Recent reviews by LL

A must play for both sci-fi and anime fans.

After about 20 hours of playtime I do have to say this game exceeded my expectations based on the earlier reviews. The setting and gameplay is very interesting and my only complaints at this time would be the excessive loading screens/loading times and sometimes extremely vague/confusing quest instructions (had to wander around in a cave for an hour or so to find something to advance a main questline). I did not face any gamebreaking bugs/crashes that earlier reviewers had and hope I do not encounter them later.

NOTE: I was supplied with this key by the developer, this however did not affect the review. All my developer sponsored reviews are positive because I review games that I like!

Intro
My Night Job is a side-scroller beat’em up taking place in a gigantic mansion filled with a variety of different monsters. Your goal is to lead as many survivors you find throughout the mansion to evacuation points while staying alive. When too many monsters accumulate inside a room, they start stomping and damaging the mansion and the game ends when either your health bar or the mansion's health bar falls to zero.

Graphics
The graphics are very old school but retain a certain charm behind them. Even with many characters on screen at once, the graphics are very smooth and you can always keep track of your character.

Gameplay
Gameplay is very straightforward. You either move left or right, and you can jump, attack, or dodge. You start out only armed with your fists but there are plenty of weapons you can pick up while moving around the mansion, ranging from couches to refrigerators. All weapons either have a ammo count or limited durability forcing you to constantly be on the lookout for new weapons to pick up. You also receive bonus health or ammo depending on the numbers of survivors you lead to an evacuation point. Special survivors also grant bonus power-ups upon being rescued, giving you abilities such as revival upon death or increased melee damage.

Pros & Cons

Pros:
• Very easy to pick up and a single play session does not last very long.
• Achievements you unlock grant you permanent bonuses such as increased speed/health but you must unlock them • from a secret room in the mansion first
• Unique blend of survival horror and beat'em up

Cons:
• Tutorial could be more in depth going beyond basic controls
• Weapons are either really strong or weak, enemies usually die in one hit so weapons that have high splash damage • • reign supreme above others
• Lack of a story

Overall Thoughts

This is a solid beat'em up game that is great for both casual and hardcore gamers alike. At the moment only single player is supported although I feel this game has great potential for supporting Co-op.
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Wanderjahr is a very nice “clicker” RPG. The graphics are very beautiful and seems inspired by games such as MapleStory. Gameplay consists of managing a roster of heroes during battles and swapping them out of tactical necessity when needed, as you can only have 4 on the battlefield simultaneously.

The heroes attack automatically, and you are in control of item/spell use and switching out heroes when needed. In between battles you spend the gold and stars you earned from killing monsters on buying healing items, technology/spells, and upgrades for your heroes. Unfortunately, there are no skill trees for heroes which was something I would have liked to see and thus upgrades are completely linear.

Story-wise, the game was a bit on the weak side (you apparently have to read the plot from the menu?). Additionally, some heroes seemed more useful than others (the “thief” class hero doesn’t do much damage and only helps steal an inconsequential amount of gold per attack). However, I did enjoy the art style in this game and the animations were very smooth. Some levels were very challenging, including the first bossfight. I also enjoyed the soundtrack of this game. Overall, I did enjoy the game for the few hours I’ve played it and would recommend picking it up on a sale or when more content/updates get added.

Disclaimer: Key was provided by developer for a review. This did not influence my review in any way.

I had to tweak some settings to get this game to launch and run decently but I did enjoy what I played of it so far. The levels were designed very artistically with varied settings. I feel this game could use some work on the voice overs and revamp the hint system, which is required to get through parts of this game. If you like puzzle games and have a lot of patience this would be a good pickup during a sale.

This game is one of the better RPGMaker games I have played although it has a few flaws.

You take on the role of Alice on a quest to save her sick mother by finding the Elohim Cube. You start your journey from a cave in the bottom of a mountain and you fight your way through various landscapes ranging from a icy palace to a volcanic cavern. Battles take place in real time with a cooldown bar between each action. The game has a mix of puzzle solving along with platforming at times. Although the game may have been rebalanced as of now, when I played this game, I was unable to find a spell that was crucial to beating the first boss and I thought certain enemies and bosses needed some rebalancing. I did enjoy what I played of the game though and in my opinion the universe of this game is well thought out. If you are a fan of RPGMaker games, I would recommend you give this game a try, although this game does not take long to beat.

Disclaimer: I was provided a review key, however this did not influence my review.

I was supplied with this key by the developer, this however did not affect the review.
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OVERVIEW
In Taimumari you play as Himari, a female wizard on a quest to restore balance to the world, in a challenging old school platformer. The game consists of 8 levels with a boss fight at the end of each one. There are stars along with other collectibles on each level, and you can use the stars you collected to increase your health and mana bars, and your physical and magic damage. There are a variety of spells to unlock in this game and they are all helpful and necessary to get through parts of some levels. There are three difficulty settings, and although I played on the easiest one, I still found the game a challenge and have gotten stuck on the second to last level.

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PROS & CONS

Pros:
Unique bossfights and levels
Lots of spells, slow time down, reverse time, or summon a magic shield!
Lots of hidden collectibles every level for completionists
Extremely challenging, and certain achievements require beating the game without buying any upgrades!

Cons:
Getting powerups can be grindy
Some English translations were sloppy
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SUMMARY & FINAL RATING
Extremely challenging platformer that reminds me of classics such as the Kirby games. For just a few dollars, this game delivers more than enough content.
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For more recommendations on quality indie games or ones with high potential follow our group curations here

I was supplied with this key by the developer, this however did not affect the review.
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OVERVIEW

In Crossbow Warrior- The Legend of William Tell, you take on the role of folk hero William Tell to rescue his kidnapped son from an enemy general. Gameplay consists of mainly sidecrolling platforming although in certain levels the view changes. Defeat enemies with your crossbow or save your ammo and instead jump on top of them. Collectibles exist in every level for achievement hunters along with a hidden apple for you to shoot with your crossbow. A few minor glitches exist, although gameplay is very smooth. Something not mentioned in the tutorial was that jumping from a crouch launches you higher which is needed to clear some obstacles.

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PROS & CONS

Pros:
Cartoony graphics suit the humor in this game
Some levels are challenging, and there are no checkpoints in a level!
"Expert" time cutoffs for speedrunners and replayability

Cons:
In the city escape level, possible to get glitched under the level, forcing a restart
Jumping is awkward and hard to control sometimes
Enemies have inconsistent hitboxes when you try to jump on them
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SUMMARY & FINAL RATING
This is a fun, lighthearted, although challenging platformer where you get to play as the legendary folk hero William Tell. Great buy for all ages!

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For more recommendations on quality indie games or ones with high potential follow our group curation page here

I was supplied with this key by the developer, this however did not affect the review.
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OVERVIEW
In City of Chains (taking place in a dystopian cyberpunk setting) you take on the role of Holt, a former engineer who has been arrested for refusing to cooperate with the government on a secret military project. After breaking out of prison with a few fellow prisoners, Holt must evade the police while getting to the bottom of a big conspiracy.

Gameplay consists of completing tasks (quests) such as rescuing other prisoners or disabling defenses to gain skill points and advance the story. Skillpoints can be spent on passive combat bonuses or on other skills such as hacking, lockpicking, or speech (charisma). Interestingly, a lot of fights can be directly avoided using skills you have learned, such as using the hacking skill to disable robot sentries or using speech skills to talk your way through hostile situations.

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PROS & CONS

Pros:
Multiple solutions to hostile enemies, sneak past them or use craftable grenades instead of fighting head on
Variety of equipment and skillpoints to customize your squad
Clean, smooth animations, and fitting soundtrack
Choices your forced to make that may or may not influence the ending of the game
Ammo/other supplies are limited forcing you to explore more to find them
Interesting crafting system for grenades/medicine

Cons:
Lack of a map
No health bars for enemies
Secondary characters don't have much backstory
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SUMMARY & FINAL RATING
This is a unique RPG Maker game that contains elements from games such as Deus Ex or the Shadowrun games. If you like tactical games set in a dark and dystopian setting this is the game for you!

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For more recommendations on quality indie games or ones with high potential follow our group reviews here

I was supplied with this key by the developer, this however did not affect the review.
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OVERVIEW

Ben and Ed is a challenging 3-D platformer where you take on the role of Ed, a zombie on a mission to save his best friend Ben (a human) from a crazy showmaster. In each level, you will run, jump, and dodge various obstacles and traps such as spinning blades. Interestingly, you are able to lose all of your limbs and body, but as long as your head is intact, you are still able to proceed through the level by rolling your head! In addition, there are also challenging "boss" fights, the first (a gigantic robot clown) which took me about an hour and many many tries to beat!


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PROS & CONS

Pros:
Challenging platforming, although with infinite lives
Getting some of your limbs sliced off is actually good strategy for beating some levels
Collectibles on every level along with chickens to hunt
Lots of humor embedded in the game (Ed can also do funny "gestures")
Great soundtrack

Cons:
Lighting issues (certain dark areas are problematic)
First boss is able to "lock" you down after he knocks you over leading to a forced restart everytime
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SUMMARY & FINAL RATING
Ben and Ed is a very challenging 3-D platformer that will test your skills. Although there are a few minor issues that are easily fixable, the devs quickly respond to feedback and fixed a glitch I reported in less than a day. Well worth the price.

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For more recommendations on quality indie games or ones with high potential follow our group reviews here