Category: Game Quickies

Game Quicky: Spirit Hunter – Death Mark: Chapter 7 – Kaerazu’s Amusement Park DLC (Switch) ~ Spooky Park At Night

Nintendo.com microsite – Fandom wiki entry

As someone who has followed and written about every game in the Death Mark series, I’ve been eagerly awaiting any sign of a new installment. So imagine my surprise—and excitement—when, completely out of the blue, a brand-new DLC chapter dropped in April, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch version of the original Death Mark. While it’s a little unexpected that this new content ties into the first game rather than expanding NG or Death Mark II, I’m certainly not complaining. Any return to the eerie world of Spirit Hunter is welcome in my book. But the real question is—does this surprise DLC live up to the haunting legacy of its predecessors, or is it a chapter best left in the dark? Let’s dive in. (Don’t worry—I’ll keep spoilers to a minimum.) Also, feel free to leave your thoughts and/or opinions on this article and/or game in the comment section down below.

The good

Right out of the gate, the gameplay feels instantly familiar to fans of the original Death Mark. This new chapter seamlessly continues the series’ signature blend of atmospheric horror, point-and-click investigation, and tense spirit encounters. If you enjoyed the structure and pacing of the base game, you’ll feel right at home here.

One of the most thoughtful touches is how accessible the DLC is. Despite taking place after the “good” ending of Chapter 6, you don’t need to replay or even finish the entire game to jump into this new story. That accessibility makes it easy for veterans and returning players alike to enjoy the new content without a major time commitment.

A particular highlight for me is how the jumpscares are handled. Unlike cheap “boo!” moments found in lesser horror games, the scares here are woven directly into the narrative—something NG also excelled at. These moments aren’t just startling; they serve a purpose in building tension and deepening the story’s unsettling atmosphere.

Another welcome feature is the ability to save almost anywhere outside of dialogue, giving you far more control and flexibility—especially useful when the story takes its time. Like in Corpse Party: Blood Drive, dialogue scenes can run long, so it’s wise to save when the chance arises.

A charming addition I really appreciated is the ability to talk to your partner at any time with the press of a button. It’s a small detail, but it adds a sense of companionship and immersion, making your partner feel like a constant presence rather than just a narrative tool. I’d love to see this feature expanded in future titles.

Visually, the chapter shines. The locations you explore are richly detailed and atmospheric, perfectly capturing the series’ trademark aesthetic. The spirit designs are impressively animated and genuinely unnerving. It’s clear that the development team has taken everything they’ve learned from previous entries and poured it into this new content.

The bad

That said, the chapter isn’t without its shortcomings. In terms of gameplay, the DLC leans more toward storytelling than exploration or puzzle-solving. If you’re hoping for intricate, brain-teasing puzzles or expansive environments, you might walk away feeling a bit underwhelmed.

It’s not that the puzzles are bad—they’re just few and far between. This chapter is clearly more focused on delivering a compelling narrative rather than challenging gameplay mechanics. For some, that’s a fair trade. For others, it may feel like a missed opportunity.

Clocking in at about 3 to 4 hours, the chapter is relatively short. And while the writing is strong, I did find myself wishing for a little more build-up and complexity to the mystery. Compared to the standout Red Riding Hood chapter that came before, this new installment doesn’t delve quite as deeply into its haunting themes. Of course, I could just be a bit over-eager, having waited so long for new content—I’ll admit my expectations were sky-high.

Conclusion

Despite its brevity, I had a great time with this new chapter. It’s always a pleasure to revisit the dark, fascinating world of Spirit Hunter, and this DLC feels like a love letter to longtime fans of the series.

I do wish the chapter was available on more platforms—Steam players in particular are missing out—but I’m still grateful it was released at all. Compared to the somewhat disappointing extra chapter in Death Mark II, this one is a clear step up. Short but impactful, I’d place it on par with Chapter 3: Hanayome from the original game—concise, emotionally resonant, and haunting in all the right ways.

If you’re a fan of the series, this DLC is absolutely worth playing. While it may not redefine the franchise or offer a ton of new gameplay innovations, it’s a welcome return to familiar horrors—with just enough new polish to leave you hoping for more.

Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of a Spirit Hunter revival. My appetite for ghost stories, twisted mysteries, and eerie atmosphere is far from satisfied.

I know this was a rather short article, but I have said everything I wanted to say about this chapter. I’m planning to stream it with Klamath later this year. So, keep your eye on the YouTube channel. And now it’s time to close off my article. Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another one, but until then… Take care and have a great rest of your day.

Score: 4/5

Casual Game Banaza – Tropix, Sally Salon, Fiber Twig & Shopmania

Sometimes I enjoy playing games that are just perfect to relax. And since I was a bit under the weather lately, I needed an amazing casual game to play. So, in today’s article, I’m going to give a quick overview of some casual games I played during my time under the weather. Maybe I’ll do a more in depth review of these games later, but now… I quickly want to touch upon them. If you know any great casual games I should try, give me a comment on this article, and who knows… Maybe in the next article, they will appear. But, you can also leave a comment with your thoughts and/or opinions on the content of this article and/or the games.

Tropix … Your Island Getaway

Official website – IGN page

In Tropix… Your Island Getaway, you have to play several classic mini-games like a bubble popper, mahjong, blowing, a word making game, Sudoku…

You earn sand dollars to decorate your island. If you fill up the fun, comfort and food bars, you can go on the next island and unlock more mini-games.

I used to play this game quite a lot when I was a child, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. My sister and I tried to be the fastest to finish a mini-game set or get the highest score.

I recently rediscovered this game. It’s a great one to quickly play a few rounds of the mini-games and the theming of your island getaway is very nicely done.

While writing this article, I have discovered there is a sequel to this game. I’ll for sure try out that game and maybe mention it in another article. But, if you enjoy solid mini-game collections that are quite relaxing and charmingly made, I’d highly recommend to give Tropix … Your Island Getaway a try. I recently also bought a Nintendo DS copy, and I’m comparing it to the PC version. And that sounds like a fun future article so hold tight.

Sally Salon

Gamehouse wiki – Bigfish games

A big subgenre in the casual game scene are the time management games. One of my favorite time management games is Sally’s Salon. In this game, you run your own beauty salon, and you have to make your clicks matter. Since, the order matters.

It’s both a management sim and a puzzle. The further you get in this game, the more hectic this game becomes.

This screenshot explains quite a lot of the basic mechanics of the game. You have to move your clients to the right stations and preform the action at the set station. The faster you guide them through the salon, the higher their pay at the end will be.

Also, you can earn back hearts by choosing the things they like. You lose them, by choosing the things they dislike or letting wait for too long. Also, you can hire staff with your profit to automate some tasks since otherwise it really get hectic in the later levels.

This game can become a bit repetitive in long play sessions. The PC version can also be very picky with hitboxes. But overall, it’s pretty fun. The sequels are a lot of fun too. I have played Sally’s Spa and Sally’s Studio. The other games in the series I haven’t played.

Fiber Twig

Bigfish – RealAracade Wiki

There are a lot of casual games where you need to fill in a certain shape and don’t let the conveyor belt at the bottom get filled. But Fiber Twig does a unique twist on the genre. In this game, you have to connect tree branches, and you can only continue if the light energy doesn’t escape.

This game is a true puzzle game. It’s also a high risk/reward game. Since, you can’t see the rest of the level. So, is it wise to save certain pieces, or should you use them right now?

Also, power ups are quite rare. So, undoing mistakes or filling in dead ends… Use your power ups wisely.

It’s a game that looks boring if you only judge it on the screenshots, but it gets quite intense and enjoyable to play. The charming theming and lore give this game a unique quirk that gets my hooked very time I boot the game up.

Shopmania

Bigfish games page

Shopmania is also a game like Fiber Twig, where you have to place all the items from the belt to the playing field. But the twist in this game is that you have to keep things like color, shapes and other things in mind.

The idea is, that you work for a super mega store to buy medicine for your sick hamster. And in this store, the employees shop for you. So, you have to fill the customers their carts.

If you fill the cart with the item that the customer is thinking off, you get bonus cash. If you fully fill the cart, bonus cash. All items the same color? Well, bonus cash of course.

The more profit a certain line brings, the more you can upgrade for a bigger cart. This brings in more money but also more risk. Since, it gets tricker to get those combos and bonuses going to reach the higher and higher quota. Oh, and three items going into the shredder, and it’s game over for that level.

The story is quite silly and I love the theming. Even just writing about this, I hear the sound effects of this game in my head.

Final thoughts

Honestly, playing these casual games while I was under the weather felt like reconnecting with a simpler time. Whether it was racing my sister in Tropix, strategizing my way through Sally’s Salon, getting absorbed in the puzzles of Fiber Twig, or smiling at the quirky humor in Shopmania, each game brought back a small but meaningful spark. It reminded me that sometimes, it’s okay to slow down and just enjoy a bit of playful chaos or quiet thinking.

I could go on for quite a while about other relaxing games I’ve discovered over the years—but I’ll save that for another article. Who knows, maybe the sequel to Tropix will make an appearance next time. Thank you for reading and spending this little slice of time with me. If you have your own favorite casual games or thoughts to share, feel free to leave a comment. I always enjoy hearing what others are playing.

Until next time—take care, and may your sand dollars stack high and your cart combos never break.

And with that said, thank you so much for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I look forward to welcoming you back in a future article. Until then, have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care.

Game Quicky – Balatro (PC – Steam) ~ Running Poker Multipliers

Steam store – Official website – Wikipedia page

Sometimes, it’s the simple games that entertain me for hours. Who thought that a new spin on playing Poker could be so refreshing? It even wins several awards at the game awards 2024. Now, my good streaming buddy Klamath bought me this game for my birthday. I decided to give it a go, and I was surprised. In this article, I want to share my honest first impression. I will also discuss what I like about this game. Additionally, I will mention what I don’t like about the game. I have played Balatro on my PC. But, if this game looks interesting to you, feel free to discover it on other platforms like mobile and consoles. Before I dive into this card game, please leave a comment with your thoughts. Share your opinions on this game or the content of this article.

The good

The visual presentation and style of this game is something that blew me away. Visually, this game looks amazing. The subtle animations of the cards, the way the UI hints pop up, the little hints on the planet cards…

The UI offers something nice during boss fights. It gives you hints when a hand isn’t going to score. But there are other little things in this game that are just fun. Like, you can click and drag the bind chip while you are thinking of a next move.

The gist of this game is quite simple. You have to play poker hands from the cards that you are given. You don’t always have to play 5 cards, in case you want to keep a certain card. Each ante has 3 rounds. A small and big blind and a boss fight. Each time, the goal of chips you need to earn raises. In between each blind, you earn money. This money, you can use to buy from a shop where a few joker or other special cards are offered.

These cards add multipliers to certain hands. This is a list of examples:

  • The chip’s multiplier doubles. This only happens if you have spades and clubs left in your hand.
  • The gained points for a played and scored ace doubles.
  • Gain 2 extra chips per card left in your deck after playing each hand.

Some of these Joker cards can be a lifesaver. Especially the free chips ones. Others, force you into a certain playstyle. Each time you hit the shop, it’s a difficult decision. Should I continue with this set of Jokers, or should I replace one? You only have 5 slots. Changing one out might increase your points just enough to survive another round.

This game is the perfect blend of strategy and luck. You need to get lucky with the cards and not use up all your discards quickly. Since, you don’t get them back easily. The rougelite elements in this game give the usual poker game should a fresh spin. How far do you get with all the jokers and how high will you score? Since, it doesn’t matter if you survive a round just barely. Survival is survival, and maybe then you can buy a new joker card that elevates your run.

You restart with zero points and new hand and full deck each round anyway. Or you can gamble it all and skip a round for an interesting bonus. And if you loose, you reset to the start of the game for a whole clean run. Once this game clicked, it became the perfect “one more run” game. Betting with myself how far I would get this time.

This game is quite responsive. In terms of controls, this game is quite easy to control. The UI is perfect as well. I’m also glad that there are various accessibility options in the game. Things like reduced motion and high contrast cards are important. The more people can play the game, the better.

The save system is easy to use. You can just exit the game and restart from where you left off with ease. Also, there are three player profiles. You can also name the profiles, so you easily know which profile is which. Not to mention, you can unlock everything, but then you won’t be able to go for those sweet Steam achievements.

The bad

If you are unfamiliar with the rules of poker, you might be in trouble. Thankfully, the valid poker hands don’t take a long time to learn. You also have the “run info” button to help you. In game, you don’t get too many lessons on making valid poker hands, so keep that in mind.

Now, this is a difficult one to write. While the music in this game is amazing, the track variety is something of a mixed bag. Some of the tracks use the same sound font and melody. Sometimes, I don’t recognize that the pitch and instruments had changed. Don’t get me wrong, the soundtrack in this game is pretty good, but more variety would have been welcome. A few more ambient tracks would do the trick. Now, this is a major nitpick. To be honest, it only bothered me when I started to pay attention to it.

The small tutorial at the start of your first game is extremely helpful at explaining things. Yet, some information will be only told once in that tutorial. So, if you put the game down for a while and don’t remember everything… You have no real way to re-read the rules. Thankfully, most (if not all) concepts in this game aren’t hard to grasp. But a small refresher like having the option to replay the tutorial wouldn’t hurt.

If I may give an extreme nitpick, I think it will be this. In this game, you can modify the picture cards with references to different games. Now, this is per suit and each suit has a different set of games. I wish this was a fleshed out a bit further. Like, I love the art for Cult of the Lamb and Slay the Princess. But only having those face cards in one suit be changed, it didn’t scratch the itch enough for me. Maybe using smaller images on the number cards of the suit would make it even more enjoyable. Then again, how could you do this? It would require massive development time and designing a whole card deck per reference. So, I can totally see why the developers made this choice.

The conclusion

In the end, Balatro is a fantastic blend of strategy. It has elements of luck and engaging roguelite mechanics. These features keep me coming back for “just one more run.” Its polished visuals, clever gameplay twists, and thoughtful accessibility options make it a standout experience. The game has a few minor drawbacks. These include the limited tutorial recall, the music’s slight repetitiveness, and the poker learning curve. Despite these, the issues don’t overshadow the sheer enjoyment this game offers. If you want a new take on poker, try Balatro. It challenges your planning skills and keeps the stakes high.

I’m happy that Klamath gave me this game for my birthday. It took me quite the while to actually give this game a shot, but I’m happy that I did. I can easily play this game during short downtimes. It’s easy to pick up and play. I also think that this game might be even more fun on a tablet or on the go. During long play times, it can become repetitive. However, this is oh, so fun in short bursts. It’s also exciting if you are able to string together a long combo or run.

I want to congratulate the team behind this game. LocalThunk and Playstack, you made an awesome card game. It has a unique spin that makes me come back for more. The praise and awards are totally deserved. I am eager to delve deeper into the game. I am excited to discover what else some jokers I haven’t discovered yet may have in store for me.

And with that, I want to thank you all for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you in a future article. Until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Score: 95/100

Game Quicky: Everloop (PC – Steam) ~ Did This Happen?

Steam store page – Developers link

You walk in a corridor and after turning the corner and see an altar and 8 candles above it. Then you turn the corner again and you see the same corridor again. You remember the note. If something looks off in the exact copy of the corridor, you need to return to the start. Then walk the other way. Otherwise, you have to continue walking through the Everloop. Will you manage to escape the looping corridor and understand its mysteries? Well, that’s what we are going to discover in this game quicky article. I invite you to leave a comment down below. Share your thoughts and/or opinions on this game or the content of this article.

The good

The gameplay of Everloop is very simple. It’s basically spot the difference. You have to walk through the same corridor and check if something changed or not. These changes can be subtle, like a change in a painting or a book on a table changing color. Or these changes can be drastic and obvious, like totally different lighting. Only one change can be activate at one time, and it’s unsure if a change happened or not.

In case of a change, you have to turn back and walk in the other direction. In case there is no change, you have to keep walking forwards. Before the altar is the cut-off point. If you judged right, a new candle will be lit. If you make a mistake and miss a change, all your candles will be blown out. If you claim something changed and nothing has, you start over. The idea is that you have 8 rounds without a mistake in a row.

Now, it’s always random if a corridor has a change or not. So, you need to check it all, and it becomes a paranoia guessing game if something has changed or not. Since, you start to doubt yourself. Have the titles always looked like that? Has the cat suddenly changed color? Since, when you fail, you don’t get any feedback why you failed. It can be because there was a change you didn’t notice. Or, you mistakenly said that an unchanged corridor had a change while it hadn’t.

The amazing thing is, when you correctly identified a change, you unlock a small lore description in the codex. You can only see this description in the main menu. The descriptions are written amazingly. They were a lot of fun to read through.

The game maintains a tradition in this genre. It doesn’t show you duplicate changes unless you have beaten them all. You beat a change when you find it correctly and walk back from where you came. Then the change will be taken out of the pool that change show up. After finding all the possible changes and beating them, the game resets them. It throws them all back in the possibility pool.

The atmosphere in this game is very nicely done. I loved the visuals, and some changes were extremely sneaky to find. Like, one of the fans can be spinning in the opposite direction. I highly recommend avoiding the “all anomalies guide” in the Steam discussions. Reading it takes a lot of the fun away.

The controls in this game are a blast. They are responsive, and I could look in the corridor with ease. I can go in extreme nitpick mode. The tutorial prompt in the left corner shows WASD. I have an AZERTY keyboard, and it doesn’t adjust. But then I would be missing the point a bit. Since, you can play this game using a controller. And I don’t know what I liked more, the keyboard or the controller. Man, it this movement in this game snappy and perfectly tuned. But if I’m allowed to say, one more extreme nitpick. The tutorial shows that the “R” trigger is set to run, but the “L” trigger works as well.

The negative

Now, in this game, you don’t really have chaser changes. Unlike in other similar games in this style, you don’t have changes that if you touch them, end your run. This is something I feel mixed about. At one hand, it’s amazing to not have your run be ended out of nowhere. But on the other hand, it takes away some tension this game can have.

This is a nitpick, but the game doesn’t show you a number on how many changes still haven’t been discovered. But, you can easily calculate that by looking in the codex on the main menu.

Some people might find this a negative aspect of the game. But, I totally understand why the game works this way. When you exit the game and go back in it, you start from zero in your loop. So, keep that in mind if you think that the game saves your round progress.

You will notice all anomalies that this game offers. After beating the game, there isn’t much replay value. This negative isn’t big. This game is only €5. Still, I rather mention it in the negatives section. Some people find it important that there is replay value in their games. But, I personally don’t mind it since it’s a lovely small experience that is a blast to play through.

The biggest negative is that there is no easy way to reset your progress. To do that, you have to remove your save file and turn off Steam Save Cloud syncing. In various other games in this genre, there is an easy choice in the options’ menu to make that happen.

Conclusion

This is a small, bite sized game created by a small team of four people. You can finish this game completely in, gave or take 2 hours.

The Exit 8 set the standard for the games in this genre. As a result, the market has been flooded with a ton of games in this style. Shinkansen 0, Dead end Exit 8, Project 13 to name just a few. And I find that Everloop should be in the list of the better titles. It feels like a lot of love and care has been put into this game. Especially the codex with the small blurbs. It makes various things sound bigger and more dangerous than they actually are. It’s an amazing touch that Infinity Green Game Studio added.

If you want a small game made in Unity, I highly recommend this one. It is a nice spin on Exit 8 with a more Brazilian twist. I enjoyed my time with this game so much. I even placed it on the long list of my top 10 games I played in 2024.

And with that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about this game. I am curious to see if any of you give it a try. If you do, feel free to drop a comment with your thoughts and opinions. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you in another article. Until then, have a great rest of your day. Take care.

Score: 80/100

Preview: Conquer Humanity (PC – Steam) ~ Let’s Go Rouge.

Steam page

In this article, I’m taking a look at a game that’s going to release in the first half of 2023. The developer send me a Steam key for the full version that’s still in development. But, if you get interested in playing this game right after this article, there is a demo available on the Steam store page. In this article, you’ll also get my 100% honest opinion on the game. I’ll take a look at what I played and what I think should be in the full version. So, should we conquer humanity, and should we become a super villain like the Steam store page suggests, or should we wait until this is a bit more polished or skip it outright? Well, that’s what I’m trying to discover with you in this article. And as usual, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your thoughts and/or opinions on the game and/or the content of this article.

Editoral note: the release of the full version is set in Q1 2023 at the time of writing.

Simulation Devil

In this game, you enter a simulation where you are a super villain with various powers. Your goal is to destroy and kill as much as you can before you are defeated yourself.

You do this in a very large map where people are spawned around you. But, the more destruction you cause, the more police will come after you.

To defeat the game, you’ll have to reach level 30. The more people you kill, the more XP you’ll get. If you get a great kill streak and do it in style you’ll get a better ranking and earn more XP and do more damage that way. Compare the style thing to Devil May Cry in a way.

This game is anything but easy. You really have to manage your powers and movement strategically. Since, the smallest mistakes get brutally punished. You have ten lives and no way to get any back. You are able to heal, but you’ll have to kill for that. So, getting surrounded might be your end.

This game is described as a brutal, fast-paced, isometric bullet hell. And I honestly can’t describe it better. For this review, I have played several rounds and I had a really hard time getting further than level 15. I’m a bit on the fence on the difficulty curve, since I honestly think that with one change… This game can become way more fair.

The big issue with this game is that you are directly thrown into the deep end. You are dropped into the simulation with 6 powers on a cool down and a few other mechanics. You barely have any chance to get used to everything, since after a few kills… The police spawns, and you have to be quick on your feet. Now, you do have the sandbox mode to get used to the game. Yet, here the powers aren’t on cooldown, and you don’t see the blue level up bar or the powers.

I think it would give the game a better flow if the player is nudged first to the sandbox mode where you have to reach something like level 10 using the different mechanics. Since, I felt close to overwhelmed with all the different mechanics and I felt that I first had to figure a lot of things out before I was able to attempt the actual game mode.

I don’t want to sound like “this game is too difficult for me, make it easier…”. I just feel that if you give new players too many mechanics at once without them having a way to learn them or practice them, they aren’t going to have a fun time. And I think if you add a mode or a few optional tutorial stages to get used to the game would be a blessing. And I really mean, optional. So people who want the experience of jumping into the deep end can still do it. But, others who want to know how everything works can ease themselves into the game. Since, if I’m brutally honest, the controls manual is helpful if you know how everything works. It’s too bare bones for newcomers. Like, why not add the icons of the powers in the controls manual?

Did it fail?

This game is difficult, and it’s a game you will have to get gud at. Once you learn the different powers and when to flee, this game is actually quite enjoyable. This game has the “one more attempt” mentality nailed down. After you are defeated, you can get right into the action in seconds and try again.

The game also has a built-in timer, which can open the gates for speed runners and other competitions as well. Maybe it would be fun to have a leaderboard with the fastest times and the longest survival times in the full game.

And maybe like an endless mode that started on easy and at certain level milestones, it goes to a higher difficulty?

Are there other things I would like to see in the future? Of course! First, I’d love to see a way to change the key binds. It’s something I mention quite often in my PC reviews, but I get annoyed when the game forces WASD on you and don’t keep in account that there are a lot of countries which have another keyboard layout. Here in Belgium, we use an AZERTY layout, and that means I have to set my hand in a pretty weird spot to move. Since our “A” is where the “Q” is and our “W” is where the “Z” is. And then the powers having keys close to WASD… I only have two hands and I still have to control the mouse.

Speaking off the mouse, I think a controls flaw is created there. I noticed that I had trouble preforming my push move because that was clicking with your scroll wheel. Which is all good and well, but using your scroll wheel actually zooms in or out. So, if you didn’t click in the chaos of this game, and you actually scrolled, well… Yeah, that’s an attack that didn’t happen. Which is sadly not limited to the push attack. There is another attack that I feel either isn’t as powerful or the visuals don’t communicate it’s power/range enough. When pressing Control, you can do a slam down attack. But, it’s not only unclear how big the radius is… it’s also unclear how strong it is.

In this game, it’s important that the visuals communicate with the player what’s happening. All in all, the visuals feel “last gen” but I honestly don’t mind that. It optimizes the game quite a lot, and you get a stable game to play. Also, it makes it easier to read what’s going on around you and makes it easier to make the right decision. I think it would be handy in the future to have a sort of radar in the right corner. Since, it would be helpful to know where the police and such are if you flew too far away.

Speaking about flying, that’s something I want to address as well. In the small manual, it teaches you that you can start hero mode by pressing “H” when you reached at least the “A” style rank. Yet, when you start the game, you get a free hero mode and only get a “B” rank. Now, it’s unclear that the message of “A” style rank still has to be on the screen or not… But there isn’t a way to know if you can activate hero mode or not.

In addition to that, I think there might be something strange going on with the flying… Since, once you lose your first life, you loose hero mode. And when you press the fly button then, you sprint away. Very slowly, sprint away. Yet, I had trouble starting to sprint several times when I press moving.

It’s early simulation

Reviewing or talking about early access games is quite tricky. Especially when they are still in development. You never know in how much detail you should go since a lot of things can change when you get the final product.

For example, I really like the animation system in this game. It’s goofy and gory, which fits this game like a glove. Especially when you make a great combo attack… The slowdown to show you the result of your attack is eye candy. And sometimes a much-needed small break in all that intense action.

That’s something I sometimes missed in this game. A spot or a moment to get a breather from the action. It’s intense all the way through, and you can’t let your guard down at all, or you are done for. And your ability to earn any of the achievements is done for.

Another example is that sometimes there is no music during gameplay. I had several times when the track just stopped playing and no new music track started. Sadly, it ruins the atmosphere, but I think this is something that will be fine-tuned and patched when the game releases.

Speaking of the music, the music is a nice heavy metal track that plays. I really enjoy it, and I’m curious to hear the full soundtrack once the game goes out of early access. Since, it’s the perfect music genre for this style of game. In terms of sound effects, this game is fine but still has some work. Sometimes you hear “god dammit” and I can’t say if it’s my character getting damage or a human dying.

Something I’m really on the fence about is that this game doesn’t have a save system. So, that means you’ll have to do each run in one sitting. I think that’s a shame since if you are in a good run and something happens like automatic Windows updates restarting your computer out of nowhere… It’s the end of the run. And failed runs don’t count for your “best run” in the main menu.

Finding the right balance between challenge, fun, and options is extremely tricky. I have no clue how to implement a save system during a run of this game. And it might open the door for a lot of other issues.

Just like deciding on the cooldown period of your powers. Personally, I feel that sometimes the cooldown is a bit too brutal. Quite often, I felt that the laser power cooldown was a bit too slow. Maybe I’m using the wrong strategy of running away from the cops and trying to kill the small gatherings of humans I left around the map, but the cops are faster than your laser power can regen.

So, what do I think so far of Conquer Humanity? Well, I think this game has an addictive concept where the fundamentals are here. It has that “one more try” and “one more round” written all over it. But, it still needs some polish with the controls and animations. Its biggest flaw is currently that the game doesn’t really explain all its mechanics enough for players to learn how everything works. So for newcomers to these type of games, it’s not the game to get into the bullet hell genre.

I recommend that you give this game a shot and give your thoughts and/or opinions to the solo developer since I think that this game has a lot of potential to be an amazing small indie title to test your skills at crowd control and bullet hell. I might be brutally hard, but it’s a game that feels rewarding for the small progress you made. I highly recommend this game to everybody who is looking for an action/arcade type game and looking for a great challenge with it. Since, there is a lot of game to learn here and it’s going to beat you, several times.

And that’s everything I wanted to say about this game in this preview. I might take a look at this game once it’s released to see what’s the finished product is. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Game Quicky: Snow Problem (PC – Steam) ~ Sorting The Snow

Steam store page

It’s winter. So, that means that snow is falling. Snow is something you can’t stop and that might cause a problem. But, not in this game. In this game, the concern is that we need a certain amount of colored snow to beat the level before the time limit is up. This game is created by Dave Seaman from whom I reviewed games in the past. He was the developer behind The Rat Pack and Captain Disaster in: Death Has A Million Stomping Boots. Is the 3rd game I’m going to review from him a recommendation or is it one where he swings a miss. Let’s find out together in this Game Quicky article. For full disclosure, the developer provided me with a press key to play this game, but you may rest assured that you’ll get my 100% honest opinion on this game. And as usual, I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your thoughts and/or opinions on this game and/or the content of this article.

Let’s save the snow

This game is the perfect easy to understand game. This game is perfect for small sessions when you have a bit of time to kill. The levels in this game are short and easy to understand, so it has that one more round mentality.

The controls are extremely easy. You basically only need the mouse to control this game. While there are keyboard shortcuts for the menu, the game is played with the mouse. It’s a little finicky at first to know at what speed you need to draw the lines, since the faster you go… The more holes there are in your line.

The biggest challenge in this game is to know where and how to draw your lines. Since, momentum is still a thing, so you really need to be careful so that you don’t screw yourself over by drawing a bad line. That’s why on the store page the developer recommends playing with a mouse… Since, this game with a trackpad, auwch. I tried it, and it wasn’t so much fun anymore.

To get used to the game, I highly recommend that you put the prep time to the highest setting in the main menu. The game can be pretty challenging and turn into a trail and error puzzle game, but the short prep time is really irritating if you aren’t used to the game. But, if you want more challenge, you can switch the difficulty easily by changing the prep timer.

A lot of the music in this game is famous classical music and, while I would have loved some original pieces by the developer as well, they fit the game perfectly. There are various tracks which play randomly in the background. It’s almost like you have your favorite music app playing a playlist in the background. Maybe it would be fun if the name of the track shows up somewhere and there is a sort of mini-player. But, that’s possibly a bit of a wild idea.

There is also a level editor in this game. So, that means you can share self created levels with other players. There is no Steam Workshop integration, but if that ever comes it would be nuts. But, the level files are small and easy to share… And the developer invites you to share your levels with him and who knows, they might be added as bonus levels in a future update.

Now, if you are unsure about this game… There is even a demo out of this game. So, you can easily try it before you decide to buy this game for the low price of 4€. You can also bring your progress of the demo to the full game which is an amazing feature.

There are also adorable punny Steam achievements in this game. They are extremely easy to get, but the pun filled nature really adds to the charm of this game.

Something I really like is how you don’t need to play all the levels in order. I really dislike the 21st level. I have tried various times to beat it, but I’m unable to. But, since you always have a handful of levels unlocked, you can just skip that level and keep it for later. You also unlock the next levels so, you don’t have to worry that one level will block you from seeing the rest of the game.

But not all is good in this game, sadly, I do have a few things to criticize.

Let the snow melt

There are a few minor issues in this game. First, there isn’t a safe way to alt-tab out of the game. Usually, when you use alt-tab OR the Windows key to go back to the desktop, you can quickly look something up on the internet and return to the game. Not in this game, since when you re-open it… The resolution goes off, and all color is drained. I had this issue on three laptops I tested this game on. So, be careful if you alt-tab.

But, that’s a minor point. Since the levels are rather short and the game opening so fast, it’s easy to recover from that. Something that I do find a bit disappointing is that there is no pause feature during gameplay or a speed-up feature. Several times I was tapping my fingers on my desk because I knew I was going to beat the level, but I had to wait until it had played out.

Something I’d personally change is that the “how to play” is something that appears before you play your first level. While the gameplay is pretty simple, it didn’t click for me right away. It was easy to figure out after a bit of messing around, but I find it strange that this game has a sort of tutorial but hides it in the main menu.

Which brings me to something else, and it’s something I also have a solution for. This game doesn’t have a colorblind mode. And this is a big issue in this game since this game is highly based on color. One solution is to drastically change the colors OR use different shapes somehow. Like squares that aren’t filled or triangles. Or a 3rd solution is that you can see the color of the snowflake when you hover over it… But, that might not be too handy in the short levels. Now that I think about it, I think drastically changing the colors when somebody enables colorblind mode would be the best solution.

A minor thing I’d love to see changed as well is that after the prep timer ran out and the snow starts falling, that timer turns into a timer that shows for how long the snow will fall. While you have a little more time than there is snow falling, it would just be an additional touch on the game.

Something I have to bring up in the negatives is that this game can be repetitive for some people. That’s because this game only has “one” mechanic. You can only draw those brown lines to try to guide the snow to the spot you want too. I have a few ideas for other mechanics like having to draw those colored lines yourself OR having weight switches to open another path. And wouldn’t it be cool if there were levels where you have to avoid ANY snow from reaching the bottom? There is a lot more that can be done with this game and maybe food for thought for a sequel or spin-off? Or maybe DLC?

The final nitpick I have is, that ALT+F4 isn’t working. Only the assigned keys in the menu’s are working and that can throw you off when you forget about that. I got used to it, but it was a bit annoying sometimes when I accidentally alt-tab’ed out of the game to write this article and I had to force shutdown the game via task manager.

The final suggestion I’d give is that in the main menu… It would be amazing to see a small level preview pop-up when you hover over the level. It would be handy if you want to let your friends try a level without you having to click through all the levels you think that it is.

And with that said, I think it’s high time I wrap up this article. So, in conclusion…

But, what’s the snow quality

Overall, this is a very charming and relaxing game. While it has some rough edges, I think it’s honestly worth it’s €4 price tag. This game is the perfect time waster to waste a few minutes. It can be addictive as well. The game is easy to understand, and it has that “one more try” and “one more level” atmosphere to it.

There are a lot more things that can be done with this game, like more mechanics to spice up the puzzles but like I said in the article. But, the basis of an amazing charming little puzzle game is here. I’d recommend it to everybody who enjoys puzzle and/or casual games. Since, this might be right up your alley. It’s also perfect for to get into gaming in the first place.

I think this will be a game I’ll boot up once in a while to beat a few levels and move on. Especially, when my other games are downloading updates for example. Or I’d boot it up when I want to wind down. Since, I felt very relaxed while playing this game.

Snow Problem is another game by Dave Seaman with a lot of charm I had a blast playing. I’m really glad that the developer asked me to play this game since otherwise I might have just written it off as a silly little game, but under the hood you have a nice relaxing puzzle game.

And that’s everything I wanted to say about this game. I want to thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Score: 7,5/10

Game Quicky: In Retrospect (PC – Steam) ~ Automatic Mario

Steam store page

What if, in retrospect, Mario was supposed to be moving on his own? Well, that’s a perfect line to open this article about “In Retrospect”, a runner game developed by Paper Salamander about reflecting on the past. The developer send me a press code for this review, but don’t worry, you’ll get my unfiltered 100% honest opinion on this game. Also, this review is going to be rather short to avoid spoilers, especially because the game is roughly 2 hours long. But, is it worth your time, or should you skip this game outright? Well, let’s find out in this game quicky review while I invite you to leave a comment with your thoughts/opinions on this game and/or the content of this article in the comment section down below.

The good memories

It’s kind of difficult to talk about the story of this game. Especially since this game is a sort of “choose your own adventure” style of game. This game is a sort of self reflection game, without it being a forced self reflection game. The way how the story is handled in this game is wonderful.

The way how certain game mechanics like resetting a level is implemented into the story, it’s charming. As charming as the visuals. The pixel art is extremely well done and makes the game burst with personality.

This game is also excellent at teaching the ropes. Most new mechanics are taught in a sort of safe tutorial level just before the actual level. And, you can skip this tutorial level when you are playing through this game for a second time on another difficulty level.

Usually, I’m not too fond of runner games since I don’t have the best of reflexes when it comes to timing things with the music. Yet, I didn’t find this game too difficult. It was easily to learn the basics of this game and play through it. I played a bit on casual and normal and the balance in this game is really well done.

Besides the story, there are also challenges you can partake in. These are small bonus levels with a special gimmick. You have to reach the highest scores to get on the global leaderboards. Personally, this isn’t really my cup of tea, but it’s an extremely nice addition to the game and I find that it works really well.

The music for this game is pretty good. The tracks are right up my alley, and they really fit the atmosphere of this game like a glove. If the developer ever offers the soundtrack of this game as DLC, I’d buy it right away. Since I want to add the soundtrack to several of my playlists.

The gameplay of this game is really simple but fun. This game is an autorunner, which means your main concern is dodging the enemies and obstacles. During the level, you can pick up items. These items can restore your health. Depending on your answers to the questions you get in between the levels, one pick-up might be more beneficial than the others.

Also, the mechanics slightly change depending on the path you choose. But, if this sounds interesting, I’m going to leave that as a surprise for you to find out! I’m leaving out some mechanics of course, but each level has its own special gimmick or “thing” and I love it. It works wonders in such a short game and really feels like the developer placed a lot of passion in the level design.

The bad memories

There are some things I don’t think work that well. The first thing I want to talk about are the default controls. Overall, the controls are quite responsive, but I think the hover mechanic could have been implemented differently. Quite often I forgot that this game was an automatic runner and I had my hand on the right arrow. Now, when you jump and hold right arrow, you hover in place. This is something that frustrated me during my playthrough.

So, I had to get use to only press the space bar for jumping since this game is an autorunner. But, why is it then that in the options’ menu under controls we have a listing for “directional – arrow keys”. You can’t turn back in this game and only the right arrow is used for hovering. And the up arrow to activate switches, or down arrow when you are running on the ceiling. Which is never really explained in a tutorial in the version I played. But the fact that the down arrow is used for ground pounding is explained in a tutorial level.

Also, you can only choose between WASD & the arrow keys for this movement. This personally bums me out for two reasons. As an AZERTY user, I find it strange that ZQSD isn’t recognized by this game. Also, it would make more sense in my opinion if you were able to find the mechanics to your own keys, so the controls are easier to learn and master for everybody.

A minor complaint I have about the game is that the time you have to reply to questions is just a bit too fast. I barely have any time to read the four answers before I have to decide. On top of that, it’s not always too clear on what the question is. Personally, I think this could have been polished up a bit more.

A second minor complaint I have is that you don’t get a level select after beating the story. It would have been quite fun to be able to play a level with the gimmicks you enjoyed after finishing the story.

Overall, I barely found any bugs in this game… Apart from one. The achievement system is somewhat broken in the version I played. In v1.0.2, the achievements only show up after I have closed the game. You get a small text box instead of the actual achievement pop-up that Steam games usually gives. But, this might be my third minor complaint too… The reason I mention it here is that the amount of pop-ups is a bit ridiculous after you close the game since there are close to 100 achievements in this game.

The truth

Now, is this game worth your 4 bucks? In my honest opinion, if you enjoy casual runner games, yes. This game might be rather short, but it has some unique mechanics that make each level fresh and enjoyable to play.

The biggest issue in this game is with the arrow (or WASD) controls and not being able to rebind them to the keys you want. Apart from that, my complaints about this game are rather minor.

This game is perfect if you have to spend an afternoon, and you are waiting for a big game to download. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome or get repetitive. This game is walking the fine line of too short and too long and I find it’s balancing perfectly.

Now that my article is writing, I think I’m going for another run since I want to finish the challenges and finally unlock the final challenge. If you are interested in autorunners or casual games, I think this game might be right up your alley. I’m glad that I was able to play this game and that the developer reached out to me. This game gets a personal recommendation from me.

And with that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about this game. I want to thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!

Score: 80/100

Game Quicky: Stygian (PC – Itch.IO) ~ Short Spooks

Itch.io page

It’s that time of year again. It’s time for some spooky scary skeletons. Well, it’s time for some horror. This year, a small developer sends me a mail inviting me to look at Stygian. It’s a short horror game just in time for the spooky season. Today, I’m going to take a look at it and talk about my own opinions on it. It’s free on Itch.io, but the developer accepts donations if you want to see more from them. In any case, in this review I’m taking a look at v1.01. I also have to give a content warning. Since this is a horror game, there will be some scenes that can trigger certain people especially when you aren’t good with anything related to gore and/or death. So, with that said, let’s dive right into this game quicky and let’s see what this game has to offer. But, one thing before that. I want to invite you to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your thoughts/opinions on this game and/or the content of this article.

Editorial note: this is a rather short game, so I only took screenshots of the first few minutes.

The good

This game takes place in the late 1980s in England. A friend group of girls is doing a creepy sleepover at an abounded church. You play as Katherine, a young girl who arrives a bit late from work but is right in time to hear the creepy backstory. But, when Katherine goes back to her bike to pick up her sleeping bag and enters the church again… Things go horribly wrong.

The voice acting in this game is rather charming. The line delivery is a bit off from time to time but overall, solid performance of the voice actors.

Since this game is rather short by design, I’m not going to go more in depth about the story. Otherwise, I might spoil the experience and the story is best experienced as blind as possible.

Overall, the camera system works pretty well. I adore the Resident Evil – early Fatal Frame static camera shots at weird angles. It really takes you back to the early style of gameplay on the PlayStation and early PS2. Sadly, there are a few instances where the camera angles are a bit janky. For example, in one room you can walk through a door with some draped cloth over it. But, the camera switches a bit too soon, making it a pain when you missed entering the door and trying to get out of the corner, so you can attempt back going into the door. Thankfully, these issues happen far and few between.

Now, this game is a complete throwback since this game also sports some early PS1 3D visuals. This visual style can be a turn off for some people but not for me. I adore the visual style of this game. It fits the story and atmosphere like a glove in my eyes. There are a few minor things I’d have tweaked like making it a bit more clear who is talking, but more on that later.

And the throwback continues with the controls. Do we get tank controls? Yes sir, we do! And I love it. It takes me back when I was playing games like Silent Hill, Fatal Frame and Resident Evil on my PlayStation 1 & 2. Now, sadly this game doesn’t know that other keyboard lay-outs like AZERTY exist… or do they? Since the arrow keys also move. I quickly got used to the controls, and I was able to explore this game pretty fast.

Running around in this creepy church, reading various clues and discovering what really happened is a blast. The game gives you small sparkling hints to most objects you can interact with. So, this is no game of mashing the use key while going over every area to find one or two items.

The music in this game is great. While playing this game, the music reminded me a lot of Silent Hill. The more quote unquote strange ambiance sounds that strange form a melody that’s interesting to listen too but also puts you on edge. This is helped by the silent moments and the excellent sound design with the sound effects to make the game even more creepy.

Something else I want to mention is that this game is available for Windows & MAC. So, if you are a MAC user… You can also play this game.

The bad

There are certain things that this game lacks that make this game a small chore to play. And these are small things that can help make the game more enjoyable to play.

Let me get the biggest problem out of the way first. You can’t skip dialogue at all. Now why is this an issue? Well, in one playthrough I got the wrong ending. Without any game over screen, I got booted back to the main menu. I thought that was it, but then I decided to play through it again, and I found another route and got to experience more. But, that isn’t communicated well enough.

And the opening dialogue is runs on for a bit. But the intro cutscene has a few shots too many and that can’t be skipped either. Other horror games like the Zero Escape series did this a lot better. There you can skip through dialogue you already experienced, and it automatically stops when you encounter new dialogue.

There is something about the visuals I want to mention. The animation in certain cutscenes is a bit lacking. For example, in the opening cutscene, I thought I did something wrong since we see the same scene of Katherine riding her bike twice. It’s a bit confusing and pads out the opening scene too much. But a better example is when we get to meet the other characters for the first time. We are sitting in a circle, and they start talking. Yet, it’s not too clear who is who. A bit later this is better since you can speak to the girls one by one but still, this shouldn’t have been an issue. Just a bit more character animation when somebody is talking would go a long way. It’d also give some scenes a bit more pazzaz, if you understand what I mean.

The final negative I want to mention is that the screen to toggle full screen on and off only works in certain places. Do yourself a favor and toggle full screen on at the main menu. The keybind is F.

The conclusion

This game is an amazing indie game to play at Halloween night. It’s a charming throwback to the early PS1 games that might make you nostalgic to that area.

While this game is a bit rough especially when it’s missing some more modern innovations like skipable text/cutscenes or even a sort of save system, I was able to put those negatives to the side and enjoy my time.

This game isn’t for everyone, especially since some people can be turned off by the visual presentation and/or the control scheme of this game. But I think this game is developed for that niche audience that loves old school horror games and want to experience something like that again.

I think it’s clear if I recommend this game or not. Even with its shortcomings, that might be fixed or improved upon in a patch, this game an enjoyable horror story to play through. It’s charming, and I feel that it’s clearly a passion project done right.

Ant that’s everything I wanted to say about this game. A short article about a short game. I hope you enjoy playing this game and also enjoyed reading this article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Likewise, I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Score: 70/100

Game Quicky: Cube Grid (PC – Steam) ~ Rolling Around On The Grid

Steam store page – Official website

To be honest, the mobile games that attract me the most are the simple and easy to understand mobile games. When I play a game on my phone, it’s mostly to waste time while waiting for my train or something along those lines. It’s rare that I play bigger mobile games. When the small German indie studio Alchemical reached out to me with a press code for their newly released Steam port of Cube Grib, I was directly interested. So, in this article you’ll read my 100% honest opinion on the game and if I would recommend it or not. Also, this isn’t the studio’s first game, so, feel free to look at their website if you are looking for other mobile games to try out. In any case, let’s start this game quicky while I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your thoughts and/or opinions on this game and/or the content of this article.

Editorial note: I played v1.0.1 for this review.

The good cubes

There is no silly story in this game. This could be seen as a bummer to some people, but this game gets into the meat of the gameplay right away. The tutorial explains the game wonderfully, and you can dive right into the game.

The idea of this game is that you have to flip each colored tile while your cube is in the right color. Moving over a full colored tile flips it to a “square” tile (since there is a square drawn on it with that color). Moving over a “square” tile with the same color, flips it back to a full colored one. Which means, you have to reflip it before you can finish the level.

This game is a textbook example of being difficult to explain in text and better to see in action. Sadly, the trailer on the Steam page gives the wrong impression. There, the tiles turn black and this is something that doesn’t happen in the game. Since, that’s how it works in the mobile version. In this, somewhat enhanced PC-version, there are a few improvements that make this game even more enjoyable. Like more control options and being visual a bit better. Also, there are achievements in this version. Something that a lot of people adore, myself included. I find it fun to get these achievements when I do or reach certain things in games.

Now, the mobile version is free. This version costs 4 bucks. This is something you can look at in both ways. As a negative and a positive. Personally, I think this game is worth the price of admission, but I would love to see more features in the future to make it stand out more compared to the free version on mobile.

The controls are quite responsive. They are easy to learn but sometimes a bit tricky to master. For some reason, I messed up sometimes. But, quite sure that’s on me. Since the unique viewing angle of the stage made me mess up my directions sometimes. And to help with that, this game has an undo button that doesn’t count for one additional move. Sadly, you can only undo one move. So, if you want to undo more than one move, you are out of luck.

Visually, this game looks amazing. This game looks clean and isn’t “loud”. Even when you don’t understand English, you can play this game easily. The (UI) design is that good. In addition to that, the audiovisual presentation is great as well. The sound effects and music add so much to the game’s atmosphere. There are a few minor moments that miss sound effects, especially menu interactions but that’s so minor that it didn’t really bother me.

Speaking of visual presentation, you can choose the cube you play as. The amount of stars you earn at the end of each level are currency in the shop you can access from the main menu. In there, you can exchange your stars for a new cube you can play as. This is nothing more than just a visual change, but it is a nice feature that gives a bit of diversity to this game.

This game introduces the special mechanics in a pleasant way. The difficulty curve of this game is excellent, and I have nothing to remark about it. Each level provides a new challenge and the further you go, the more mechanics you’ll have to keep in mind. For example, around the 20th level you get introduced to the “timed tile”. So, when you touch that tile with the right color, you have a certain amount of moves before it reflips. So, keep these tiles as the last tile, so you can win the level.

The fact that there is no time limit or punishment if you take like “a million” moves to clear the level makes this game such an amazing title to wind down.

The bad cubes

There are a few minor issues in this Steam port. Let me talk about the controller controls first. You can control this game with a controller, and it works really well. But, controlling the menu’s and UI of the game isn’t possible. In the latest update, a controller button was added to rewind a move or restart the stage but going to the home menu isn’t possible.

Speaking of the controls, in during the levels you see a “WASD” lay-out. But the game doesn’t recognize another keyboard lay-out. So, I’m sitting here with my Belgian “AZERTY” lay-out being a bit annoyed that it’s not showing “ZQSD”. But that’s a minor nitpick since the arrow buttons work as well and that’s how I mostly played this game.

Now, there is no hint system in this game. So, if you are stuck in a certain puzzle, you can’t have any hints. Granted, developing a hint system for this type of game is quite tricky. How would you implement a hint system without it making the game quite easy or “play itself”. Here is an idea, just like in Quell, you have to pay a certain amount of coins to either see the full solution or set you on your way. And how would you earn these coins in this game? Well, maybe there is on or two hidden in each stage, and you have to click on a certain tile OR the amount of stars makes you earn a certain amount of coins?

Now, the tutorials in this game are excellent. Nothing to criticize about that. But, if you display a text box over the game, make it so that the game can’t be played in the background, or you can create weird edge cases that might break your game.

Something that’s really missing in this game is a colorblind mode. Take a game like Tetris Attack on the SNES, in this game each tile has a symbol on it, so colorblind people can easily recognize which tile is which color. In this game, each color can have its own symbol and the cube to switch color can be a similar shape, so it’s easy to distinguish. And if possible, make it an option so that people who find the mode annoying can turn it off.

There is one feature I’d love to see in a new update. In Invincible Cleopatra, there is a bar to the side of your screen that shows how close you are to perfecting the level. This is something that isn’t in this game. So, when you beat the level, it’s always waiting to see if you do or don’t get all three stars.

The conclusion

I might have written a lot of negative things about this game or things that are a bit broken/unpolished. Yet, most of these things can be patched out of the game with a (few) updates, making this game even more fun to play.

Maybe I’m a bit harsh on the game, and maybe I should look at this game for what it is. A love project where a small team of developers poured their hart and soul into. And that’s something you can clearly see.

While this game has a few shortcomings, I still would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys casual puzzle games. Or if you are looking for a simple but challenging (puzzle) game to wind down, this game is something for you.

If you are really interested in this game, I’d buy the Steam version. Since, you throw some money to the developers and that might motivate them to create an even better version or create more games. If you are unsure, you can give the mobile version a try and decide then.

In summary, this game is good and with some additional polishing it can become even better. Most of the issues I have with this game aren’t that big and can be implemented without a lot of effort. Overall, I think this game is an enjoyable time waster and I can’t wait to see which improvements the future brings.

And that’s everything I wanted to say about this game. Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Score: 80/100

Game Quicky: Invincible Cleopatra: Caesar’s Dreams Collectors’ Edition (PC) ~ Mummy’s At Work

Steam link – Bigfish Games (Collectors Edition)

It’s no secret that I enjoyed playing casual games. If a game looks interesting to me, I want to give it a try. It doesn’t matter to me if the game is from a big studio or a small indie team of 1 or 2 people in their bedroom. Today, I want to talk about a game set in Ancient Egypt. Something I really have a weak spot for. Games set in old mythological settings like Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece… Sing me up! But, is this game worth your time as well or is this a guilty pleasure of mine? Let’s take a look at this game while I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your thoughts and/or opinions on this game.

Who let the mummy’s out?

In this game you play as Cleopatra. You are trying to save Egypt from an attack from the Romans. You have to collect resources and find your way to the next area, so you can confront Caesar to try and save Egypt before it’s too late. And how are you going to do that? By invading Caesar’s dreams of course by trying to find a special mysterious amulet. It’s inception levels of peace talks. The story is quite silly and I love it. While it’s not a story that’s going to bring you to the edge of your seat, it’s still a nice addition.

If you just look at this screenshot, you’ll have a rough idea on how this game works. I call these type of games: “Free the pathway puzzlers”. So basically, you have to free a way to the end of the level by sending your limited amount of troops to gather the various resources. Removing obstacles cost a certain amount of resources, so you have to think fast about which resources to gather first and which obstacle to remove first.

I bought the collectors’ edition from Bigfish Games. In this edition, you have an additional chapter with more challenging levels to enjoy. It also includes a strategy guide that you can use when you want to beat the game 100%.

But I find it more fun to use that guide when you are 100% stuck. It also doesn’t hold your hand in how to beat the game but gives very good advice and basically explains the strategy on which section you have to focus on. There is a bit more in the collectors’ edition like the complete soundtrack, some developer art and some wallpapers.

Now, I haven’t played a lot of these type of games, but this game is managing to make me interested to play more of these type of games. I just hope they are as high quality as this one. I especially enjoy the hidden gem in each level that is a small distraction if you are waiting on your mummies to return to base camp.

The visual and audiovisual presentation of this game is great as well. It doesn’t take long before you learn all the little things that the developers put in place to aid you. The visual indication when you are trying to do something impossible; the way it shows how the path is blocked. Or the little sound cue that plays when you haven’t beaten the developers’ time.

The difficulty curve of this game is excellent. It eases you into the game, and you learn the mechanics and the small details quite easily. I never really had a moment where I didn’t really understand a mechanic. The bulk of the challenge in this game is trying to remember and optimize everything you learned in the later levels.

The visual design of the level map is great. You can quickly see how many stars you have earned in a level and if you have found the hidden gem as well. Thanks to the minimalistic UI design, it’s extremely easy to understand and use. To the point that English doesn’t need to be your first language to enjoy this game. You’ll miss out on the story, but that isn’t the biggest strong point of this game.

This game isn’t too difficult. While it’s a big challenge to beat the developer’s time, you aren’t punished too hard when you don’t beat the time. There is no real “game over” screen. Which can be seen as a negative as well. But, I honestly see it as a positive. It gives something for completions to aim towards while more casual players can just relax and enjoy the game.

Who let the mummy’s out??!!

This game is best played in short bursts if you aren’t really into these types of games. Since the repetitive nature of this game can become boring if you keep playing it without a break. The core mechanics never really change and so far, 25 levels in… I haven’t seen a lot of variations on the formula.

Some achievements are quite unclear. There isn’t even a hint in the build in strategy guide. Which is quite a shame in my opinion. Especially since you don’t know if you need to play at a certain difficulty level to unlock it or not.

Especially when you can collect two types of stars. You have the yellow stars, and you have the green stars. I’m currently halfway into the game and I still don’t understand how to get those green stars. I even played several easy levels on the highest difficulty and I still didn’t receive green stars. Most likely, I’m overlooking something, and it’s easier than I think.

Something I find a bit disappointing is that you can see the complete strategy guide from the main menu. So, you can spoil yourself on all the boards of the game. But, this isn’t such a big deal since the strategy guide is quite lacking. It explains the steps is extremely basic terms. It’s not really a strategy guide but more of a hint system. Especially, because like I said before, it doesn’t explain how to get certain achievements.

While there is a tutorial, there isn’t a “help feature” in this game. So, when you haven’t played this game for a while, and you forgot what certain buildings do, you are out of luck. You either try to understand it from context clues or replay the first few levels in the hope you find the correct level. Thankfully, this isn’t such a big problem, since in most cases, the context clues gives you the right hints but still. Maybe it would have explained how to get the green stars?

There is one mechanic I wished they handled differently. And that’s the “skip level” feature. You can skip levels as soon as the level is loaded. This makes the game way too easy. I wish you were able to use that button after for example three failed attempts or finding the hidden gem in the level.

The final negative I wanted to talk about is how silent the game is. When I placed everything on max volume, I still was able to hear my Groove play music in the background. I totally forgot to close my music player when I started playing this game a bit while writing this article and I noticed that Groove was only at 10% of its max volume. I continued to test, and it turns out that this game is just quite silent. Which is a shame since the soundtrack is enjoyable and the sound clues are important during gameplay.

Conclusion

This game got quite close to being an amazing casual game. But the rough edges it has, can be a dealbreaker for some players. Thankfully, the rough edges aren’t such big dealbreakers that make this game unplayable.

I really enjoy playing through this Egyptian adventure. I’m happy that I gave this game a try, and I’m quite curious to see other games of the same genre. How different are they and are they as fun to play as this one?

If you know of any good games like this one, feel free to leave a comment. I do have a few in my collection. Maybe you’ll see a few of them on my blog in the future?

So, if you enjoy casual games or just want a relaxing game… This game might be up your alley. Maybe even this article convinced you to take a look at this game. Who knows?

And that’s everything I wanted to say about this game. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Score: 4/5