Recent reviews by SpykeQ

'To the Moon' is a story based game where you try to artificially fulfill a dying's man's last wish through manipulating his memories. This is an emotional journey as you are taken back to understand how Johnny, the patient, got to this point. The characters keep the story lighthearted without compromising any of the emotional beats. There's not too much game play here, but the story kept me engaged throughout the experience.

Overall, I recommend 'To the Moon' to everyone!

Framed is a clever puzzle game that has you moving 'comic book panels' to allow spies continue their adventure.
The puzzles are clever, and it is entertaining figuring out the process to get the spy to escape. Just as important as solving the puzzle, the fail state of each level make it clear why a certain combination of panels did not work. Later puzzles present extra layers of complexity, as you can reuse panels or rotate panels (depending on the level)

Overall I recommend Framed to anyone looking for a good puzzle game

Hilarious, Adorable, and Fun!

A Hat in Time is a 3D platformer that has you traveling the world as 'Hat Kid'. Throughout your adventure you'll make friends, collect fuel, defeat evil doers, and collect hats that grant you extra abilities.

The level of creativity of this game is impressive. Each mission stands out as they wildly differ from one another. Each level knows what it is, and it proudly displays what makes it unique without the overall game losing its core. The story is simple but adorable. The bigger focus is on the characters on display, which are all charming!

I highly recommend 'A Hat in Time' to everyone.
And yes, This game his Cute as heck.

Lately, I find myself enjoying games that challenge the player. I find it satisfying to learn a system until I master it. 'TOEM: A Photo Adventure' is not that, yet it kept me engrossed throughout its entire runtime.

TOEM features a charming adventure where you take photos and do community service as you travel across the land. This is a game that is short, silly, and cozy. The controls and premise are simple enough for anyone to pick up and enjoy. Each character interaction I had on this adventure put a smile on my face. Rather than trying to find the best way to do everything as quickly as I could, TOEM got me to stop and smell the roses (then take a picture). This is a game that knows what it is, and proudly displays it throughout its runtime.

In short, this is a cozy game that is enjoyable for all ages!
I highly recommend TOEM: A Photo Adventure!

'Potion Craft' is a relaxing potion crafting simulator where you run a shop. Unlike other crafting games, each potion isn't crafted by a set 'recipe'. Instead, each ingredient charts out a 'path' that brings you closer to the desired potion you want to create. This is represented by a map. Stronger potions are crafted the more aligned you are with the potion image on the map. This system allows players to get a sense of discovery during the first chunk of the game, then a sense of mastery as players find more effective routes to create the same potions as before. I should note that there's no real sense of urgency in this game, as customers will patiently wait for you to craft the potion they need. The joy found in this game is placed on the sense of discovery, sense of mastery, and calm setting.

Overall, If you're looking for a relaxing experience, I recommend picking up Potion Craft!

Marvel's Midnight Suns is a light tactical card game featuring Marvel heroes, a light friendship simulator, and light exploration game. Players will take the role of 'The Hunter', an original character to the Marvel Universe, as they try to save the world from demons. Along the road, they'll recruit a number of Marvel heroes as they rebuild a team known as 'The Midnight Suns'.

This game is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I do enjoy a lot of the genre's it's pulling from, but I feel like the overall experience is mixed because it tries to do too much. Throughout the game, you get to fight enemies, make friends with the Marvel heroes, or explore the abbey, each experience featuring a different gameplay style. Each of the systems do work, and rewards for participating in one benefits the other gameplay aspects, however each gameplay style on their own feels like a simplified version of their respective genre.

For the Tactical side, I enjoy the card system, but I found the positioning aspect of heroes a bit strange, as the attacks would automatically choose where I landed. A bigger problem was that I was able to attack any enemy from any point of the arena. This made the combat feel "flattened" in a way as I had characters zipping throughout the battlefield to dispatch enemies quickly. Aside from that, this is definitely the highlight of the game for myself, as I enjoyed trying to beat the levels in as few turns as possible.

On the friendship side, I felt like the writing in place both expected the player to know these characters to an extent (there are easter eggs thrown throughout the dialogue); but the reward was mostly learning more about their backstory and their point of view. The writing is a bit variable in quality (might be a bit corny for some) but it gets the job done.

Finally, exploring the abbey will give you mysteries to solve, ingredients to collect for crafting, and cosmetic prizes (earned through opening the treasure chests scattered throughout the map). The map opens up a bit more as you explore and earn abilities to open more pathways. This portion of the game was fine, but the Abbey feels mostly empty the further out you go, as characters would mostly cluster around one spot.

Ultimately, Marvel's Midnight Suns is a game that tries to do many things, and is okay at most of it. In the end, if you're looking for a lighter tactical game and are a fan of Marvel, I do recommend this experience.

'Disco Elysium' is an impressive Role Playing Game where you play as an amnesiac detective. Throughout your investigation you'll get to meet interesting characters, learn about the city of Revachol, and (eventually) solve the case. While the main case is engaging, I found myself equally invested in a lot of the side quests you can stumble upon as you explore the city.

While it does have a dry and dark sense of humor throughout, there is also a level of sincerity in the writing that kept me invested throughout my experience. Now there is a level of luck involved in each of your decisions, as you can 'pass' or 'fail' based on the roll of the dice. Disco Elyisum does an excellent job at making the experience truly yours through this, as failing a check can be just as interesting as passing. This also makes it so that every playthrough is unique (there's always a chance to pass or fail). I know that I'll revisit the streets of Revachol again very soon. In short, I highly recommend 'Disco Elysium'

Click cookie for joy

It has been roughly 4 years since I booted 'Dead by Daylight' for the first time, and I'm still sinking my teeth into this one of a kind game.

In 'Dead by Daylight' you play as either a survivor or a killer. Each match consists of four survivors and one killer. The survivor's goal is to work on generators to power up the exit gates and escape, while the Killer's goal is to catch the survivors before they can escape.

Matches are enthralling as you try to outsmart your opponents. As a survivor you can weave through the map and try to get the Killer to loop you while your teammates work on the generators. As a Killer, you can try to outsmart the 4 survivors and take them out of the game one by one.

If you haven't tried out Dead by Daylight yet, and are a fan of horror, I highly recommend this game!
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As a warning, some of the community can be toxic at times. I don't really recommend sticking around for the end game chats in general. This game does have a ranking system, but honestly I have more fun trying to complete rift challenges over playing for rank.

'Hades' is a phenomenal Rougelite that expertly weaves story and gameplay together.

In 'Hades', you play as Zagreus, the son of Hades, who wants to escape the underworld. Battle the dead as you climb up to the surface and attain your goal! This game features distinct zones, charming characters, and an engaging difficulty system that allows players to adjust the difficulty to what they want.

While I have put many games down after completing them, Hades is just one I keep finding myself going back to time and again. If you haven't given it a shot yet, please do! You owe it to yourself to play and enjoy this masterpiece.