Recent reviews by Elrieve

Oh, I don't even know...

I recommend this game. Steam says I have almost 1500h in it, though in my defense, that's over 10 years of play.

Warfarme can be infuriatingly opaque, willfully obtuse, and the monetization model isn't predatory, but I could see how you get there if you're not careful. For what it's worth, I have nearly every weapon and frame in the game, and I have unlocked each one from gameplay. 90% of what I spend my plat on is extra slots in my arsenal, so I can Catch 'em All.

The core gameplay loop is so, so satisfying. That's why it doesn't feel predatory to me. I'm here to bullet-jump and pewpewpewpewpew and have some mostly-head-empty murder-fugue while I'm maybe watching a video on the other monitor. It is a perfect game for that.

But I also have a 14-tab spreadsheet tracking which Primes I have or am working towards, which other things I still need to unlock, what Lich enemies I'm keeping an eye out for, etc etc etc.

So yeah. It's a lot of fun, if you can have a healthy relationship with microtransactions and can either track the myriad systems that have been bolted onto the game over the years (or if you can just enjoy the game without the poison of "but I'm not playing optimally for metaprogression").

I adore Tom Francis.

Tactical Breach Wizards is punchy, hilarious, and an engaging tactic-puzzler. It's great. Strongly recommend.

I keep coming back to the word "singular." Laika stands completely alone in what it's doing.

There's a pretty good Metroidvania in here. The waypoints are a bit spread out, there were a few points in the midgame where I felt like I was backtracing a bit too much to tick every sidequest and exploration piece, and it's not always clear that you need an upgrade to get to location and that you're just not meant to be able to make that jump right now.

It's got Excitebike in its blood. Am I the age for NES nostalgia? Absolutely. It's great.

It's got that excellent and fully present soundtrack. Like something Darren Korb would do for Supergiant, not in its style, but in its exquisite prominence.

It's got a protagonist and a world brimming with rage, worry, and sorrow, and yeah, I get feeling that way too.

But this game is more than the sum of those parts. It's brought everything together for, yes, a singular experience. You should play this game, not only because it's excellent (and it is), but especially because there's nothing else out there like it.

My god, yes.

Game takes a hard left eventually. What you see in the trailer is essentially Act One of Three. I liked it, but if what you want is just a creepy Slay the Spire, this game derails from that track pretty hard.

If you're willing to keep a more open mind, this game is a masterpiece.

Dyson Sphere Program has all the hallmarks of an excellent game. It has more than a few rough edges at the moment, so if you aren't a devotee of the factory genre, you might prefer to wait for 1.0 or deeper into Early Access.

Bullet Hell in the spirit of Super Meat Boy. Rooms are stand-alone and, done well, only take 20 seconds. I accidentally stayed up until 1:30am when I meant to go to bed at 11.

Who doesn't love a mind**static**?

It's a sweet and beautiful Dwarf Fortress, where every threat is one made by your lack of forethought.

You did this to you.

But maybe next time, it will be different...

Entirely unforgiving of mistakes and entirely enjoyable.

[Potential spoiler, if you are really intuitive]

Me, five minutes into The Witness:
"Huh, that kinda looks like... I wonder I can... What the holy balls?!"

And that's how I eventually found myself wandering through a luxury hotel listening to the game's credits.

I have, am, and will enjoy this game a lot.