For everybody who played Cultist Simulator and wanted two or three additional mechanical layers of thoughtful complexity within a maze-like overlay full of intrigue. This game is incredibly niche, and if you're like me who loves singleplayer board games that you can just veg out to, it may just be your cup of tea. The problem for some might be is that there's no real difficulty, but if you're one of those people that like freeform engagement and just want an experience of an evolving that may actually be its entire charm. There's something nice about puzzling out an open challenge and just hitting pause to slowly scroll over your possible assets and figure out a solution on your own. If you're truly lost ... just try talking to an assistant and angling for a new memory that might give you a bump here or there that can let you squeak out a new room expansion or new skill. Strictly speaking I believe Cultist Simulator is a better 'board-game like' if you're looking for something dead similar, but The Book of Hours is almost like a very personal, freeform RPG of sorts in comparison. The underlying themes of where knowledge comes from, how does it emerge, and can something truly come from nothing, and the tapestry of psychosocial relations that births forth esoteric wisdom, is both quaint and yet beautiful with its presentation. That being said ... This is a particularly niche type of a game that likely won't have broad appeal. I feel like if you're the artistic, creative and metaphysical-type of soul ... you'll recognize a kindred spirit in the depths of The Weather Factory at work in here and appreciate them and their product far more than someone that wants a 'game-game'. For those types of people, highly recommend--Amazing.
Pros: - Mechanically more indepth than any X-COM with a whole lot of options right out of the gate. - Satisfying enough crunch of metal of metal. Guns sound appropriately shooty, and the exploding robot limbs get you into the mood. - Fantastic GIF-style expressionist imagery that HBS is known for. Neutral: - It's about as faithful an adaptation of the tabletop as the HBS Shadowrun games (AKA completely alien) ... For some this will be a turn off, for others a means to enjoy a TBS mech game with enough meaty crunch without reading a shitload of rulebooks. Cons: - Load times. Missions are often 10 minutes of gameplay, separarted by up to 3 minutes of load times. It's insane. RimWorld with 40 large, complex mods and multiple bases on a 100% full scale world doesn't take as long to load for me as this game does. My rig isn't top of the line, but then again neither should game be so resource intensive. Even without mods, the loading times are just frightful. And yu can't just nip off and get a cup of tea while waiting, not unless yllu want a stomach and bladder to be the size of a beachball after a decent gaming session. - Janky animations. - Not the same calibre of HBS storytelling with this one in comparison to other games they've made. - Silly A.I. Ending commentary: I really wanted to like this one. I did. The loading times alone means I end up partly dreading simply running the game. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why the loading times are the way they are. It makes no sense. It's a grid based, turn-based arena game.
Tangledeep tried to do something different with this roguelike. Multiple distinct character customization through an innovative freeform system of job point expenditures, intermixed with equipment customization and trial based growth and classless levelling. The various different types of builds you can experiment with are grand, and Tangledeep offers something that people not otherwise traditionally interested in roguelikes like ToME or ADOM that heightens the appeal... A modifiable permadeath system, as well as complex game modifiers that radically alter how you want to play and engage with the combat. This is the type of roguelike that sucks in the type of people who just want to try out diffeent builds and to organically build characters on the fly. Character and build complexity is deep to sink your teeth into, but not overwhelming as to artificially segregate itself from newer players. The story, while simple, is far more interesting than a lot of the cookie-cutter high fantasy that you might otherwise expect out of a roguelike. With an interesting world, with light humour, and an unravelling plotline that begins to lean it towards a more sci-fi dimension as you uncover secrets of Tangledeep and your journey through the mystery of this subterranean wonderland. That being said, replayability is about build design. The Shara DLC is kind of necessary after awhile to spice things up. Whether you're a rogue veteran, or you've wanted to get your hands on a game with freeform RPG mechanics that rewards experimentation, Tangledeep is worth the investment.
