Recent reviews by Redbeard

Devolver Bootleg is just a silly little game, nothing to write home about.

What a shame that the controls can't be changed.
It would be nice if the game came with some instructions
You use "z" to shoot, and run around, avoiding enemies, until they kill you (which, in my case, doesn't take long).

Was not a thrilling game, nor an enjoyable experience. Thumbs down.

I like the game Farm Empire (although there are two caveats to that stance, which are explained below).

It is basically a type of clicker/idling game - you click on farming (etc.) products to make them grow or develop, earning money each time they complete a growth; then you pay a bundle of money to hire a manager so you don't have to click on the products to make them increase.

You can also hire workers; if you earn enough money, then you will get extra workers, who will be on your farm when you reset your farm; then rinse and repeat to get more workers (similar to various other clicker games).

Caveat no. 1 is that, like most clicker games, Farm Empire is a PTA (Pay To Advance) game. This is not unusual for a free clicker game, and should be expected - after all, devs need to make money like the rest of us. You can play for free, but it will take you much longer to advance (as long as players understand that as the business model, that's fine).

You can do extra things, or speed things up, if you use gold eggs (a type of currency in the game); if you want more gold eggs than you are getting via the limited free drops, then you can buy some gold eggs with IRL money. You can get free gold eggs via the completion of achievements and from the daily drops (currently set at 15 gold eggs per day).

You can go to different countries, and develop products in each one. Access to each new country costs you 360 gold eggs. That's all nice and good, except for one thing (hence the second caveat).

Caveat no. 2 is that you are forced to wait for 2 minutes every time you want to go from one country to another, and if you want to go back to an earlier country - although you can, of course, pay currency (gold eggs).

So, if you buy access to 12 countries with gold eggs, then you would have to wait 24 minutes just to go to each one - but if, Heaven forbid, you want to keep going back and forth between countries, then it could take you hours just waiting for the travel screen to finish. But, don't worry, you can cut the travel time down to 10 seconds if you spend 500 gold eggs - which you can grind for in-game, or you can buy with hard cold cash in real-life. Guess which choice the devs want you to make?

Basically, this enforced waiting is a piece of unmitigated f***kery on the part of the devs - what an absolutely scummy move. Maybe, after they have finished with this game, they can then go into the money-lending business? That's where you can really leech money off people, at a pro level.

Farm Empire is nicely made, with a cartoon look, and cute graphics. I was sorely tempted to give the game a thumbs down with this review over their shonky "travel" shenanigans, but decided that (overall) the game is a nice clicker game (the dodgy "travel" function notwithstanding).

So, by all means, try the game out - so long as you are aware of the caveats mentioned above.

Pixel Puzzles Ultimate Jigsaw Puzzles is a good little time-wasting game - it's nice to play when you are feeling bored with everything else you are doing, or when you just need a break from the daily grind (you can grind away at the jigsaw puzzles instead).

It is ostensibly a "free" game, but most of the jigsaws are DLCs which require payment - it would probably cost a few hundred dollars to buy them all.
However, the base game includes various jigsaw puzzles for free, so there's not a lot to complain about.
And there is a free puzzle made available every month (just for that month only), so that gives you even more jigsaws to do.

The jigsaw puzzles are good. Some are easy, some are hard.
Just the same with real life jigsaw puzzles, it's best to start off with the edged pieces, to fill in the edges of the puzzles first. However, I have seen puzzles with pieces which look like edged pieces - I don't know if the devs were deliberately doing that to troll players or not.

If you click on the drop-down menu (top-right on the puzzle screen), you will see an option to reveal a picture of the puzzle you are working on (double-click on it to enlarge it) - that option makes completing each puzzle much easier.

Download the game, and see what you think of it.
The base game is free, so you don't have much to lose.

If you like doing jigsaw puzzles, or are just looking to chill out for a short while, then I would recommend you give Pixel Puzzles Ultimate Jigsaw Puzzles a try.

Freedom Fighters is a great, fun game - mind you, this personal positive perception is no doubt influenced by the fact that I played it many years ago.

When Freedom Fighters was first released, I thought it was a fantastic game - full of action, battling the Commies, and (of course) being a Freedom Fighter. It was a bit like a computer game version of Red Dawn.

By modern standards, Freedom Fighters is not a top-rated production - so, if you didn't play it in the early years, you won't have the same kind of nostalgia-driven enjoyment as I get from it.

But if you want a bit of diverting amusement, then give the game a go.

Freedom Fighters is well worth a try for any patriotic gamer.
Or should that be "insurgent gamer"?
Either way, grab the game - and have some fun!

Back 4 Blood is a fun zombie-killing game. It's very reminiscent of Left 4 Dead.

Head out on missions, kill zombies, get to the finishing point alive.
That pretty much sums it up.

If you like zombie games, and ridding the world of the walking dead, then Back 4 Blood might just be the game for you!

War Thunder is quite a good game.

I have played it in tank, plane, and ship modes, and have quite enjoyed it.

However, players start off with the worst vehicles and the worst crews. You have to grind away to get better vehicles and more experienced crews - but, in the meantime, you can expect to get massively wrecked by higher-level players. Each game will give you some points to spend on your vehicles and crews (if you pay for a Premium account, you get a lot more points every time).

There are a lot of expensive DLCs for the game, and various things that you can buy to level up your vehicles, so (along with the Premium accounts) there is a Pay To Win mechanic happening in the game.

Both the newb factor and the Pay To Win mechanic explains why I get wiped out so easily sometimes. When you are a level 10 vs. a level 100 player, you are at a massive disadvantage.

Nonetheless, I have enjoyed playing War Thunder so far. If you can get past the newb levels without rage-quitting the game, it becomes more enjoyable (the more so as you level up your vehicles and crews).

War Thunder is a free game, so it doesn't cost anything to give it a try.


P.S. The game has a few Australian vehicles, which is good to see.
https://wiki.warthunder.com/collections/operator/country_australia

P.P.S. Here's a web page re "Operator country" (it has some useful information regarding those countries which don't have their own vehicles tree):
https://wiki.warthunder.com/collections/operator

Firestone is quite a good idling game. The cartoon graphics are well done, and it has various integrated elements which make it of interest.

It follows the usual pattern of clicker games: Level up your characters until progression gets too hard, then restart (gaining extra benefits), and start all over again.

Judging by the in-game chat in the server that I'm on, the community seems quite good - helpful, humorous, and cheery (I haven't seen any toxicity at all, which is good).

If you like idling games, then Firestone is worth a try. It's a free game, so there's not much to lose (except your time).

Valheim is an enjoyable survival game. It is a relatively simple-looking production, but it has a lot of detail in it.

Accessing the various building and crafting options can take a while to figure out, but you should get there in the end.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have any Steam achievements - that would be a nice addition to the game (for those of us who like that sort of thing).

If you like survival games, then you might want to give Valheim a try.

101 Cats Hidden in Australia is a nice little finding game, similar to "Where's Wally" (or "Where's Waldo", if you're an American).

There is a huge black & white picture, quite intricately drawn, with 101 cats to be found. It can take a while, but you can find them all eventually. On my first look through, i found all of them bar two (doh!), so I had to start searching again.

I must admit that I was expecting there to be several levels in the game, and was disappointed to discover that there was only one level. Still, it was a massive image (which must have taken ages to draw), and I bought the game at 50% off (which made it 50 cents AU), so I can't really complain.

As the cats are supposed to be in Australia, it would have been good to have a bit more Australian content incorporated into the game.

For example, regarding the achievements:

1) Some of the cats could have been called Dinkum, Matilda, Bluey, etc., instead of random names that are not specifically Australian.

2) Or maybe some of the achievements could have been in Australian colours, such as:
a) Green and gold.
b) Red, white, and blue.

3) Or some of the achievements could have incorporated an Australian flag or some Australian iconography.

Those minor suggestions aside, the game was good for a small bit of fun (Steam says I played it for 10 minutes, which includes taking some screenshots, and fiddling around looking at how the game was constructed).

If you like finding games, or hidden object games, then "101 Cats Hidden in Australia" might provide a few minutes of amusement for you. As there's only one level, and most people would be unlikely to play it again, I would suggest that you buy it when it's on special. As long as you're aware of the limited nature of the game, and what it entails, I can definitely recommend this game.

Beautiful Vikings is a simple jigsaw puzzle game. However, it is important to note that the game includes NSFW imagery (scantily clad and nude women).

The early levels have only a few pieces, but more pieces are added as the levels increase, thus making things more difficult. However, it is an easy game. There is even a grey version of the relevant picture in the background, so it is easy to see where the pieces should be placed. There is no timer, so you can just play until you win, with no pressure involved.

Each completed level will reveal a picture of a young woman, in various states of undress (more so as the levels increase). This is definitely a NSFW game.

If you want to get 100% of achievements, then just play through the levels until you're done. Quite easy.

If you are looking for a hard or challenging jigsaw puzzle, this is not it.

This is a game which is suitable for any achievement-hunters who want to add another 100%-completed game to their collection. On that basis, I am happy to give it a thumbs-up.