Posts Tagged ‘Steam’

May 1st, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Mini Golf Mundo Review

MiniGolfMundoLogo

Developer: EnsenaSoft
Publisher: EnsenaSoft
Platform: PC – Steam

After successful rounds of weird golfing in Golf With Your Friends, I decided to load up another mini golfing game from my Steam library. Unfortunately, this decision came before remembering the game was originally received as part of Bundle Star’s Dollar Mega Bundle. This bundle offered 28 games for $1…

Suffice it to say Mini Golf Mundo doesn’t hold up to Golf With Your Friends, or any other decent golfing game out there. There are only four stages to play with – each connected to a level of difficulty. Each features nearly the same grassy, idyllic locale with cabins and lakes surrounding the mini golf course.

The game ramps from super easy to super challenging over the course of these four courses with no real warning. You’re just suddenly faced with parts of the course disappearing and reappearing. Because you cannot “lock in” the strength of a hit, you’re forced to waste multiple swings hoping to match up the timing.

One neat bit is the final course which offers warp points. These almost add a bit of strategy to the gameplay, but quickly wear out their welcome. There’s absolutely no music in Mini Golf Mundo, either, which further reveals its failed cash grab status. Just don’t play this game.

Score: 1

1 out of 5 alpacas

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April 25th, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Eversion Review

Eversion Logo

Developer: Zaratustra Productions
Publisher: Zaratustra Productions
Platform: PC – Steam

Eversion is one of those games that it seemed everyone had played back a few years ago. Time and time again, it saw mentions in articles and forum posts about creepy games. I bought it sometime around then, but never ended up playing the darn thing until now.

Mechanically, Eversion is a simplistic 2D platformer with a switching mechanic. It is possible to change the landscape/features of blocks at predetermined Evert portals. Aside from opening up paths through the stage, these also make the game gradually darker and disturbing. Well, as disturbing as a cartoony 2D platformer can be.

Eversion Featured

There’s no doubt that this bait and switch worked extremely well around the time of its initial launch. At this point, however, so many retro-styled “secret” horror games are out there that it’s much less shocking. I did get a feeling of tepid surprise, but not much else. Autoscrolling stages in particular proved far more frustrating than frightening.

I likely did myself a huge disservice by waiting so long to play Eversion. This is a game that worked in a specific time and place. Sure, it only takes about half an hour to beat (if you’re not seeking completion), but the greatest asset of the game now feels stale.

Score: 2

2 out of 5 alpacas

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April 11th, 2017 Editorial, Featured No Comments »

Checking Out Steam Releases in March 2017

PacaPlus

It’s time for the third of my monthly Steam summary articles. As usual, expect to find some information about the total number of games released in March as well as how many of them were Early Access and/or virtual reality releases.

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April 4th, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Kitty Cat: Jigsaw Puzzles Review

Kitty Cat Jigsaw Puzzles Logo

Developer: EnsenaSoft
Publisher: EnsenaSoft
Platform: PC – Steam

Casual games are great. For me in particular, they grant an escape from playing other games which require more attention, strategy, and skill. Because of this habit, I’m increasingly aware of which games have serious effort into their releases versus those that are simply re-skinned releases.

Kitty Cat: Jigsaw Puzzles falls into the latter category. This developer has a handful of puzzle games and they all appear to vary purely by theme. That might not be so bad if not for the fact that the underlying mechanics and interface are totally lacking. There’s also no music! I’ll admit, it’s not quite as awful as the Pixel Puzzle series.

Kitty Cat Jigsaw Puzzles Featured

At the very start, it seems like Kitty Cat: Jigsaw Puzzles is painfully easy. You actually get to see outlines of all the puzzle pieces on the game board! These disappear after a few levels, though, leaving players to deal with the digital puzzle much like a real one. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be confusing to tell if a puzzle piece sticks to the board (meaning it is in the right position) or not.

There is also no easy means of organizing your puzzle pieces prior to solving the puzzle. Instead you must click and drag them to areas outside the board to organize them as you see fit. The margin is not large enough to make this particularly enjoyable, though.  The cat photos per puzzle are cute – and they don’t appear to be stolen wholesale from various sources. But that’s basically the only good thing about Kitty Cat: Jigsaw Puzzles.

Score: 1

1 out of 5 alpacas

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March 14th, 2017 Editorial, Featured No Comments »

Checking Out Steam Releases in February 2017

The Shadows of Pygmalion Featured

Last month, I decided to try my hand at keeping track of Steam releases in 2017. It just seemed like the right time, as 2016 was a landmark year of releases for the service. This year is also poised to be quite different once Valve shutters Steam Greenlight.

Defined as a failure practically out of the gate by Valve, Greenlight stuck around for years regardless. At the beginning, getting Greenlit meant something. At this point almost anything gets Greenlit given enough time. Once its gone, we should see an eventual decline in the number releases. I don’t know if we’ll notice that this year, though, as thousands of Greenlit games still haven’t launched on Steam. In any case, let’s get on with the data.

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March 7th, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

VOI Review

VOI Logo

Developer: Yunus Ayyildiz
Publisher: Yunnus Ayyildiz
Platform: PC – Steam

Puzzlers have really taken over my life as of late. It’s just really enjoyable to chill out with games featuring one specific thing that makes their puzzles stand out. In the case of VOI, it’s the concept of 1 + 1 = 0. What does that mean, exactly? It makes sense in the concept of the game.

Each stage of VOI features a small stage, a few shapes (triangles, squares), and asks you to use them to create a certain shape as shown onscreen. These shapes require you to move the pieces logically on top of and around each other to create the shape. Where the 1 + 1 bit comes in is in overlapping objects. Once two are on top of each other, they “disappear.” This is a pivotal part of solving puzzles.

Voi Featured

Despite grasping the concept in theory, I still found it challenging to complete some levels. On others, I let my lizard brain do the work as it appeared to magically guide me to solutions with ease. VOI is definitely better suited to folks looking for a challenge based purely on logic rather than twitch reflex or hints.

It’s because of the surprisingly tough nature of the game that I came back to it less and less while in pursuit of a completion. One smart gameplay tweak would’ve been the ability to specify which piece to move when clicking on a space with multiple overlapped pieces. As is, things get a bit muddled and you often end up having to pull everything apart and restart from there. Frustrating bits like this lessen – but don’t extinguish – the challenging appeal of VOI.

Score: 3

3 out of 5 alpacas

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February 28th, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Phrase Shift Review

Phrase Shift Logo

Developer: Hyper Hippo Games
Publisher: Hyper Hippo Games
Platform: PC – Steam, Mobile – Android, iOS

With so many puzzle games out in the world it often seems like there’s no way to create something new. Well, Phrase Shift does exactly that. At first, it looks like someone cut out a small segment of a word search. Each puzzle offers one vertical column and multiple horizontal columns with words intersecting it. You’re also given a clue.

Unlike a word search which has you fill in everything, the horizontal words are already set per puzzle. So your goal is actually to shift the horizontal words left or right until the letters which intersect with your vertical bar form a word which fits with the given clue. It might sound confusing, but all you need is to play a level or two to grasp the concept.

Phrase Shift Featured

Once you do, get ready for a ton of enjoyment playing Phrase Shift. The game includes level batches of twenty in different categories: Food, Science, Animals, etc. For the most part, I knew all the vocabulary (even if it took a bit of guessing to bring them to mind). Some sections, such as Movies, might be tough for folks who have absolutely no interest or awareness of American pop culture.

Phrase Shift is a perfect game to come to after a long day at work. It allows you to both turn off your brain as well as give it the reward of solving (mostly) simple puzzles. I’ve enjoyed my time slowly working through the sections one by one. Unlike most games, I desire to play this one to 100% completion.

Score: 4

4 out of 5 alpacas

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February 6th, 2017 Editorial, Featured No Comments »

Checking Out Steam Releases in January 2017

dacapo3rSteamReleases

2016 was an interesting year for Steam. According to Sergey Galyonkin of Steam Spy, 38% of games available on Steam were released in 2016. That means 4,779 titles hit the popular digital marketplace in a single year. The news shocked many, though just makes sense given the increasingly thin barrier that Steam Greenlight presents to getting onto the storefront.

My belief is that 2017 will be another record-breaking year for Steam – albeit not to the same ridiculous level that 2016 was. Of course, if Valve does something like remove the Greenlight requirement entirely then I’ll easily be proven completely wrong. In any case, I wanted to know more but didn’t want to wait on Steam Spy to provide information. This led me to creating my own method of collecting Steam release data that I intend to keep up with throughout the year.

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April 19th, 2016 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

HunieCam Studio Review

huniecam studio cover

Developer: HuniePot
Publisher: HuniePot
Platform: PC – Steam

I adored HuniePop. I didn’t know much about HunieCam Studio before its release aside from the fact that it was a simulation type game featuring the girls from HuniePop (along with some new ladies). Oh, and that everyone hated the art style and heart eyes. In any case, I was excited for this sexy new title from HuniePot.

Before I delve into how HunieCam Studio plays, I should mention that there is no mature content present in the game whatsoever, despite the age gate on Steam and ban from Twitch. Aside from some slightly raunchy loading screens and outfits that you can have your girls wear, there are no erotic scenes or dialogue. It’s a bit disappointing, considering I loved the adult content that HuniePop featured, but the absence of such material doesn’t hinder HunieCam Studio.

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Anyway, on to the meat and bones of HunieCam Studio. Basically, you’re thrown into the role as manager of a “cam girl” operation and need to earn as many fans as possible within 21 days. In order to do so, you must properly manage your ladies by getting them to work, building their fashion and talent, keeping them happy, and so forth. At the same time, you must invest in upgrades to your business (such as being able to hire more girls or increasing the amount of fans you get from photo shoots) and ads in order to maximize your fan base.

HunieCam Studio almost feels like a clicker/idle game, but it only has the very basics of one. It leans more towards management simulation with a strict time limit, as you’re constantly having to keep things in mind such as where all your ladies need to be or what upgrade you need to purchase next. Due to the nature of HunieCam Studio‘s gameplay, I found myself completely absorbed during the 21 days (which takes me around two hours playing nonstop each time).

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Unfortunately, HunieCam Studio can grow stale very quickly. It’s the same content and strategies for every playthrough (aside from deviating from the usual for specific Steam achievements such as earning a bronze trophy without using accessories). There is the incentive of ultimately getting the diamond trophy and earning wardrobe tokens, which allow you to get new outfits and hairstyles for any character, but that’s pretty much it.

Regardless, HunieCam Studio is a fun little title from HuniePot that gets your money’s worth, considering the low price. Just don’t go in expecting another HuniePop.

Pink Score: 3
3 out of 5 alpacas

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November 11th, 2015 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

MISSING: An Interactive Thriller – Episode One Review

missingchapteronelogo

Developer: Zandel Media
Publisher: Zandel Media
Platform: PC – Steam

MISSING: An Interactive Thriller – Episode One is the first in (hopefully) a series of point and click “escape the room”-style games. As you can probably tell from the images, it also happens to be chock full of full motion video (FMV). I don’t know what exactly spurred this sudden FMV resurgence, but I’m definitely into it.

In any case, it starts you out right in the thick of things as you’re presented with a dude chained up in a room. Without getting much more context than that, we know what to do: Get those cuffs off! This is just the first of a dozen or so puzzles that you’ll need to solve in order to get out of this incredibly strange situation.

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Puzzles are incredibly simple for the most part, with at least one that left me frustrated. Mostly, that was due to my own overthinking of the darn thing, though. The story is a bit disturbing in what it implies, the acting is fairly good, and the scenes are shot well. The biggest issue is that it only took me about half an hour to complete it.

I’m hoping that the relative brevity of MISSING: An Interactive Thriller – Episode One will mean new episodes release frequently. However, it could be quite a while before we can check back in. In any case, the inaugural episode was a neat little game and I look forward to checking out later episodes as they release.

Score: 3

3 out of 5 alpacas

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