Recent reviews by HowdyDonut

I was introduced to the world of Gloomhaven on tabletop. (I can't write a review that would do it justice. I recommend that you read around for reviews of the tabletop version.) I loved it so much that I bought this--an incredible adaptation of the board game. I wasn't expecting much more than a digital port, and would've been happy with just that for the ability to play virtually, but wow is this worth it!

The graphics, music, and battle animations are epic enhancements. There's also something freeing about having the card calculations done for you. It lets you focus solely on enjoy the gameplay itself--and there's enjoyment aplenty! You can immerse yourself in this world and get totally lost venturing through it.

Bottom line: never have I had more fun playing a video game or board game than I have when playing Gloomhaven. It is phenomenal.

Vampire Survivors is a game to which there is more than meets the eye. It's impressive that the developer could capture an arcade quality in design, controls, and aesthetic, while creating a game with more heft than those on the 2-bit arcade machines we all love.

Insert your quarter of an hour and play!

I've had so much fun playing Fort Triumph! As a lover of science, I thoroughly enjoy its emphasis on using physics in battle. While some games I've played nod to physics (e.g., Orcs Must Die!), and others have outright defied the laws of physics (e.g., Minecraft), Fort Triumph stands unique in that physics plays an integral role. Put another way: if you don't consider and use your environment, you will have a hard time claiming victory. This element of the game makes for unique battle sequences, strategies, and more. It's fun!

The battles are part of a larger story through which your band of lionhearted for-hires venture. The numerous twists and turns of the story keep you engaged, and the character dialogue--oh gosh, the character dialogue--is hilarious! Excellent, witty writing. Throughout the story, the epicness of your quest resonates in your bones, thanks to the soundtrack. 20+ hours clocked in-game and I still enjoy listening to it! The score is truly something special. You can tell the developers didn't rush to slap the music (or the graphics, for that matter) onto the game.

Altogether, I was impressed to discover that Fort Triumph was borne from the hard work of a small indie dev group, let alone this being their first game! I find Fort Triumph to be very enjoyable, despite my lack of experience with XCOM and HOMM (from which this game is blended). If you like science, epic turn-based battles, thinking before you click, and quality writing, puns, & stories, I wholeheartedly recommend that you take on the challenge of Fort Triumph.

My playtime on Steam doesn't accurately reflect the amount of time I've invested in this game. I clocked 267 hours between 2014-2016 before Smite came to Steam. Then, I took a 3.5-year hiatus. In fall of 2019, I happened to come across the Twitch stream for the Smite World Championships, which re-piqued my interest. I am pleasantly surprised with the game in its current state. You'll see reviews bashing the copious amount of skins available for purchase and other monetization features that have been added over the years--which have definitely grown in number--but none of these skins and such are necessary to enjoy, play, and win matches. You can unlock all the gods in the game using free in-game currency (called "favor") that you get simply from playing matches. The neat thing is Smite even lets you rent gods using this free currency to try them out and see if you want them! There isn't anything in Smite that you can buy with real money that creates an advantage. Period.

This next paragraph will be for people who have never tried a MOBA but are considering. If you have experience, skip this paragraph: Smite is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. The standard gamemode is a 5v5 matchup. Each player chooses a god to play and each god comes with its own abilities. Some gods are more tanky, others put out a lot of damage, some are stealthy, others are jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none's, etc. The abilities largely influence your role on the team. If you take away anything about MOBA's, it's the importance of roles. Now for the actual gameplay: I’ve always felt that "multiplayer online battle arena" was a bit misleading of a genre title. It paints a picture of an all-out, colosseum style brawl, which isn’t the main gamemode. The main gamemode goes a lot more in-depth. There is a map consisting of three lanes (“left, mid, and right”) and a “jungle” in between. The goal of the game is to take down objectives in each lane to reach the enemy base and destroy it before they do the same to yours. There are 3 objectives per lane and the enemy base, fitting with the mythological-theme of Smite, is known as the “Titan.” Now, you can’t just go around and destroy these towers willy-nilly. You have to work as a team to “push the lanes.” This involves fighting alongside AI minions. Minions spawn every so often and march down the lanes. The faster you wipe out the enemy’s minions, the more your minions can progress. Why is that important? Well, the minions will eventually reach the objectives and help you take them down. In addition to doing damage themselves, they soak up the high damage output of the objective defenses. This is key because most of the damage to the objective will come from player-controlled gods (and hopefully you, if you’re winning). In between this "lane pushing" is all of combat between players on opposing teams and hunting for side-objectives in the jungle (these offer buffs, whether it be gold for your team, attack speed/damage increases, health regeneration, etc.). All throughout the match, your god levels-up (starting at level 1, maxing out at 20). Leveling up increases your damage output, protections, etc., and allows you to upgrade your in-game abilities, improving them as well. The match is over when one team destroys the other team's Titan. The other main MOBAs (League of Legends, DOTA, etc.) are setup in this way, too.

(Everyone continue reading here): What sets Smite apart is the over-the-shoulder playstyle rather than bird’s-eye view. Having invested most of my gaming hours into FPS games/Minecraft :D, I found that Smite grabbed my attention in a way that League of Legends and DOTA did not. You feel that each button you press (or fail to press) has in-game consequences—timing is key. You feel more in control. I also find it easier to get more invested in the game because it feels as if you’re on the battleground, taking and dealing hits, affecting the outcome of the game, rather than watching from a blimp and puppeteering the action.

There's a lot to do in-game as there are over 100 gods to learn and master. Lots of replay value there. There are also several game modes: the standard, 3-lane, 5v5 mode called conquest; 1-lane, 3v3 named joust; arena (think colosseum-style); 1-lane, 5v5, with random gods assigned (this is a riot); and more. Lots to do depending on what you enjoy!

This game is fun with friends, whether it's queuing with 1 other or up to 4. There are game modes that work for different party sizes, too. There are 3v3's, 4v4's, 5v5's and even sometimes 2v2's (it's a special game mode that comes around every now and then). The point is, there's something for everyone. The game is a blast over comms too. In addition to playing with friends I know in real life, I've met several good friends in-game and we play regularly!

The learning curve is somewhat steep, but I think you'll find that to be true of any MOBA; however, Smite's matchmaking works really well for matching you with players of the same skill level. When starting the game, you’ll likely be placed with other newcomers (or people with less hours). I’ve found that these players are less toxic than those with a couple hundred hours under their belt. So yes, there are toxic players, but it’s hard to avoid them in any game. If you’re new, I’d suggest watching the in-game introduction videos that Smite made and watching some pro streams to get a feel for the game. If you need to learn a god’s abilities, I suggest playing the arena gamemode. The matches are quicker and it’s important to understand how to use a god’s abilities before jumping into a conquest match. Once you have a good grip on a god’s abilities, you can begin to understand purchasing in-game items during matches. The auto-purchase feature is okay if you’re starting out, but it’s better to learn the basics of items yourself. A good way to learn is by looking up builds on Smite Guru. Simply type the name of the god you’re playing into Google followed by “build smite guru,” and you should be taken to a page that includes recommended items used by high-ranked players.

Overall, the game is an absolute blast. It is challenging and requires that you are always thinking, communicating, planning, and adapting. You’ll find the game enjoyable if playing by yourself, and with friends, there are lots of moments to share: being challenged by the opposing team and losing matches, spearheading a major comeback and triumphing over defeat, losing your mind and screaming “OOoOoOooOOoO” over a sick multi-kill, and many, many more.

Best of all, the game is free. Give it a download, give it a go. What will be your role on the battleground?

Smite is an absolute blast. Over-the-shoulder gameplay distinguishes it from other MOBAs. Great MOBA for people who want to be on the ground in-game rather than puppeteering the action in-game. Not pay-to-win at all. Constantly updated and improved. Fun with friends (up to a party total of 5). Tons of replay value and lots to learn. Many resources out there to help you improve.

Have you ever picked up a book and do not fully understand the story until you have read from cover to cover? Entranced by the story and pieces soon to be discovered, you had mindlessly flipped through the pages until you arrived at the very last word followed by the final ".". You skim through the pages, frenetically looking for more content. You think to yourself, surely there must be more pages, something more that I can grasp, something to keep me in this wonderful story. But you sigh as you realize the magic is over and the author intended on ending the story on that final page. Soon after, you begin to make connections you never made before, piecing together the story like a jig-saw puzzle one would complete and stow away for a lifetime of memories. Enter To the Moon.

To the Moon takes you on a backwards adventure through time. During this process, To the Moon has the unique ability to triple as a mystery, puzzle, RPG, story-driven experience. This 5-hour journey into the conscious mind of John(ny) Wyles, an old and venerable man and widower, manages to engage people with a series of moving discoveries. While absorbed in To the Moon, you will experience every emotion possible. It's unavoidable. You will somehow manage to have tears in your eyes within the first hour of the anecdote and be laughing a minute later, as I did. From sadness and confusion, to awe and excitement, to anger and disbelief, and finally happiness, To the Moon leaves you with a feeling of warmth and a unique remembrance of the narrative of John(ny) Wyles. The man who wanted to venture to the moon, but could not remember why.


Gameplay: 8.5/10 - Being made from an RPG maker, there are some points where I was unsure how to advance in the story and had to do a bit of "random clicking".

Storyline: 10/10 - One of the best story-driven games I have played. Second to Thomas Was Alone (see review)

Soundtrack: 10/10+ - Creates the prefect ambience for every situation found within the story.

Combat: N/A

Scary? Nope.

Pop-Ups: None.

Graphics: 5/10 - Do not let the graphics dissuade you from purchasing To the Moon. This is a game to experience because of the story within.

100% Achievements: Easy. Complete the game and you earn the one achievement in the game.

Singleplayer: 10/10

Replayability: High replayability, but definitely not necessary to remember this beautiful story.

Multiplayer: N/A

If one had to play only a single Indie game, Thomas Was Alone would be the one, hands down.

A player starts the game as Thomas, a plain, red rectangle that has just gained sentience after being part of an artificial intelligence experiment in the real world. However, in the digital world, Thomas learns to feel and express himself, attempting to learn more about the world and his inner-conflicts and importance. Along his journey, he meets up with other shapes each with a unique ability, such as being able to double jump (Thomas and all the others can only single jump), to be used as a springboard, or to swim (which the others cannot). These shapes are a few of many characters that exist in Thomas Was Alone. Each shape has a unique personality that is conveyed by the narration throughout the game. In addition, each shape Thomas encounters is also controllable by the person playing the game, which creates the need for teamwork and strategy.

At first, the shapes think too highly of themselves to feel the need to cooperate with the others. They soon figure out that they can escape to the real world, become architects, and change the virtual world they inhabit, for the betterment of all shapes. This creates a common goal that they work toward as a team instead of as individuals. To make progress, they need each other's unique abilities.

Thomas Was Alone is a game that teaches fundamental lessons about life. We all are a part of a bigger picture and we must coexist and cooperate to make any sort of advancement. We all need to learn how to overcome obstacles to cooperation. We all need to learn the meaning of true friendship while discovering our true selves and our unique talents. These themes reverberate throughout the game, or should I say, work of art.

*I wrote a review back in 2013 (When I completed the game) but felt Thomas Was Alone could use some more justice so I constructed an updated review.*

Gameplay: 10/10 - Never was bored, played it all in one playthrough, loved the soundtrack and narration.

Storyline: 10/10+ My favorite Indie game of all time. This story speaks more than most games can.

Combat: N/A

Scary? Nope.

Pop-Ups: None.

Graphics: Not even worth rating. The story trumps the graphics in this case.

100% Achievements: Easy.

Singleplayer: 10/10 - It was so superb I played through it all in one sitting.

Replayability: 10/10 - I will definitely revist and play through Thomas Was Alone again.

Multiplayer: N/A - No multiplayer needed to admire this wonderful game.

Wow, I'm actually genuinely surprised that I have not yet written a review for this wondrous game. Or maybe I should put it wanderous? Yes, I know it's not an actual word, continue on.

Torchlight II is a game of deep, enthralling exploration and the subsequent battles for glory, fame, and of course, loot drops that follow throughout this excursion. You must choose a character to harness your abilities from the four available classes: Outlander - Ranged weapons; Embermage - More spells than Harry Potter; Berserker - Right up in your face, meat slicing action; Engineer - A combo of ranged/up-front-and-personal weapons with robots. Each role serves a purpose whether you are in a party of 1 or a whole crew of 4. I personally played with a friend who manned Outlander while I played Engineer.

Throughout my journey, I roasted, toasted, grinded, and gibbed more monsters than I can recall and had a blast quite literally. I will mention that I had not played Torchlight I or any other top-down RPG before playing Torchlight II. As an introduction to this fantastic genre, Torchlight II touched all the bases any game should: Engaging and exciting gameplay; balanced classes, enemies, and loot; and content that progresses and evolves to a greater level by the end of the game. Throw in a soundtrack that perfectly matches the ambiance and you've got a smoldering fire of a game.

It is important to note that I had a friend to play with during my adventure, so this may influence one's opinion on this game. I am considering going through and playing it again, the only thing holding me back is my circadian rhythm - I'm not quite sure it's ready for a re-run.


Gameplay: 10/10 - Never was bored, definitely stayed up way too late.

Storyline: 7/10 - Not too hard to follow but I probably would've had an easier time had I played Torchlight I.

Combat: 7/10 - Not confusing, easy to learn, a multitude of abilities to keep each encounter varied. I blasted through the enemies on Normal on my first run-through. I would recommend playing on Hard as the final boss seemed easier than expected. On Normal it's easy to get hyper-leveled if you love grinding enemies.

Scary? Nope - Cartoony sense of fun

Pop-Ups: None, it's top-down silly!

Graphics: 7.5/10 - Cartoony and fun

100% Achievements: Not easy. Requires multiple playthroughs. Definitely need some luck too for a couple.

Singleplayer: N/A - Did not play by myself.

Replayability: High replay value, I definitely see myself going through this game at least another time. Not to mention, there are copious amounts of scenarios to do after the main story line.

Multiplayer: 10/10 - Wholeheartedly recommend playing with a friend or friends.

I played through and beat Tomb Raider a year ago and had pushed it aside for a while as I was having some trouble completing it in terms of artifacts, challenges, etc. However! I have come full circle and finally brought the game to completion in regards to the side challenges, which prompted me to write a review for this wonderful game.

A doughnut who mainly enjoys multiplayer games and seldom singleplayer adventures, I was blown away by Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider grappled me with interest, quite literally, from the get-go and I was sold. If you take a look through my gallery of screenshots, it is quite apparent that the game started out beautifully and evolved into one-heck of a diamond mine by the end of the tale. I remember quite a few times in the game just standing and looking around spamming [F12] while Solarii soldiers made quick work, attacking me in my transfixed state.

Although Tomb Raider's scenery is fantastic, that is not the only area where this game shines. You are Lara Croft. Immersed into a vast world of assassin-like game play, you must use your survival instincts and various weapons to progress throughout the story and attempt to conquer the zealot by the name of Mathias. With pristine and seemingly realistic graphics, you will venture through a mesmeric experience with puzzles, obstacles, parkour, fights, take-downs, and more.

I snagged the GOTY edition during the Summer Sale, but this game is worth the full price. Prove your survival prowess and step onto the ominous island of Yamatai.


Gameplay: 9/10 - Challenges are a bit onerous.

Storyline: 8.5/10 - Not the best final boss fight.

Combat: 10/10 - Not confusing, easy to learn, and extremely fun with variance in take-downs.

Scary? Nope, more so eerie.

Pop-Ups: None

Graphics: 10/10

100% Achievements: Not easy. 16/50 achievements are multiplayer based and are tedious. Hidden achievement (Called Chatterbox, look it up before you begin).

Singleplayer: 10/10 This game was created for singleplayer.

Replayability: One and done sort of campaign. I do not see myself replaying the singleplayer.

Multiplayer: 3/10 - Not a game that excels in multiplayer. Very rarely are there players online.

People write reviews for this game like it's the new AAA title that is diabolical with beautiful graphics, game mechanics, and all that jazz, which delineates a terrible game if one were to quickly glance at the reviews. However, people fail to realize that this is supposed to be a fun little zombie shooter, heck, that's why it's priced at $2.

That being said, some of the game mechanics are a little wonky, but that just makes the game more enjoyable right? Also to mention, please check out the screenshots before hand, I don't see why people complain if they don't fully check out the product. Would you purchase a new computer without checking out the specifications? I certainly would not. So why be too myopic to glance at the entirety of the game. I personally thought this game was quite enjoyable for $2 and I even 100% it in terms of achievements in 2.5 hours (you can do it faster if you don't screw around, but it was nice to goof off). It's a nice zombie defense game to play with friends when you want to goof off and just enjoy yourself.

Lastly, you will certainly enjoy this game if you have ever played the game "Box Head" as it brings back the intense moments of running for your life and wondering why you didn't purchase more ammo. Combine that with some achievements and you've got a steal deal for $2.

Overall, this game was quite nice for a $2 zombie shooter, please don't expect it to be the next AAA title. Yet Another Zombie Defense brings back the feelings of "Box Head" and even throws in some achievements and inane game play for you and your friends.

First off, I'd like to start by saying I am not a Dota enthusiast, heck I haven't even opened up Dota once! However, that alone did not stop me from really appreciating this documentary. It turned out to be so much more than a documentary, it felt as good as a movie and was as exciting and suspenseful as one. I was enthralled by the stories of Dendi, hyhy, and Fear as they are electronically known and enjoyed the movie through and throughout.

On a side note, I wish the movie had a little bit more of the game play of the actual tournament games. However, this goes to show how intriguing the movie actually was, it made me, someone who has never played Dota, want to watch the games from the tournament. On the other hand, there were some really awesome moments in the movie such as blurring of the lines between the game and the actual competition. The combination of a great soundtrack with animation, made you feel immersed in the game play.

I would start downloading Free to Play right now because, no matter if you play Dota 2 regularly, or if you haven't even installed it on your computer like myself, Free to Play is a captivating documentary that will make you feel a part of something awesome. A new generation of competitive gaming, a part of the gaming community, a PC Gamer.