Recent reviews by Technoboop

"I'm something of a programmer myself"
-me after making the most spaghetti ass incomprehensibly slow program known to mankind

A flawed game all things considered, but when you're roaming the landscape, the camera pans out and the music kicks in... few games can capture that feeling.

[Don't mind the hour count, I've completed it on a different platform]

Well, look. Root is far from a perfect game. It can feel particularly unbalanced at times and for a game that gets very competitive, that isn't a good thing. It can spawn monopoly-like arguments and can frustrate you easily if that's the kind of person you are (like I am). But... given a group of people that just want to play more for the fun of it than for actually winning, it can be pretty fun. I think that's what is crucial to enjoying the game. It just depends on who you play with.

Anyway. If you want to see my thoughts / criticisms / whatever on the game itself, you can see them below. I still stand by it. Root can be a tiresome game and even though now I'm recommending it overall, I still believe it is flawed and might not be the right game for you in particular.

- First I want to mention that every player has to own all the DLC if they want to play the various factions. The total cost across 4 players for the digital version is £108, which is only £10 less than going out and buying the real board game and the 2 expansions. IMO, this is pretty extortionate, considering the real board game is a vastly superior experience and obviously comes with real pieces, boards, and cards and whatnot. The only way to circumvent this is to use advanced setup, which, granted I appreciate it does mean not everyone has to own all the DLC, but only lets you choose from a randomly selected pool of factions (frustratingly enough this usually includes 2 vagabonds), so you don't actually get to pick your faction. There's no option to used advanced setup rules whilst still choosing your factions, so if you want that starting plot as corvid or those 4 extra warriors as the cats, you have to accept the random assignment too.

(The rest of the review is more a review on the actual game rather than specifically the video game adaptation)

- You can also lose quite easily because of other players' decisions. One player making a mistake, even a small one, can impact the whole dynamic of the game and completely screw over not only that player, but you as well. For example, the eyrie dynasty misplacing one card causing them to go into turmoil, causing the cats to take over, and now the woodland alliance and vagabond don't stand a chance. You can also lose from other players just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ you over, think everyone attacking your sympathy so you never get board presence, or nobody crafting for you as vagabond, or the cats just endlessly d*ck ride the vagabond to the point where the vagabond is obviously going to win; a braindead move on their part, but one you just have to sit and watch happen because you can't do ♥♥♥♥. That's the thing - Root only really works when you have 4 players of exactly the same skill level, but almost no 4 players will have the same skill level, and so the game ends up being unbalanced by virtue of its players more than the game itself. Say one person in your group went off and played the game for 20 hours, and know the ins and outs of the game, or one of them decides to play like a dementia patient (sul), you more than likely won't have a good time.

- The game also suffers from it being clear who will win early on. 9 times out of 10 when you're past the halfway point you can already see who will win and you have to keep playing for half an hour, already knowing the outcome, maybe finding some small consolation in dragging someone else down with you out of spite. Its simply a waste of time to keep playing beyond that point, but you have to for the sake of the game, so you just sit and twiddle your thumbs, watching the hours of your life happily drain away. This is probably my biggest gripe with the game, not that its easy to lose, but that its simultaneously so punishing when you realise its over for you, especially when it can be born from such a minor mistake.

- There is also too much of a social dynamic that ends up being more stressful than enjoyable. Demands for other factions to attack the winner, suggestions that are slightly to your advantage, and trying to convince the other players that you aren't currently in the lead. I'll just paste some examples from another review so you get the idea:

"Yes, I'm ahead as the Cats, but actually it's really hard to win with them and I struggle to score points after around ~16."
"Yes, I know I look scary as the Eyrie, but if you destroy my decree, nobody is going to be able to stop the other two players in contention for the win."
"Seriously, I know I'm a threat, but if you just TRUST me, I know that the Woodland Alliance will win next turn!"
"Please, please, please, somebody hit the Vagabond! ... but not me, I can't do it."

The first few games it can be fun, but then it becomes exhausting, and then frustrating.

Well, there you have it. Its not a bad game by any means, even one I will probably continue to play, but though the first few games were great, recently when I've felt the itch to play I've left with the game feeling anticlimactic at best, downright frustrating at worst. If you want to read a longer, more well written review,
this [boardgamegeek.com] encapsulates my thoughts perfectly.

if you ignore the anime women wearing maid outfits its actually a good game

While I'm sure World Machine Edition is great, if possible I would strongly recommend playing the original 2016 release over this for a more authentic experience. This is not a "definitive edition", this is a port of the Nintendo Switch release intended for use on a Steam Deck.

(That being said, if you're enough of a OneShot fan you may as well play this one after :p)

in metal gear sold 5 by hideous ♥♥♥ jumbo you commit vehicular manslaughter in cardboard boxes, also, you can command your horse to take a hot steamy ♥♥♥♥ on command, best game ever made in my personal humble opinion (its the objective truth). whenever i play i can feel my solid snake rising. i would rate it 11/1

A programming game that emphasises all the fun parts and reduces the tedious parts. I imagine it would be a good introduction point to coding if you've never done it before, but as I do have a basic grasp on Python, this never challenged me all that much (except for dinosaurs, good luck with those lol). Regardless it was still a fun time, would recommend to anyone who wants to learn how to code, or if you already know how to, it'll be more of a chill experience.

I knew the flight simulation would be arcadey, but I didn't realise it would just be turn and left click. The story feels as though it has nothing to say whatsoever. Mediocre game overall.

Amazing flight sim that is in depth enough to feel realistic but not complicated enough to be unapproachable to new pilots. Great VR implementation too, every button can be pressed in the cockpit and it never feels cumbersome.

Amazing game all round. Beautiful pixel art, mysterious and intriguing world and atmosphere, solid combat. I can easily recommend this game.