Plant crops, produce biofuel, and automate! A relaxing idle-farming simulator that sits at the bottom of your screen while you do other things.
Rusty’s Retirement is an innovative idle game that I imagine we will see inspiring other games of its kind in the years to come.
What makes Rusty’s Retirement stand out from the rest is that it is designed to be accessible when you are doing other things on your PC, whether that is watching YouTube or Twitch, working, or even playing another game. This game sits at the bottom of your screen taking up maybe a quarter of your monitor, allowing you to flick your eyes down to check on your little working farm at any time you please.
Farming and automation feel like a perfect fit for the idle genre, I am surprised I haven’t played this mixture before but I am glad that this one was my first. Growing crops in this game is simultaneously faster and slower than in a regular farming sim. Faster in the sense that you don’t have to wait for in-game days to pass, but slower in the sense that all you have to do is wait, at least early on. As you progress though you can turn your attention to other things such as upgrading your machines for better productivity and decorating your little slice of agricultural heaven.
I had the game running in the background for quite a lot of time during the Steam Next Fest. It is very refreshing to have it sat at the bottom of a second monitor, just checking in every now and again to plant new seeds and checking what I needed to produce in order to unlock the next type of vegetable. The progression doesn’t require a lot of focus but I personally found it nice to take a minute whenever there was a halt in my work and be distracted, ready to focus again once I had planted my seeds.
One thing to note – I wouldn’t really recommend Rusty’s Retirement as a first Idle Game, or at least the version of the demo that I played. This is simply due to the lack of tutorial. I have played a couple of idle games and various automation games but I still wasn’t 100% certain what to do at first glance. Of course, some of the fun for some folk may be figuring that out, but I feel previous familiarity would be very beneficial.
Overall, I honestly think Mister Morris Games are onto something here. I would not at all be surprised to see this concept take off with all sorts of other ideas that I can’t even imagine yet. It is a companion game that doesn’t demand your constant attention all of the time, just being there for you when you have a moment. The way that the larger games industry leans more and more towards live service and monetization every passing year, demanding full attention, daily logins or thousands of hours, Rusty’s Retirement feels humble, elegant and for the player. I wish them all of the success.
Demo Length – 8+ hours At a glance + A genius innovative idea. + Cozy vibes. + ‘Always on top’ option allows me to interact with other windows without hiding or affecting the game. +/- Only as engaging as it needs to be (allowing you to get back to work between planting sessions) – Could use a small tutorial
Crypt Custodian is a charming metroidvania about cleaning up the afterlife. Play as Pluto- a mischievous cat who has died, and is sentenced to be the afterworlds janitor… FOREVER! Hang out with other doomed ghosts, battle beasts, and explore a vastly expansive landscape.
For a game that I expected to be action packed and all about the combat, I did not expect to be so completely and utterly charmed by the writing, dialogue and characters of Crypt Custodian, while a beat later holding back a tear.
The Crypt Custodian demo was huge. Every time that I thought ‘there can’t possibly be more’, there was more. More areas, more mechanics, more enemies. So much in fact that I didn’t complete this one. I reached a boss but after multiple attempts and multiple failures, I had to call time. There were optional upgrades that I could have pursued that could have helped me, as well as areas that I had yet to explore, so I am confident that with more time I could have made it through.
Generally, the game felt good to play. There is an overall reminiscence of Dark Souls with the bonfire-esque shrines, but the combat almost reminded me of The Binding of Isaac, not in mechanics but in rhythm. As you progress, you will meet new enemies and master the patterns of beating them, with that continuously being shaken up as you come across new waves and combinations. The health system is the other similarity being simple to understand, being hit takes away 1 health. Get hit 3 more times and you die. I personally didn’t get along with the dodge cooldown, finding myself frustrated at times, but there are difficulty options including both an easy mode and more personalised settings in the assist section of the settings menu.
Crypt Custodian is as much about exploring as it is about fighting, with worthy puzzles scattered around, sometimes halting and sometimes guiding your progress. The simple, colourful aesthetic perfectly complements the dark humour of the game and while I don’t have a hankering to continue with the fighting side of the game (which would be impossible to avoid as there are enemies around every corner), I could see myself making use of the difficulty features to make it though the rest as I feel quite enamoured by the world and the characters within.
Top-down action and space exploration meet asteroid mining automation! Command a faithful crew of bots and get to work in the asteroid belt. Impress your employer, upgrade your equipment, fight off pirates and save up for that ticket to Earth so you can finally come home… for the very first time.
Astronomics isn’t your typical automation game. Where often you would expect to build from a fixed base outwards, mining ores, constructing and optimising your structures, in Astronomics, we bring the factory to the asteroids.
This game is all about collection. The more resources that we collect, the more one time use machines we can build to speed up collection. The more that we then collect, the more we can bring back and sell. The more that we sell, the more we can upgrade our machines to speed up collection, and so on.
The overall goal is to buy a ticket to earth, which is gradually done by taking a percentage of our earning. These are earned through expeditions. As the player, we get to take a look at asteroids that are close to our base spaceship (space base? base ship?) and make our choice which ones to deplete based on how much time they will remain within the radius of our reach.
This game isn’t going to be for everyone, but I particularly wanted to highlight it as it has a satisfying loop. My favourite part of automation games tends to be the beginning, with the task of getting established. Once things progress, they can sometimes become too complex or too stagnant for me, both of which inevitably cause me to lose interest. Since in Astronomics you are always visiting new areas, you get to do the beginning part over and over, with the progression from manual labour, to commanding an entire workforce of robots.
In Astroneer I enjoyed driving around collecting scrap. In Sea of Thieves I enjoy sailing around collecting treasure. This is a game about collecting, but this time with tools, and I will be keeping an eye on the development through Early Access and beyond.
Demo Length – 50 mins At a glance + Expedition based gameplay. + Growing your team feels satisfying. + Going to new spaces and making priorities on the fly. +/- A slow start (for me this made upgrades feel very valuable but won’t be for everyone). +/- I didn’t have many interactions with Pirates so I can’t say how balanced is feels.
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami – Demo Impressions
Developer: Happy Broccoli Games
Release Date: 2024
Solving crime is no walk in the pond. You are a down-on-his-luck detective who also happens to be a duck. Use your powers of de-duck-tion to inspect evidence, fill in the blanks, and bust the case wide open, in a narrative mystery adventure where nothing is quite as it seems.
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami leaves an immediate impression. Within the first 30 seconds of the demo I was staring at the screen, slack-jawed, processing what I was experiencing with amused delight.
In Duck Detective we scour environments, taking clues both officially and through context. We chat to friends, strangers and presumably suspects. The goal is to fill in the de-duck-tion sheet, placing the correct clue into the correct place in the story. Only then do we solve the immediate mystery and move onto the next, learning about our main chacter as we go. It is simple but fun as there are multiple solutions that will make sense. It is up to the player to fill in the gaps with the background knowledge that you will find via snooping.
While Duck Detective may feel like a light hearted comedy, there is more to it than that. It has a tragic side as it oozes noir, with the voice over dialogue and soft jazz. The game presents its dad puns openly, but between the lines, dark humour and satire are equally present.
I was overjoyed to discover the game is fully voiced. It is like a multiplier on an already atmospheric and charismatic game, not only making it more streamable for creators like me, but allowing the jokes to land in the way that the writers intended.
Finally, the full demo was short and sweet, showing everything it needed to and nothing more. At a time where demos seem to become increasingly more lengthy, it was a refreshing treat to be able to jump in and be sold within 20 minutes.
Demo Length – 20 mins At a glance + Noir atmosphere. + Voice acting. + Logic puzzles requiring you to pay attention to context. + Funny puns and satire. + Attention to detail. +/- The puzzles were quite simple.
Wield the dance of the shaman. Reclaim your father’s spirit. Brave the beautiful and treacherous land of Kenzera with the God of Death in Tales of Kenzera™: ZAU, a metroidvania-style adventure crafted by Surgent Studios.
Games like Tales of Kenzera: ZAU are the reason I am so glad that demos exist. Viewing a trailer of a 2.5D metroidvania – while it does convey the aesthetic and themes of a game – doesn’t really tell me whether it is a game for me. Feeling it with my own hands however is another matter.
As someone who doesn’t play games for challenge or mastery, this one could have easily passed me by. But the similarities to Ori and the opportunity to play the demo have instead cemented this game onto my Wishlist.
The similarities to Ori are strong. The entire structure of the game provides a comfortable, familiar feel while the use of setting, backgrounds, lighting and music provide that awe inspiring beauty to make it stand out from the rest. While themes of grief and connection are present in both games, ZAU does bring its own take on the genre.
The combat is the biggest notable difference, and the game does not hold back, giving you plenty of tools from the get go. ZAU has two styles of combat. One draws from the sun, bringing the heat with your fists in close range. The other draws from the moon, sending lunar projections out to damage enemies from afar. Switching between styles is instantaneous and encouraged. Each has its own skill tree that is upgraded through a shared currency, allowing you to make decisions based on your preferences.
The demo also provided a satisfactory look into the platforming side of the game. It feels good in the hands to move at a fast pace, weaving through the obstacles with a series of jumps and dashes. I felt like I had good handle of Zau and whenever I did have a fateful meeting with some spikes, I couldn’t blame a lack of control.
Finally, as for the metroidvania side of the game, I am specifically looking forward to seeing what abilities are going to be found throughout the entire experience. The demo displayed that not only will new abilities grant you access to previously inaccessible areas, but they are also usable in combat, allowing for great immersion and an even greater excitement about what we may find next.
While I may be slightly intimidated by the potential complexity of the combat, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is not only a story that I want to witness, but a world that I would like to explore and ultimately, a game that I would like to play.
Demo Length – 1 hour At a glance + Stunning. + Atmospheric. + Regular checkpoints. + Movement is fun. + Kalunga. +/- Combat has potential to be very complex. I only put this in the neutral section as this will be music to some folks ears, but kill it for others. Personally, I hope for difficulty options.
Design automated workshops for your odd and adorable Sparks to carry and craft everything, including more of themselves! Lead your squad of Sparks into combat. Explore a strange fantasy world, in single player or online co-op. Unearth the ancient mystery of the Sparks!
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure combines the automation and optimisation process of games like Satisfactory or Factorio, with the crafting and creature collecting of games like The Wild at Heart into an expansive yet cozy package. The generous demo provides a lengthy look at what the game aims to be ready for its Early Access release in April.
After a slow start, Oddsparks begins to shine as it reveals the star of the show – Sparks. Sparks are mysterious little forest friends that seemingly exist to serve you. Whether moving ever forward on a predefined route carrying anything in their path as they go, or following you around ready to harvest resources or even fight, these valuable little critters are the heart of the game.
In any automation game, the freedom to be able to relocate your buildings and constructs, make changes to your set up and alter and rebuild paths without penalty is crucial in encouraging creativity. This game allows for that perfectly. As I unlocked new things and discovered new areas I was free to experiment with my set up which, in my opinion, is half of the fun of the game.
The game (at least as far as I got) is set in two areas. The village, and what I will call the wilderness. The village is where the NPCs live, giving you tasks in order to help you learn the game while drip feeding story and flavour. The wilderness is where you will do your building. It is large, full of resources, and potentially more dangerous the further that you go.
The village itself is the weakest point of the game for me. I was never excited to return, only going back because I had to hand in my quests but never looking forward to it. There was a disconnect between me and the dialogue that didn’t allow me to connect with the characters, making it feel less like a home base and more like a chore to return.
I am looking forward to following the development of Oddsparks and very interested to see what changes – if any – are made throughout Early Access. While it wasn’t a home run for me, I did stop playing the demo early as I was sold on the full game. That is a sign of a demo doing its job!
Demo Length – Long At a glance + Simple rules. + Encourages creativity. + A great mixture of game genres. + Glad it is going into Early Access rather than full release. – A little too talky for me as I was not invested in the dialogue. – I never wanted to go to the village.
This time last year I was living my best life. Driven mad by my backlog and the continually rising number of games on my Game Pass ‘play later’ list, I gave myself a beautiful gift. That gift was permission. Permission to dive into said list. 12 games, 12 videos, 12 impressions – maybe I should have called it the Duodecuplary games. It turned out to be an absolute treat.
One year later I am still looking back fondly on this time. While it was so much more work than I anticipated (why would I even consider that this would only be 12 hours of gameplay?!), I loved every second. I didn’t only do it for enjoyment though, it served a purpose. I wanted to try out a bunch of games before they left the service, experience what they were about, decide if I wanted to play them to completion and by extension, see whether I wanted to make content with them.
I would have loved to have done it again this year but circumstances mean that my content has slowed down. Even if I somehow managed to carve out the time to do the 12 Days of Games, it would feel bad knowing that I didn’t manage to Let’s Play most of the games that I wanted to from the previous batch. So instead I am doing a recap!
Finished
Citizen Sleeper (2022)
You are a sleeper, a digitised human consciousness in an artificial body, owned by a corporation that wants you back. Thrust amongst the unfamiliar and colourful inhabitants of the Eye, you need to build friendships, earn your keep, and navigate the factions of this strange metropolis, if you hope to survive to see the next cycle.
Citizen Sleeper was the first game from the bunch that I decided to complete as a Let’s Play, and little did I know, the only game. It was quite an undertaking as it is primarily a text based game with zero voice acting, but it turned out to be the perfect choice. The final DLC got released at exactly the time that I reached it and we got to experience the full story, and honestly, the DLC is very worth playing. I was pretty happy with where I ended up in the main game and felt strongly content in my decisions. The DLC was great at how it managed to progress that in a very natural way and a reminder that the end of one story can be the beginning of another.
Super glad that we played this one, I love that there is a sequel on the way and I really enjoyed getting back to recording.
Game Pass Status – Still available.
Original Ranking – Continue playing online. Where are we at now? – Let’s Play completed.
Exo One (2021)
A strange signal… an alien craft… Exo One is an interplanetary, gravity-defying journey through space and time.
Exo One was such a strange one. After reflection with the context of having tried out so many games, I was pretty sure that I was just going to let this one go. I got the idea, I didn’t thrive with the controls and thought I had had my fill. But for whatever reason, I couldn’t.
I think that reason could possibly be that I played 1 and 1/2 hours of a game that ‘How Long to Beat’ tells me is a two hours long. I was so close, I needed to see it through! Of course, HLtB hours are shorter than Noob hours so it did take longer than anticipated. However, I think I am pleased with seeing it through.
I can’t say that I understood what actually happened in the game, but I can say that my favourite thing was seeing the variety of absolutely stunning environments. While it didn’t blow me away with its gameplay, I am glad that I reached the end because no doubt I would still be kicking myself to this day for putting it down unfinished.
Game Pass Status – Left the service.
Original Ranking – Continue playing offline/That’s enough for me. Where are we at now? – Finished offline.
Spore (2008)
Be the architect of your own universe with Spore, an exciting single-player adventure available for download to your PC. Will you be a bloodthirsty carnivore destined to crush your competitors, or a gentle herbivore seeking out stronger allies to enforce your quiet way of life?
Confession – I didn’t technically finish Spore. BUT I played enough to be satisfied so I am keeping it in my ‘Finished’ category.
The game is made up of 5 eras correlating to stages of evolution, but what I didn’t know is that the final stage can be as long as the rest of the game combined. I didn’t love the gameplay throughout but I did desperatly want to see how my species turned out, and the levels changed regularly enough that everytime I was beginning to feel fed up, it was almost time for the next one.
I made it to the space phase and once I saw what it was about I was happy to call it a day. The evolution of my specific creature while also discovering different creatures around me were my favourite parts of the game. If I could have that in a game with a different gameplay structure I think I could get really on board, the only problem is that I can’t identify what I would rather the gameplay be!
Game Pass Status – Still available.
Original Ranking – Continue playing offline/That’s enough for me. Where are we at now? – Finished offline to an extent.
Opus: Echo of Starsong (2021)
Asteroids emitting a sound known as “Starsongs” have become the center of conflict for the immense power they hold. Determined to claim asteroids of his own, a young man ventures out with a girl who can imitate starsongs, lending her voice to unravel an ancient myth deep in the heart of space.
I ended up continuing this one offline due to the voice acting being in Japanese. I wanted to hear it but I didn’t want to talk over it which obviously doesn’t make for a good Let’s Play!
I am SO glad I went back to it though, once I got into the flow of the story and the exploration I had a really good time. It was beautiful, emotional and I enjoyed it more than I expected.
It has parallels with Citizen Sleeper in a way, being Visual Novel adjacent, set in a fictional space world with time/resource management aspects. Having said that though, they are both entirely different experiences, both of which I think are worth the playthrough!
Game Pass Status – Still available.
Original Ranking – Continue playing online/Continue playing offline. Where are we at now?– Finished offline.
Dropped
Valheim (Early Access 2021)
Valheim is a brutal exploration and survival game for 1-10 players set in a procedurally-generated world inspired by Norse mythology. Craft powerful weapons, construct longhouses, and slay mighty foes to prove yourself to Odin!
I am so hit or miss with survival games, with miss being the much more likely outcome. I thought that I might have been drawn back to the game because so many of my friends have thoroughly enjoyed their time with it, but the more time that passed, the more happy I was admitting that it just isn’t for me.
I still see the appeal of being part of a community server, but solo, I have so many other games to play that even just trying out Valheim was enough. On the other hand, I don’t feel like I got to see much of what the game is actually about – what with the savage deaths and mechanical confusion. This does feel like a shame, but like I said, moving on feels good too.
Game Pass Status – Still available.
Original Ranking – Continue playing offline/That’s enough for me. Where are we at now? – Didn’t play more.
Signalis (2022)
Awaken from slumber and explore a surreal retrotech world as Elster, a technician Replika searching for her lost partner and her lost dreams. Discover terrifying secrets, challenging puzzles, and nightmarish creatures in a tense and melancholic experience of cosmic dread and classic psychological survival horror.
I mean… I really did try and I think I managed much better than I anticipated. The thing that kept me going was knowing that once I put it down, I was not going to pick it back up again. This is absolutely not a criticism to the game, I am just not built for survival horror.
I am not built for any horror really but survival may be the most stressful kind. Not only is there the worry of dying at any moment, but something even more stressful? Deciding when to use your resources. I’m a gatherer, I like to collect stuff and I like to keep stuff. Making the decisions about what to carry, what to use and what to pick up is the nightmare of the indecisive. So this was a nightmare within a nightmare.
I did go on to watch a full playthrough of the game and I enjoyed it a lot more that way! I can’t say I understood it well, but I enjoyed the journey, even if it was vicarious.
Game Pass Status – Left the service.
Original Ranking – That’s enough for me. Where are we at now? – Didn’t play more but did watch a full playthrough.
Kentucky Route Zero (2013)
KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO: TV EDITION is a magical realist adventure game in five acts, featuring a haunting electronic score, and a suite of hymns and bluegrass standards recorded by The Bedquilt Ramblers. Rendered in a striking visual style that draws as much from theater, film, and experimental electronic art as it does from the history of videogames, this is a story of unpayable debts, abandoned futures, and the human drive to find community.
I believe I picked Kentucky Route Zero back up as it was put on the ‘leaving soon’ list, so that provided some urgency. This is the first impression that changed the most after playing more of the game. I am sad to say it but I’m very glad that I didn’t try to continue this one as a Let’s Play.
I managed to complete Act III (of V) but I could not get any further. By the time I got there I had accepted that I just fundamentally do not ‘get‘ the game. Surrealism doesn’t really do an awful lot for me or my imagination. Not understanding what was going on and not being too fussed about figuring it out already sealed the deal, but potentially the most damning thing was, I just found myself quite bored.
Alas, I am glad that I got the chance to play as much as I did before it left the service. Finding out whether I enjoy these games was a huge reason that I begun the series so whether I liked the game or not, I still enjoy the data that comes from trying.
Game Pass Status – Left the service.
Original Ranking – Continue playing online/Continue playing offline. Where are we at now? – Continued playing offline before dropping it.
No Man’s Sky (2016)
In No Man’s Sky, every star is the light of a distant sun, each orbited by planets filled with life, and you can go to any of them you choose. Fly smoothly from deep space to planetary surfaces, with no loading screens, and no limits. In this infinite procedurally generated universe, you’ll discover places and creatures that no other players have seen before – and perhaps never will again.
If I am being totally – and maybe brutally – honest, this is the game that I remember the least out of the 12 that I played.
A year has passed and I remember being on a planet, in a house near a cave. I think I was building it. And that is all I have got. Perhaps it is the curse of the survival game striking again and I need to accept that I don’t enjoy the mechanics. But I don’t think that is the whole problem here. It could be another game that requires more time to really dive in and see what it is about, but with the amount of games that exist now, I am happy enough to leave this one behind in a similar way to Valheim.
Game Pass Status – Still available.
Original Ranking – That’s enough for me. Where are we at now? – Dropped it.
Pending
Undertale (2015)
Welcome to UNDERTALE. In this RPG, you control a human who falls underground into the world of monsters. Now you must find your way out…or stay trapped forever.
Ahh Undertale. I feel like I have had a little bit of a mess with this game. I spent a while considering that if I was going to continue my Let’s Play, how should I approach it? Should I continue with the strategies I was using? Should I let go of my arbitrary rules and just do what feels right in the moment? Should I start again?
All of these questions were then answered by the game leaving the service. It is now on Ps Plus which I do have access to, but of course my save file does not, so starting over would be the only option.
Secondly – and a deciding factor that I should continue offline – is that I had something spoiled. I have no idea how big of a spoiler it really is, but it is enough that I am dissapointed that I know about it and it will impact the enjoyment of being blind on the game.
All of these factors combined helped me to decide that I am just going start again in my own time from my couch. It is still a game that I want to see through to the end and add to my catalogue of knowledge and references. But the Let’s Play unfortunately isn’t meant to be.
Game Pass Status – Left the service.
Original Ranking – Continue playing online. Where are we at now? – Want to continue playing offline.
As Dusk Falls (2022)
As Dusk Falls is an original interactive drama from INTERIOR/NIGHT that explores the entangled lives of two families across thirty years. Starting in 1998 with a robbery-gone-wrong in small town Arizona, the choices you make have a powerful impact on the characters’ lives in this uncompromising story of betrayal, sacrifice and resilience.
In hindsight, it probably would have made sense for me to Let’s Play this game first. It is the shortest of the bunch and games like these don’t really allow for any meandering. BUT if I had done that then Citizen Sleeper wouldn’t have been so perfectly timed, and if my memory serves me, my Game Pass ran out right as I finished CS so I didn’t have time to play these other games.
This game is still on my list, I would have to go back through the video as a reminder for the choices that I made, but the tension was so high, I can only imagine how the rest of the game will go!
Game Pass Status – Still available.
Original Ranking – Continue playing online. Where are we at now? – Want to continue playing online.
Deaths Door (2022)
Reaping souls of the dead and punching a clock might get monotonous but it’s honest work for a Crow. The job gets lively when your assigned soul is stolen and you must track down a desperate thief to a realm untouched by death – where creatures grow far past their expiry and overflow with greed and power.
As mentioned above, I no longer have Game Pass, and while that isn’t the reason that I haven’t done anymore Let’s Plays, it is obviously a hurdle for these specific games that I had chosen. Thankfully, in the last year Death’s Door became a Ps Plus game! That means that I can now play it at any time that I want.
While there is a chance that I just play this one offline instead, I am not going to do that yet unless I get a really really big urge as I still think it could be a fun YouTube series. The only downside to me now having it on Ps Plus is that it lowers it down the priority list, as it is no longer time limited. When I get Game Pass back ‘As Dusk Falls’ and ‘Tunic’ are the focus. But the bright side is I can start this one back up any time I like (that is, after I have played Pyre, Batman, Scarlet Hollow and any other games that I have promised 😅).
Game Pass Status – Still available.
Original Ranking – Continue playing online. Where are we at now? – Want to continue playing online.
Tunic (2022)
Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure. Stranded in a ruined land, and armed with only your own curiosity, you will confront colossal beasts, collect strange and powerful items, and unravel long-lost secrets.
The last but the opposite of the least is Tunic! If I could suddenly have the time and facilities to Let’s Play a game right now, it would be this one. I LOVED exploring around the world, seeing what we would find and how it connected together. It was really fun and I feel like I clicked with it very well.
This is a game that recieved such heavy praise, but I got the impression it was for doing something different. I didn’t get far enough to know what that is and I really would like to discover it for myself, so while I currently still don’t have time to record and have already promised Pyre as my next series, I still have a huge itch to play this game and will do so as soon as the stars align.
Game Pass Status – Still available.
Original Ranking – Continue playing online. Where are we at now? – Want to continue playing online.
If anyone out there is stuck in a rut with your backlog or struggling with analysis paralysis on what to play next, this was an extremely refreshing experience that I would recommend to others to try for themselves. While I haven’t followed through with the recordings that I would still love to do, I did manage to knock 8 games off my backlog and had a tonne of fun doing it. You don’t have to make it into work or a project, just pick a number of games that you want to try and play the first hour. Don’t think too hard, just press play and before you know you might be playing your new favourite game.
The Thaumaturge is a story-driven RPG with morally ambiguous choices, taking place in the culturally diverse world of early 20th century Warsaw. In this world, Salutors exist: esoteric beings that only Thaumaturges can truly perceive and use for their needs.
The Thaumaturge drew me in with its well written dialogue, and kept me with the hellish creature design, intrigue, setting, atmosphere and gradual learning curve. While it isn’t the most polished game that I have ever played, the ambition of this game is to be respected and I am amazed at how few issues I had considering the scope of what is on offer.
Fool’s Theory are clearly aiming for high quality in every aspect in the game and while performance has a little bit to go (at least for me on my machine), they are well on their way to their goals and I see no reason that they don’t achieve them with flying colours.
The game itself looks stunning. The environments make me want to be there despite eldritch horrors and the cold – and I hate the cold. The characters look fantastic which is not an easy feat, and the UI is not only cohesive but it is obvious how much care has gone into creating the entire look of this game. Opening the menu and exploring the various pages is a treat for both lore junkies and art appreciaters alike.
As for the rest of the game, we play as Wiktor, a Thaumaturge which is a person with the ability to not only sense Salutors – the best way I can describe them are demon type creatures in a parallel plain, affecting the world around us – but can learn to control them too, to both great personal gain, and cost. This links the story and the combat, as solving others problems benefits us in ways they do not know. Once we control a Salutor, they help us out in the turn based combat.
While combat felt strange and barebones at first, that is for a purpose. The further you delve into the demo, the more elements are introduced, converting it from a brutal fist fights to intricate battles. Enemies hit hard and you dont have a huge HP pool, which makes health management an essential part of every choice you make. Hurting their focus being just as important as damage, with more options unlocking as you go.
Overall, I had fun with The Thaumaturge and I am certainly going to keep an eye on reviews. Wishing all the best for release at the end of the year!
Demo Length – 1 hour 45 mins.
At a glance + Ambitious. + The writing/dialogue. + The art in the menus. + Creature design. + Everyones hair. + The progression of combat. There is more to it than there initially seems and they make sure you understand one element before adding the next. – Cutscenes and loading in weren’t the smoothest but the demo makes clear this isn’t representative of the final quality.
You have been magically summoned by mysterious gnomes to restore a long-lost garden. Attract adorable animals, build a lush environment, and immerse yourself in this relaxing garden-builder. Will you manage to reclaim the wasteland or succumb to a looming corruption?
Horticular feels like a mixture of two genres that I individually want to love, but together may be a winning recipe. The two genres that I refer to are cute sandbox builders, and zoo management games. While neither of those things are entirely what this game is about, it takes – in my opinion – the best part of both and merges them together in an ultimate, zen experience. But the kind zen that requires some planning and thought… but not too much!
In Horticular, we are recruited by a council of gnomes to restore a wasteland, reviving the ecosystem and attracting more wildlife into our custom made, picturesque environments. There is an impressive amount of beautifully crafted pixel flowers, terrains, items, decorations and so on, allowing for maximum creativity. Of course they aren’t all available to you from the start. The more that you restore, the more money you can make to continue restoring and unlock new options.
All of these items impact the environment in different ways, mostly being the deciding factor of whether an area is habitable for certain creatures. The more creatures you attract, the more you will learn about their needs, which helps you to invite more creatures. The more creatures you have the more resources you will gain, and the more pride you can have that your environment is thriving. It is a cycle of absolute pleasantness to the highest degree.
Even from the demo I feel like this is a game that I have been looking and hoping for for a long time. The developers are doing an outstanding job and I wish them every success. I hope this game can get the attention that it deserves.
Demo Length – I played for 2 hours and got the impression there was quite a while to go.
At a glance + Beautiful. + Peaceful. + Loads of options to make your garden your own. + Ground types only cost time which allows you to be creative. + It is exciting when a new animal arrives. + I enjoy the gnome theming. +/- It has management game elements without going really far in that direction. Perfect for people like me who fall off those games when it starts getting too complicated. Maybe not so if you are looking for something extremely complex. +/- I am not sure how keen I am on the corrupted gnome attacks. Difficulty options make this a none issue though, and I can’t judge it this early as there is an entire progression route to it. – I had trouble seeing nectar that had been dropped.
On the moon Europa, a lush terraformed paradise in Jupiter’s shadow, an android named Zee sets out in search of answers. Run, glide and fly across the landscape, solve mysteries in the ruins of a fallen utopia, and discover the story of the last human alive.
Playing the demo of Europa without context, I felt like I was exploring a beautiful land full of whimsy. There was a tinge of sadness but that was continually overridden by the joy of movement. There is a heavy sense of a thriving ecosystem that bustles in every biome, making the place feel alive, allowing an extremely important – and potentially disturbing thought – to hide in the back of your mind, buried but niggling. That question – where are the people?
Fast forward to writing my impressions which allows me to read the Steam description (see above). I did read it some time before but I also read about 40 others so I unfortunately don’t tend to remember the specific details. Upon a reread knowing what I know now, my reaction was one of confusion, shock and sadness. This additional context changes a lot of the mulling and theorising I was doing while playing. It takes away a lot of the hope that I had and makes me approach the story in a whole new way. The rug has been pulled, a plot twist without even being within the game.
Playing Europa felt reminiscent of Journey. It has more means of storytelling, for example the excellent journal that pages you pick up, but it is largely a game of cinematic exploration through kinetic means, soaring your way through seperate levels, taking in the environment and solving a puzzle to move onto the next one.
The game is full of neat little details. The way it guides you to areas of interest with the use of wildlife is lovely, along with being able to interact with mysterious creatures, which you will seemingly learn more about as you go. The use of particles and so many other wonders filling the air makes Europa feel like a slightly alien yet magical place. Surfing across water is always fun and methods of movement are introduced at a great pace, making exploring these areas much more of a pleasure than a chore.
I am definitely interested in playing the rest of Europa, although I wonder whether it will be one of those games that I need to be adequately emotionally prepared for, as under the colourful, perfect aesthetic, dark themes are being explored.
Demo Length – 35 mins.
At a glance + Movement is fun. + The abundance of nature (and evolution of it?). + Areas felt the perfect size to do a little exploring and then move on. + The colours, particles, effects and general art direction. + The book pages. + The teaser at the end showed lots more to come.
CtrlAltNoob 