering of the protag or their characters (as far as i've played). the closest ive seen is the protag calling themself the 'pun king' [like pumpkin] and i think that itself is kind of whatever.

i've tried to stream this to my friends on discord, but as the ingame warning suggests, streaming directly causes game crashes (as of 4/2/22) and you need to stream your screen instead (which is sad because the music is really great and my friends are missing out on it!).

and on the topic of the music, i think it's very good. i wanted to refrain from comparing to existing moncatching games, but i think i'd best describe it as similar to the black and white OST. it's easy listening!

overall the pixel style is really wonderful to look at - the animations are clean and the color choices really pop.

keep it up :-)

its blender

gender simulator

i like cook :)

excellent music; i often get the pupcam song stuck in my head. charming and full of life. always been a fan of tim buzza's music, great to see him return for AE! the bonus video is great too - fun to see the behind the scenes.

excellent quality, brings a lot of diversity to the game. would love to see more in the future!