Many games are inspired by or try to imitate Slay the Spire but I am not sure any have reached the level of simplicity, depth and addictiveness of the original. The game is in the rogue-like format where dying sends one to the very start of the game with none of the previously acquired items. The game features variety of strategies for its four characters. Adapting play to the cards and relics of the run is essential but some runs will wind up doomed by bad card availability RNG. The power of card synergies can be intoxicating. The different encounters while climbing and unlocking new cards between runs bring just enough spice to keep things interesting. The graphics are a bit simplistic but very readable and get the job done. The visual effects can be very satisfying. The music gets repetitive quick, but the sound effects do a lot of heavy lifting in selling the impact of attacks. The pacing of the game is superb. Battles hardly ever overstay their welcome and the game keeps moving forward constantly. The difficulty is also just right to not feel impossible while keeping it challenging enough to make it to the end. Most importantly the game manages to stay fresh enough from run to run for one to go for just that one more run even after tens of hours of total playtime.
FTL: Faster than Light is a space fearing rogue-lite with galactic proportions. Having to deliver critical information across the galaxy is not an easy task with threats lurking all around. The game features a ton of content to keep one coming back again and again, with the advance edition content offering even more variety. Some content will start repeating over multiple playthroughs. Over tens of hours the game slowly started feeling more like a grind. Most of the game is reading or skipping over different text boxes. The combat is mostly waiting in anguish for something to happen. The battle can very quickly snowball out of control. Luckily the game allows pausing at any time, allowing one to consider their choices. The game features a lot of strategy in choosing the loadout of the ship, targeting in combat and positioning crew members etc. but it also is very luck dependent. This can be infuriating sometimes. The high level game can additionally quickly turn bad if one falls behind on upgrades when compared to the enemies. Some strategies are clearly more efficient than others. The difficulty feels quite steep with even the easy mode offering a considerable challenge. Be prepared to lose many runs early. This made finally beating the final boss that much more satisfying though. The retro-inspired art style works well and the soundtrack is incredible in setting the mood for different situations. The weapon and alert sounds feel appropriate. The game captures the scale and scope of an epic space adventure. like something straight out of Star Trek. The story, as minimal as it is, works in setting the scene. If one has the patience to read, the game features many interesting encounters.
The colorful world of The Witness is a joy to explore. The areas are distinct not only in visuals, but in the puzzle mechanics within. The different areas are also connected in meaningful ways, making the small island feel more like a real place and not just a series of separate levels. The island features many secrets of which I feel like I have only discovered a small portion in a single playthrough. The map is completely open for exploration, the only thing standing in your way is your level of knowledge of the puzzle mechanics. The map also places the end goal of the game right in the middle of the map, keeping it in view and in mind at all times. It is amazing how much the developers were able to accomplish with such a simple core idea for the puzzles. Every separate puzzle mechanic gets explored in a variety of challenges within the map areas. Solving puzzles feels very satisfying. Being able to solve a set of puzzles might not give one any advantage in the next set. The difficulty works well, with the areas near the starting point being easier and some of the others being noticeably harder. A few of puzzles felt like bashing my head against a wall, with no way of getting hints or skipping puzzles. Luckily one can always wonder off and return to difficult areas later. Using pen and paper may help as well. Towards the end the game combines puzzle mechanics, giving one a true test of knowledge. The most difficult challenges are optional. The story of the game is almost completely told through subtext and is left up to the player to figure out. In that way the game resembles something like abstract art. Nothing is explained directly and it is up to the player to make their own interpretation of it. The game features a simple but very colorful art style and very ambient sound design. This combined with the setting creates a welcoming and bright but a bit uneasy feeling. The feeling of the game occasionally reminds me of the Portal games.
When I first started Sigma Theory: Global Cold War, I was expecting something similar to Invisible Inc. In reality the games have almost nothing in common. The core of Sigma Theory's gameplay is turn-based management of various things on a global level: Agents and double agents, love life, foreign relations and research. There is not much wrong with the minimalist gamepley although there are some dead turns where not much happens. The concept of the game is quite exciting. The most disappointing aspect for me were the extraction missions. What I was expecting to be exciting turn-based stealth gameplay essentially boils down to a randomly-generated dialog selections the result of which is decided by RNG. There is still some excitement in the scenarios described with text and vary minimal sound and visual design. The difficulty seems a bit weird. Despite being behind for most of the game, I was able to win fairly effortlessly in the end. The minimal story in the classic mode is fine with the ending being at least interesting. The game features a large selection of agents to choose from with unique abilities, although the effects of said abilities are undermined somewhat by the random nature of the game. The recruitment process involves some deduction for picking the appropriate dialog option, which is applied in talks with diplomats as well. This is an interesting idea and a good opportunity to give some additional depth to the characters. In a single campaign I did not have the opportunity to thoroughly interact with all of the systems, for example interrogation and the application of researched technologies. A single campaign takes only a few hours to finish. That being said, the game did not compel me to go for another playthrough. Having received the game for free I cannot complain, but I would not pay full price for it.
Invisible Inc. features a combination of turn-based strategy and stealth gameplay which works beautifully. Having to balance carefulness and speed is a good challenge and getting detected does not mean game over. The ability to undo particularly bad moves offers additional choice. Having to claw myself out of a precarious situation offered me some of the most exiting moments in the game. The maps are randomly generated but function well. The randomization offers layout variety, but the theming of endless corridors and offices gets somewhat old. The different corporations each feature their own challenges. Multiple playthroughs are encouraged. The different characters and hacking abilities offer some variety in strategy for subsequent runs and the different difficulty levels are expertly tuned. When I felt like I was barely able to beat the previous difficulty, the next one offered the correct amount of challenge for me to be able to barely beat fairly quickly. The visuals are succinct in the presentation of information, featuring a basic but effective 3D-look. The sound effects are distinct and satisfying and the music is minimal. The story is not the most imaginative but works well and the ending twist is genuinely surprising the first time around. All I was left wanting was a "true" ending, something to work towards over multiple playthroughs. The characters are given some backstory which fits their abilities but they are not massively fleshed out.
Shantae and the Pirates Curse is a solid metroidvania-style adventure. It features many fun and memorable characters and distinct locations. The gameplay is varied with most being platforming, but with combat challenges and even a stealth section included. The platforming controls feel tight enough for all the challenges the game has to offer. At the beginning the combat feels tedious and unsatisfying, but once some upgrades are acquired it becomes quite fun. The different islands are fun to go through for the first time, but due to the games structure, one will be forced to back-track to them even multiple times in some cases. This structure would, in my opinion, have necessitated a better fast-travel system. The new upgrades often open up new areas to explore while also being fun to use and the game features many secrets. I got close but going for 100% completion seemed incredibly tedious due to the amount of back-tracking required. The music is very good and the art style is fun and full of character.
Hollow Knight's world is unmatched in extent and ambiance by any side scrolling game I have played. The areas feel distinct not only by their backround color but vegetation, enemies, hazards, music and effects. Finding a new one is always intriguing. The map is interconnected with more and less obvious connections between areas in addition to the fast travel system. The combat is extremely tight, satisfying and easy to follow but also punishing. Getting hit rarely feels unfair, one only needs to learn the attack patterns of enemies. Granted, this may take a while. The exploration feels satisfying and the game features many secrets, although disappointingly most things found are either lore or items to exchange for money. Unlike many metroidvanias, the game is quite sparse in upgrades. For me having to explore some areas without a map was a unique and refreshing navigation challenge while being distressing. The platforming never quite clicked with me. The controls are very responsive but the game demands a lot of precision in some sections and never felt quite as good as a dedicated platformer would. The music and art direction are amazing. With so many indie games using a pixel art style, the hand-drawn look is a welcome change of pace. It looks stylish without ever compromising on clarity. The music sets the appropriate mood for every moment of gameplay. The sheer amount of content in this game continues to amaze me with even more available as DLC. I played the game to an ending and feel as if I have only scratched the surface of the challenges this game has to offer. The game also features a lot of variety in the item builds allowing one to adapt their playstyle to suit them. The shade system, while mostly providing a good challenge and punisment for death, actively discourages exploring a different area from the one one just died in. The incredible boss fights are sometimes bogged down by having to trek to them again and again from a faraway save point.
This game features some of the tightest turn-based strategy gameplay of any game. The game plays more like chess or a puzzle game with no randomness as opposed to something like xcom. The situation of the entire map is clearly presented each turn and it is up to the player to find the best solution to each problem. There seems to nearly always be a good solution available. The maps are small with mechs being able to cross the entire map in a few turns and it is often possible to attack any of the tiles in a turn. The gameplay is kept fresh with optional goals on each mission, varying terrain conditions on each of the islands, the ability to equip drastically different weapons on the mechs and varied mech squads with the developers adding even more with free updates. The advance content additionally provides some fun customizability and variation for each run. Beating the the game once is only the beginning. For me the game provided at least 50 hours of satisfying gameplay. The graphics feature well-drawn and animated pixel art. The soundtrack features some absolute bangers by Ben Prunty. The island finished -theme for example perfectly captures the triumphant feeling. The visual and sound effects are somewhat minimal but fitting and sell the impact of attacks well. Both the island CEO:s and the mech pilots are given some personality with portraits and dialog boxes. Unlike FTL, the story and game scope don't reach galactic levels but beating the game for the first time feels appropriately epic. There is not much variation in the story department from run to run. The achievements do exactly what I want from them: encourage experimentation with different strategies, challenge one to arrange different conditions in combat and provide some extra-hard conditions for success. The tight and satisfying turn-based puzzle-like gameplay is the the best aspect of the game. The story is somewhat lackluster, but does not detract from the overall experience.
