Recent reviews by Egg

You know, there's at least one thing dumb people have going for them - they never give up, for better or worse.

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If you know me for any stretch of time, you'll know I enjoy card games. So imagine my surprise when White Blade, by the creators of Black Dream, was given a Steam store page. I figured I'd get to it eventually, but it's been sitting in my library for a while now given life and other projects. Last night I gave it a whirl and it was a very fun little game! Short? Sure. Repetitive? Can be, a bit. But it doesn't overstay its welcome and overall offered a little brainteaser for a card gamer who's fallen a bit out of favor lately.
White Blade's core gameplay system is very simple. You're afforded a basic attack that you can use at any time, but you also have cards in your hand that you can use to great effect by paying their costs. Some cards have potent special effects like Freezing your opponent, locking their cards, or just dealing a ludicrous amount of damage, but these can be prevented by playing a Defend card of any level, but THAT can be prevented by playing a Pierce card of the same level.
Oh yeah, levels. You can tier up and tier down cards to increase/reduce their potency respectively, changing their costs accordingly. Level changes are permanent for the duel, so what might be a powerful Level 4 skill early may be stuck in your hand later as you can't pay the cost, either discarding it or spending time deleveling it.
However, what makes White Blade's system shine is that your enemy follows the same rules. They too have a grip of cards and mana to spend casting them. However, you can SEE what cards they hold. You can use this information to plan accordingly, taking the advantage when your opponent can't defend, while making sure you have an out in case your foe DOES have a killer move ready.
This adds a nice layer of depth to the combat, as you try to understand your opponent's deck and anticipate what comes next. On Intense difficulty (which is what I recommend playing on), you also need to consider an extra special gimmick per encounter. Figuring out the puzzle on each foe was really fun.
Don't go expecting a roguelike experience going into this - this is simply a cardplaying RPG. You add cards to your deck, but it's not a deckbuilder. With that in mind, though, there's a good amount of content here! There's six total campaigns (each spanning seven battles) to go through as you learn new decks and maneuver the game with the new possibilities it brings. You could call it a card battling boss rush game. Sure, content is reused pretty heavily, but I don't think that detracts from the experience. It actually means the game spends less time handholding and more time giving you interesting things to do with the rules you're already familiar with.
I have no idea how REAtelier do it, but all of their games are beautiful given the engine they're working with. The pixel-anime art style really appeals to me, and each way you could win has a special cut in drawn for EACH PLAYABLE CHARACTER. That's a lot of cool art to collect. Plus, the overall goofy nature of the game just isn't something we see much of nowadays, especially in RPGMaker land. There's even built in cheat options so you can make your own challenges. I love the general vibe.

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Gameplay: Very Enjoyable - Short, sweet, challenging. Play on Intense to get the full experience!
Ambience and Aesthetic: Top Notch - What can I say, I love me some RPGMaker. The art is very well done, too!
Story: Enjoyable - Everyone is a goof. I love them.
Competence: Full Marks - I have not encountered a single bug, bad translation, or badly explained mechanic. The entire - ENTIRE - game was a smooth ride from start to finish.

Overall: Highly Recommended. Not particularly expansive, just a quick game you can discover and complete within an evening or two with very high polish. Sometimes, that's all we need to have a good bout of fun, eh?
If you liked this, you might like: Dream Tactics
Setia is a good egg. Hotheaded and prone to violence, but she gives some genuinely good advice and believes earnest effort is the key to success. I believe her.

Cute appearances belie hearts as dark as coal.
Failure chasing failures to rip apart her goal.
Yet in abyssal dark the secrets written in plain view,
forgotten as dazzling lights cast the eye eschew.

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I'm not a betting man. Games like poker don't actually appeal to me in real life, but when put inside another game as a medium of mechanical expression, it becomes a whole lot more interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed Dance of Cards back when it came out, and All in Abyss seems like another card in the poker RPG adventure deck. Except this one's a 地雷系 (jirai-kei, or landmine) protagonist.

I skipped the tutorial. Both of them. Asuha doesn't know the rules of the game, so I don't either. Trial by fire is my personal favorite way to enjoy games, figuring out how by doing and failing. I got the mechanics down fast, granted I am familiar with the rules of Texas Hold'em. so your mileage may vary. Either way, All in Abyss is simple enough that I think it's accessible to most people. The little changes to the ruleset make for interesting scenarios, but from what I've seen in the demo alone, I'm not fully impressed just yet. There's good ideas here but they need to elaborate on them. Also doesn't help that the demo alone is a touch too easy, even without using items and upgraded skills, but again that could be rectified by full release.

What really butters my toast is the aesthetics. Yes, the backgrounds are AI generated, but they're used in such a way that they're not out of place at all. The ben-day dots across the aesthetic leads to a colorful artstyle that pops, but with darker undertones (both literally and figuratively). Menus look polished, animations feel good - overall the presentation here is top notch. The victory animation especially, it feels just right and is just the cherry on top to a well played game of poker.

The Visual Novel aspects to the game are also pretty good. Exploring around town to figure out the next Witch's weakness while having fun character moments is a very tried and true structure, sure, but any moment that Asuha gets to open her mouth is a good moment in my book. I just wish there was a little more to do, it's very barebones with your only way to earn money being to playing more poker. Not a bad thing, but maybe some minigames that make Asuha less (or more) of a walking failure would be good for variety.

On that note, the characters in this game are pretty funny by my trash standards. As mentioned above, Asuha is a treat, and the people around the city have some funny things to say sometimes too. The way everyone else bounces off of Asuha's basically demonic personality leads to great character moments.

I wish I could've written more, but there's not much more to say while this is still a demo. My personal wishes? More interesting boss gimmicks - ones that can't be fully shut down so that cheating is more of a requirement. Everything else in this game is beautiful - just expand more on the actual poker and it'll be excellent.

Gameplay: Enjoyable - A bit lacking for my taste but it's still a demo.
Ambience and Aesthetic: Top Notch - A wonderfully bright package that's a treat to look at.
Story: Enjoyable - If you don't think too hard about it, you'll have a good time if your sense of humor is seeing a cute anime girl act like a walking piece of human garbage.
Competence: Top Notch - I didn't find any glitches, and everything in the game is well polished. No typos that I noticed!
Linux?: Yes, the game runs on Linux via Steam Play!

Overall: Highly Anticipated - Can't wait to raise the stakes in the full adventure.
If you like this, you might like: Dance of Cards
Asuha Senahara is NOT a good egg. She is rotten to the core. She goes straight past "landmine girl" and into "thermonuclear bomb" territory. She will utterly ruin your life just for kicks. She has a reason to go for the top but that reason is buried past her absolute ego. Having said that, I want her to ruin my life.

At the center of an infinite mass, an eternity away, bares a cruel reality, where the imaginary lay. Through alchemy of wills, through conflict and kills, finality came, end given a name.

...get it? 'Cause these games are mostly one dimensional.

Anyway, idle games have been sort of a guilty pleasure of mine over the years. It's always nice to have something to wind down with and see numbers go up. I've spent an exorbitant amount of time in Cookie Clicker, for one.

Yet, the time I've spent all games combined can't even come close to matching the time I've spent with Antimatter Dimensions (game time).

I originally started playing the mobile version of the game over three years ago. It was engaging and offered some interesting choices, but ultimately I reached a part of the game that read "Coming Soon..." and had to drop it. Little did we all realize just how large that "Coming Soon..." turned out to be, with mechanics, decisions and challenges aplenty. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take this one at a time.

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The start of Antimatter Dimensions is pretty shallow, with a few "prestige" gimmicks that let you progress faster to the first of your many goals: Infinity. At least, infinite where normal JS is concerned. But eventually you break that wall, and you suddenly realize just what it is you've stepped into.

It turns out this game quickly gets more complicated and interesting the further you dive into the deep end. And with a deep end that's more than infinitely deep, there's always something new to discover and a new way to make numbers go up.

Eventually you'll be chugging along eons in a single second as your optimize your equipment to farm eight different currencies to take on Celestial beings who bend the rules of the game into their favor. You'll be testing out different builds against the many, many challenges the game can offer, and the final phase of the game is nothing BUT an optimization puzzle that's extremely theatrical and extremely satisfying. (Out-of-context spoilers for the mid-to-late game. I recommend not reading this if you plan on playing and haven't encountered "Teresa" yet.)

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Limits are meant to be broken. Softcaps are meant to be shattered. Walls are meant to be demolished.

Antimatter Dimensions is extremely good at giving a sense of progression as it's always extremely easy to look back on where you started, or where you were an hour ago and meaningfully see how much more powerful you are now.

Every prestige layer you climb almost trivializes, yet never makes obsolete, the previous layer. And every time you climb, you'll make it back just a bit faster. Repeat ad nauseum. Break ad infinitum.

Eventually, you'll be so powerful that your exponents will need exponents of their own, so numbers do in fact get HUGE. (1e1e9 is 1, followed by 1 MILLION zeroes. And that's SMALL compared to where you'll end up.)

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Of course, power alone isn't enough to bring satisfaction. You need something to use it on, something to destroy, something to BREAK. Yes, the game provides in the form of many Challenges to overcome, each in different flavors and each requiring (strong word. More like advising?) a correct solution to "solve". And what do you get for your efforts? EVEN BIGGER NUMBERS.

These challenges can actually get pretty interesting at times with conundrums to solve for. Being entirely braindead won't work, you do need an element of logic. But all is possible, even the seemingly impossible.

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You will push yourself to... well, not your limits, but to making interesting decisions along your journey as optimization turns to quality of life, which in turn brings in new optimization decisions. And when you finally broach the end, and push the game to its absolute limits, then completely shatter it in pieces. That's when you can look back and see that indeed, numbers do get big. But that's really about it.

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Gameplay: Great - At least by Idle game standards. Plenty of decisions to make.
Ambience and Aesthetic: Eh - It is a Web game. It doesn't really need sounds, or a better aesthetic, but it does get kind of bland. At least there's secret themes to spruce it up, if you want to.
Story: Great - The only Story here is the story you make as you play. The story of YOUR triumphs, of YOUR powers, and of YOUR ultimate victory.
Competence: Very Competent - The game is very good with telling you how things work and informing your decisions. Although, descriptions can be inconsistent and vague in rare cases.

Overall: Highly Recommended - Take part in the number crunching journey of dreams. If you like idlers, you'll LOVE this.
Moving On: I genuinely do think at this moment that no other idle game can top this one. I think its unfurling prestige layers and myriad challenges are peak idle game design. But I'll still probably go back to other idlers now. This is a journey that I think I'll re-experience at some point down the line, though.

Can't say no to steampunk/conductor outfits.
They're adorable.

Can't wait for TEVI!

Further than the blue sky, at the peak of the world, two girls cheered aloud, and only they heard.

I've played my fair share of roguelikes. I've slain the spires, I've risked the rains - hell, I've even crawled with demons. Despite that, there's no real shortage of roguelikes, especially on Steam. They've all kind of started to melt together into a congealed mass of common mechanics and showy twists that - while admittedly adding depth for the first few runs - quickly become tired and only attract apathy.

And then Yamafuda! came around on my Discovery Queue. It looked refreshingly simple.
Premise? Girls wanna hike. Gameplay? Play cards in whatever order you choose - ending with a Hike. Art? Cute and adorable. Well, it couldn't hurt to try.

Yamafuda!'s main strength lies in its simplicity. It's a very easy game to pick up. You don't have any restrictions in playing cards. Your turn ends when you play a card with Hike, then the sole enemy acts on its intent. Additionally, once per Station, you can swap out your hand, discarding it for a redraw. The decision making here is equally as important as in Slay the Spire (and its contemporaries), but I think the mental power needed to make those in Yamafuda! is significantly less. You don't need to plan several steps ahead. Just take it one step at a time, just like hiking. It makes it very easy to take breaks in between, or to get a quick run out between work or classes.

It also helps that Yamafuda! is incredibly adorable. Koharu and Hiyori's character designs are cute. The trail spirits are strong and bear down on our duo, but they don't feel intimidating. After all, nobody fears a hike. It's a test of willpower to get to the summit. After a few hikes, you'll probably find yourself cheering alongside Koharu as she marches up, victorious, but also feel like a monster if you mess up the climb and force a retreat. It's almost heartbreaking.

Of course, like our contemporaries, there's an "Ascension" system (dubbed Try/Challenge levels) here. They do put up a significant challenge as you rise up the ranks and as the modifiers get ever more deadly. I swear, most of the time, it feels like the RNG is actively against you. Anything that can go wrong, will most likely go wrong. You won't draw that card you need on time. You will be prevented from playing it. It can get pretty rough.

And yet, when you finally summit that final peak, it's an incomprehensibly good feeling. They did it - you did it. Yamafuda! doesn't ask much of you. You aren't going on a grand adventure, or slaying monsters, or entering gungeons. What it does offer you is a friendly hike with some good friends by your side. And if it ever offers another hike again (maybe at a 3rd station?), I'd accept it in a heartbeat. Can anyone truly complain about cute girls doing cool things?

Gameplay: Enjoyable - Not complicated or terribly deep, but still challenging.
Ambience and Aesthetic: Top Notch - Go buy the "Yamamook" if able. This game is adorable. The soundtrack, while not being Original, is still really nice to listen to.
Story: N/A - You climb mountains. Now go.
Competence: Functional - Translation in EN is a bit rough and some card effects aren't very well worded, though that can be subject to change. Plus the odd bug here or there.

Overall: Highly Recommended - You don't always need high stakes. It's nice to take a break once in a while.
Moving On: Yamafuda!, for me, has been an unforgettable experience. After five months of hiking, I think Koharu and Hiyori can finally rest easy. I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game, and I'd highly recommend it to you, too. It's available on iOS/Android as well if you feel like hiking while hiking in-game. This is one of my favorite games on Steam.

Koharu and Hiyori are both good eggs. Headpats for all.

And now, a one-minute review. Time starts, now.

As a Visual Novel, the lore takes a darker turn as Wilfried and Ria confront new challenges in Kaya and Iris, the attendant of the witch, and the witch of Cologne. Wilfried's moral compass has always been out of wack, but now...?

As a Action Game, which I think is the star of the show in the Re;Lord series, new mechanics have been added, with two new elemental damage types, new equipment and challenge systems, and a shop system rewarding speedy captures. The mechanics will be even more refined in Re;Lord 3 with the Just Attack/Revenge systems then, but what's on offer in Re;Lord 2 is still solid. The post game is also neat.

Would recommend.

while (true) {
Cookie.Click()
if (!Player.Alive) {
break
}
}

Forge. Fight. Repeat.

Let me tell you a story.
A story of vampire hunters, mistresses of fate and eyes of destruction.
...wait, you don't want to hear that?

I see. So you're feeling lost?
Hey, chin up. Let me tell you a different story.
A story by the waves of the sea, an eternal reminder that carries deep.

Sakuya Izayoi Gives You Advice And Dabs is a short little gem by Sigyaad Team, released not even a day ago since this review was written. It is a visual novel game that stars Izayoi Sakuya, the Perfect and Elegant Maid hailing from the Touhou Project.

Story
Izayoi S- Huh? Oh, that probably does sound a bit weird, doesn't it? Surname before given name is an eastern thing, after all. Let me try that again.

Sakuya Izayoi has evidently been acting coldly toward her fellow members of mankind. As such, the Yama lectured Sakuya on this matter. Now, I'd imagine Sakuya would use her time manipulation powers and contract the duration of that lecture to but a fraction of a second so that she can maintain upkeep on the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but that's neither here nor there. To remedy this, Sakuya enlists the help of her "friends", which we can assume to be the SDM crew, notably Patchouli, to create a pocket space, where she can give advice to humans that are feeling lost or down.

Gameplay
Sakuya Izayoi Gives You Advice And Dabs can be broken down into two parts: the advice and the Dangerous Action Behavior.

Sakuya will ask you whatever it is that is bothering you. Do you feel as if you don't fit in? That there's no path ahead of you? She'll give you relevant advice, albeit a bit generic, to press onward with life. Personally, as someone who prides themself as a jack of all trades, I've been procrastinating a lot lately when it comes to learning the next big skill in media: music. Although Sakuya's advice seems ineffective at face value, I'll take it for what its worth and give it a try.

The second half of the game is a very short Spell Card battle. Sakuya takes initiative by immediately activating her Spell Card. You (the player, not your ingame character) can choose to respond with either Cringe Sign: What, Fury Sign: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Flandre Not Again or Empathy Sign: Grateful Thanks. Depends on who you are as a person.

Conclusion
Sakuya Izayoi Gives You Advice And Dabs is a short but sweet experience that has a novel charm to it. If anime has shown us anything, its that cute anime girls doing things motivates us to do said things, regardless of how extraneous the task is. So, harnessing that concept into a quick pep talk pick me up with maid waifu? Sign me up.

All I'm really here for is the mod support.
Really solid game. Can't really say anything else that hasn't yet already been said.