Recent reviews by ThunderBlade

All righty, here goes. A review on the game Soulash 2, rewritten after I decided to throw more effort into it. I'll explain why I decided to do this at the end!

Soulash 2 is an early access open world, sandbox rpg. Similar to Caves of Qud, although the map is randomized, as well as the people and settlements. Every time you create a world, you're creating an entire world which can have as many years of history as you like. Think of it along the same lines as Dwarf Fortress's world generation, although less thorough, but that's mostly because the game is again, in early access.

As for the positives of the game, I do very much enjoy when a game has skill systems that evolve simply by you doing things. Hit things with a sword? Get better! Use magic for whatever reason? Get better! The fact that as you level up skills you not only gain stats, passive and active skills means that your character does usually feel like there is a natural form of growth. You start out as a dude whose fighting small animals and weak bandits, and by growing stronger and getting better stats, equipment, and skills, you too can punch a dragon. Since the game is open world as well, it means that you can go out wherever you'd like, in whichever order you'd like. I also do very much enjoy the crafting system in this game, as it lends itself very well to making the exact type of equipment that you'd like. Combine that with quality of life features such as paying others to craft items for you, being able to buy said materials for crafting directly in the menu where you are asking them to craft for you, as well as timers and notifications for when that's all done, it's very nicely put together. The mini map is also a very nice touch, as it makes it easier to simply make out what's going on around you. The settlement building is also a nice interesting way to add not only a little hub, but also a place where you can have a family and grow said family. That is also a positive of the game: The game does not end when you die. You are meant to have a family, and give birth to your next of kin to continue your family legacy. You are not just one man, adventuring through the world (though you can be if you so choose). You are one man in a long line of many, creating a great family with a great family legacy. Something unique I've not seen done, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

As for the negatives, this is going to potentially become outdated as the game gets updated. The food and water mechanics are very simple at this point, although that could simply be because there's other mechanics the dev would like to get to first. He got the basics down, but it feels very very bare bones. Food doesn't spoil, and water is basically solved as soon as you get a water skin it feels like. As for the world, it does feel very empty and basic as well. Npcs are very hard to tell apart due to very similar looking portraits, and towns are set up in a very simple way. All of the npcs in towns also usually have the same dialogue box options. The world is large, and vast, and you can explore it, but there's just. Not that much there. I assume this will be improved as the game nears completion, but we will see.

Now as for why I'm rewriting this review: Yes, it is because of the drama. As per my original review, I do not agree with what the dev has said online. I do not agree with what the community has done to people who are simply voicing their own opinion. I don't get how me negatively reviewing this game over what the dev has said is any different from the many people who say they won't buy or play a game because of Sweet Baby Inc. or DEI. When I went to the discord to try and get a better grip on what was going on because of the drama and was asking questions, I was accused of being manipulative. I was treated as an enemy despite the fact that I wanted to LEARN what had happened, from both sides. Instead, the community made me feel as though asking questions for more context was a hostile action.

So all in all, this is a pretty basic open world sandbox rpg that does have the uniqueness of being able to create your own towns and lineage. It is in early access, so I assume that as it develops, it will continue to go from being basic to probably pretty great. In the end though, I do not recommend this game purely because of the devs comments online, as well as the communities treatment towards me.

TL;DR - This is a basic early access game that feels rather empty but will probably improve. I do not recommend it because of the way the community and developer has handled drama.

Secrets of Grindea is something that I like to refer to as an "Early Access" masterpiece. It's one of those games that despite being in early access, could've very easily been pushed out with not a lot of content, and forever been known as "Dang, that game was good but I wish there was more of it." I've been following this game since early 2016, and I'm incredibly happy with how it's come along so far. Every time I come back and play and get to experience a bit more content, see all the extra side content that gets added, and added flavor to the levels I had previously fully explored? That's good ♥♥♥♥.

Now, development has been "slow" yes, but even then, what's the issue? I've gotten almost 40 hours out of an unfinished game. For fifteen bucks? That's a deal if I've ever heard of it. I've gotten less enjoyment out of $60 AAA games than I have out of this early access $15 game on steam. I've gotten my money's worth, and then some. It's good, I love it. Keep up the good work devs, can't wait to see when the game is complete!

Super bouncy pants.

But actually though I hate Sean.