Recent reviews by Vegas Ortega

Dragon's Dogma is an entertaining game that's carried by it's combat and pawn system. This take on an open world game is interesting. The story is kind of a mess and it's graphics are a bit rough to look at but you can see the ambition there. The game is regularly under $5 so if you're curious about it, it's certainly worth checking out for that price.

Hush Hush is the latest game from Sad Panda Studios. If you're unfamiliar with the developer they are the maker of Crush Crush, a game that had it's humble beginnings on Nutaku* before heading to Steam. It (Crush Crush) is essentially a clicker game (before these newfangled idle games) but with a twist, all the stats you build up go towards furthering your relationship with some ladies. The game really stood out not just because of the nudity but for the witty writing and stand out artwork (quite frankly some of the best artwork you'd see on that website at the time).

Hush Hush began way back in the olden days of 2018 as a kickstarter. Five years later it finally released. Kickstarter projects can be hit or miss but I can confidently say this one is a hit. Unlike Crush Crush, Hush Hush is more of a visual novel with some stat building, kind of like Princess Maker. You are tasked to fall in love / befriend five women to save their lives. Sounds like a pretty compelling plan! So you go about that by building stats and talking to them and all that good stuff. The game does have some lewd DLC if you choose. As a lifelong Panda Pass holder you can get it included with the game, which is very nice. If you're curious about the nudity I would say it's on the tasteful side of things, like about as lascivious as something like MetArt

The game itself is fully voiced which is pretty impressive, and the talent is awesome and well acted. The artwork that has been a staple of the series is also probably some of the best it's ever been. Furthermore, Sad Panda is also known for their sharp writing and it delivers here. It's the exact type of humor that is funny but doesn't offend, the kind of writing that will stand the test of time. It's not without it's more serious moments either. While a lot of the appeal of the game comes from recognizing the characters I do think that even if you've never played Crush Crush you will still be able to enjoy the cast and story. But overall this is a love letter to fans of Crush Crush allowing you to get to know the characters even deeper than ever.

I did a ride or die play-through my first time (no save scumming) and it took me six hours to get halfway through the game (and fail) so I imagine a successful run would be around twelve hours long. I was not disappointed because the game begs to be replayed. I think there are over 40 endings or something. Sad Panda are also known to support their games for a long time, Crush Crush is still getting new content to this day. Although it has not been stated I wouldn't be surprised to see some DLC for Hush Hush down the line in some shape or form.

Hush Hush comes as a no-brainer to fans of Sad Panda Studios' other games but if you're a fan of visual novels, naked girls, great artwork, and relaxing vacations then this game should be right up your alley as well.

--{ Steam Deck Section } --

At the time of this writing the game is not verified for the Steam Deck. However, I've played it exclusively on the Steam Deck with no issues. There was one strange issue: If you change your key bindings at the launch screen the screen will go pink until you bind the button, but other than that everything has been smooth. By default it controls well and you've got your choice of using either the track pad or the touch screen along with the face buttons.

I've only played a handful of visual novels and while they are cool, they are hard to stick with because it's not really fun just sitting at a computer reading stuff. With the Steam Deck you can take Hush Hush to the park, movie theater, or relax in bed playing it. It's a really good deck game. I only kind of wish that they could have some text size options which would make it a bit easier to read on the Deck.

* A helpful fact checker has informed me that Crush Crush actually began on Kongregate. That being said my first experience with the game was on Nutaku.

It's the Quake 2 you know and love but with pretty real time lights that will murder your graphics card.

A large learning curve but the game is very rewarding once you get over that hurdle. Sproink!

If you like burning money, shooting people in the face and jumping off buildings to the the sounds of Doseone then this game will be right up your alley.

If you like wasting your time clicking on things this game is a worthy choice as it changes up the formula and has some clever writing. Best of all it gets updates somewhat regularly.
If you haven't played in a while even after 4 years the game is still getting updated. There are at least 17 bonus girls you can get beyond the base game and now they have phone flings too!
It's just the game that keeps on giving.

2022 and the game still gets updates regularly with new features, characters and even voice acting!

2023 the content is still flowing. A true "labor of love" if you catch my drift.

2024 New characters and events are still rolling out, fantastic support for this game.

Captain Morgane and the Golden Turtle is a low budget title that is a little rough around the edges but overall is an enjoyable game. It took around 14 hours to beat (perhaps less, some people say 8). The game isn't really too hard and there is no way to lose really. It's got some charming characters. The writing isn't always funny but at least it tries to be. The story isn't too bad, in fact it was somewhat refreshing. I guess this game has ties to another game from the same writer/developer called "So Blonde" but it's not on steam. Someone greenlight it! The game even has voice acting and for the most part they do a solid job.

I liked the 2D artwork, the 3D however leaves something to be desired. Also, not too fond of how the same character will look off model in a different piece of artwork, like in the cut scenes Morgane will look off. Sometimes they look odd even in the character portraits in the dialogue. Another thing that would be desirable would be steam achievements. It appears the Playstation version has trophies so it is odd the steam version doesn't have something similar. It does have cards though!

Overall if you're into point and click games, female protagonists and lighthearted stories you should probably check this out.