Recent reviews by Trollsama

Mage Suicide Simulator pretending to be a rougelike dungeon crawler.
10/10

I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this game.

Its like an idle game that has enough going on that you don't ever need to leave it idle. I played a few different games to full completion and each run was different. The way they do progression I found quite enjoyable. you do not unlock new buildings, new units etc... everything is available from your first run. Instead, they have a talent tree that offers you modifications/synergies for the existing content, and talent points being unlocked through achieving ever higher collection scores.

All in all, Its not a long game, but its a quite enjoyable one, and you can do some really wild synergies for the people that love to min max.

EDITED REVIEW:

I had originally given this a skeptical thumbs up. the game was foundationally solid, it had direction and motivated devs that wanted to achieve these goals... It released in a bad state, too early (for reasons that may paint a trend) but the developers were pushing forward regardless...

But, it also was under the thumb of, originally, and then the direct ownership of, Take-Two Interactive.



This leads us to now, and the reason I have changed the review to a no.
The games development was run through a single studio in Seattle, that had employed about 70 people.

These numbers may sound familiar to you if you follow game news, As Take-Two recently laid off 70 people in its Seattle studio... known as Intercept games. and is shutting down the studio, along with Roll7



KSP 2 is as a result, Unlikely to ever be more than the overpriced tech demo that it is today.

Do not buy unless development is shown to have continued, and even then, buy with EXTREME caution.

The game feels great to play, I enjoyed every second of it.

I put allmost 120 hours into the game, I loved every second of it... enjoyed it soo much i have since put 430 more hours into it.... Via Transport Fever 2

and this is the core of why i do not reccomend buying TF(1). for 20 bucks more, You can get the exact same game experence, but with improved graphics, continued development, etc. Transport fever (1) does not offer a single thing that Transport Fever 2 does not offer, but transport fever 2 has plenty more to offer than Transport fever (1).

I ABSOLUTELY encourage you buy into the Transport fever life.
But, The right move is to direct you to the most modern experence...

10/10 would have no idea what i just experienced again

EDIT Oct, 2023: For parties on the fence... I want to preface this review by nothing that the game HAS continued active development since originally reviewing. Based on this, I am a lot more confident that development WILL continue. addressing my primary concerns. (I would swap the review but doing so clears all user interaction with it.)


I actually DO recommend this game, But with a catch....

...so why the negitive review?

To start, I have to flag this as a not recommended. even though, I actually think its an alright game. At the very least, I do not regret my purchase. The reason for this is because as of Oct 22, 2022. the game is no longer being actively developed, with no hard commitment to actually return to active development..

Originally posted by "Back to Development" news post on steam. Sat, October 22:

Hello, it was long time since last update. It was pretty hard, scary times. But I do not deserve sympathy as peoples of Ukraine, the war touched me only indirectly. My life was normalized, but i can't develop this game as my work anymore, i have moved and life here costs much more than this game could ever give me. Long story short, it is just a hobby project now, but i will try to return periodical updates and bring the game to release.

Regardless on how justified I believe the decision is (and I do fully support the dev's decision) I can not in good conscience contribute a positive vote knowing that many people will not know this when buying it,
this way, people that do not research before purchase will see it as a negative... but people like myself that read negative reviews when buying, will be able to make a more informed decision.

so what are your thoughts on the game itself then?

the game is actually entertaining. and if you can get past some of the rough edges there is a lot of fun to be had here, in its current state.
but it IS rough on the edges.... As most EA games often are. During my ~50 hours of play, I did not really encounter any bugs per-se, but rather the issues i took were in the UI and how you interact with the world.... its not, bad. but it leaves a lot to be desired.

Assuming you can overcome the roughness though, underneath it exists a lot of really interesting and fun mechanics. so if you are the kind of person that is into this kind of game, and don't mind a little roughness in the experience, This game is a good option when your looking for something new to play with on a budget.

But knowing it is still important in making that decision.

I had quite high expectations entering (at no fault of the developers, of my own doing)... and as such feel i may have sabotaged my experience a little.

The game is good, absolutely. I don't spend several hours in a bad game. I struggle to get even 1 hour into a mediocre game. so the fact i almost hit 50 hours does speak to the enjoyment i got out of this game...

But i found myself often creeping into "idol" territory playing it after a short while. You quickly reach a point of "The rest of the game is just doing what i already did.... but more" That's not inherently a bad thing, Factorio's entire existence after the first 10 hours or so is built on that concept. And I have thousands of hours in that... It just doesn't work as well here.

The majority of your time after the early gameplay will be spent trying to min-max your logistics (as games of this nature usually do)... But you don't actually have much control over that crucial system... Unlike in games like Factorio where 100% of your logistics problems are 100% a result of your own doing.... In this, You are at the mercy of RNG dictating how buildings will connect, and what "districts" your robot buildings will create for your singular robot to manage. the difference between cleanly moving goods and a mile long backup can often be a poorly mapped district... and you have no control over the districts.
This was a big sour point for me.

With that aside though, It makes up for it in sorts with the way the planet itself is constantly shifting and changing. It creates interesting problems (specifically for first time players) to have to resolve... often quickly.... When you move to a new stage of transformation and suddenly you realize a crucial mining cluster is in a flood plane you just kicked off the process of filling... and in a few minutes, it will become little more than a neat diving destination for future tourists.

Most of this review has been negative, but as noted at the start, I attribute part of that to my own poisoning of the well if you will. The game isnt bad. And i am still giving it a positive review in spite of what i have noted, Because looking past my own saltiness about the developers not reaching expectations I set for them completely unprompted... its a genuinely good game, and was a positive experence.

As my play time can tell you... I never really got into the game myself.
But with that said, one does not need to personally enjoy an artistic work to accept its validity as a work of art.

using that analogy as a transition, the art style is actually quite enjoyable in this game. and it works really well with the concepts the game is presenting. The mechanics themselves, assuming the complexity grows as you advance (as i'm sure they do, as the game feels fairly polished from my limited exposure) are also quite interesting.

I can not say too much about the game beyond that due to my noted short exposure. But while I personally did not find myself drawn into the game, I absolutely see how others would be. And feel reasonably confident in saying that if this is the style of game you enjoy, you will likely enjoy this game.

there is a traditional "essay" style breakdown at the bottom of the page, if you prefer that over the bullet point lists.


☐ Paint.exe
☐ needs a little work.
☑ it looks nice enough.
☐ its beautiful.
☐ Ｉ Ｍ Ｍ Ξ Ｒ Ｓ Ｉ Ｏ Ｎ

☐ is it though?
☐ Meh.
☐ acceptable.
☑ enjoyable.
☐ Amazing.

☐ cruel and unusual punishment
☐ it was not good.
☑ doesn't add or detract from the experience
☐ it was decent
☐ eargasmic

☑ Everyone
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☐ Adults
☐ Whales

☐ TI-89
☐ its my moms
☑* exceptionally average
☑* water-cooled RGB
☐ Sunway TaihuLight

*for most players, Its not too bad, but it can become a lot more demanding if you are an "extreme" player.

☐ Cookie Clicker
☑ cakewalk
☐ Challenging, but forgiving
☐ Dark Souls
☐ Guitar Souls

☑ absolutely none.
☐ non essential.
☐ its not unbearable.
☐ there is a little gameplay on top.
☐ Runescape

☑ I guess that qualifies... technically.
☐ it was kind of bad.
☐ its alright (☐ no story)
☐ It was enjoyable.
☐ i'm not crying, your crying.

☐ that wasn't a demo?
☐ My coffee is still warm.
☐ it took a few hours.
☐ it took a few days.
☑ wait, this game ends?

☐ its literally free.
☑ shut up and take my money.
☐ if its within budget.
☐ i guess if its on sale.
☐ You could also just burn your money.

☐ literally unplayable.
☐ "literally" unplayable
☐ frustrating, but manageable.
☑ its reasonably polished.
☐ flawless.

As a veteran of the factory building genre, I came across this game with fairly tame expectations. decided to buy after watching someone else {LINK REMOVED}(twitch.tv/oversimulated) play on Twitch. It was absolutely the right call.

The game is quick to pull you in and you find yourself entering that classic factory builder endless "Just gotta do [thing] first, then i'm done for the night" loop. It was the source of many late nights for me. The spherical planets and multi-system aspects of the game really brought something new and interesting to the genre, adding a whole new layer of logistics to deal with.

Personally the biggest thing for me that set this game apart from others is its "end goal"
Factorio you build rockets, Satisfactory you unlock tech, All of these games have binary goals. You have done the thing, or you have not done the thing. This game has that too in a way (you "technically" win by completing a research), but The central premise is around building the sphere... The "official" victory requiring that sphere. But the sphere is not a binary state objective. You can "win" with a fraction of it done if you want. but the satisfaction comes from building it.

and even in that, you set the "goal" yourself through the design and size of the sphere you make. want an easy and quick job, no problem. Want to build a sphere so big it consumes the orbits of nearby planets and takes galaxies worth of resources. can do that too. Furthermore you are rewarded not just for the task completion, But rather instantly start benefiting from the sphere. As you progress in its development, so too does its power output. And as such you feel as though you are constantly progressing and achieving things, Even though the task itself can take a staggeringly long time to fully complete.

I found the progression through this game exceptionally rewarding. And have found myself returning after every major update for another playthrough. (on that topic, The devs Respond to feedback quite well, And have put in a lot of work supporting the game since release. These folks really care about and love this game)

I 100% would suggest this game to anyone that likes the genre.
☑☐