 | Moving onto the B section |
A Section Concluded:
Anodyne
A Zelda clone that's actually quite fun. There really isn't much more to it than that, and some added comedy. It's also a little more linear than your average Zelda game.
Will keep playing.
Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition
An enhanced edition of the PC classic, now with improved visuals. You can also toggle between the new presentation and the old in-game, so that's awesome.
Completed.
Antihorror
A walking simulator that parodies cheap European horror games. I think. I don't know. It's such a confusing, surreal mishmash of ideas that it feels like a fever dream. I... guess I don't hate it?
Completed.
Apotheon
A 2D action game that uses Ancient Greek art style seen on pottery and other such pieces of art and decor. The gods have abandoned humanity and left behind chaos and discord, and it's your job to ascend Olympus and give them a piece of your mind. I've only played the first section of this game, beating the first boss.
What little I played was fun and worth a more in-depth playthrough.
I'll play through it eventually. It's not quite what I'm looking for right now, though the art style is cool.
Apparition
A first-person horror game that I was given as a review assignment, but has since slipped into Early Access. It's actually a pretty neat and terrifying game, where you play as a paranormal investigator attempting to solve some murders that revolve around a campsite. Obviously, the culprit is actually a group of culprits, all of whom are demonic entities dwelling around the site. Your task is to use a Ouija board to contact them and capture evidence of them, so they can do no further harm. This mostly plays out in an arcade style, where you acquire points for photographing or recording eerie incidents, or even film footage of the creatures stalking the premises. Of course, in order to secure points, you need to make it back to your car before one of them kills you...
I've played a fair bit of this, but I'm not going to pass a final judgment until it leaves Early Access, which it will be doing in August October.
Will play later
The Aquatic Adventures of the Last Human
A Metroidvania title where you sail around in a submarine. I've also read that there are elements similar to Monster Hunter in this one, though I haven't specifically encountered anything like that. So far, I've only killed the first boss, which was a gigantic worm. It was a pretty fun, challenging battle, so I think I'll stick this one out.
Going to keep playing.
Arcade Game Series: Dig Dug
Do I really need to explain this one? This is a classic trap 'me up title from the '80s, where you tunnel through dirt and kill monsters by inflating them with a harpoon/bike pump weapon. It's a pretty addictive, albeit sometimes aggravating game that I occasionally play when I want my score attack fix.
Endless.
Arcania: Gothic 4
Review live
The fourth and final game in Piranha Bytes' flagship series, and sadly the worst. PB didn't develop this one, as the Gothic brand stayed with JoWood when they and PB went separate ways. This is your standard PC RPG that props up a lot of tired tropes without giving them any sort of exciting spin. It's pretty linear and underwhelming, but mercifully short in comparison to its predecessors.
Completed.
Archon Classic
A vast revamp of the classic chess combat game from way back, this version of Archon gives you an actual campaign and a good array of options. Sadly, it's all local multiplayer. Oh, and you can either use the classic sprites for your pieces or the newer, fresher beasts.
Completed the campaign, had my fill of the exhibition matches.
Armed and Dangerous
A sci-fi third-person shooter squad game. There really isn't much more to it than that, at least from what little I played. It was regarded as a "sleeper hit" once upon a time (when it came out on the original Xbox). However, what little I played was a run of the mill shooter with stilted animation. I remember this game being pushed as a cartoony shooter (like Cel Damage, but with guns instead of cars), but nothing seems all that cartoony to me. I only completed the first mission, but I may one day go back and try to complete this one. Maybe...
One mission complete, not playing the rest for a while, if ever.
Armello
A blend of tactical RPG and board game, this is a very overwhelming title (in a good way). You move across a terrain, claim territories and embark on quests that either help or hinder you. I get that there might be an FTL vibe here, but I haven't played enough to say definitely so. I will play this game more in depth in the future, but for now I've decided to move on. I'm mainly looking to play through or abandon games that 1) are very short, 2) are very bad, or 3) I've had a long time and need to get through.
Maybe some other time.
Armored Evolution
An arena combat shooter that offers both a campaign and a multiplayer mode. You roam around and blast robots. That's pretty much it. I've only played a very small amount of this, and it's pretty straightforward. I don't know if it gets any better, but the early stages are pretty slow and tedious. I'll at least give this one a good try later on, but I'm not bothering with it for now.
Might play some other time.
Arx Fatalis
Review live
A spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld, this is a first-person RPG with some way old school mechanics and rule systems. It's actually a very solid game, despite its apparent age. It's tough, sure, but once you get acclimated, it's very playable.
Completed.
Asguaard
Another turn-based RPG from Aldorlea. I didn't get far into this one, but it seems pretty run of the mill, or at very least not much different from 3 Stars of Destiny. I'll go through it eventually just to make sure that's the case...
Will play later.
Assassin's Creed
Review live (and in need of an update)
Okay, so I didn't play the PC version, but I've played through the PS3 edition. That's good enough. I honestly wasn't thrilled with this game. It felt very repetitive and kind of boring. I did try the second game and actually enjoyed that... until my save data became inexplicably corrupt. I haven't forgiven the franchise since.
Completed.
Atom Zombie Smasher
A strategy game where you attempt to rescue civilians from zombies. You start with a portion of a city, place a landing zone, then position various other little goodies to help you out. You succeed if you reach or pass the minimum number of civilians needed to be picked up. I enjoy it, but I'm going to move on rather than try to complete it just now.
Will play again.
Atonement: Scourge of Time
Another turn-based RPG from Aldorlea. This one has more realistic character models, similar to Aphelion on Xbox 360. However, it seems to speed through plot points quickly, rather than allowing any sort of build up. Ultimately, it comes off feeling like a blatant budget RPG. No, I don't expect major studio production values, but plenty of indie devs have been able to deliver solid stories. This is not to say that the story is entirely bad, but what little I played bespeaks of a cheap product. Still, I will play through this, as well as the other Aldorlea games. I might as well, since I did buy their big bundle at a huge discount price.
Will play later.
Atonement 2: Ruptured by Despair
I am invoking the "sequel rule." I may refuse to play a game's sequel if I haven't played its predecessor. You'll probably see this a lot with the Tomb Raider collection, as I have pretty much every Tomb Raider game on Steam (Shadow is one exception), but still haven't beaten the first one.
Audiosurf
A puzzle game that generates its levels based on the music you select. You can play any music from your library, using more intense or high tempo tunes to create extremely difficult levels. You control a ship that collects colored blocks while avoiding obstacles to increase your score. Every song also has a leaderboard, so you can compare your scores against others who've played. It's a blast, though it can be extremely difficult.
There is no completion, but I've played a fair bit of it.
Autumn Dream
A first-person horror game published by Infernal Dream/GDNomad (the same ones/one? responsible for the awful White Mirror). This one is a step up from their usual dreck, though it follows a familiar formula. Yeah, this is an asset flip. You play someone who inherited a small cabin from a dead aunt. After eating and going to bed, major plot points in Infernal Dream games, you're beckoned into the basement. There, you make shocking discovery before finishing the campaign in no time flat (I completed it in 25 minutes). I will give this game credit for having one really creepy character model, but otherwise, it's a pretty standard bad horror game.
Completed.
Avadon: The Black Fortress
A 2D RPG from Spiderweb that exudes old school sensibilities. As with any SW game, it may not be much to look at, but dammit if these dudes don't know how to program a good RPG. I didn't play this one much; just enough to get the basic gist. I'm not exactly a hard sell when it comes to Spiderweb games, though, so I'll probably come back to this one later.
Will play again.
Avencast: Rise of the Mage
Review live
A surprisingly good, fairly obscure RPG that's basically Diablo via Harry Potter. You click your way through swarms of enemies, learn powerful spells and complete quests within a magical academy under siege. This one doesn't defy standards by any means, but still presents a solid, challenging campaign with plenty of character customization.
Completed.
Avernum: Escape from the Pit
Copy and past everything I said about Avadon here.
Yes, even this part.
Axiom Verge
Indie Metroid that's almost better than the real thing (and, IMO, better than the original Metroid). This one throws a lot subtle horror at you, too, which really livens up the experience. There are so many places to explore and different abilities to acquire that this is a must for any lover of the Metroidvania genre.
Completed.
Aztaka
A side-scrolling, Aztec-themed RPG similar to games like Zelda 2. This one isn't nearly as difficult, though. Though it's a fairly neat game, I found it kind of boring because it was too easy and somewhat tedious. The concept is fresh, which is a shame because it's wasted on an average roleplayer.
Completed.
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overdrive - September 11, 2019 (10:48 AM) I've played all three Avadons and Avernum: Escape (have the second and third on Steam, but haven't gotten to them yet) and they're both really good games. In different ways, but really good. Avadon is more linear, but has more of a story connecting things together. While choices you make in one game don't carry over to the next unless you follow the "canon" path (in particular from the first to the second, as they at least put in a bit in the epilogue to the second that sets up the third), they still do tell a decent story when played together. Avernum was probably a bit more to my tastes. Less story (the first game's story is basically: You got dumped into the underground world where all the empire's dissidents get dumped -- now go out, find adventure and maybe build towards getting revenge or escaping or whatever!!!), but also far less linearity. It's an open world where your limits are based on two things: 1. Finding the keys or items necessary to get to certain places AND 2. Being strong enough to not get your teeth knocked down your throat so hard they're expelled from your ass by whatever monsters you'll be encountering. And the game can be deliciously cruel about that latter part at times. Fairly early in the game, for example, there's a pretty easy dungeon. Except for one room that has one part of a particularly good sword. Guarded by demons who will do that teeth-knocking with JOY if you decide to challenge them. Or simply walk into the room because, hey, everything else has been reasonably doable in the place. I'd like to get to the second game soon, but I think my next Steam game will be Divinity: Original Sin. Especially since I recently bought the sequel on the PS4, so I kinda feel I should start the first game at some point in time. |
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