It’s been just under two (2) weeks since the summer holidays started for me (because of where I work) and because of that I’ve had a lot more free time to do what I enjoy. Like I’ve been drawing a lot more and can take my time now, I’ve been visiting my partner and watching Scooby Doo. Going for little walks and of course, *gaming*. More gaming than ever before, I’ve become unhinged when it comes to gaming.
Something I haven’t done a bit of in a moment is writing and what better way to write than to talk about the games I’ve been playing since I started the holidays.
Death’s Door
Before Death’s Door came out I was thinking “wow, this is reminding me of both Zelda and Hyper Light Drifter and you get to play as a crow with a sword?!” What should hopefully not be surprising to anyone is that this game is impeccable.
It scratched those itches in my brain that I didn’t know were there when I started. The contained and hyper-focused world that is full of lovely details and secrets that will hold value to you. None of that Ubisoft crap. It all means something and adds to the beautiful word that has been created, it’s full of charm, mystery and curiosity.
It has a lovely story about the curse of having a limitless life, that dying shouldn’t be a curse or sad. Stories that revolve around the subject are always difficult for me to interact with but when completing Death’s Door I felt a sense of calmness and understanding. It’s a very warm game full of lovely moments and characters, I adored it so much it’s been one (1) of the only games I’ve taken the time to 100%.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/894020/Deaths_Door/
Wandersong
Wow this game. It would be most fitting to compare the feel of this game to music as it’s that warm feeling a song can give you, to let you know you’re loved, that you’re in love. To make you feel inspired, to get up and move around with a big smile on your face. To make you feel emotions that you didn’t want to find, to give you a good cry and make you feel better. To connect you with others and deepen those bonds.
Music is powerful, it’s how people communicate with themselves, with others in a way that words cannot. Wandersong shows that, to me, it was about the bonds with others. It’s a lovely journey full of incredible moments from start to finish. Like music, it takes you on a journey full of lots of emotions, moments that’ll stand out. A lovely game that I’m still thinking about and don’t think I’ll stop any time soon.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/530320/Wandersong/
Samurai Gunn 2
I don’t know how to make games, but I do understand from the indie devs that I follow that adding any sort of multiplayer is something to be commended for. Samurai Gunn 2 is a good ass party fighting game. It’s full of unique characters with lovely sprite work and environments, you can play as Minit who dies every 60 seconds.
Combat it tight and feels so fluid and quick, there is such a good balance of tension and fun factor. Get this game if you’re itching for a fun game that you can play with your friends and show em how good you are dying on spikes and never winning. It’s currently in early access but that shouldn’t turn you away from the game, it’s already got a really nice multiplayer mode, a story and a comic with lovely art.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1397790/Samurai_Gunn_2/
Shadow Man: Remastered
Nightdive you’ve done it yet again. You might know the team for their remasters and ports of games like System Shock: Enhanced Edition or the Turok games. They’re the masters of bringing back classic games. In this case Shadow Man has been given the remaster treatment, that improves the character models and textures for example and adds tech that couldn’t have been done at the time. Nightdive has done an amazing job of updating the game whilst keeping it true to the original and also adding cut content, which is such a plus for remasters of classic games.
There’s so much here that I love, the bizarre world full of disturbing creatures, an interconnected world full of secrets and unique weapons/abilities to find. The industrial horror, the atmosphere that it creates, the soundtrack and general sound design. It’s all fantastic and creates this game that is haunting, even in ways that I did not expect when starting. Definite content warning for this game, themes such as death, body horror, loss and I’m sure more that I haven’t encountered yet as of playing. It’s a game that doesn’t shy away from much, it’s a great game but definitely be wary if you are interested.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1413870/Shadow_Man_Remastered/
Highfleet
I don’t really know how to describe this game, it’s so different but familiar in ways that I can’t describe.
What I can tell you is that I’ve been really enjoying my time in Highfleet. It has you travelling a war torn desert country in your fleet. When travelling you have such an amazing screen with an amazing UX, turn knobs to track radio signals. Send out faster ships for surprise attacks, control the speed of your fleets with a handle. It’s all so engaging that it pleases my brain very much.
When you get into combat it’s a more arcade experience, with simple flight controls with your W,A,S,D keys and combat that I feel that I can describe as realtime FTL. See what parts you’re destroying of enemy ships in the bottom right corner and see how that affects them. There’s a lot of choice making here, do you care about how the people view you or more about the crew? Do you want to save soldiers in hopes to recruit them or to scavenge for new pieces for your ships?
There’s a lot here and definitely a game you have to be in the mood for. You will have a very difficult time when starting, it’s a difficult game. But when you’re in the mood for it, the game soars.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1434950/HighFleet/
Fuga: Melodies of Steel
Fuga is amazing, it has my favourite parts of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, such as forming bonds with other characters, getting to understand them better and improving your link attacks. Exploring an environment outside of combat where you can improve characters and resource gathering. And the best part is that it isn’t Fire Emblem.
Fuga has you following the story of children who are on a journey through their country looking for their kidnapped family members in a massive behemoth of a tank. In this tank you can gather resources to improve it. It’s all very simple and straightforward that it never feels complicated or overwhelming which is so welcome. As I mentioned already you can form bonds with other characters to get to know them better and also earn/improve link attacks.
It’s a game full of nice mechanics that create a really charming experience and a story that has a lot of heart and care in it.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1357860/Fuga_Melodies_of_Steel/
Draft of Darkness
A survival-horror deckbuilder with a lot of heart put into it. Draft of Darkness is a game that’s really resonated with me, maybe it’s because of the Resident Evil comparisons and the similarities I’ve seen in it. But outside of that it’s a really good game that can stand on its own.
A world full of horrific creatures that’ll poison you can make you despise them the more you run into them, a flowchart that can lead you to story details and new characters. It’s easy to jump into and play for 15 minutes or an hour and whilst there has been a lot of deckbuilding games in recent years, Draft of Darkness is a game you should keep an eye on as it goes through early access and continues to evolve like a parasite from another *particular* IP.
As a little leaving off point I think I’ll update this post as time goes on throughout the summer holidays, adding the games I’m playing because I think it’s important to talk about games you enjoy cause it’s good for the brain. I’m currently playing Gnosia and definitely intend to talk about when I’ve played more.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1380650/Draft_of_Darkness/
Dead Rising 3
I played through Dead Rising 3 again for about the third time, but this time with my partner and it’s still the goofy fun you’d hope to see from the series. It’s made some changes that are for the better, such as allowing to combo weapons from anywhere and making combo vehicles whilst still keeping the item and time managment too. Albeit the time management side has been reduced a bit as main mission aren’t on a timer whereas side ones are, depending on who you ask it’s a good or bad change. I’m fine with it as it’s a much bigger space to play in this time compared to the first two (2) games.
The games are at their best when you’re playing with a friend and just messing about, throwing food at each other when low at health and dying as a result, knocking each other over whilst trying to hit a boss. It’s a really good time still for a game that came out when the Xbox One/ PS4 generation had just started. It still manages to feel like a playground of just killing zombies with some management to go along with it. It’s a good time.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/265550/Dead_Rising_3_Apocalypse_Edition/
Gnosia
I’m not comparing this game to the one (1) everyone else has, even if it made explaining it very simple.
Gnosia is a visual novel where you’ll find yourself going through multiple loops and in each one (1) you’ll either have to find out who is Gnosia or be a Gnosia and kill others on the ship. You’ll be running into the same 14 characters throughout the game, getting to know more about them and their stories. Find out if they’re good at lying, like to exagerate a lot or is very good at being sneaky. As you play more you’ll be able to level up and increase character traits to appeal more to the playstyle you want. You’ll unlock abilities depending on what you level up and do more as you play.
It’s a really good time whether you’re playing for hours or just want to play a single game (as they can last about 5 minutes if you’re unlucky.)
