I got interested in Hand of Fate (HoF) based on the boardgame. I was not disappointed and enjoyed the combination of deckbuilding with action sequences. This is a good leisure game to just play one round pretty fast. I would surely recommend trying it out. However, there were small details that bothered me so much that after finishing the story, I am not very keen on returning to it. First of all, the initial setup of cards and other sequences contain animations that are nice the first time through but when you are playing already for a while, then the animations are just stalling. It would be great to have an option to turn the animations off. Second, the inability to change the camera angle often lead to infuriating situations (e.g., I cannot see where to move in a maze or what is the card on the table). The combat is fun and dynamic to the level of cool, but it became during the story campaign a big repetitive. Especially if some random encounters basically just keep you from advancing. (However, some encounters like these can be mitigated by choosing the right cards.)
A nice beat-em up Polish game with great art style and music. I do not really feel the urge to revisit the game itself after playing, but the soundtrack and initial moments of the game are certainly worth the time and money as it just sucks the player in and does not stop in the high speed fight. However, towards the end it felt a little slower and repetitive. What I also felt as disbalaned were the boss fights which repeatedly launched me against a boss which I was not able to beat while for the other advesaries I did not have any problems. This can be, however, mitigated by a good choice of equipment as you can rearange your skills even mid combat.
As a fan of Hotline Miami and Judge Dredd, I was truly looking forward to play JYDGE. At first, it did not land well and I was considering stopping playing after the initial slow-moving, cumbersome JYDGE advance. Nevertheless, believe me, if you get to the level when you plasma gun breaches doors even two buildings away... I think the main strength of this game is the option to fully customize your judge for the mission or your playing style. This allows to approach each mission with a quite different tool-set and the game, through its achievements and medals, even supports this type of exploration. I found also the difficulty progression as a great feature that allows me to revisit the missions with the new tricks my JYDGE has in his Gavel or body. The only thing I found really funny was the computer generated cutscene voice that narrates how the city worries about the JYDGE. However, I think it fit in well with the neon, over the top 80 style wibe. Oh, and a warning, it might not be a good idea to sacrifice civilians. You are a policeman in the end.
It is hard to tell whether Chuchel is actually a game or not. But it is easy to know if it is worth experiencing. It breaks all kinds of rules, expectations, and gaming cliches. From the start until the end it managed to surprise me with the next move or laugh at the silly craziness that it showed. It is like a trip but without the drugs (although you get to lick a tripping mushroom too). All this also supported by the superb music of DVA. If you are looking for a challenging puzzler or a deep story-driven adventure, look elsewhere. If you are looking for something that completely blows your mind and that shouts "just have some fun", you are in the right place. Oh and the silly colour controversy? I like Chuchel in orange more, it emphasises its joyfulness.
Into the Breach follows well in the footsteps of FTL. Sometimes a random feature can brutally impact your run, but most of the time it is a great tactical game where you try to mess with the plans of the Vek. Basically, it is like Edge of Tomorrow in reverse, you are the weird guys who can try again and again in order to defeat your enemies. The basic components which you liked on FTL are still there - you create your crew, level them up, buy new equipment, can try out different teams based on your playstyle, Ben Pruty plays relaxing tunes to your crew being massacred... Just a great follow-up.
