Recent reviews by Colin

I'd give it a 3+2+5/10.

You get out of Path what you put in. It can be played casually and you'll be fine and have an enjoyable experience. The game is very deep and you get rewarded for the more you understand the individual systems.

The game has never been better. The current league mechanics in Legion are fantastic. The flow of the game is great and the gameplay is at a peak.

Has-Been Heroes delivers on it's promise of being "a challenging, lane-based roguelike game of strategy and action." It's a very well balanced and well polished game, that leaves me with the "one more turn" feeling after every run I complete, whether it was successful or not.

The randomly generated levels will often provide options for your party of heroes. Whether to rush towards the boss level along the most efficient route or to explore as fully as possible gaining additional gold from battles and items & spells from vendors or shops. The items and spells are also random. This can cause the occasional run where things just don't go well. The routes are bad, and the items offered are weak. However, runs are quite short (especially if you are a little on the weaker side) and overall progression is still made by collecting souls.

The overall progression system is one where each battle provides you with souls and upon defeat or completion these souls are accumulated to fill soul orbs which unlock new items for the game. So in future runs you'll see a few new things sprinkled in with the old and familiar. You also unlock new heroes by completing the game.

The progression works well and even one new item can make enough of an impact if it's the right one. It can feel a little slow though, especially when it comes to unlocking heroes. The first couple of runs are really fast, but with each new run a zone is added. So the first game just requires completing two zones, the next three, then four and so on. The longer that runs go, the more items you have access too and the more powerful your team is as a result. The downside of longer runs is that is provides more opportunities for bad luck to strike. All it takes is one poor battle to end a run. In that respect the game can be quite unforgiving. In the tougher battles one small mistake can end a run.

In the battles the combat is rather neat. It's lane based, but you can (and should) move your heroes throughout the battle. Melee attacks have a cooldown as do the spells. Once they're available they can be stored until the time is right to use them. Combat is able to be paused at any time too. So you can stop and plan out your next few moves whenever you like. You'll be able to have the heroes switch lanes whenever they melee attack an enemy, with the hero who charged forward assaulting each enemy it hits on the way back. This can cause some interesting decisions like choosing to hit an enemy of a lesser threat in one lane because it's further back and the hero can land attacks on multiple monsters in another lane when they return to their position.

HBH is not perfect. It can definitely feel frustrating when things aren't going well, and the game can feel unfair when there are twenty skeletons heading towards your party and everything is on cooldown. The small nuisances are not enough to detract from what is a very good game and a rather fresh experience. Each run feels different and the heroes (whilst falling into three basic categories) have their uniqueness. The modern rogue-like elements are well used. Each run stands on it's own, supported by progression previously made. There's nothing quite like this out there, and there's a very enjoyable experience to be had here.

If you're into the modern rogue-like elements, and enjoy lane based combat then this game utilises them well. I have found it very enjoyable and personally it's one of my favourite games of this year. I definitely recommend picking it up. It's really polished and enjoyable. Once you get used to how the combat system works, and learn to attack the monsters stamina appropriately everything sees easier. It's deceptively deep, but also not too complicated. The combat and interactions with spells and elemental effects are really well done and do not fail to keep things interesting.

I'll start with the obvious. Crea is a sandbox RPG, which has a lot of similarities to Terraria. Crea is more about the characters personal development through levelling up and talents, along with weapon and armour upgrades. Crea also has a really cool research system behind the crafting. You need to find the pieces of what you want to make and research them to discover the recipes they can be used in. You can also use scraps (that can be easily obtained from research) to discover parts of the recipe without using the components you have. The crafting system goes even deeper than that, by using "Chaos" to imbue your items.

Crea feels good to play, the mechanics all work well together and nothing feels too clunky. There are a few inconveniences, like being unable to use skills unless you're in combat mode. However the trade-off for that one is that there is a toggle for combat and building/exploration, which is a huge quality of life advantage. The world looks good, and there is some good variety in the biomes, items and enemy types.

Crea shouldn't be written off purely as a Terraria clone, it's a game that takes the fundamental idea behind it and produces a fantastic experience. Having said that, if you liked Terraria and want something similar, this is definitely your best choice.

Zombie Party is mental. There's so much going on it can be easy to lose track of your character. Under all the mayhem there's actually quite a lot of depth. There's a massive variety in weapons, and the base weapons can be modded to produce a great variety of effects. There are also many abilities available. The mods and abilities drop as you play the game, which makes every game different.

Each time you play you start off by selecting a character, and it's not just a case of choosing the model you like the look of as each character starts off with different stats. These stats can be improved as you play, so you can steer your character the right way according to what items are dropping for you.

There are a few different game modes, and whilst the gameplay is all the same it does help to have the variety. That mixed with the millions of combinations that come from the items that drop and a whole bunch of characters to choose from really makes every game a fresh experience.

Zombie party might look a little simple and underwhelming, but don't let that put you off. Underneath it's a deep, enjoyable experience, with an addictive just-one-more-game feel to it.

Shadwen can feel like it's lacking polish. The guards all have the same model and voice, the levels have a similar look, and sometimes the physics go a bit wonky (however, this often results in amusing things happening and anything can easily be fixed by the rewind feature). With that being said, Frozenbyte have done a great job with what they had to work with and I'm sure that with a larger budget these minor irks could have been solved.

The game looks really good, it's nothing spectacular, but it's more than acceptable and the levels are not un-pleasing to the eye. The world feels like it should, it's rather dark and it conveys the turmoil being felt in the kingdom well. The characters control well, and the grappling hook mostly provides a smooth experience. The scenes between the levels are done really well. The voice acting is clean and clear, and the artwork in these scenes is fantastic.

There are elements of the story that have been created in order to assist the gameplay. The fact that Lily is caught stealing an apple by a guard and then joins Shadwen on a very dangerous assassination attempt is rather ludicrous. On would think, being the talented young lady that Shadwen is, she could easily ditch young Lily and have a much easier time. The rest of the story, including the background of the world and the events that have lead up to this moment, is mostly told through the guards conversations, which I find very endearing. Hiding in the shadows and listening to what the guards are saying is very rewarding. Sometimes they'll be talking about mundane nonsense, but other times they'll paint a picture of the kingdom and really help bring it to life.

The gameplay is rather simple. You need to clear a path for Lily to move from hiding spot to hiding spot. This can be done by distracting the guards or dispatching of them completely. However, if Lily stumbles across a dead guard she will not like it. The game can be played by not caring about what Lily sees and this would create a rather easy experience. You can also play by tactically killing the guards and hiding their bodies, not just from other guards (preventing the alarm from being raised), but also from Lily's innocent eyes. This creates an engaging experience, as you must decide when killing a guard if you will have the time to hide the evidence from the other guards and Lily.

The AI is a little stupid. Sometimes Lily will run right behind a guard who will not notice a thing. Guards are easily forgetful and happy to put minor disturbances down to them hearing things or "dark spirits". There are a few graphical inconsistencies where the game will think you are hidden, but a large portion of the character model will be sticking out of a bush in plain view. Everything that is a let down can be forgiven though. The game is really fun and engaging to play.

The key feature in the game is the time manipulation. Time only moves when you do, or by holding down a key to allow it to progress. You are also able to rewind time any time you wish. This makes the game a more relaxed experience and shifts it from an action game to more of a puzzle game. It gives you time to think about your strategy and encourages you to attempt different ways of handling a situation. Should you make a mistake it can easily be rewound. Some might think this takes the challenge out of the game, but it's more a convenience factor than anything. If you make a mistake in a level you don't have to restart the whole section, you can just rewind to the last place where everything was going well.

Shadwen is slightly flawed, but if you look past the little annoyances and lack of budget there's a very enjoyable stealth-puzzle experience to be had. The price is fair for the content and enjoyability to had. if you're still on the fence about it, once it reaches a 50% discount I strongly recommend picking it up as there is more than enough about the game to justify it.

This review was written based off gameplay in patch 0.4.2

Astral Terra is a game that is very much in its infancy. It's probably too early for it to be sold to the public at the minute. I understand that Early Access is for games that are still developing, but I don't feel that this game is ready to demand a price tag at the moment. There's potential here, but a lot of optimisation and work needs to be done.

There's a complete lack of tutorial. The game throws you in and expects you to know what you're doing. There is no way to change the key bindings at the moment. Once you have figured things out, everything in the game is a little awkward and clunky. The cursor needs to be placed exactly where the game wants it to be for something to work. This is especially frustrating when it comes to gathering materials and trying to pick them up. Everything must be clicked on individually, and sometimes you need to click outside of the texture of an item to pick it up. It leads to a lot of frustration and makes everything feel very slow and laboured. Even when terraforming, it can be difficult to get the game to do what you want it to do.

The world looks really good for a game in this genre. The environment is vibrant and huge. However, the character models are of considerably lower quality than the rest of the game, they don't fit in. Movement also looks a little unnatural.

Right now the game is essentially a creative environment and nothing more. There's no challenging enemies, just an empty world to explore. It would be acceptable for this to be a creative game if it wasn't so frustrating to play. When it feels like you're fighting the game just to be able to play it, it gets exhausting quickly.

Astral Terra is not a bad game, it's just a frustrating experience right now. As the game evolves and is updated, hopefully it will become more intuitive to play and create a better experience for the user. I'll re-visit the game across it's life, and hopefully the potential will be achieved and I can change this review and recommend it. Right now, I can't justify telling anyone they should spend their money on it though.

The start of Alchemist's Awaking was rough. I didn't really know what I was doing. Yes, I knew it was a build and survive game, but it wasn't completely clear exactly how I'd be doing that. The tutorial is quite bare bones, and really doesn't do a great job of showing off what the game has to offer. If you can get past this tough start, you'll discover some quite unique elements which come together quite nicely so it's definitely worth sticking with.

The world looks pretty great, and you could spend a good amount of time just exploring and seeing what type of environments generate. The crafting system is deceptively deep. Everything comes from 9 base elements. This makes collecting what you need relatively simple, and also greatly lowers the hassle of inventory management.

The addition of magic is done well, and really gives making things a boost. Animating golems and having them do your bidding, flying around the world, throwing fireballs at enemies, and any other magic you discover works brilliantly and feels very fitting in the world.

The developer is very attentive and active in fixing bugs that occurring and providing updates. The game is relatively new still, but I believe this bodes well for the future health of the game. The development path seems realistic and achievable, so hopefully there is a lot more to come.

The good looking world, unique inventory and crafting system, and integration of magic make up for the slack of a decent tutorial, slightly clunky combat and questionable AI. The crafting can seem complicated, but you can keep it simple at first and move on to more advanced techniques as you get to grips with the game.

Alchemist's Awakening should not be written off as "yet another Minecraft clone". It definitely brings something new to the table, and is it continues in the same direction this could be the best title in this ever-expanding genre. If you're looking for an open-world crafting & survival game, there aren't many better options - even with AA being in such an early state.

Bland and uninspired. One of the weaker solitaire games available.

OBEY is quite unique, which is pretty rare these days. The game is a king of the hill style game, you want your bunny to take control of the giant robot of doom. It's all about timing, and tricking your opponents so that they end up doing what you want them to do. You have to avoid doing the same for your opponent though!

I highly recommend you have a mic. It makes the game considerably more fun.
The game doesn't have a huge population, so I recommend finding some friends to play with.
The dev is pretty active and helpful. He's on hand to answer questions, and even takes his time to help new players learn the game.

OBEY is very solid. It plays well, even at this early stage and is something that's a little different from every other game out there.