Recent reviews by Koep

On top of being very well made in general (UI, music, features, etc) the basic gameplay loop is very satisfying. You're making poker hands, but they are modified by a bunch of factors. One big factor is "joker cards" that you obtain and they modify how you play in a bunch of fun and interesting (and sometimes weird) way. An example would be a joker that makes it so you can make a straight with only 4 cards instead of 5. And another one that allows you to make a straight with gaps between, so 4-5-7-9-10 for example. These two combined for example mean you can easily make straights all the time so you can now boost the level of a straight and focus on that strategy. On top of the numerous and highly distinguishable joker cards that all make for different variations of the same wonderful rogue-like, you can also boost certain hand types so they are more rewarding. There's all sorts of mechanics that that make it very fun to think about your hands, pull the right cards, and fix your deck.

I think one of the biggest mistakes newer players that might get turned off of Balatro can make is to ignore many of the non-joker elements. I've played a game where I only played a single high card 60 times in a row; another where I replaced more than 50% of my deck with just 10's and 4's to work with the first joker I got that game. Some games I skip most blinds, others I play every blind and every hand. There are so many wild things you can do once you take full advantage of all the tools, and learn to manage your economy and interest so you can afford to empower your builds. On top of this, the amount of interesting unlocks further push the player to take more strategies into account when tackling a blind or a high score run.

Playing it makes me feel smart.

The First Descendant unfortunately offers nothing unique whatsoever aside from abhorrent microtransaction practices and fishy plagiarism from a company that has a similar track record compared to other shady Asian game studios like NetEase that create cobbled-together plagiarized games that have already seen massive success, only to shut these same games down months later after raking in the microtransaction payouts. Nexon has a history of shifting their main focus away from core gameplay and towards loot box systems and item drop rates that allow players to pay for better chances, without releasing what exactly those chances are themselves. Given that they were just recently fined $9 million in legal fees for misleading players of MapleStory in their other loot box system, I'm sure they are hard at work crafting a new way to rake in cash from a whole new First Descendant playerbase.

Every character looks as "anime-cool" as they can with no rhyme or reason, seemingly just to draw further emphasis on cosmetic options that players can buy with real money, further increasing their maximum payout. Apparently--with regard to the game's description on Steam--you are fighting for the survival of humanity. This coupled with the trailer as well as gameplay, showcases a product that comes out to being so incredibly generic. What truly gets under my skin is how much people eat this up. There is nothing epic about the clunky gameplay or uninspired futuristic soldier hullabaloo that we have seen from so many other uninspiring one-off games recently. I cannot emphasize how stiff everything in this game is. The whole project is an AI-generated Pinterest board of anime cyberpunk-soldier art that doesn't ever fit in its environment. How many more times in videogames does the protagonist or character we play as have to sit and stare and some emotionless being that reads through pages and pages of dialogue as blanket and shallow statements that we seemingly have to get attached to. Exposition should be shown to us, for us to uncover, rather than looking at generic burn mark scar-on-face friendly commander guy speak for 5 minutes in a monotone voice about the most randomly-named weapon or enemy ever and expecting us to care about it.

This game is once again so clunky and lacks any flow whatsoever, its way too uninspired with no new ideas. This game is obsessed with menus with an wholly terrible user interface, combined with a dead world with quest objectives written by an 8 year old child with the memory of a goldfish. This game is only appealing to those who like senselessly grinding and grinding away to be the best and look the best (except you can also be the best by spending exorbitant amounts of money).

The only reason this game is pulling the numbers it has is because there is nothing else to play right now. What a poor mobile game on PC this is, unfortunately.

*I feel like I need to add that I do not hate microtransactions, this is a free-to-play game after all and the developers need to make money somehow. There are other, better ways to go about this though. Nexon clearly developed the store before their game, and their priorities are in the wrong place. Furthermore, this works to hate the player and find the best way to take their money fast before the game gets shut down.

Lethal Company is a game that manages to balance humor and terror in a unique way. Hearing people's voices cut off as they fall into a hole is surprisingly funny, yet the game can still instill a sense of horrific terror, especially when you realize you're the last one alive in a rundown facility, and you just happen to see bright white eyes in the distance of a pitch black hallway. I'm excited to see what the SINGULAR developer does for future updates because this game has tremendous potential. It was made by a SOLO developer, and in my opinion is better than most AAA games on the market. What sets Lethal Company apart is its horror, which isn't reliant on random flashy jump scares but on dynamic, living entities that simply exist. Walking around a corner might reveal a threat or nothing at all, creating a genuine fear of the unknown in every building you enter. Even for someone like me, who usually avoids horror games, Lethal Company not only induces a desire to yell in terror but also becomes strangely addictive. The game has a unique vibe, and its unexplained lore just seems to make the experience even better. The spooky and confusing moments, especially when playing with friends over the local voice chat, contribute to a memorable experience.

As a wage slave working for an unknown company, your task is to gather scrap from bizarre alien planets, navigating through randomly generated facilities filled with ominous entities. It's a game that will make you yell in terror, and laugh your heart out at the same time. A truly worthwhile experience, especially if you dive in blind with some friends. One of the best game purchases you can make right now, and just for 10 bucks.

What a fantastic and incredibly atmospheric survival-horror experience from Rose-Engine. The entire game can feel somewhat hazy at first but the art style and gameplay provides for an even clearer and cleaner experience than other games comparable to Signalis like the early Resident Evils and Silent Hills, without the tanky controls.

The story is a profoundly affecting experience, which sees Elster traveling through decrepit industrial facilities and residential zones on a foreign planet seemingly throughout multiple realities as Elster tries to "remember their promise." Throughout all of these different zones, the cybernetic and android technological style is ever present and somewhat frightening, which makes for a refreshing sense of combat that can be easy and difficult when it needs to be. The gathering of weapons, ammo, and important puzzle items pushes you to traverse the entire beautifully designed map (both visually and its overall layout) and forces you to manage your inventory appropriately. Many players may see this as a downside--especially as there is no way for you to increase the size of your inventory--but I think Rose-Engine's approach was planned out methodically and in such a way where it always works out just right.

Diving into the visuals and sound design, the flair of the game is fantastic. Its pixelated style does not bring down the detail of certain items whatsoever, and the combination of a wonderful soundtrack and even a retro radio item makes the game constantly feel full. The chunky and archaic interfaces fills an incredibly specific niche that I think most players will enjoy and it reminds me of the retro-future design style akin to the Alien franchise and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Signalis' soundspace is memorable, and I will never forget the 3 Note Oddity and how the game went through such amazing lengths to incorporate this sound and others into a story that uses them so effectively.

I mentioned above that Signalis is credited as a survival-horror experience, but I don't mean horror in a sense that the game will scare you. Signalis is more of a slow-burning and constant feeling of dread that you and Elster will maintain while you explore that vast playable space. This game portrays a very horrifying existence that makes for a great playthrough and builds up a vibrant atmosphere and visual style that all indie game fans can enjoy. This game hooked me into the moment, and I think everyone should give it a try. One of my favorite playthroughs ever.

Callisto Protocol is a fantastic nod to the Dead Space genre and is a great game to check out and play if you are a fan of that series.

I think given the game's poor optimization upon the initial few hours after release has caused this game to receive a flurry of negative reviews, many of which will say that their author's have merely played the game for a few hours, if that. Since the game's day-one and day-two patches, I have yet to experience any more sizable stutter moments that I can notice, so if that was stopping you from playing before because some Steam users are so upset about a little bit of frame drop when you load into a new area, you should reconsider and download the game.

The game environment is very remarkable and the enemy variety is decent when compared to Dead Space. The melee combat is very weighted and feels great and will keep you entering it again and again as opposed to just shooting your way out of encounters (which is still incredibly satisfying). Enemies build off one another and make exploring almost every area challenging, and I love that about this game.

All of these surface-level negative reviews are terrible and never actually examine any of the game's true substance, this game and its publishers deserve far better for how enjoyable this was to experience. Buy the game and play it now or wait for it to go on sale if you think it's too expensive, but don't listen to the dimwits who think their are providing a service to a game's store page because they were dropping frames on day one of launch because the environments were too pretty for their computers. And even if you are afraid of that; like I said, after 12/02/22 I did not experience any more stuttering.

Stray happens to be a short and sweet little title. It’s certainly not a game that pushes forward any sort of advancements in such a story-rich genre or even anything in regards to its cyberpunk and somewhat lively aesthetic, both naturally and personably (depending on how you view the characters). Even though Stray exhibits a smaller playtime, it certainly is not made in any way that feels like a quick cash grab, and I think that’ll be made clear when you first start playing the game and end up wanting to explore the rest of the world immediately.

The story is very self-contained and often leaves a lot to the imagination while you’re exploring the world before you reach your main objectives. Even in a title where I believe only one character actually speaks an intelligible language that you as a player will understand, you will always feel like your actions and discussions with the characters have deeper meanings in regards to the world and the story.

I personally am not a fan of cats, but it's impossible to not like the movement and the art style of this game, and I think that is one of the strengths of Annapurna Interactive as a publishing company in all of their titles. Although the gameplay is very linear in a sense, you feel like you always have the opportunity to backtrack and discover side secrets in the world (until the last chapter or so). Nevertheless, you’ll still have to use some thinking skills to solve many puzzles and progress the story, even though it does feel like you’re always being pushed in the right direction–in a good way!

An amazing indie game, highly recommended for people who like story-driven environments with fantastic visuals and game worlds that feel so cliche yet around every corner is something new. Only negative about this game is the “Can’t Cat-ch Me” achievement, ♥♥♥♥ that ♥♥♥♥…

Firewatch is a game about a concept that can either be very familiar to some people or very distant to others. The concept of loneliness is explored in this game as you get emotionally attached to the two main characters, Delilah and Henry. I think for an indie game that actually attempts to explore a concept as opposed to just providing gameplay, Firewatch can certainly be considered a great game.

Campo Santo's approach to the concept really allows you as a player to get emotionally attached to the two characters. The dialogue and conversation about almost everything interesting in the game allows for you to experience the thoughts of these characters like they were your own. Coupling this with the actual gameplay and art style, it truly makes for a great experience. The game isn't too long, making it short and sweet.

Would highly recommend this title for someone looking for a nice story-driven indie title.

Stardew Valley is similar to many other indies in its particular category, but it certainly stands apart from the others. I own the game on Xbox, Switch, and Steam, and it is one of my favorite games to just pick up and play for hours on end.

The storytelling is a bit of a crawl and pretty childish at some points, but if you can get past that then you have a wonderful farming simulator game on your hands. The art style and basic aspects of the game coupled with all the side adventures and relationship system makes for a well-rounded game that ties the entire game world together. At first it might seem pretty wonky and out-of-touch, but it will grow on you.

Highly recommend this game to anyone who appreciates the colorful art style and chill playthroughs.

UPDATE 1.6:
*I wanted to add an addition to my review at just a day of playtime now that I am over 300 hours and update 1.6 has released.

I adore Stardew Valley, and ever since I started up my first farm back in 2016, I've spent hundreds of hours playing it across various platforms over the years. With every update we've gotten since it first launched, I've returned time and time again, so naturally I am back and absolutely loving ConcernedApe's work and additions to the game with update 1.6. Still cannot believe that this entire game, including every single sprite, is created and managed by one person.

I love that the game has so many different things you can do and quests you can complete without having strict timelines or deadlines. I can do what I want to do at my own pace without feeling rushed. Playing on a new save file alongside the new Meadowlands Farm layout has made for a wonderful start again and has gotten me hooked. The update is a good excuse to start a new save and make different choices than in your previous playthroughs.

Compared to what I said years ago in my initial review, I should have been more specific regarding the crawl. It's not "slow paced", it's set your own pace. I personally set goals up, often going for efficiency whilst also trying to maintain style and aesthetic at the same time. Your farm grows and so does your farmer. Focus on those things, enjoy how much better you are as each season progresses. Finish the bundles in the community center. Eventually you will clear your whole farm but don't rush it. Clear what you use and then do it bit by bit. You can ignore the social aspect all together but each character has a life that can be interesting to learn about, and I highly recommend putting some amount of focus on gift-giving, birthdays, festivals and heart-events; they are truly the heart of the game!

For starters, great party game.

All of the Jackbox Party Packs and individual games are really fun to play with friends and family, whether that be in-person or over discord screen sharing. If you are thinking of getting a fun party game to just fool around on and have a good time, I highly recommend this Party Pack and many of the others. If it helps, looking up a YouTube video of some people playing the game and having fun on it can surely help you pick out the Pack right for you.

Quiplash is by far Jackbox Games greatest achievement and is one of the funniest party modes I have ever played.

10/10, great job Jackbox!