Recent reviews by hill0g

My favourite Deckbuilder game since Slay The Spire. Highly recommended.

It's a pretty good Doom-like FPS shooter. Game play feels good. Does a good job of staying true to Warhammer 40K universe.

I've enjoyed playing this game. Roguelike arcade shooter, where each game you progress differently and change your loadout.

It's quite fun. Isometric shooter. I play it with mouse and keyboard. You get upgrades and can choose which ones to use and which to leave.

Comments for the Devs:

After I purchased ELEX I was given this game teaser for free, and it looked like it was a native Linux game, so I continued installing and at the end of install, it stated that it used SteamPlay (Proton) to run - i.e. It was a Windows title. I ran it on Linux, and for my hardware it didn't run especially well (Ryzen 5 1600 + GTX1080ti). There are plenty of Windows titles that I play directly on Linux using Proton which play fine. Not so much this one.

I continued regardless, and noted that the Teaser doesn't have certain 'essential' options in the menus.

1. Poor framerate for my reasonably good hardware.

2. I couldn't use a mouse-pointer to select menu items, although I managed with keyboard, just about. (No mouse cursor seen, while playing / viewing menus.)

3. In the options, there is no setting to swap the Y-axis on the mouse camera view. This is something I consider essential in 3D action-RPG games like this.

4. Eventually the game locked up, and I quit out of it.

It's not good enough for me to continue evaluating it, based on the four issues listed above.

Leaving Lyndow is a short walking simulator adventure for casual play. It can be completed in one session, but you might not manage to finish all the achievements on a single play. The graphical environment is beautiful and it is pleasant to wander around the relatively small areas. It isn't difficult or challenging but that's okay: People don't need to play hard games all the time, and this is a nice change of pace. The story could be better but it is okay.

I played it on Linux - There is a native version of the game available even though it isn't shown as supporting Linux in the Steam Description. Thanks to the developers for putting out a Linux version: It helps me to decide which titles to buy. I guess the fact that the Linux/SteamOS icon is missing means that Linux play isn't supported?

Writing a review of The Bug Butcher one month after buying it, and having played it for 13 hours. I bought it during a sale and my expectations were that it would be a good arcade shooter. I installed it immediately, and it used up just less than 1 GB storage. I'm playing the game on Linux operating system and it is working fine. (Often when games are built cross-platform, e.g. Windows, Mac, Linux, then they are typically better quality with less bugs than single platform titles - and we all reap the benefits.) The game has played perfectly with no crashes or problems.

My expectations were exceeded. This is a fantastic game. Really fun to play. Fast frenetic action. Really like the art-style, the music accompanying the levels, the great variety of Alien Bugs that you fight. This is glorious fun. There's a decent amount of replayability, even when replaying the same level. On each play through, you get different power-ups, you might shoot down one Alien Bug instead of another, and owing to the different order of opponents the level can play out very differently.

There are numerous in-game and Steam Achievements to chase after (I've managed 52% so far, and it'll probably be beyond me to get them all). I like the fact that you can play without too many keys. I'd rather concentrate on the action when gaming rather than struggling with the gamepad or keyboard. Keys are Left, Right, Shoot (hold for continuous), Dash, and Special. Each level to play through is fairly short, typically taking about 5 minutes, so you can fit in a short game easily. Although once you've played one level, well, the temptation is to have another go :)

The Combo system in the game is cool and frustrating in equal measure. To reach the highest scores, you want to deliver Combos... And to clarify - a Combo in this game is a continuous run of gunning down the enemies without being shot yourself *and* there is a small time-limit between each kill (take too long and you lose the combo).

TL;DR:
This game is fantastic, better than I expected it would be. The action is wild. The alien bugs are well-animated, diverse opponents. There is plenty of replayability. A really fun arcade shooter, in the style of old-skool video game "Pang". Highly Recommended!

I bought Slay The Spire (STS) during its Early Access in April 2018. I was instantly drawn in to the game, and it satisfied the same sort of rogue-like urges which I'd found playing FTL: Faster Than Light. It was a good time to grab it, because I've experienced all the artwork changes, gameplay tweaks, additions to the original game, balancing tweaks, new characters, new card-sets, new relics, and new map events. During Early Access the game continued improving and gaining more depth, and every update I was appreciating it more.

I'm writing this review, a couple of weeks after the Full Game (v1.0) was unveiled on Steam (Review written at end of Jan 2019). I have played the full release numerous times, so can comment on that. I'm going to try to write this review without mentioning things that I feel would spoil the game for readers. Also I'd like to add that I'm a Linux gamer, and the game has been working fine on a Linux operating system rather than Windows. (When game developers release a game cross-platform, e.g. across Windows, MacOS, Linux, then the game code is generally better quality, with less bugs, than games developed on a single platform - and everyone reaps the benefits.)

The game is a deck-building card strategy game played as a rogue-like adventure, traversing a map and using the deck of cards as your power-ups, attacks, defences, modifiers, health bonuses. As well as cards, you can pick up potions and relics during your journey. At certain points in the game, you might be able to remove unwanted cards, and there are some bad (Curse) cards as well as useful ones.

Similar to FTL, the road ahead of you contains a selection of criss-crossing paths, and you choose a start-point and then choose which forks to follow.) Over your journey you might choose to venture into Event locations, Camp locations, Shops, Treasure locations, and Monster encounters. Unlike FTL, this path is always going forwards, you can't retreat down one path and take another instead.

You start the game by choosing your character. (Some characters might need to be unlocked by progressing in the game before they are available.) The first character available is a warrior-style one, and you begin with a basic deck of cards and a single useful starting relic. Each character class in the game has cards which are only available to their class, but also a selection of general cards which are available across classes. This basic set of starter cards isn't very good, unsurprisingly.

As you succeed in battling monsters, you have the opportunity to gain additional cards, but also other items (i.e. potions and relics). As the game run is rogue-like, you are trying to make the best of what is available. For instance, you might be offered to choose one out of a selection of cards as a reward for defeating the monster, and those cards might all be useless. That is the nature of playing a rogue-like.

Much of the continued replayability of the game is the fact that every game run is different. You end up with a different set of items, face different adversities, different maps, choose different places to start, and you make strategic choices dependent on your status, and where you currently are placed in your journey. As a simple example, you might have had an unfortunate bunch of encounters and your character might be low in health. There is a fork in the road in front of you and you could go to a (random) Event location or visit a Campsite. By visiting the Campsite, you know you'll be able to rest and recover some of your health (and then potentially survive more steps in your adventure). Of course, the Random Event could turn out to be very beneficial (or not!)

I have never played any of the more typical card deck-building games (e.g. Hearthstone, Magic The Gathering, Artifact) and to be honest, those games don't really appeal to me. STS is a strategy rogue-like adventure / dungeon-crawler using cards as an interesting mechanic for building a set of attacks, defences, power-ups, etc. It is a completely different type of game to those titles.

You might notice that I've played 266+ hours of STS so far (Apr 2018-Jan 2019). This is evidence of the amount of replayability available within it. I imagine even someone who isn't as keen on the game as me will inevitably gain multiple hours of enjoyment out of it. I haven't even tried the community mods yet, and I've read that there are some great new characters, with fresh card decks, new events, and so on. I don't see this game going stale for a LONG time.

Another thing that I really appreciated about the game: It is great for 'casual play.' You play by making selections with your mouse, and the play is turn-based. This means you can play it one-handed, and this makes it good for lunch-time play (eat and play at the same time). Similarly, drink a pint and play. The strategy side is hard-as-nails, but the ease of play is very convenient. Going alongside that one-handed convenience is the fact that you can quickly quit from the game, your current status gets saved into Steam Cloud Saves, and then when you load up the game again (on the same or on a different computer), you can continue where you left off.

TL;DR:
This is an addictive, enjoyable, strategy rogue-like game using card deck-building mechanics. I thoroughly recommend it. It is very replayable. It is very well designed and balanced. It is lots of fun.

I bought '7 Days To Die' on a sale. I'm playing it on Linux at 4K resolution and my system is handling it fine. Noting that it is May 2017 and the game is Early Access, but it is very playable indeed and it has only crashed twice in about 100 hours of gaming.

The game is a little rough around the edges. The sort of things you'd expect. Graphical glitches, animations of the zombies, animations of your weapons. It isn't fantastic to look at (in its current state) but it looks good enough. I'm satisfied with the looks while I'm playing. Also, I just want to note that I have only been playing it in Single Player mode. Multi-player should be excellent, but I never tried or tested it.

The game's description is pretty accurate - Survival Horde Crafting Game. You are set down with nothing in a wasteland, post-apocalyptic setting, with zombies shambling around. You're weak, unskilled, and only know how to make simple things. Crafting a stone axe is one of the first things you need to do. Also scavenge from the landscape, looking for fruit, eggs, water, wood, and so on. All the time, trying to avoid being spotted by zombies.

When night comes, the zombies become more deadly. Rather than shambling, they become somewhat agile and if they find you out in the dark on your own, there is little chance you'll survive. I played with the 'default' settings on the 'default' Single Player map. There are many game modifications you can apply if you want to do so.

The game is an open-world, sandbox type, and the default map is massive. There are random (procedurally-generated) maps and community maps, as well. I've been playing 100 hours on the regular map - And I'm a long way from covering / revealing it all. Let's say this, the map is sufficiently big that unless you have a vehicle, you'll need to build a network of bases to survive the evenings and cover the whole map.

It is up to you how you take things forward. Are you going to build a base? Where are you going to build it? How are you going to fortify it? Are you going to scavenge for the items you need to survive or are you going to build (craft) them. Are you going to punch zombies in the face, shoot them with an arrow, shoot them with a rocket launcher, blow them up with a home-made land mine, hide behind your fortifications, snipe zombies from the battlements? There is A LOT of choice in the game.

Every decision you make is important. Do I break down the door on this house, trying not to alert the zombies, and maybe find my first gun in the basement as well as other useful items? Or do I think it is too risky, I'll hold back and do it later when I'm better prepared? Do I drink the dirty water and get ill as a result, or do I let myself die of thirst?


Good things:

- The atmosphere is spot on. You really feel like you're there struggling to survive. Very immersive.
- The game play is fantastic. All the components work right (Skills, crafting, scavenging, base building, fighting, fleeing, hiding, etc).
- Managing your time. How far away are you from your base. Can you get back before nightfall?
- Managing your resources.
- Choosing which skills to improve with your level-up points.
- Gaining skill in particular pursuits, by training it (i.e. doing it).
- You start off pretty weak - but all that running, fighting and building stuff - makes you better at it.
- A stamina dial: You can run (or fight) as long as you still have stamina to do so. (Note: Zombies never tire!)
- Using your own play-style: Want to sneak around rather than fight - You can. Want to melee rather than ranged combat - You can. And so on.
- Addictive. This game gets under your skin and you want to keep going more.
- The "Every 7th day = Feral Night" - Gives a nice bit of tension to the game.
- Feral Nights get harder and harder over time, meaning you have to keep on improving your plan.
- Losing your carried possessions when you die. (But the Backpack is still there, if you can get back to it!)
- When you die in the game, it is mostly your own fault. You could have prevented it most of the time.
- The diversity in the various monsters and creatures in the game.
- The amount of crafting and items is massive. It helps to keep the game interesting.
- That "wow" moment when you find a rare item.
- The fact that early in the game, bullets are rare so you save them for special occasions.
- Potential for improvements, as it is Early Access, and updates are fairly regular.
- There are lots of modding and community extras. Play the game in a different style to suit you. Play on a different map.
- Lots of replayability. I've put 100 hours in and only scratched the surface, some people have played 1000 hours.
- Building physics is very well done. If you don't design your constructions carefully, they will fall down. (Also zombies do eventually break through walls, doors and other barriers.)

Bad things:

- There are some graphical glitches.
- The zombie and weapon animations could be better.
- The melee fighting could be better.
- It's been in Early Access for quite some time; the updating speed could be better.
- The side-missions - Good that you have some - But they could be better and more of them.
- There isn't really much of a story or campaign, but then it doesn't really need it.
- A bit of frustration when playing. (i.e. Getting caught out by the zombies, or not finding the item you wanted.)


Do I recommend the game: A BIG YES!

As long as you're happy with my description and it is your sort of game (i.e. You like open-world, survival, decision-making, exploration, making things, building bases, training up skills, lots of choice, choose your own play style, tension, relief, planning - It is all here!)

EDIT: New graphics is coming, and it is available in the latest a17 experimental build. Also, the game play mechanics have been changed, so the game plays differently compared with my original review.

EDIT 2: Still playing the game in Alpha 19.x (Nov 2020) and loving it. There have been plenty of new things and improvements to the game since my last review.

Writing this review just after I've unlocked 100% of the Steam Achievements. Took me 55 hours to do that.

It is an enjoyable dungeon-crawler game, where each little dungeon can be considered a bit like a rogue-like experience If the whole party dies, you need to attempt the individual dungeon again from scratch (No saving during a dungeon run.)

Following the rogue-like genre, your party grows in experience as each dungeon is bested, and you gain more equipment that stays with you.for later dungeons. The bested dungeons, owned equipment and character ranking are the things that get saved automatically as you progress.

Positives:
Diverse selection of equipment.
Pick and choose armour, weapons, magic items to customise each character.
Crafting items from components.
Grow the party of adventurers over time, and later select which ones go on a dungeon run.
As you traverse the map, the scenery and monsters changes.
Different monsters require different strategies to combat effectively.
Each character has a skill-tree, and you can pick and choose the skills to practice.

Negatives:
** The game becomes fairly same-y and grindy after a few hours play. ** (This is a MAJOR issue.)
Would have liked there to be more strategy within the game play. (i.e. useful strategy rather than just adopting a most efficient way to go forward. Most of the fights play out very similar to one another, once you know what you're doing.)
Characters max out at level 10, even before all the skills have been chosen. No way to complete skill-tree.

It's a good game, a fun game, certainly worth playing for some hours. However, it does lose its appeal fairly quickly. I wouldn't recommend going for it unless you like the dungeon-crawler rogue-like genre, and can stomach a somewhat grindy game-play, with limited strategic possibilities. Would probably suit a more casual gamer, who like to play small chunks of game-play, e.g. 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there.