Recent reviews by Salbris

I'll preface this with saying, yes the game is currently having server issues so don't expect you'll be able to play during peak hours. When the servers are working though it's totally fine. At the time of writing around 150k players were online and everything was running fine for me.

Putting aside temporary server issues this game is really something special. It lacks a few quality of life features, it's rough around the edges in some places but it has solid visuals and very intoxicating gameplay. The crafting system is both simple enough to learn without watching a 10 hour Youtube tutorial but complex enough to keep me coming back for more. Of the two builds I played so far (leap fury shaman and necromancer) both were enjoyable and felt deep and satisfying. Last epoch has a brilliant spell skill tree that allows you to customize and enhance 5 spells of your choosing.

While campaign feels like it drags on a bit there are some interesting boss fights here or there. The final boss of the current campaign actually forced me to go back and fix my defences before continuing. Thankfully by that point the end game was available so I could use that to farm instead of repeating old campaign levels. The endgame still needs some work but offer decent variety for the game's first league (they call them cycles). Currently there is a random map system similar to the atlas from Path of Exile, a wave based survival mode and a challenge dungeon used to craft powerful late game gear.

Definitely a good and macabre story but the puzzles were pretty lame. I don't even think a single one was more complicated than just reading the obvious code to your partner and wait for them to enter it. So it was a fun experience but it was very bad puzzle game.

As a fan of "old-school" shooters this game instantly rose to my number favourite of all time. Everything is phenomenal the graphics look incredible despite them being 2D rotated sprites like Duke Nukem. All the weapons are very satisfying and fill a niche. Enemies seem to have different resistances to weapons so you have to discover the best ways to hurt them. The enemies are both terrifying and varied and distinguish themselves from other games. It's funny and campy and an absolute joy to play!

Eco is a unique experience. It's hard to describe the game with a list of genres because it skirts them all. It's sort like a town/civilization simulation game from the perspective of each citizen. The goal of the game is to cooperate other players to shoot down a meteor before it destroys your planet while avoiding ecological disaster. Each player starts with only the most basic skills, to mine rocks, chop down trees, a forage for food. You have to build workshops, stores, roads, homes, and research new professions to inch your way to the end of the tech tree where you can build lasers to shoot down the meteor.

The game features extensive systems for creating a very real economy and government. The rules of each server are a bit a different but generally players will each setup a store and sell goods that only their profession can make. The logger will sell wood they've cut and processed, the miner will sell ore and rocks they've mine, a cook will sell food they've made, etc. It sounds silly but nearly every aspect of a functioning society is present, has a purpose, and is critical to your survival. For example, food is not just used to replenish stamina or heal, it's used to gain a multiplier to your experience gain which help you unlock more professions faster.

There is much more to detail about Eco as it's a massive game with lots of intricate systems but suffice to say it's not just complexity for complexity sake. The game is not perfect certainly, it's rough around the edges but it's core mechanics are well designed.

As someone who plays a lot of idle/incremental games Oraxum Trials is an excellent addition to the genre. It has a very clever concept that I've only ever seen once before. You have to design a hexagonal board full of crystals that generate energy (your currency) and you have to place sigils to enhance crystals production as well as absorb corruption they produce. There is constantly tension between producing enough energy and finding ways to sell that energy quickly enough while placing enough dispel sigils to absorb corruption produced by crystals. There is also dozens of upgrades available once you prestige which extends the core gameplay considerably.

However, I was almost going to not recommend the game because it is still rough around the edges. For example, the game has a very hardcore fail state that can destroy all of your placed crystals/sigils. I have a feeling that the developer is quite receptive to feedback and so I'll keep it recommended for now and update later if for some reason they fail to address the remaining major issues.

I normally wouldn't expect to enjoy a game like Supraland but it does everything so well that I can't help but enjoy it.

Puzzles are satisfying and numerous. They are clever, well paced, and fun. Constantly the game is sprinkled with little secrets to find, jokes, and exploration opportunities. At first it can be a bit overwhelming but all the toughest challenges usually lead to very satisfying ah ha moments and actually useful rewards. Nearly every "secret" or puzzle you unlock grants you upgrades.

Each area of the game also unlocks a new item or ability that becomes vital to your future progression. The game is very clever with it's use and reuse of these abilities. Each ability has multiple clever uses that can improve your platforming or change the way you interact with the world.

The game also smoothly transitions into the endgame after you've beaten the final boss. It gives you extra speed and other quality of life features to make the end game more enjoyable.

I don't normally 100% a game but I'm at 75% at the time of writing and I'm still having a blast finding all the remaining secrets.

My daughter and I just played through this lovely point and click adventure game. It's very difficult but can certainly be tricky at times. It is however, clever, fun, cute, thoughtful, and beautiful. Well worth $15 and 3 hours of your time.

What follows is just a first impression, there might be a good game within but expect to dig through layers of garbage to find it.

Apparently I spent about 42 minutes just now trying out FortressCraft. This was the second time I booted the game up, the first time I couldn't figure out how to do the most basic things such as placing a block. This playthrough I was able to make more progress but then the games ugly teeth came out. The tutorial was somewhat informative but not helpful. Expect to read a few paragraphs to do some basic stuff then get blasted by popups while you try to disect what were just told. I gave up after 42 minutes because while I made some progress automating tin bars the UI was so awful I just couldn't stand it. Scanning for ore lights up your entire screen with hundreds of coloured cubes without any indication what they are. Then you realize you need to place conveyor belts and power transmitters to your miner block. A task that I would not want to repeat ever again. The game lacks any quality of life features that are common in games nowadays.

To preface this review I've played a lot of action rogue-likes they are some of my favourite games. Nuclear Throne, Teleglitch, Rogue Legacy are several I'd normally point to as the best of the best. Undermine has absolutely blown me away. It's fun, fast, and has tons to do and collect. At the time of the writing the game only contains 5 zones and 4 bosses and is considered early access but the game is insanely polished and fun even with the "limited" content. The upgrade system is by far the best I've seen. It offers tons of choices even though it's randomly generated like most rogue-likes.

I waited to get Celeste on sale because I didn't know much about it but I gladly would pay full price for it knowing what I know now. Celeste is a extremely well designed platformer. I really enjoy that the game is designed like a series of puzzles each room is self contained and challenges you to plan your route carefully and thoughtfully. The developers also took great care to make the game fair rather than annoying. For example, there are sections where objects are thrown at you from off screen, if you make it to the "end" of the level you will never get unfairly hit the game stops throwing things when you complete the level even though you haven't actually transitioned to the next level yet.

The game contains hundreds of secret things to collect that vary in difficulty. There is a lot to do for novice, intermediate and expert players. It also blends story, theme, philosophy, and gameplay together effortlessly. I played a significant portion of the game with my 3 year old daughter and the game's story became an excellent talking point to discuss mental illness and emotional support.