Recent reviews by tacityl

This game is a nice mix of tower defense and exploration. The devs did a great job balancing the time pressure between each wave with the need to upgrade. The difficulty ramp is not too steep, so you can continue to play harder game modes without fear of getting overwhelmed.

I see myself wasting a lot of time with this one. Now, if you'll excuse me, the alarm is going off and I have to return to the Dome ....

I've been waiting for this one for a while, and it doesn't disappoint.

This isn't a merely fishing simulator with horror trappings. This is really more of an adventure game which focuses on fishing mechanics to advance your character wrapped in a xenophobic, Lovecraftian archepelago. There are characters to interact with and quests to do in small open world of islands.

The fishing mechanics, though, are deep and fleshed out surprisingly well. You get several ways to catch fish: rods, pots, nets, etc. Optimizing passive income (pots) vs active income (rods, nets) is a thing, especially since when night comes you REALLY don't want to be out on the water. Inventory tetris is a huge mechanic, as you have limited space and the various fish and other items you dredge up from the deep all have tetromino shapes to contend with.

The gameplay loop of fish, dredge for items, do quests, run for safe harbor at night is nicely done. This is the kind of game where you won't notice time going by. A hearty two tentacle-thumbs up from me!

A fun little "craft the world"-style game with a seemingly endless gameplay loop. It really scratches the combined itches of open world exploration, crafting, and farming.

The user interface needs some better UX design, as it's very counter-intuitive in the beginning. I can only assume this will change as the game goes through Early Access.

The gameplay can also get a bit grindy in parts. Unlocking some of the later skills doesn't feel as worth it compared to the earlier skills. Also, some of the late-game content feels subpar compared to earlier items and biomes.

All in all, though, this is a very fun game in spite of its flaws. Playing in normal mode is a nice, relatively casual crafting/exploration experience. I haven't yet done any of the big bosses, but the minor bosses are challenging without being frustrating. If you like games like Terraria, Stardew Valley, or even Steamworld Dig, give this one a try.

Only a few hours in, but this one's already a gem. The obvious comparison is to Space Pirates and Zombies. This game expands on that type of game play with richer RPG elements and more ship variety.

Ship combat is well-balanced. There's lots of customization and skills that make your choices in combat feel like they mean something.

The trading system is nicely flushed out. If you're paying attention, you can exploit market arbitrage and get pretty far as a pure trader/miner.

This game feels complete, even though it's in EA. If you like the concept of a top-down space RPG, this one's worth checking out.

This game doesn't deserve any of the accolades heaped on it. It's a terribly designed mess of a game.

Grind is fine. Grind can actually be a bit of mindless fun. That isn't the issue.

The issue is the quest design and the difficulty spikes on new areas. I can't imagine why people think that's "difficult". It's just a PITA for the sake of being a PITA. It's also lazy game design.

If you want a good 16-bit era game, grab your SNES out of your closet or fire up an emulator. This game does absolutely nothing to improve the genre(s) it gets placed in.

This is a solid metroidvania with some interesting boss fights and exploration mechanics. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it is a well-made game and quite enjoyable. I didn't mind replaying a second time to pick up some missed items.

My one complaint is that there's a few achievements that seem to be bugged. This might not bother you if you're not a completionist. But for me it was off-putting.

8/10 would definitely recommend!

I waited WAY too long to play this masterpiece. The superlatives heaped on it by critics are deserved. It is most definitely a work of art with a game attached.

The game mechanics aren't anything you haven't seen before in hundreds of other platformers. There's the usual abilities you earn that open up new areas. There are plenty of secrets to find that require creative use of those abilities you acquired. It's not a particularly difficult game, but it is fun.

The real reason to play this game is the storytelling. It tells an abstract story only through striking visuals and gorgeous music. I had never heard of Berlinist before, but from experiencing this soundtrack alone I am now a fan.

This game is short and packs an emotional wallup. Tonally, it has a lot in common with Rime. If you are a believer in games as art, this game is most definitely worth your gaming dollar. I wouldn't even wait for a sale.

EDIT:
Given all the great updates, I have to change my review to a positive. The bugs I encountered on my first and second play through have been fixed as far as I can tell.

The updates that have added new missions are a great addition. The rails update provides even more fun, giving the game a more Satisfactory feel.

There are more items to craft that reduce the survival element, though. In the early game, oxygen and power have to be managed. But after completing a few missions, the game loop becomes more of an open world crafting game, without much survival.

All in all, I've enjoyed my time with the game. The post endgame is enough to keep me engaged. Check this game out if you enjoy endless crafting without a whole lot of risk.

This is a great Portal-like, with quite a few easter eggs and nods to that seminal game. The gameplay is tight and focused on just a few mechanics implemented well. The overall plot isn't anything groundbreaking, but the voice actor for the Glados-like antagonist did a great job.

The achievements are quite a lot of fun to figure out. Most of them require a bit of exploration around the levels to get.

There's plenty of scratch-your-head-for-a-bit puzzling to be had here. A very well done first-person puzzler.

Islanders is precisely the kind of game described by the developers: a relaxing, chill, minimalist city builder. That might seem to imply that the game isn't challenging, but that would be inaccurate. Other city builders that are more complex often turn into spreadsheet simulators (though I enjoy those!). By contrast, Islanders jettisons most features typically associated with the genre and yet strikes a nice balance of challenge, fun, and minimalism. There's not much of a learning curve. But there is a surprising amount of depth.

As with the game play, minimalism is the theme with the graphics and audio. The art style feels like a modernization of Molyneux's older games, like Populous. The music fits with the relaxation concept throughout. And the user interface is about as simple as it gets.

There's really nothing negative here. I do have two nitpicks: (1) It's not entirely obvious how many points you need to advance to the next island. And (2) there's nothing that tells you what palette of buildings will be available when you hit the next point goal. Neither of those things detract from my overall enjoyment, though. In fact, I've played enough that I barely notice (1) anymore.

Islanders is well worth full price. It accomplishes for city builders what Plants vs Zombies did for tower defense games. The procedural generation and sandbox mode gives a lot of replay value. I'll be visiting this tranquil archipelago for a long time to come.