Recent reviews by Kiel

Let us be clear: Overture is not complex. It is not a masterwork of plot, graphics, character design, progression, or sound.

What it is, however, is a simple pixel isometric roguelike about picking a class, finding treasure, releasing little NPC guys to fight alongside you, and murking absolute hordes of enemies.

And the occasional boss.

As a game stripped down to its bones, Overture is perhaps more about what it isn't than what it is.

But for what it is, it is very good at just--and only just--that.

One Finger Death Punch is a game that is easy to start and very enjoyable to play, but good luck completing it.

That said: kung fu dopamine go brrrrr

This is another one of those reviews for which I'd use the "ehhhh..." button, if only there was one.

Lichdom does what it sets out to do:
-All magic, all the time
-Very flashy, lots of big explosions and what have you
-Classes? Cooldowns? We don't know her
-Basically Disgaea-level statistics but it's your spell "crafting" system
-You will die, but you will not stay dead (y'know, like a lich)

Unfortunately, it also has some struggles as a result of this:
-While it's not bad to have no skills hotbar, it also means you only have a couple options usable at any moment
-You constantly have to iterate on even the spells you like so they continue to do anything useful
-The game will avidly remind you how you not staying dead doesn't mean you also don't die easily
-In exchange for no cooldowns, almost all of your spells have charge times if you want more than a light breeze

And then some secondary flaws:
-The plot is paper-thin (though I'm not sure how many of its core demo would be looking for that)
-Even after a major menu UI improvement (in the form of a toggle setting), it's still not at all intuitive
-Documentation? We don't know her either
-I still have no idea how exactly this "Mastery" substance the game constantly mentions works exactly
-The shielding-layers dynamic is certainly different but I don't know that it's a good kind of different
-Would you like to jump? I bet you would

Lichdom will definitely alienate no small number of people. I also tried to get into it on two separate occasions, years apart, but ultimately fell away from playing it (though I admittedly do that a lot) both times--out of a lack of engagement, though, rather than due to something else pulling me away (the latter being what usually gets me). However, the fact that certain games exist and have many ardent fans leads me to believe there's surely a particular batch of nerds out there for whom Lichdom is fire as heck, and a decent number like me who don't hate it but certainly don't love it.

I delight in Dinkum. A cozy game par excellence (and one that doesn't simply hide behind that adjective as an excuse for being under-developed--we're looking at you, Calico and Garden Paws), it's a bit Animal Crossing, a bit Harvest Moon, and a whole lot of Outback.

Like Stardew Valley, Dinkum is a one-man-band situation; unlike Stardew Valley, Dinkum is 3D, meaning there's a lot more to have to do to make it go. The developer, however, is clearly committed and continues to roll out new content.

In fairness and full disclosure, it is still more than a little rough around the edges, with lots of planned content still not developed at the time of this writing--it is very clearly far from "done." However, the diligence and attention of the developer shines through the work that is present so far, and it distinctly lacks the whiff of "always an Early Access; never a release" that plagues so many games of a similar origin. I have quite enjoyed what I have played of Dinkum so far, and look forward to experiencing (and ostensibly enjoying) more of it as it continues to be iterated and expanded upon.

Undungeon is a remarkable game, chock-full of all manner of unique things--boldly experimental and unapologetically unafraid to lean into its singular design choices, presenting them as they are and at times distinctly without polish.

Unfortunately, the same could be said of a "deconstructed" sandwich containing marshmallow fluff, Vegemite, kimchi, kale, rainbow sprinkles, and lutefisk, with peanut brickle "bread," its parts whimsically interspersed on your table amidst a sculpture made of the components of the board game "Mouse Trap." The end result would be similarly striking, but also similarly unapproachable for its purpose (in the sandiwch's case, lunch; in Undungeon's case, entertainment).

Undungeon is very different, yes, and I salute its makers for having taken the risks they did. Most, however, probably would have more successfully iterated upon them in focus testing, QA, and/or Early Access, and either scrapped the project or massively reworked it. As it stands, and despite considerable time spent to try to like it, I found Undungeon un-compromisingly un-fun, un-approachable, un-happy, and un-delightful.

If you like Soulslikes for the masochism and time-sinking, but are tired of the FromSoft formula, maybe this game is for you. Most other folks probably aren't gonna dig it and its taskmaster tedium, though I suppose it probably takes a certain type to be even giving the store page a second look.

Visually just-okay, aurally-solid, and design-wise slightly novel, GMC had what seemed like it could be the makings of a good game, thus my buying it.

As you can see from my playtime, it got tedious and boring very quickly. The UI also needed some help, and the writing was cheesy at best. The videos on the store page represent a lot more, and more lively, action than you will usually experience playing it.

You could surely do worse than GMC, no question. If you need something to fill up your time, you could potentially select it.

But why would you, when so many other things exist that are better--some of them even free?

This game is a blast, and I'm not just saying that because I have a crippling dad joke habit.

Great for playing with friends who can still be your friends after, say, blue-shelling them in Mario Kart.

A charming mashup of the isometric roguelike ways of The Binding of Isaac (minus all the weird body horror, etc.) and the mercantilism of Shoppe Keeper, rendered in a soft pixel aesthetic (think Children of Morta, but with a Vaseline-'d lens), Moonlighter is a pleasant game that splits its time between the occupations of a scrappy adventurer who moonlights as a humble merchant to fellow adventurers (or is it the other way around?).

I will warn you, though--just as moonlighting in real life is holding a job in addition to a primary occupation, so too is Moonlighter a game that involves upkeep of two jobs... and no guarantee of traction in either one, save perhaps by sheer dint of repetition until things somehow line up. If the possibility of grind in either segment sounds distinctly unappealing, this one may well not be for you. You will spend a lot of time in the game making small, perhaps not particularly measurable increments towards your next stepping stone of progress, along with squabbling over prices, and swatting problem customers with a broom or whatever. You will have ample opportunity to get mad at the game for not spawning anything you particularly want or need in the areas any given supply run involves, and you will at least occasionally have unlucky breaks in both segments of the game that will be very costly. You will run into inventory challenges constantly, and have little to do but leave lots of things behind (or, eventually, scrap them for pennies on the dollar) while flipping back and forth with your menu to manage them all.

If, however, you enjoy some challenging-but-definitely-fair roguelite repetition in your life, mixed with a generous helping of the meditatively monotonous art of adventure capitalism--and I suspect that if you've scrolled this far down the store page, you at least suspect you can--you could well find yourself decently enjoying your time in Moonlighter, as I did. (There's technically a story in there somewhere, but it takes so long to complete it that you may well forget what it was you were meaning to do there in the first place; I certainly have.)

This game makes no sense at all.

And it is wonderful.

I think it is best described thematically as a mashup of Devil May Cry/Bayonetta, the Matrix, and Ultrakill, set perhaps in the world of Saints Row.

Playing it was, for me, a truly unique experience, which is rare in this day and age.

If you don't mind introducing some utterly glorious incomprehensibility in your life (and a lot of very creatively bloody stylized violence), pick this one up.

Look, it's probably my own damn fault for buying a Soulslike when I generally hate Soulslikes.

But I really did not enjoy this one, as much as I wanted to. I loved reading Redwall while growing up. It has an interesting art style and so on.

Also, I'm a furry, so there's that.

These were not enough to salvage a game with truly bewildering hitboxes--a concept utterly crucial to have locked down airtight for Soulslikes. Instead, it was just depressing and sadistic, with interspersed moments that felt actually unfair to the player instead of merely to the protagonist (another cardinal sin, even for the genre).

Like any game, there will be people who adore this game, surely. I, however, cannot be one of them. I have put up with Gitting Gud for a number of games better than this at feeling worthwhile (the Monster Hunter series, for instance, which I've expended far too many hours of my life upon), so it is not merely that I am not up to the challenge; indeed, I finished Tales of Iron's campaign.

I simply did not have fun.