Recent reviews by UnhappyYak

It's back! I loved the first one and the second one didn't disappoint me. The new art style might be a bit of a shock at first but I think it works really well as an iteration on the quirkiness of the original. The mechanics are nearly the same, but now it automatically grabs all the words in a given location rather than forcing you to click on every individual word to add it to your word list. On one hand this is a welcome quality of life improvement, but I found a couple times that it meant some of the words I found just didn't stick in my head the same way and I had to go back through locations a few times to figure out where one of the words came from so I could solve the puzzle. Not a game breaker, but still finding a balance between tedium puzzle solving.

The main plotline took a little under 10 hours for me to play, and at time of writing only the first DLC has come out, which added about 2.5 hours more. Highly recommend!

It's impossible to review this game without comparing it to its clear inspiration, Return of the Obra Dinn. It has the same base premise of filling out a questionnaire by observing scenes frozen in time, but it also brings its own unique elements to the table, such as a striking art style that I like to call "ugly cute" and some clever character writing.

It's clear that the developers put a lot of effort into crafting the fill-in-the-blanks questionnaires you have to solve for each scene, making them difficult without frustrating, and I really enjoyed the moments where puzzling through the answer to a couple blanks suddenly brought me to some new conclusions about the scene I hadn't made otherwise. The game also rewards you for keeping track of characters and plot points, even if the answers are still generally contained within each scene until the last chapter of the game or so.

Overall I really enjoyed my time with the game - about 4.5 hours for the main game and another 4.5 hours combined for the DLCs - and I heartily recommend it for anyone who likes Obra Dinn or other deduction puzzles.

A very chill game about interacting with townsfolk and identifying plants.

A very good tactical rogue-like, with a very cool narrative system. I'd recommend it both for solo play and coop!

Have you ever wanted a game that simulates being an archaeologist? I didn't, but then again, I didn't know I wanted a game that simulated being a soviet bureaucrat either, and Papers, Please was an amazing game.

Heaven's Vault follows an archaeologist trying to uncover the secret behind a mysterious disappearance, while also trying to decipher the entirety of an alien language. I thoroughly enjoyed this game - the story, the writing, the exploration, and the language puzzles. The travel mechanic is very chill, almost zen, and the story decisions feel like they matter. I'm definitely looking forward to a NG+.

I truly loved CK2 and I truly love this game. Roleplay as any space empire you want!

Battletech is good. Good, not great. I've enjoyed several dozen hours in the campaign, and the core gameplay loop is solid, if not all that creative. Get a mission, fly to the zone, fight, salvage, repeat. This is fine for a while, but the real weakness of the game is how the progression makes all your early mechs completely worthless. RIght now I'm waiting for the Flashpoint DLC and update, which will hopefully offer some rebalances and new game modes that make the game feel a little more open.

Most reviews of this game spend a lot of time on how hard it is or isn't. This is not the point of the game. The point of the game is to slowly go insane as you explore the frankly ridiculous amount of labyrinths underneath your Ancestor's mansion. Have fun storming the castle!

Like Civ V with magic!

Endless Legend is a fantasy turn-based 4X which, of course, takes a lot of its cues from Civilization, but polishes those mechanics to a radiant shine and adds some new mechanics of its own. The planet Auriga is a beautiful and fleshed-out setting for a pack of fantasy races to explore and fight in. Each race has unique mechanics and a unique story questline that sets it apart from the others. I always liked Sid Meyer's Alpha Centauri better than Civ 3, and Endless Legend is basically Civ 5's SMAC - the same core gameplay in a beautiful fantasy setting.