Recent reviews by Thew

While certainly not for everyone, Arthurian Legends absolutely nails the style it's going for. It's a medieval retro "shooter" with a classic mix of 2d and 3d elements. The game is divided into three "chapters", each with a varying number of levels (some of which are secret).

• Simple, but intense, combat that feels really good.
  
• Unique art style featuring many digitized photos of real objects.
  
• Good level design that is reminiscent of some of the better old school fps stages.
  
• Decent item and enemy variety for a game of this type.
  
• Active developer, who listens to feedback and patches issues quickly.

• Performance is not great. Given the graphical style, this game should run perfectly on mediocre hardware, but framerates are very inconsistent.
  
• Menus are a bit clunky and options sometimes fail to save between sessions. Some important options must be set through the launcher and cannot be changed in-game.

Overall, this is a fantastic game for fans of the genre, and well worth the cheap price tag.

Alwa's Legacy is a 16-bit style sequel to the 8-bit style puzzle-platformer, Alwa's Awakening. It's slower-paced than a lot of recent indie platformers, but this is by design. It manages to have a retro feel to it, but is still easy for just about anyone to pick up and play.

I've really enjoyed my time with the game so far, and I can tell the developers put a lot of love into this project.

• Beautiful pixel art graphics.
  
• Fun exploration once the game opens up a bit.
  
• Clever, but not especially difficult, puzzles.
  
• Loads of secrets!

• Maybe a little too mechanically similar to the first game.
  
• Very linear for the first hour or two, but then opens up.
  
• Jittery collisions (especially on slopes) can be a bit distracting.

A cute little indie platformer with a lot of heart!

• Pleasant 8-bit art style.
  
• Character movement feels really good.
  
• Level design is interesting, with some branching paths.
  
• Surprisingly challenging, but nothing ridiculous (that I've seen)

• Default menu controls confused me a bit.
  
• Armor switching mechanic can be a little tedious, but thankfully there is a quick armor select hotkey.
  
• Boss fights could use some more complexity.

Outward is a game with some very interesting ideas and flawed execution. You're either going to love it or hate it, so watching some gameplay online is highly recommended before purchase.

• Surprisingly complex for a game of this type.
  
• Robust crafting system.
  
• Interesting (if clunky) combat.
  
• Good music (but more variety would be nice).
  
• Fun co-op gameplay
  
• FOV slider for both regular and splitscreen (No motion sickness for me!)

• Horrendous player character models, with little customization.
  
• Very inconsistent voice acting. It was distracting enough that I turned it off.
  
• Sound effects aren't great, and in some cases are missing completely.
  
• Limited mobility (no swimming or jumping, and there are some invisible walls).

With some tweaks and polish, this game could be absolutely amazing. But, for now, it's a bit of a mixed-bag.

I'm very impressed with this game so far. It's old school Windows UI gimmick is used to great effect and really factors into the gameplay (it's not just for looks).

The movement in the game is similar to FTL. You travel from node to node and resolve events. The combat is real time and can be quite frantic.

• A large number of items to find
  
• Very well done aesthetic and design
  
• Character upgrades feel meaningful and satisfying
  
• An interesting system for buying permanent upgrades

• Combat requires a lot of mouse dexterity, which may turn off some
  
• Item stat/level requirements are strict and can be annoying
  
• Could use some more varieties of enemies, events and locations

I'm really hoping the developer continues to support this product with content updates in the future. There's definitely a lack of UI driven RPGs on Steam.

I don't normally take the time to write reviews, but this is an absolutely fantastic game! I'm genuinely impressed.

The art style initially prevented me from buying it. The game kind of looks like some pay-to-win mobile port, but it is NOT! There's an incredible amount of depth and complexity here.

The game had a lot of issues with bugs, but the majority of the severe stuff has been fixed. The devs are very active and are dedicated to this project. They release bug fixes and content updates regularly.

• Very interesting and varied level generation.
  
• Challenging real-time combat. Certain enemies require wildly different strategies.
  
• Simple, but surprisingly effective GUI.
  
• Difficulty selection and level generation options help make the game more accessible.
  
• A MASSIVE number of enemy types and bosses.

• Still somewhat buggy
  
• Certain sound effects can be grating.
  
• While rare, it is possible to get stuck. (though sometimes people think they're stuck and there's actually a secret door or other means of escape)

Make no mistake, this is a real roguelike. It may not be turn based, but it stays true to the roots of the genre. If this sounds like something you would enjoy, then buy it now! You won't be disappointed!

When I originally played The Sea Will Claim everything back in 2012, I really didn't know what to expect. It seemed like it was going for some quirky, artsy charm (and it is), but the amount of depth and world building here is kind of incredible. It's a game you can get lost in for hours. And I lost my whole night to it - several nights, in fact!

The primary focus of the game is on exploring and examining things, and there is a surprisingly large number of scenes to traverse. Every object has a unique description. And while they're not all profound, you have to appreciate the effort it took to write that many unique descriptions of mushrooms.

Be warned: there is a tremendous amount of text to read, and the art is all static. If that doesn't turn you off of the game, then jump right in. Say "hi" to Bob the Spider for me. Hopefully he won't devour you whole.

This is surprisingly fun. Picross games are something that you don't often find on non-mobile platforms. And this, being a mobile port, was something I was a little worried about. But it's very well done and enjoyable.

There are lots of puzzles, overall it controls very well, and it has a nice, clean style.

There isn't much to not like, however, I did notice that scrolling through the galleries is a little clumsy and unresponsive.