Recent reviews by Hrist Valkyrie

Buy it to piss off all those people that refuse to define what "woke" is because they know that blind unfounded hate is bad. 🙃

With every update I sink another 3-4 hours into the game, minimum. My only complaints are a couple of issues with a certain weapon, which I've reported to the dev. It's just good, dumb fun and continues to be a joy to come back to and see what new and exciting stuff has been added each update. You really honestly cannot do much better for this price point, get off the fence and just buy it already.

RoR2 is great, and then you get to final phase Mithrix. Some things worth noting here that I know people had issues with in the first game and will mention in case those players are curious.
There are ways to get specific builds and items without using the command artifact.
Difficulty options, when factoring in artifacts, are essentially limitless.
Glass was *severely* nerfed, and is compounded by changes to infusion as well. Ideally you want other sources of damage in this one.
The director was fixed when playing games longer than two hours.
Gold values were properly adjusted based on playtime and world level, and do not require smart shoppers to maintain their increases as the playtime is extended. Magma worm still drops a pitiful amount of gold.

While I have some minor gripes about things, World Brothers is a great addition to the series. It works very well for both new fans and returning fans alike and has been a lot of fun so far. Definitely recommend for anyone on the fence!

It's EDF, and it's better than ever! You should know what you're getting into with an EDF title and this is by far my favorite entry yet. Keep up the good work Sandlot!

THis is honestly the closest to an Animal Crossing type game that Steam will likely get for a long time coming. That being said, is it Animal Crossing? No. It differs vastly from Animal Crossing, but the gist of it is you own a farm, plant crops, do chores (fishing, farming, small quests, mining, etc.) and build relationships (yay marriage!) around town. It's a life simulator. You can expand your farm, get animals, have a baby with your husband/wife (yes, same sex couples are a thing). It's worth noting that multiplayer is in the works but ConcernedApe does not have an ETA on it. IIRC there is already a mod for it though.

I personally really enjoy this archetype of games but have to take it in controlled doses. I can get addicted really easily. It's a collect-a-thon for sure!

The only thing that this is missing is LIQUID GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD. Someone really needs to kill that guy. HE is a crime against humanity, no matter the era.

"...an excellent game in a sea of mediocrity..."

Are you looking for a Civ-a-like to play? Don't buy this. Go buy GalCiv 3 instead. Are you looking for a fresh, new look at 4X entirely? You just found it. Before I get into my personal thoughts [the review, essentially] I want to explain why I say this and why I feel how I do about my review, found further below the following four paragraphs.

To say Endless Legend is like Civ just because its a 4X game is like saying a cheesecake is a cake simply because it has the word 'cake' in it, or a pie because its formed like one. Endless Legend may be labeled as a 4X, but neither does it fit into the traditional mold of a 4X nor does it conform to those of its predecessors, the most notable being Civ.

One of the key principal differences, for instance, is that the land is divided into regions. In each region, there may only be one city. That's it. Choose wisely where you place it; finding out later on there are better resources to be had from founding elsewhere will hurt you in the long run. This is particularly notable just starting out. Rush placement for the early settlement lead, or explore a bit for a chance at longer term returns on prosperity in your capital?

Another key notable feature that I like is that each of the major factions not only has a different play style, but has their own major quest as well. Completion of said quest before the final turn results in an automatic win for that faction. [AI opponents do not pursue quests, major or minor] Is it easy? NO. Do you get rewards along the way? Certainly. Are the rewards worthwhile? Most definitely.

One of the final overhauls I want to mention is the combat system. Rather than Civ's straight out 'this is my unit strength, this is yours, let's do this' system, your units are grouped [as you see fit] into armies. When you engage another army, a small battle map opens and each unit is controlled manually by you, via a directive of three basic commands; attack, defend, hold. Pretty self explanatory. On top of that, there are faction specific and unit based abilities you can use in battle which greatly diversify the depth of combat, instead of just 'surround city with siege units, bombard, invade with one unit when done' as in Civ.

Review:
A/V: First off this game is gorgeous. I don't generally place stock on judging a game based on graphics, but it *really* adds to the atmosphere here. The level of detail is incredible. To supplement that, the ambient sound effects and music are just as amazing and deserve an equal amount of praise. The graphics get a small demarkation for having to re-draw everytime you tab out of the fullscreen interface, however. I am hoping this is addressed, but if not its not a major detractor.

Mechanics: As stated above, this game is a fresh look at a genre that, in my opinion, deperately needed new life. Endless Legend is that life, I feel. This game has introduced things in a way no one would likely have ever thought, and the best part is that the community continues to remain a large part of the process the entire way. If you do purchase this [or are on the fence] head over to the Amplitude forums and check out what we have all accomplished. Several dozen features and additions to this and their other two games have been ones suggested by or designed almost completely by the community. I digress, though. All of these mechanics may sound like a steep learning curve, and the first game through it is. After that one game, however, it flows much more logically and you'll likely end up asking yourself how such an amalgalm of crazy ideas never happened before this.

Miscallenous: There are still some bugs and flaws being ironed out, but Amplitude is very studious and responsive about addressing these issues promptly and responding to user feedback on how to resolve these problems until patches are released. There's even a feature in the game to create your own faction with your own selectable traits, including a couple that aren't assigned to a preset faction by default. Amplitude wants this game to be something for *you*, so if none of what I've written grabs you by all means don't feel pressured. If, however, you feel like Civ used to be enjoyable but has seen its days and you need something new, or if you just love fantasy and deep lore based worlds; this is your game.

Overall: I'm not a fan of numbered/aggregate ratings, so I'll just close with this; if you're on the fence after having read what I wrote, buy it. It will not disappoint. Its an excellent game in a sea of mediocrity that more than deserves a chance to shine.

Editors note: Updating this to reflect that at the time of review, the expansions were not yet released. I am going to leave the review as is, as the review was not intended to be an in depth guide on the mechanics of the game/expansions. The purpose is to cover the base mechanics as a means for comparison. Thank you! [Updated 11-24-2016]

Edit: As of 11-21-2018, I still hold firm to this review in the sense that the game has aged well so far, and continues to stand out among the 4X games I own. I still highly recommend giving this a shot if you are growing tired of the standard Civ releases.

Honestly, I wishlisted this on the basis that additional features were pending and I would buy it when it was more fleshed out. The trailer and associated screenshots make it look simple, but I can assure you; it is not. Installed it Sept. 3rd, in the afternoon, and played just about 12 hours straight almost. This is one of the best sims I have played in a LONG time, and easily justifies $15. It gets its hooks into you early, and quickly turns into one of those "just one more turn" games. It is unique, has a seemingly infinite amount of depth, and one play through is REALLY long if done correctly. I'm still on my first family, after this initial 12 hours. One of the best purchases I have made all year, easily.

First thing I want to say about Storm is this; ignore the metascore. That score is coming from a bunch of stuffy cublicle workers who work for big, conglomerated gamging sites. This is not a game for them, so it only stands they wouldn't like it. Do you enjoy puzzle games? Storm is for you. Did you enjoy Journey, Flower, flOw, or Puddle? Storm is for you. Storm isn't perfect by any means, don't get me wrong. But it is whimsical, relaxing, and nowhere near as frustrating as critics complain it is. If you are on the fence, watch a few videos of gameplay on Youtube; I would still recommend snagging it on sale though.