Recent reviews by Senstrae

Against the Storm is a clever roguelike city builder. The game departs from typical city builders in that you're given specific objectives and constraints with a ticking time clock. You need to gain enough reputation through turning in orders, completing challenging events, and keeping your people fed and happy. Fail to keep up, and the Queen's Patience is liable to run out! Should you succeed, you'll move on to the next settlement and be one step closer to reforging the seal. Each map comes with its own set of conditions, resources, and available blueprints, you must adapt and overcome.

I have plenty to say, but I'll try to be concise:

1. The game has a great deal of depth and endless replayability thanks for a chunky progression system, sliding difficulty scale, and tactful procedural generation. Despite 350 hours, I've yet reach the highest possible difficulty.

2. There's a rich and moody atmosphere with the "rainpunk" aesthetic. It's not just a visual and audio experience either, once unlocked, the rainpunk game mechanic allows you to supercharge your buildings.

3. Reforging the seal feels like a proper boss encounter. Despite this sentiment, there's no true combat. Sure there's monsters you can encounter, and your villagers may die. But, these are puzzles to solve rather than fights to win.

If you like city builders with an emphasis on survival + supply chains such as Rimworld, Dwarf Fortress, or Frostpunk, consider giving this one a look.

The game recommends that you grab a drink and a snack to set the mood. It's remarkably cozy bartending in 2069. Cast is memorable: some are jerks, some are silly, and some are charming. Gameplay is light, but rewards you for paying attention to detail and reading between the lines. Music is iconic. If you enjoy narrative pieces, this one is quite worthwhile.

Beware, this has an addictive gameplay loop if you enjoy tycoon style games. It really scratches that "line goes up" itch. Yes, you can buy EA and close their studio. A word of caution: the game does little to hold your hand or explain mechanics, so expect some confusion as you learn the systems. There's a lot you can do, game dev, contracts, arcade cabinets, console wars, buyouts and subsidiaries. It's basically an extensively upgraded version of Game Dev Tycoon if you ever played that. Also the music do be bopping.

I've barely spent time with this and I can already see why speed runners love this game. Mechanics are smooth and tight with plenty of room to learn finesse. It's challenging, but doesn't feel unfair. It's got a vibe of perseverance and a knack for tugging on heartstrings which I admire. Beautiful game.

PS: Trans rights.

There's no neutral rating, so I give this a 'thumbs up'* which means I recommend it during a heavily discounted sale.

(+) Lightly arcade feel of the cars, customization with stickers, cool cell shade effects, cheesy dialogue, silly setting, goofy story, music is alright, and winning is a challenge.
(~) 30-50% of your driving time spent will be spent evading cops. Once you learn how to do it and get a car fast enough to outrun them, it gets easier. Sometimes fun, sometimes annoying.
(-) Buy-in on races means that you have to set aside cash for the sole purpose of occasionally losing it due to a bust or bad race. I get that it's "no risk, no reward" but it feels punishing in an unfun way. Also not a fan of the EA launcher.

This game comes from the same studio that made FTL and they simply don't miss. Also like FTL, expect gameplay to be difficult and brutal. This puzzle tactics style game where you have to maximize your limited move and attack set to the greatest effect. As you pick up achievements, you'll unlock currency that lets you purchase other mech squads with different abilities. Sound design is fantastic. There's a lot of value in the purchase price, so if you like a challenge, pick this up and give it a try.

Game is basically Vampire Survivors with transformation-themed ecchi. It's not actually explicit, just lewd. Art is great, gameplay loop is addictive. It's missing some polish, but for $5 it's good value.

It's like other strategy empire building games such as Civilization, just "lite" - i.e. condensed down into simple mechanics that retain a notable degree of depth. It's less complex and more streamlined as a result. Games tend to go for 30 minutes to an hour. Though be careful - instead of "one more turn" it can instead be "one more try". Balance is intentionally asymmetrical, some of the starts are quite challenging. Gameplay aside, I find the music delightful.

There are some features I might have liked such as unique civilization-specific cards, a post-game replay, map editor, or fog-of-war. But I also think the price point fits the scope of the game.

Games like this give me hope for a better, brighter, more environmentally balanced future. It really is a delight turning a desolate wasteland into a diverse biome filled with life. It's colorful, soothing, and has just enough difficulty to keep you on your toes. I certainly enjoyed it!

I've got a confession. For a visual novel that explicitly features furry transformation and kink, there's actually a really touching story at the heart of it. I haven't even finished all of the routes, and I feel confident in saying this is one of the best VNs I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It certainly helped that I enjoy voicing the narration with a partner, for the more... intimate scenes.

So brew yourself a cup of tea and get settled in.