Recent reviews by The WarSimmer

I have a suspicion that Eugen released WARNO to early access before it was quite ready, due to the competition from Broken Arrow and Regiments. As a result the content is a bit lacking. After you play a skirmish a couple of times there isn't much to do, and there are basically only two decks with not a lot of unit variety.

That being said- what's there is fairly solid. If you're no stranger to the development process in games, you know WARNO is on the right track. The graphics and animations are very good and a step up from previous iterations. Above that, the MUSIC ABSOLUTELY SLAPS. If Eugen changes it I'll be highly dissapoint. There are a lot of quality of life improvements as well, some carried over from steel division, and some new ones like tanks automatically popping smoke, or being able to create your own unit groups for deployment. My biggest gripes at the moment are the bad UI, font at the end of a match, and flat dialogue. But you know that will be fixed before too long.

Be aware you're not getting a full or polished game if you buy now. But if you want to get in from the beginning, learn the ropes, and grow with the game and support the devs, drop the money on it. A year from now WARNO will be well on its way. It's going to be fine. Most likely, WARNO will end up being one of Eugen's best. Why? Because of the newly introduced competition. And competition begets quality and is a win for gamers.

Best WW2 sim in the business. Very optimized as well

"All grand strategy is, at its base, nothing more than a complex set of formulas. But Imperator Rome does a less impressive job of hiding that fact. In Stellaris, every unit, faction, religion and world felt alive and unique. In Imperator, they can feel bland. Lifeless. I'm afraid paradox may have approached a fork in their road, and Imperator Rome is the harbinger of the dark direction in which they turned.

For the complete, uncompensated, and concise review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbGB1jvtd2Y

SoS was a pleasant surprise. A visual novel game, it distinguishes itself with a unique concept in which 4 characters are sent on a life-long journey into the depths of space with new tech to explore what lays beyond. The game revolves around managing the relationships between, and exploring each character's past and personality. Without giving away spoilers, there is an interesting "mechanic" involved in which you learn more about each individual as the days pass. Refreshingly, every crew member is well fleshed out- they aren't nearly as one dimensional as you are led to believe early on- and one in particular really evolved throughout my playthrough. The art and animations are well done too. Definitely a fun game to try, and worth the money.

Below is an unbiased and concise review. I really want to like this game, and will revisit my decision if the devs fix the issues that are plaguing it right now. UPDATE: The devs have shown that they are making a real effort to fix issues, and though the game isn't where it should be, they have displayed passion and I believe they will get it fixed. Thumbs up

https://youtu.be/8WPMK0ouq0U

The Graviteam series has continued to evolve, and it's in a good place right now. The winter maps from Operation Star are back, and this DLC, much like the previous few additions, has really stepped the game up. I'd suggest this one for the freshness of a winter map.

First- Kudos to the devs on a great game.
Second- If you can play HSW in VR, DO IT. It's right up there with the best as far as genuine scares go, and maybe even surpases the contenders.

Now that we have those two points aside, let's get into the meat. If you like Outlast, Amnesia, and Penumbra, you're going to like this game. That's not to say if you've played those games than you're going to know what Home Sweet Home is all about. There's enough creativity and uniqueness contained within that it still feels fresh. There's just a different "feel" to this game that I can't quite put my finger on. Perhaps it's the Thai setting. It's tough to call. But it's different enough to surprise and make this one of my top games of the year. The beginning threw me off a bit, because it literally went to the stereotypical "run from a monster and hide in a locker" mechanic that we've all grown WAY too accustomed to. But as I played on, I saw how varied all of the monsters were. Some of them were totally fresh, and required new methods to "beat" them other than the run and hide method. A few encounters were even based around rudimentary puzzles.

Anyway, it's totally worth it. Buy it. Especially if you have VR, and want to support devs who can make gems for the platform like this.

I've been following a lot of games lately from independant developers, because the AAA titles, while still good today, have started to become a little tired (same old same old). Towards The Pantheon is one that I've followed since development began, and I was excited to see if this developer could bring something unique to the table that didn't feel so stale. So, I guess the big question is, did it pay off?

Let me just go ahead and say it- yes. It did. Big time. There was pretty much just one guy behind this game, and the great thing behind such a fact is that their individual charm shines through. Yes, TTP is an RPG, and it follows the standard turn based combat system that you'll be familiar with. I don't want to spoil too much, but I can tell you that is where most of the similarities end. The game starts off without you really knowing where it will go- is it going to be something you come away from being glad you invested time in? The more I dug into it, the more I started to enjoy it. You begin to become addicted, it's almost reminiscent of the old pokemon games I played as a kid. You want to keep building up your characters, you're anxious with anticipation at who will join your party next, and it starts to become apparent that it's a solid game. There's just something "different" about it that you can feel while going on the journey that is TTP, and even though I can't directly put my finger on it, I'd say it has something to do with the fact that it was small project and wasn't hindered by artistic restrictions you find in other games.

As I played and got a little deeper into this charming little world, I began to see subtle hints that things weren't exactly what they seemed. Unsettling hints. And then.... holy crap. About 2/3 of the way through... the game changed. Completely. Again, no spoilers, but it gets dark. You begin to explore all of the character's past- and it does it in a manner that is so intimate, so personal, that you start to feel like you're viewing these character's deep, inner-most insecurites in a way that is almost... intrusive. I've heard the expression "show, don't tell" many times in my life, and this dev knew what he was doing. At this point in the game, it became more than just that- a game- and became a work of art.

I judge the quality of most of the games I play according to this criteria: is it memorable? TTP is one of those games. I won't forget it. Because of how effectively and how personally he told each of these people's story. You need to play this game. You need to see that there are still games that aren't only about taking info from focus groups in order to target the broadest audience. Play Towards the Pantheon. I didn't regret it. You won't either.

I'm a big gamer, an indie dev, and groghead. Whenever I find a gem in the rough, particularly if it's from a small team, I feel like I've struck gold. And DC Barbarossa has itself struck gold. Everything about this game is superb, from the well constructed AI, to the amount of counters (a perfect balance), to the overall "feel" of the situation.

Unlike other, more dry competitors in the genre, DC:Barbarossa has a constant feeling of real-ness and desperation that emanates from its core. Aside from just pushing counters, there is a roleplaying element that is implemented perfectly. You have to make administrative decisions that have real effects. Do you keep pushing up your railway so supplies can get to troops at the expense of your engineers? Do you waste time having a film crew at HQ to keep from getting on Himmler's bad side? What about constantly fighting with Goring over fuel? It's all done via written correspondence, and feels authentic. A random soldier is assigned to one of your divisions and you can follow him through diary entries throughout the campaign. If he dies or the division is captured, the diary ends.

The gameplay itself is perfect. Challenging, not overburdensome on the needless clicking, logistics are a challenge not a chore, and envelopments feel super satisfying. When you finally get that encirclement, you'll feel like a genius, only to curse and swear as they manage to break out and slip away as all of your planning goes to moot. I swallowed nearly 150 Russian divisions and still was defeated handily. I know that hoiiv is a completely different (and fun) beast, but the AI is much better here.

In my opinion, there are two definitive groghead games out right now: Graviteam Tactics, and this game. Buy it and support outstanding work.

Serving as a mini prequel to the upcoming Towards the Pantheon, Escaping Eternity has the challenge of exciting the player to prepare them for what's to come with the main release. After playing it several times (ignore the steam hours, I logged time outside of Steam), I can say it successfully accomplishes this goal. Unlike most games which tend to immidiately drag the player in with exciting visuals or a gimmicky premise that never lives up to the potential and only dissapoints more as it drags on, ttp:ee does the opposite. Initially I was skeptical- it looked like just another generic 2D rpg. The longer I played, however, the better and better it got. I can't stress that enough... most games DO NOT do this. There are a few surprises and a definite wtf is going on moment, which I won't spoil for you, but it left me excited and ready for more.

I have a feeling ttp could be a nice franchise. One that builds you up, slow boil style, and rewards you more the deeper you get. That sense of foreboding slowly builds as you play it, Shining style.