Recent reviews by Excruciarch

Long time veteran of the farm sim game type; Followed the development of Harvest Moon, and just as intensely followed the development of this game.

Sunnyside plays like a love letter to the classics, stardew included, but definitely carves it's own path within the genre, with a modern reflective economy, modern tools and solutions to the seemingly odd logic/narrative breaks in prior games of the genre. Ordering seeds via app rather than there being a seed store in a town with only one farmer makes much more sense to me. Getting a snack from a vending machine and not having it cost more than your starting money, being able to do the restaurant, hangout thing with people rather than just running up and hurling something from the forest at their head.

A skill tree that is an actual tree, and makes me feel like I'm bribing yggdrasil to make my life easier.

The writing is good, and often the character's initial response to certain scenarios and feels natural; the Kinsey scale being introduced feels more complete and even being able to travel to the 'the city' which in most of these games is a fictitious location only mentioned by name.

Are there early day bugs? Yes, but it feels irresponsible to not recommend a game that pulls my all time favourite genre out of the dark ages. If you're having an issue, join the discord, or join one of Rainy's bug squashing, exploit closing adventures on twitch.

Overall I think this dev is doing a stellar job, and I look forward to seeing what the future of this game brings.

To Arrowhead;

You've made an amazing product, and should be very proud.

To Sony:

Not you, though.

Played the demo and looking forward to playing the game itself. (Already Purchased and downloading)

I love learning about mythology and the visual style is on point.

Voice acting is good, and lets me actually learn how to pronounce many things that I clearly had wrong before.

Controls are fairly basic, but have a lot of room for maneuvering.

Also, one of her kill animations appears to be a groin stab. 10/10

So, I just wanted to write up some initial impressions on the game because it just launched as a completed product;

I need to preface by saying that I saw the adds for this on social media, and was interested just from the base video.

The music is good, keeps you task oriented. The beginning of the game gives you a plot hook that's grisly but hopeful, and the more the weird fantasy world start up plays out the more enthralled I got. It's amusing, cute and dark as hell somehow all at the same time. The game itself offers a lot in terms of learning curve, both as a player and from a MULTI TIERED tech tree perspective. There's a lot going on in terms of "Ok, I can clearly unlock this later if I get enough XYZ. How do I get XYZ? *checking tech tree* Ok, So I need to learn to build this and this, and then I can craft XYZ."

So far as I see there's wood working, smithing, brewing, jewel making, theological stuff, you can write books apparently, farming, bee keeping, cooking and a few other things that are best discovered by playing the game itself.

For cons: Very little. Time management is a bit overwhelming, but not in the time trial kind of way that Stardew Valley was. You can keep whatever day/night cycle you want, but different things happen at different times, and certain things won't be interactable if you're a night owl. I would also mention that if you're not used to crafting systems (where introductions are well paced) the sheer amount of stuff you can get up to could be a bit overwhelming. If you've played Stardew Valley, Ark or Minecraft and any of that sort of game, you will have no issues wading in, and it's all much better laid out than my prior experinces, but... Those who are less experienced might find it daunting.

I would also add that they sent out a voucher to lessen the already pretty gentle price point, -I think- based on my ownership of Stardew Valley, so check your inventory before buying. Good job knowing your core audience, folks!

Over all Impression: VERY GOOD. I have a lot of high hopes for this game, and look forward to doing a bunch of SUPER dodgy stuff in the game.

"I'm a -flyin-, talkin', corpse deliverin' communist Donkay" - Eddie Murphy (But only in my head)

I may not be as far into this game as others that are recommending this game, but I can honestly say it brings me back to my childhood, for other properties. I also find it to be a highly zen experience.

It's simple as a game, but as complicated as you'd like it to be. You can only do a few things a day and make it through just fine, or like myself, you can pound back a red bull and do all the things at once ;)

The Game is solid, and with ConcernedApe being all over patching bugs and taking feed back I can honestly say I am unsurprised by the game having an Overwhemingly Positive score through steam.

Good music, nostalgic in nature, but does enough that's new that you're discovering, no matter what your experience level with these sorts of games.

Well played, ConcernedApe, and Chucklefish, you are gaining well deserved popularity.

I strongly reccomend this game.

Black Beard

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Ok, so speaking as someone who's just getting into the game, this is AWESOME. I'm hunting dinosaurs and forging my own survival. The graphics are pretty good as is, though I've been given to understand that they're still working on them for when the game's complete... Not that it needs it.

Here's the point break down, the good, bad, the ugly from a newbie's perspective;

There are actual COLORS in this game. Don't get me wrong, I love me some gritty realism, but it's been WAY too damn long since I played a game with colors. Green, red and what not that's not built into someone's armor.

Next up; Continueing to survive in the game is its own reward. I built a crappy thatched hut, and then defended it from a maurauding giant sea turtle and felt like a hero. Good self built rewards. Get the basics down, and you're good to do nearly anything you like.

It's fun. Remember when games were fun? This is that.

Downsides; Absolutely no tutorial. Not sure if you'll like or hate this. Makes the game feel a lot more rewarding though when you do start to succeed.

The online community is hit or miss. Some folk are friendly and helpful, some not so much. The issue in servers tends to be FINDING AN ACTUAL LOCATION to start building on, particularly with some resources and creatures that aren't massively over leveled for a beginning survivor. I switched to solo mode after about eight hours multiplayer and I'm learning a lot. That being said, I fully intend to go back to multiplayer, but may consider a private server if I can't find a de-populous enough one.

Do I recommend this game? HELL YES. Do I recommend it to those who are easily frustrated and need a game to hold their hand? Sure, but I get your stuff when you die ;)

Best of luck in your DINOSAUR HUNTING adventures, and remember, stay classy.

A review of Far Cry 4 - Post Mortem

Ok, so without saying anything spoiler worthy about the plot I have a few points I need to make about FC4 in general; First, that this game is absolutely gorgeous. I'm not working on the newest of tech as far as computers go (It's a couple of years old and could use some upgrades) but very much like FC3 I found myself distracted by sky lines, filled with commanding mountains and attention grabbing sun sets. Yes, it's super pretty, even on medium graphics.

I also need to point out that the 'how' of how you're going to go about things is more open ended. You can get a wing suit pretty early on, there's grappling hooks, more variety in weapons, and frigging ELEPHANTS (who by the way do not give two blue farts about just about anything in the game and will wreck pretty much anything at your request) and a lot more in the way of sand box toys than the first game, generally speaking.

I felt like a total boss in the game, running around hunting, destroying and otherwise carpet bombing anything I couldn't dig out with a sniper rifle. The game very tongue in cheek draws attention to the fact that you as a player are looking to run around like a vengeful god and smite anything that displeases you. That's not to say the game is unchallenging, because it certainly has it's moments, but for the most part it's you running around dispatching enemies in a geurilla war that takes itself to a level other games have failed to meet.

Plot wise, and character arch wise - Unfortunately no where near as good as FC3. There was a good build up in FC3, Jason Broady, despite being some random white dude dropped into a miserable situation and starts the game consistantly needing a change of pants, eventually gets accustomed to the rampant murder, and eventually is strait up destroying everyone who gets in his path. The ending was a tad more coherent in FC4 than it was in FC3 and leaves you with the feeling of being in control, rather than you being a peon in some grand scheme beyond your understanding, but over all, FC4 plot and character development wise was a far cry less satisfying (Harr harr, I know I'm not funny.)

Overall, positive experience. Were my hopes up a little high from FC3, maybe. Did I mostly get what I wanted out of the game? Yes. Should you buy it? Ofcourse. Will you have fun; Certainly. Will the plot let you down from the high bar that FC3 set? Probably, but let's be honest, you weren't really in it for the plot to begin with.

Now, go TEAR ♥♥♥♥ UP!!

Wow, did I ever have it wrong. Initially when I saw State of Decay, I gave it a pass. Recently, steam put it up on sale and I picked it up just because I was bored, and OH WOW do I ever wish I'd picked it up sooner. This game is wonderful, in a way I've seen very few games be wonderful in the past.

Initially I was unimpressed, as the number of zombie games out there is getting pretty saturating, and when I first started I was getting precisely what I expected. Very basic fare in a game that wasn't doing anything well... And then I finished the tutorial and made it to the church....

This game is a HUGE world where you have to fight zombies, gather supplies, go stealth, get along with neighbors, investigate things, actually use survival skills and even build up a home base. There have been few GOOD zombie games out there, and this is one of the EXCELLENT ones. Once the tutorial was done, as I mentioned above, s**t got real, as they say, and I found myself pouring through corpse infested houses for food, building materials and medical supplies.

I'll admit, the graphics aren't perfect, but there are very few graphical ERRORS in the game, and once you get used to them, they're rather immersive. There's a couple of minor issues with the game, like bridge jumps, but don't think about it in terms of success and failure. This is a role playing game in that you can fail at something, but not have a true failure state. "OH, you messed up that run? No worries, man. We're not going to tell you that you've failed and make sure that you do it over again until you get it the way we want it... Though... There is a herd coming. You -might- want to book it, bro." I haven't felt this immersed in the ROLE of a game in a LONG time.

A fantastic atmosphere, fear inducing, there's a learning curve, and once you get used it, you're solid.

I hear there's already a sequel in the works, and as far as that goes, well.. Shut up and take my money.

My only real gripe at this point is that there's no Co-op of any kind. I would TOTALLY play with friends, and chase them with a stick until they got this game if there was Co-op. Something to consider, if you weren't already.

Hats off, Undead Labs, you've made an addict out of me, and I'm not quite ten hours in.

A very worthy successor to the Walking Dead; Season One. The graphics and UI were enhanced, the plot is MUCH gritter and fear inducing. They've got some VERY recognizable voice actors in the cast, and the result is fantastic.

The big thing that sets this game appart from many others is for it's ability to make you feel. Not just angry, or amusement like many other games, but a plethora of emotions that spill out while you play the game. There are things that will make you laugh, make you upset, make you angry, make you sad... Make you have hope. I can honestly say I've never had 'hope', genuinely for characters in a video game.. I -hope- they make a sequel was about as close as I got. This game brought that to a screeching halt. I've also certainly never had my paternal instincts rear their head over a video game character, but Telltale managed that too.

I tip my hat and raise my glass to the makers of this wonderful, brilliant game. It's an experience I don't think anyone can afford to pass up. It goes on sale regularly so if what I've said above doesn't strike your fancy, just wait for Telltale to be awesome and reduce the price, take a breath and trust me. It's a different experience, but it's a good one.




! Clementine will remember that.