Recent reviews by EliTheRev

I've come to the end of my love affair with #Ixion after playing it for over a week and pretty hardcore only to get to the last chapter and realize the developers have SCRIPTED/UNAVOIDABLE deaths of your crew no matter what you do. The game is no longer about making choices to avoid harm ... but about now punishing you and leaving you with this message that "sacrifice is necessary for survival" ... which is just NOT ok by me.

Unlike the masterpiece that was #Frostpunk where the devs made it so if you did your best and made all the best choices and worked your ass off ... it was possible to get a NO DEATH ending ... under similar circumstances. Ixion thinks it's being ... philosophical by forcing you to accept UNNECESSARY losses for the sake of "drama" ... to me this is ♥♥♥♥ design and bad writing ... especially when there is no reason for the deaths given the careful planning and decisions you have made for 4 chapters.

After over 100 hours and over 2000 cycles I will complete the game but I will end this experience very disappointed.

This is the absolute BEST and most UNEXPECTED but DEEPLY DESIRED thing I could have ever wished for. This is a great Christmas present.

I love games like this. Games that you didn't know you needed or wanted until you play them. It's a wonderful feeling especially for someone like me who plays a TON of different games but often they just feel stale or like copies of other games in the same genre. Dave makes me so happy when I play it ... it makes me feel positive and I love all the story elements and characters that bring it to life.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to play relaxing games.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy a game that isn't PvP or multiplayer or anything else ...

Dave has so much heart and I'm thankful it exists.

I can't wait to play the full version.

UPDATE (post patch) ---

I've noticed, since posting on the forum and posting this review, that Kingdom has turned into the kind of game the attracts the worst kind of players ... the "git gud" players, the "shutup and get better" players, the "easy games are for ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥" players etc. The forum for Kingdom has turned into this place where asking for BALANCE, FAIRNESS, CUSTOMIZABLE DIFFICULTY, and an enjoyable experience is met with anger, hatred, even ableist commentary and mental health snide remarks about people who are "weak" or "stupid" for enjoying games that aren't stressful ... The entire experience just leaves a bad taste in my mouth about a game which I use to enjoy. When you make changes to a game and it completely brings out the worst kinds of gamers ... that's a bad sign of things to come. Kingdom use to be a great gaming experience ... but after everything I have seen (even snark from the devs themselves), I will no longer be supporting any paid additions to this franchise.
Devs want the game to actually appeal to a very specific group of gamers ... maybe they feel the need to compete with a market that focuses on puzzling, tedious, hardcore gameplay, I have no idea but Kingdom has become a game for a niche of gamers and not a casual, challenging, beautiful experience like it use to be.

ORIGINAL Review ---

I have loved Kingdom since it's first iteration. I have played all the DLC and I have always loved how the game was just the right balance of challenging and fun ... but Norse Lands is just not fun at all and is punishing without being rewarding.

The developers have pretty much said they didn't like how everyone was playing the game before (using a ton of archers) and have decided to ensure that doesn't work anymore by nerfing walls and archers so you are forced to play more "actively". Suggesting that I am lazy or that gamers are lazy in how they play a game is a sure way to get me to refund this but the fact that they chose to make the greed stronger and you weaker because they didn't want to figure out how to rebalance the game so people didn't just use archers is what is truly lazy.

Forcing people to play the game the way you want them to play (or forcing them to coop) and giving them no choices in strategy doesn't make a game "different" ... it just makes it not fun anymore.

Early access game that should still be considered in early access. Fun for a little while but just becomes boring and repetitious. Ideal for people whose idea of fun is doing everything perfectly or being punished for it. Souls-like in that regard. I look forward to seeing what the final complete version of this game looks like once the devs have completed it.