Recent reviews by Awyrlas

Buy On Deep Discount / 10

A chill hunting sim. Fun, but very deliberate with plenty of downtime between harvests for those looking to take things slow. Thankfully it doesn't take itself too seriously and has enough arcade-y abstraction to keep things moving at a reasonable pace.

Biggest downside by far is the need to purchase the game piecemeal through DLC packs that mostly feel like they should have been free content updates. New maps and skins are one thing, but dozens of weapons, consumables, and QoL features are tucked awkwardly behind a paywall. Thankfully most of them are cheap and when the game is on a very deep discount you can pick up the really important stuff for what the game probably should have cost in the first place.

Silksong Good.

Harder than the first game, but definitely still approachable. Still working on Act 3, but at 40 hours to credits, I've gotten more than my money's worth.

despite everything, it's still Overwatch

There's a lot of discussion here about how hard the game is and whether or not that's a good thing, but I personally love difficult games and honestly, Super Dungeon Muncher isn't difficult so much as it feels like your ability to make progress is largely at the whim of the game.

Once you get a good run going, it's actually quite fun to weave through enemies. The level being eaten away as you progress adds to the intensity and in many cases, this dynamic is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, many of these runs end in about about a minute through what feels like no fault of my own. I can understand the occasions where I'm strapped for time and fail to solve a movement puzzle before being eaten, or miscalculate and eat ♥♥♥♥ on a snake or something, but getting stuck in those long dead-end hallways, or the moments where enemies bunch up to kill you, or put you in a position where your only option is to die just spoil the fun.

I think the game has a lot of potential and could actually be pretty great with a few updates. It's a shame then, that the developer seems to be allergic to feedback, even going so far as to add a "Wimp Mode" complete with a baby skin and pacifier noises. It seems it was added solely to razz people that the dev thinks are haters and might have been funny if the criticism wasn't well deserved.

Worth noting that all of my playtime is through the Wizard101 Launcher as accounts don't carry over between launchers

The game holds up really well, but the pricing structure is far from Free to Play. Most of the first area is locked behind a paywall and only about 5% of the first story arc is actually accessible to free players. Following story content is also the only way for players to make meaningful progress, so while you're free to log on and grind low level content till the end of your days, there's not much to actually *do* without forking over at least 10 bucks a month or 80 bucks charged piecemeal to access the rest of the first story arc.

Recently, I had the chance to play during one of those "First Arc is Free" periods that they'll occasionally run. After making some decent progress, I can honestly say that if they had pushed the paywalls to the end of Wizard City, I might have actually turned out my pockets to continue playing. Instead, the way they constantly nickle and dime the player to progress through even just a single area left such a bad taste in my mouth. I've made enough progress that coming back would require a monthly subscription, something i'm just not that interested in.

Wizard101 is a really great game that falls into just enough early 2000's MMO pitfalls that its hard to justify either of the game's pricing structures.

If you enjoyed the first, SteamWorld Dig 2 should be an instant buy. It does everything good the first one did and makes it better. The new areas are great, the campaign is more dynamic, the exploration is much improved, and the decision to move away from procedural generation helps make the world feel so much more cohesive.

However, It doesn't improve or really change much about how the game controls. They went almost unnoticed in the first game. Its simplicity and more arcade-y nature made them feel quirky rather than annoying. Though now that exploration and platforming is front and center with the challenge rooms being more frequent and more fleshed out, they've become that much more of a nuisance. It's not enough to swear off the game, but its certainly something to keep in mind during your play-through. Otherwise its honestly a phenomenal game and I think you could buy this guilt free at full price if for some reason you couldn't wait for it to go on sale (of which it does almost monthly)

8/10

This is *The* Rogue.

Cumbersome though it is, archaic as it looks, this is the giant whose shoulders were built upon.

Smol bean bloodlust sim

9/10 with friends
8/10 solo

Sea of Thieves is an interesting example of a game making a come back through constant updates.

Sea of Thieves is a pvp game. Do not be confused by the lush world and inviting aesthetic, the people who play this game can be cutthroat and many will not hesitate to chase you down for a single chest. You will find friends and great allies, maybe even have a peaceful session every once in a while, but these are the exception, not the rule. You have been warned.

Pros:
- Absolutely gorgeous
- Lots to do
- Fun with friends
- Best first person sailing and naval combat available

Middling:
- Long play sessions are the norm
- Tutorial is aggressively fine. It teaches you the absolute bare minimum then has you jump into the proverbial pool with all the grace of a toddler shoved off the high dive. This game is not recommended for players new to video games or unfamiliar with first person shooters though it can be enjoyed given they have plenty of guidance.
- Pvp is the norm, do not expect to run voyages and events in peace. Players can and will stop by to say hello with a blunderbuss to the back and a well timed keg in your hull.
- Pirate vs Pirate combat is uninteresting, but serves its purpose well.
- Must always be on your toes, even when no ships are in sight. Great if you enjoy the threat of other players, awful if you are trying to avoid them. Thrilling overall.
- Open Crew system produces below average results for Arena and Adventure matchmaking
- Solo experience is playing the game on hard mode, fun for some, but best played with a group

Cons:
- Zero progression to speak of outside of a handful of new voyage types.
- Neglected arena mode is wasted potential, though Sloop Arena can be a fun distraction from Adventure
- Repetitive content (The first time you play and the fiftieth time are virtually identical outside of cosmetics)

7.5/10

Very worth it to the niche it was made for, and aggressively average to everyone else. This game has given me a few of my favorite moments in gaming, but has also given me some of my greatest disappointments. Though arguably each has made for an incredibly memorable story. Honestly that's what this game is all about, creating stories with your friends and complete strangers. Some people will become your greatest allies and others will be the foulest bastards you'll ever meet. When you put aside the repetitive core loop and the lack of progression, this game is phenomenal at pushing out memorable moment after memorable moment. Harrowing chases, devious turnarounds, surprise success, and crushing defeat are all waiting for you within these waters. If you aren't *quite* sold on it, I do highly recommend the Xbox PC Game Pass. It's a dollar for your first month and if Sea of Thieves isn't your thing, there's plenty of other games for you to try.

It's Halo, nuff said.

Server population is on the low side, so sometimes trying to find games outside the normal rotations is a bit rough.

Multiplayer is a little jittery and lagging and freezing is common in certain maps or in certain games. (looking at you Reach)

Single player is good as ever.

There are some minor hit registration issues and an array of smaller problems have cropped up with the ports, but honestly most of them are easily overlooked if your goal is to plug back into these games with a few friends. With Halo 3 and Forge coming soon, this is a pretty easy buy for most.

8/10