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Old 01-03-2024, 11:58 AM   #1
SirFozzie
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What are your 24 games for 2024?

Basically, as the title said, what are the 24 games you are most likely to buy in 2024?

I'm going to break mine down in categories:

First off, the already bought but not played yet:

Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. A shadowrun meets x-com cyberpunk game

Now, on to the list!

Sports Sequels:

We're going to start with the usual sports strategy games:


1) Out Of the Park Baseball
(although I'm hitting my saturation point with perfect team getting most of the attention)

2) Football Manager 25 (very interested in seeing the new engine, and see where they go going forward

3-6)Draft Day Sports (Pro and College Basketball, Pro and College Football): Not sure why I haven't pulled the trigger yet on the couple available on Steam (At this point, a game has to really grab me to be through the publisher's website, the ease of updating on Steam etcetera is such a value add), but I think once the full lineup of 2024 games are out there, I'll swoop in on the lot once they are on sale

7) Front Office Football 9: Yeah, another game that I should have bought by now, but I didn't have unlimited gaming time


2024 Strategy Games (Part 1):

These are games that at least are scheduled to be released (either a full release or come out in early access) in 2024. Several of these, I'm not sure about, but liked what I saw in previews (from the PC Gamer most anticipated show)


8) Unforetold: Witchstone (Early Access January 25th) This one looks to hit the Baldur's Gate 3 neurons here, as it has the guiding light behind the creation of the Forgotten Realms (Ed Greenwood, Elminster himself). They recently released an update showing off the consequences and faction system. I don't know much about the actual game play, so I'll definitely be looking at people trying the game out when it hits early access (Note: Early Access is just that, a lot of the late game stuff is not created yet, and waiting for player feedback)

Unforetold: Witchstone on Steam

9) Alliance of the Sacred Suns: Release Date: "2024" A Grand Strategy game where you play a young Emperor. I would compare it to Crusader Kings, but there's a big catch. When your Emperor dies (be it from assassination, combat, or even old age), your game is done. I'm worried that will cause certain strategies to be overdone, as you try to constantly snowball instead of having that build/consolidate/build/consolidate rythym that most Grand Strategy Games have, and really misses out on the sweep of history that Grand Strategy Games can bring. But I'm willing to give it a look-see and see how well the interpersonal relations are, and the gameplay.

Alliance of the Sacred Suns on Steam


10) Zoria: Age of Shattering (March 7th, 2024, Demo Out)

I honestly don't know much about this, but it looks like a BG3-like. From the steam description: A squad-based tactical RPG with fluid turn-based combat, outpost, and followers management, set in the expansive fantasy world of Zoria. Lead a team of four heroes with their unique skills and perks. Every team member contributes to undertaken battles.

Well. A bit engrish there at the end, but still, there's a demo out, so people will be able to see how it feels before its March release. The company that's making this also made Gamedec which was a highly praised indie title, so let's see how it goes.

Zoria: Age of Shattering on Steam

11)Revolution: The Spark (COMING SOON)

A steampunk turn based strategy/Tactical RPG, this looks interesting, as you play a military veteran whose brother is kidnapped by the dictatorial government's men, and you can possibly lead a revolution to free him and overthrow the government. I have concerns about the amount of game play (the game says while there are 25 people you can get as allies, there are "nine hand-crafted steampunk locations to explore", so I'm hoping that it's just not a series of battles over and over again in the same location.

The designer/publisher of this game doesn't have any track record to go by (they have five games in "To Be Announced or Coming Soon", so this will definitely be a wait to see how the game is received, but hey, tactical RPG's are my thing, so...

Revolution: The Spark on Steam

12) Broken Roads (Coming Soon, Listed by publisher as "Early 2024")

This looks to hit the Fallout/Wasteland style isometrical post-apocalyptic vibes. Set in Australia (god, normal Australia is bad enough with all the poisonous species, what fresh hell is post-apocalyptic Australia?) In development since 2019, this game looks to clock in about 30 hours of game play (the developer recently said there is almost 400,000 words in dialogue)

It got some recent hype amongst gaming sites I visit. It won't be a purchase sight un-seen, but I'm rather interested to see how that goes.

Broken Roads on Steam


(I'll break this up into several posts just to not have one big wall of text.)
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Last edited by SirFozzie : 01-03-2024 at 11:58 AM.
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Old 01-03-2024, 12:41 PM   #2
SirFozzie
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Strategy Games (PART TWO)

13) Espiocracy (Release Date:2024)

It's hard to describe this game. It's like a post-WWII history game, except you play it as a nation's intelligence agency. I'll post from the game's description and then follow it up with my own notes:

Quote:
As the world recovers from the devastation of World War 2, new alliances are already being drawn. Relations have begun to deteriorate between the two superpowers, and new political ideologies have taken hold. From the division of Germany to the Italian Referendum and Czechoslovak elections, tensions are building, and your agency fights at the front lines of a silent war.

Choose one of 74 countries and lead its intelligence agency from the start of the Cold War. Whether your chosen nation loses a war, suffers a coup, or has a change of leadership due to foreign actions, your agency remains resolute, working to further your country’s interests through the twists and turns of the 20th century and beyond.
Prepare for nuclear brinkmanship, the Space Race, decolonization, and the instability and proxy wars that follow as you navigate a world balanced on a knife edge.

Deploy foreign and domestic agents to manipulate public opinion, support and establish political factions, stoke the flames of independence, ignite proxy wars, and shatter the status quo with coups. Your country’s leader may request your input on major decisions such as invading a neighbor or forming an alliance, and you can use your influence to trigger wars or turn the tide of diplomatic negotiations.

This sounds great. There's one problem however, it's being done by the Long War team. I loved the idea of their last game, Terra Invicta (a grand strategy game that touches on the same manipulate nations set) but feature creep means that there's a whole space warfare game as well as weekly actions on the local level that just created a huge wall for me to bounce right off. Sometimes, less is more. So, I love the idea again, but they really need to show a sense of what adds to the game and what is busywork. Looking at the Development diaries, I'm not sure they've learned their lesson. All Developer Diaries :: Espiocracy General Discussions

Espiocracy on Steam

14) Sovereign Syndicate (January 15th, 2024)

This is such a weird jumble. I love the setting (Victorian Steampunk London). The game had a demo that was well received back in October. The worries for me are two fold: One, the game has a feel like the Lamplighter's League, and that didn't find a huge audience (causing Harebrained Schemes, the developer to dissolve their relationship with Paradox (which was really one of the things that brought me down in 2023). THe other thing is that instead of dice, it uses Tarot Cards for its resolution system. That could be a wall for folks. I'm going to have to watch the video they have of someone playing the demo.

Sovereign Syndicate on Steam

15) Solium Infernum (February 14th, 2024)

Grand Strategy in hell. What's not to like? (well, besides Hell itself). The remake of a beloved strategy game features the Archfiends plotting against each other to seize the vacant throne of hell. This game is probably going to be huge in multiplayer, as orders are done in a simultaneous turn structure. You can play one of 8 archfiends (I do hope they add a create-your-own later, because it seems like each different archfiend will play a certain way). The 2009 release managed to build a world where you had to play to your opponents tendencies just as much as playing your own faction, and it seemed almost Diplomacy-like in amounts of backstabbing, strategies and counter-strategies (as to be expected in Hell).

Solium Infernum on Steam

16) Capes (EARLY 2024)

Superhero X-Com. To reuse a phrase.. what's not to like? The demo's been out for quite a while, and it's very interesting to see. The villains conquered a city, and made it illegal to have superpowers. That's not going to stand, of course. Form a team of heroes and take back the city! One nice thing is that while you're limited to four heroes in a mission, each hero gets a unique team-up ability from each of their allies. Again, Superhero Turn Based Tactics are definitely my thing. Now if they only had "Create a hero"...

Capes on Steam

17) Menace (2024)

This is more of the tactical-army game, as you lead a strike force against aliens in this one. From the creator of Battle Brothers, it's going to be very interesting to see how this plays. I'll copy the game description:

Command a strike force of marines, mercenaries, and criminals in a distant system, cut off from the Core Worlds. At the lawless frontier, the Wayback system is controlled by pirate warlords, questionable corporations, and fractured planetary governments who struggle for a new order. Though you initially lead your strike force of marines from aboard the strike cruiser TCRN Impetus, you'll quickly need to unite the disparate locals under your leadership to defeat an unknown threat. Fielding tanks, mechs, and infantry squads with a massive selection of equipment to choose from, you’ll train your troops, plan out operations, and engage in deadly tactical battles.

So it sounds more like a TBS game then an RPG, although you'll definitely have to do some tactical decisions that might be considered RPG=ish

as an aside: The publishers of this game, Hooded Horse, were responsible for two other games on this list (they're also publishing Alliance of the Sacred Suns and Espiocracy. There's other games I'm interested in, but didn't make the list of 24: Manor Lords, which has been in early access forever, Beyond These Stars, where you build a city on the back of a giant space whale (Discworld-ish), Hexxen:Hunters (18th century Hunters vs Hell turn based tactical RPG, and Capital Command (where you take the helm of a warship in a sandbox campaign). Guess as a publisher, they'll be busy (there's a half-dozen other games with a 2024 release date that are nearly all tactical based games)

MENACE on Steam

18) New Arc Line (2024)

This game gives me Arcanum vibe. a Game that focuses on the conflict between steampunk and magic. Dwarves, Elves, Monsters and magic meet Steampunk gadgets, zepplins and the like. They're going to be running a closed private playestst soon. Going to be very interesting to see where this goes: This is coming from a Ukranian development team (Dreamate). I might have to try to get in the playtest and see what they've got.


New Arc Line on Steam
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Last edited by SirFozzie : 01-03-2024 at 12:43 PM.
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Old 01-03-2024, 01:00 PM   #3
Honolulu_Blue
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Great list, Foz! My Steam Wishlist has been thoroughly updated!
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Old 01-03-2024, 01:13 PM   #4
SirFozzie
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Odds and ends

19) THE FINALS (out now)

Look, I'll be 50 in August. There's no way a fast paced twitch reflex game with destructible environments should be on my list.

Yet, here we are.

I've watched this, and the environmental changes are great, they keep maps from feeling same-y, and it is very much a game that rewards aggressive game play (to earn money, you have to take control of a vault, and score it via a time based "cashout" while defending against the other teams, who know where you are. I loved the videos of it I've seen on twitch, but this MAY be a "more fun to watch than actually play game"

THE FINALS on Steam

20) Mechwarrior 5: Clans (2024)

I've played the base game, and it left me.. wanting. It's graphically brilliant, the storyline should be good, but.. there's just something missing. Especially with the waves of vehicles and helicopters/vtols/aerospace, it feels more like a bullet hell shooter at times. But, I managed to grab this, just in time for the Clans to be announced, where you play as one of the Clans invading the inner sphere. Interestingly enough, you play as the Smoke Jaguars, one of the.. harsher clans out there (I won't get into Battletech history, but I could gush all day about the Battletech universe). Be interesting to see how this turns out.

MechWarrior 5: Clans on Steam

21) Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (out now)

I have the base game, but not yet the add on. It comes off as really good, and to be fair, Cyberpunk has come a LONG way from the release version. I'm just.. I dunno.. cyberpunk'd out? That's the only reason I haven't purchased it already. But, I have a feeling at some point in 2024 I'll get back into it.

Save 15% on Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty on Steam


22) P3 Persona 3: Reload (Feb 2, 2024)

Can you believe I've never got into the Persona series? A friend of mine who is big into it told me that 3 was the best of the bunch, and I should play that before I played P5 Royal.

Pre-purchase Persona 3 Reload on Steam

23) Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (January 25th, 2024)

Another series that I should like, but have bounced off in the past. It seems like this is going to be the Like a Dragon/Yakuza cross-universe mash up. Looks, weirdly interesting?

Pre-purchase Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on Steam


24) My Steam Backlog


Xenonauts 2, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, Victoria 3, Pathway, more Baldur's Gate, More Rogue Trader, Expeditions: Rome, Old World.. plus all the games coming out that I've missed, the WoW update, Overwatch 2.. safe to say I'll be busy and hoping to reduce my backlog, not grow it
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Old 01-03-2024, 01:34 PM   #5
SirFozzie
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Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue View Post
Great list, Foz! My Steam Wishlist has been thoroughly updated!

Interested in seeing everyone's wishlist!
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Old 01-03-2024, 01:49 PM   #6
Honolulu_Blue
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Interested in seeing everyone's wishlist!

I'll definitely share it. Mine is loaded with lots of co-op games.

Me and three friends have been playing co-op games once a week or so for over 10 years now. We started with "Borderlands 2" and having playing all sorts since. We're currently playing "Bladur's Gate 3" after spending several months playing "Grounded."
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Old 01-03-2024, 01:53 PM   #7
SirFozzie
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if you like BG:3, you may want to go with Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, as that also has co-op mode.. I'd definitely wait until you're done with BG3 first, not only is BG3 great, but Rogue Trader does have some bugs in the later acts which will be fixed in the meantime.
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Old 01-03-2024, 02:59 PM   #8
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1. EA Sports College Football 24
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Old 01-03-2024, 03:06 PM   #9
JonInMiddleGA
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To buy? Hell, I wasn't sure I'd come up with 24 that I was likely to play lol
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Old 01-03-2024, 03:12 PM   #10
QuikSand
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yeah, I'm more of a 2-4 guy here
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Old 01-03-2024, 03:20 PM   #11
GrantDawg
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Right now it feels like Combat Mission is going take up a large chunk of my 2024.

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Old 01-03-2024, 08:38 PM   #12
Mota
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What is the difference between Like a Dragon and Yakuza? Is Like a Dragon continuing the franchise?
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Old 01-03-2024, 08:44 PM   #13
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What is the difference between Like a Dragon and Yakuza? Is Like a Dragon continuing the franchise?

Like a Dragon is a spinoff that was a little more RPGish with JRPG turn based combat and a new protagonist. If you like the Yakuza games and don't mind final fantasy style party and turn based combat it's a solid game that stays true to the Yakuza series.

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Old 01-03-2024, 11:29 PM   #14
SirFozzie
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not only the tonal shift, but they wanted to get away from the Yakuza name(the game in Japan is called Like a Dragon)
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Old 01-04-2024, 08:42 AM   #15
Mota
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Originally Posted by Atocep View Post
Like a Dragon is a spinoff that was a little more RPGish with JRPG turn based combat and a new protagonist. If you like the Yakuza games and don't mind final fantasy style party and turn based combat it's a solid game that stays true to the Yakuza series.

Sounds like a game that's made for me! Thanks for the info!
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Old 01-04-2024, 08:54 AM   #16
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if you like BG:3, you may want to go with Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, as that also has co-op mode.. I'd definitely wait until you're done with BG3 first, not only is BG3 great, but Rogue Trader does have some bugs in the later acts which will be fixed in the meantime.

It's very much on my radar. I've been holding off due to reports of bugs and issues. I'll let it get all patched up and then get involved. I know these are the same developers that did the "Pathfinder" games, which I enjoyed, even though I felt pretty overwhelmed at times.
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Old 01-04-2024, 11:25 AM   #17
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My list will NOT be a list of games coming out in 2024, nay, I say NAY! Because I never buy new games nor do I look ahead to buying new games.

Instead, I say, my list shall be games that are new TO ME! Why? Because F U that's why!

(and all the lists will undoubtedly be the same anyway) So this list will reflect games I play as I go. I'll try to keep to games I marginally like and
can recommend to you all at least for some reason or other although I'm pretty picky and HAVE to mention the negatives as I see them.

So let's go to press...

1. Spiritfarer (2020)
An amazing and adorable adventure management game where you become the new Charon...literally. Charon is retiring and you literally take over his job. So you get a boat and are told to get to work giving spirits passage to their final resting place. But about that boat. Yes you have a working boat but you have to put things on it. Like spirits....you meet spirits from your past who become oh so cute and appealing disneyesque characters (a deer, a frog, and a snake in a robe so far), all that you can hug and hug back. So now that you have passengers, you have to feed them...and give them shelter, and all the other things...There's no Donato's or Skyline chili aboard so that means you have to build crops and gardens and then tend to them to grow the food....and then a kitchen because you just can't eat a raw squid apparently...oh you have to fish too....and find debris....seeds are apparently the number one thing you find in ship wreckage. I guess the edmond fitzgerald sank because it was plowing too hard. Anyway you find little isoand towns, find shops, it's constant sim management style....and I haven't even delivered my first spirit passenger to the door to the afterlife yet. It's so addicting and and ridiculously adorable and I don't even think I've hit all the minigames and such yet in this ever expanding world. (Like the one where you have to vut the logs into planks just right...). The only thing it's missing for me so far is like...character customization...as that yellow sweat shirt is ugly and that hat ....will be mentioned on the worst dressed list of Afterlife Monthly.

Last edited by CrimsonFox : 01-04-2024 at 11:25 AM.
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Old 01-05-2024, 03:57 AM   #18
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22) P3 Persona 3: Reload (Feb 2, 2024)

Can you believe I've never got into the Persona series? A friend of mine who is big into it told me that 3 was the best of the bunch, and I should play that before I played P5 Royal.

I started my Persona journey with 3, and it just never resonated with me. I loved the crap out of Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal is on the shortlist for "favorite game of all time."

But here's the thing about your friend telling you to play Reload before Royal: Reload is being remade in the style of Persona 5. So part of what makes Persona 5 Royal so great - its aesthetic and style, as well as the various QoL improvements it added to the series - won't hit as hard if you play Reload before Royal. You'll just kind of...be there already.

What you OUGHT to do, and because you have a PS5 you CAN do this, is play Persona 3 or Persona 4 Golden first. I don't know as you need to finish either game necessarily (although...) but play them in their original form. As much as I loved P4G back in the day, since we're talking about Reload, I'd say play Persona 3 Portable first. Then, Persona 5 Royal.

By THEN, Persona 3 Reload should be out, and you should play THAT. You will have a much greater appreciation for Reload at that point, having experienced how the series has evolved. You'll see how those QoL improvements from Royal will make Reload a better experience than the original Persona 3.

Shit, I've beaten both P4G and P5R multiple times, but never P3; I expect Reload will be the first time I do so, and that's going to be almost entirely because of those QoL improvements. Which, and I know the dead horse would like me to quit beating it, would be best experienced by playing Royal before Reload.
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Old 01-05-2024, 07:19 AM   #19
Mota
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I had Persona 3 and 4 on my Playstation Vita, so I was playing them on a tiny screen. I'm definitely going to pick up Reload and give it a try on my PS5. Should be a totally different experience.
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Old 01-05-2024, 07:44 AM   #20
Bobble
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Has no one said Dominions 6? Coming out in a couple of weeks.

I almost exclusively play Dom 5 with a rather obscure mod called Cataclysm that has all nations start from an equal standpoint (same units, same weak mages, etc.). I'll either have to rebuild that for 6 or try to play the game, dare I say, as-designed.
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Old 01-05-2024, 10:40 AM   #21
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I had Persona 3 and 4 on my Playstation Vita, so I was playing them on a tiny screen. I'm definitely going to pick up Reload and give it a try on my PS5. Should be a totally different experience.

3 I played on PS2; I never messed much with Portable because that port was almost more visual novel-style. I've tinkered with it some since it came to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but I bounced off 3 in general, so, not all that much.

The multiple clears of Golden I referred to were, yeah, on Vita. Been trying to play through it again on PS5, but those QoL improvements from P5/P5R? It's almost physically painful (in some ways, not all) trying to play through Golden again. Shadow Negotiations instead of luck of the draw with Shuffle Time, just for starters...
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Old 01-05-2024, 10:43 AM   #22
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I tend to learn about games as they come out, I haven't paid attention to upcoming releases in awhile, so I'm sure I'll buy a few, but more of a 2-4 person as Quik and others said, plus some cheap indie games.


The reason for the post though is that I am aware of one game on the horizon, I'll be buying Hades 2 instantly.
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Old 01-18-2024, 09:25 PM   #23
CrimsonFox
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Game # 2: Pawnbarian (2021)

FIrst off F this gAME. tHERE i SAID IT.

If you like chess, and weho does there is a chance you will love this game. Chess variant games are odd. Chess purists might hate them because it corrupts the pure essence of chess by adding extra things and everyone else hates them because...well...it's chess. I had a card game in the 90s called Knightmare Chess where you had cards which gave the pieces extra abilities. And that's what this does. YOu have 5 characters you can choose from and you must traverse 7 levels of 3 dungeons each to "win". at least with that character. There are definitely interesting thigns.It's a reduced board with new pieces or should I say you have a character and you draw cards deck builder style and also can buy abilities for each piece. And then there are monsters which you must defeat also with hard abilities that hit you, leave stinkclouds, pull you, take 2 hits to kill, etc. And there are hit points. YOu get the idea.
The characters vary and some are more fun than others. The Pawnbarian can change a pawn to queen as long as you have one available. Immediaately or on your next turn.
The Mystic has ghosts you can drop available square.
The Berserker can leap two squares.
The Nomad shoots squares when it attacks but stays where it is.
The Knight Templar can purify spaces from clouds.

And of courser you can buy abilities such as shield, major shield, cardinal splash, diagonal splash, purify, cantrip (which gives you an extra move)

So you must traverse the capybarra dungeon, the golem dungeon (things with electricity that trigger attacks and things if you take an extra move), and the foul dungeon full of stinkbombs and monsters that pull you forward after a move (which are the bane of my existence)

There are problems. I rage. It tells you how much damage each square will do to you if you go there...but that's not accurate when it comes to the void pullers so you;ll fail a lot. Big learning curve. But ifg you like chess it's definitely a challenge you might like. I really had to watch someone else play the last dungeon to make any headway in it. And now it's really okay. It was my build.

So like...yeah I'm not sold in it being a great game and there is the roguelike RNG factor as always.

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Old 01-18-2024, 10:00 PM   #24
CrimsonFox
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Join Date: Dec 2009
#3: Songbird Symphony (2019)

So you say you love rhythm games. You say you won't play anything at local arcades except for rhythm games. Well this is the one for you. IT's a rhythm adventure games. Take a sidescroller copmllete with adorable appealing characters...make it rpg like where you gain rewards and stats...and instead of combat and searching....make everything rhythmgame based. You play a little birdy named...Birb. Raised by a peacock anc questing from the great wise owl to find your real parents. IN order to proceed you must defeat the bosses in rhythm song events. And then you gain...not treasure...but more keys to press in future battles (I was using keyboard but it works with controller too). So yeah I'm a big fan. Also their are puzzles to solve to traverse other areas also of the rhythm kind but also logic puzzles too.

Am a big fan of this. I'm not GREAT at extra hard rhythm games. Those that ARE will possibly think this is too easy. The puzzles tho are kinda challenging and the story and characters are worth playing alone. It definitely has a feel of a computer RPG without all the tedious turn based combat.

Last edited by CrimsonFox : 01-18-2024 at 10:00 PM.
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Old 01-20-2024, 08:23 PM   #25
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Join Date: Dec 2009
#4 Vampyr (2018)

Vampires in media are usually a blend of dreadful and terrible. TV shows, movies, games, etc. THey are always overserious, bland, and miss the point about why vaampires ever became popular. The artsy pretentiousness is what usually leads to them stinking to high heaven (and sparkles and emo kid acting). Thus right off the bat you see the pretentiousness from even the name of the game Vampyr. Oooooo a Y instead of an I and E. Sounds serious. THat Y also works its way into the art direction of the game in several places too. VERY serious. This is that oddity mix of things. It is an action adventure ROle playing game. SOme of the gameplay feels like a Bethesda games like Oblivion or Skyrim. YOu run around third person like. You can talk to NPCS who give you that black eyed (like a dolls eyes) stare as they monotone every fact about themselves and others to you....oh my god shut up! One thing that saves this tho is that while you DO have to slick on every question for them to spew their backstory at you...you DON'T get it all at once. facts are slowly revealed when you find clues elesewhere or talk to other pepole. So NPCs are linked in backstory amongst themselves which is nice. I will say this. I love the story. YOu are a top surgeon straight off of medical combat from the war. WWI? Unsure . You have been turned into a vampire. Okay great start the game with a bang I love that. THis is why i like KOTOR 2 more than KOTOR 1. So you ARE the beast. You ARE the monster. Yet....not. You are still a doctor and get hired by a hospital that is both battling the plague, other illnesses, plus vampires. Or rather ghouls. (or their pretentious name for it) The owner of the hospital loves that you are a vampire. kinky. So then you talk to people and solve quests. One of my favorite thrulines of this is that you ARE the chief surgeon of the hospital. So everyone answers to you. Yet you aren't an asshole. YOu are very professional. ANd the voicecast is very good. Even the boring ones. doctors and nurses roam around treating patients who sit up in their beds 24/7 (go to sleep already). This part of the game really feels like a doctor sim as you try to talk to patients and diagnose their prolems and solutions to it. I love that. Then you have to go find medicine, mix up the medicine, then administer. That's wonderful! There are crafting tables. Which I wish I'd really known about and gotten a good feel of BEFORE I sold all the drugs I found along the way...Oh yeah lest I shower too much praise upon this game before mentioning the one thing that really breaks all this great built up immersion....Combat. There are monsters like in a lot of places. And you suck at fighting. Combat consists...of....doing several unblocked attacks on a foe followed by them doing a series of unblocked attacks on you. whoever has the most hp wins. There is a fog button to teleport or blink around the combat zone...but that more delays things. Fighting basic goons is okay but the learning curve and combat curve will cause deaths and then...you will have to go back and do previous things over again like picking up items, getting hints, talking to people you already talked to...that's severely annoying. It saves its own checkpoints. Generic goons tho aren't the total problem. it's the OMG boss fights. they ruin every game really. every game. every game. No one cares. Stop with these boss fights. Let me have my immersion back. Oh yeah. don't use keyboard. Once I switched to controlelr I went from failing a major boss fight 20 times in a row to winning on the second try. Another weird thing. generic bad guys spawn every time you reenter an area. And they drop medicine ingredients that you need to craft medicine. But they don't start dropping a certain thing until AFTER you find the first one. Uhhhhhh...okay... Well the first one WAS the solution to a quest but that's just sloppy writing/design.
Your vampireness is and will forever be cool. RIght out of the gate your abilities are otherworldly, powerful and cool. It makes you feel supernatural. Though the sound, through the game meters, through the fluttering visuals that tell you....THERE IS SOMETHING WEIRD ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW. And it doesn't stop there. No sirree. You can (and will) pick out MORE vampire abilities as you gain experience. Aaaaaaaaang here is where the other shoe drops as the game tries to impose morals on you. nice try. You can eat anyone you meet. (meat?) Suck their blood right oout of them. Control their mind and make themj follow you into a dark alley. This is so frighteningly cool actually. But....and this is a BIG butt...once you suck them, they are gone from the rest of the game. Soooo no more finding out info from them so hope you know everything. Oh you just sucked one of the guys that sell things to you? Too bad. Actually I haven't done this yet...not sure I will. Most people have medical issues but as a doctor you CAN heal them to improve their health AND THUS THE XP YOU GET FROM THEM. There are a lot of nice quality of life things with the menus and stat screens and logs. Kudos to that. The combats annoy me. Maybe I just need to start sucking all the patients and annoying nurses and doctors until I'm a bloated sack of shit vampire alone on my throne. It's not like the plague is going anywhere. Oh yeah you can craft better guns too. I wish I"d have known that before I sold all the part I picked up. I really want that shotgun but I can't afford it yet. I really need to beef up something before I venture away from thne hospital . Maybe this is a good thing because it's keeping me trapped there to solce other things. I seriously want more patient diafnosing and curing as that is really fun. I seriously haven't played this in a couple weeks because of that dreaded bossfight. But finally got past it. But that could have madfe me put down the game forever really. Incidently I want the main character's suit, especailly his coat.
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