Recent reviews by FingerRocks

EARLY ACCESS REVIEW: 27/07/2024

SHORT REVIEW
Selaco is a fast paced FPS. You play as an Officer who has to fend off an enemy invasion on the Space Colony Selaco after The Fall has rendered Earth inhabitable. The action is fast, level is designed well and incorporates a mix of linear design with wide open spaces and the enemies will match your aggression.

LONG REVIEW

GAMEPLAY
*This game has a LOT of elements, skip this review to avoid ruining the enjoyment for yourself

Selaco plays similar to the original DOOM games, but with modern advancements. All guns can aim down sights, you can sprint, weapon wheel to swap and headshots deal extra damage.
The range of weapons at first appear simple but each one serves a crucial feature depending on the issue. Your Assault Rifle is the ol reliable, the Submachine Gun for close quarters, the Shotgun for dealing damage up close, Grenade Launcher for groups and a Sniper Rifle for long range (along with a few more weapons). Weapons can be upgraded for basic stat improvements and even unlock new features that change how they operate.

The enemies aren't just mindless lumps of meat to gun down. They react to what you do and change tactics depending on the situation. They have a lot of voice lines that you need to listen out to in order to combat them properly. They won't rush you head on but instead they will lay suppressing fire as others flank your location. If you're in a choke point or take cover for too long they'll toss a frag to flush you out. If you retreat or reload, they'll push on you.
You'll be facing off against standard enemies, heavies with more armor and shotguns and later on the Juggernauts - giant brutes with miniguns
As you advance the game, the enemies get tougher and tougher. They'll begin to deploy smokescreens, lay down shields and can also upgrade their weaponry to match yours.

The levels are well designed and have a ton of detail in them. Each one is open and packed with small rooms to check through. Check all areas to find secrets to be rewarded with weapon upgrades, ammo and other important items to help you survive.

It's not all pain and violence, Selaco has minigames. Scattered over the levels are Space Bros arcade cabinets to play a 2D shooter and Burger Flipper, a game where you have to make burgers and make them fast. Buy workers, delivery trucks, factories and increase your Burgers Per Second (BPS).
You can also visit Safe Rooms to upgrade your weapons, practice at the shooting range with timed challenges and revisit previous areas to find any left over secrets.

ART
Selaco is BEAUTIFUL.
The world has a consistent, metallic feel of steel plating, mechanical doors, trash bins, fire hydrants and glowing lights that act as waypoints to where you need to go. You won't just be navigating offices and warehouses, Selaco is home to many areas. Hospitals, bars, open streets, libraries, malls, arcades, parking garages and a laboratory make up some of the areas you'll be fighting through.
The world is filled to the brim with random objects to throw around, explosive barrels to kill enemies and random items that aren't just set dressing. The world reacts to how you operate: glass shatters when shot, paper stacks explode, walls can be littered with bullets, enemy blood splatters the walls, fire extinguishers explode, circuit boxes spark out and even the simplest of areas can quickly become an mess of blood, bullets and explosions.

STORY
After an incident known as The Fall has rendered Earth inhabitable. All survivors are shuttled to a space colony known as Selaco as they try to restore Earth. You play as Dawn Collins, a member of ACE - the security force on Selaco. She wakes up after being administered to the hospital and discovers an Hostile Takeover is occuring and she must gear up and stop them.
Read Data Pad entries, listen to the PA and eavesdrop on enemy conversations to learn about the world.

OVERALL
Selaco takes the best parts of classic shooters and improves them. It's fast paced, will test you if you're not focus and overall runs well and will have you feeling like a badass as you fight the enemies to save your station.

8 / 10

[Early Access review for 08/12/2023)

Wizordum is a first person shooter(?). You play as a Mage that was part of a group of Mages that defended the town of Grimbrook from the evils of the world. Slowly one by one all the Mages died, leaving only you. The town of Grimbrook is under attack and you must answer the call of duty.

PRESENTATION
The game has a nice charm of friendly and oddly gruesome. The world is bright and the texture details look great. As you fight through enemies you'll paint the world with their blood, quickly turning even the cleanest of abandoned homes into bloody slaughterhouse.

GAMEPLAY
The game is good old fashioned first person shooting(?) at it's finest. You start off with a Mace and as you progress, you get more weapons to use. Use rings to shoot balls of fire, obtain a staff to fire ice shards to freeze enemies or use the Spellcaster to shoot arcane rocks at enemies.

The levels are quite expansive and on a first playthrough can take a while to navigate. Secrets are well spread and almost all spots have treasure or items to make exploration worth it.

Enemy variety is also well done as you get a healthy mix of Orcs, Skeletons, Giant Rats, Bats and other nightmare creatures.

STORY
Aside from the start and last level which have a screen of text, there isn't much to the story for now. Which isn't a bad thing, as the goal is simple: kill the evil that is attacking your town.

MISC
Of course I need to mention and praise the Level Editor. It is well designed, friendly to use and being able to quickly load in and get to making levels is fast and easy. I've only done basic level layouts but I imagine you'd be able to recreate every level in the game once you get to properly know the editor.

OVERALL
Overall it's a game that is exactly as it's presented. Good ol fashioned monster slaying and town saving.

10/10

[Early Access review for 06/11/2023]

Death Trash is a top-down, apocalyptic semi RPG. After a catastrophic known as The Bleeding causes the planet Nexus to become a mixture of nature, blood and flesh with celestial Titans arriving, humanity has to adapt to the illnesses and change their way of life to survive. Androids, Cybernetic Implants and diving into Occultism powers changed the world, making it more hostile and harsh.

While some are friendly, others are not and will attack on sight. Religious Zealots, Bandits, Raiders and Mutated Creatures roam the world, armed and prepared to kill.

STORY
Sometime after The Bleeding, several communities closed themselves off from the outside in places called Habitats, isolated havens free from the infection of the outside world. You play as an Outcast or Punk, a former Habitant who was expelled after being stricken by an unknown and mysterious infection. Your goal at first is to find out what the infection is and cure it before it kills you.

The main quest will take you to the important parts of the Nexus and from there, you'll meet characters that will give quests that leads you to even more areas. The characters for the most parts are your usual wasteland bunch, with some being extraordinarily happy and some bitter and hostile.

GAMEPLAY

*The game is unforgiving and you will need to trial-and-error your way to find out how to best approach a situation. Thankfully it doesn't border on being unfair and makes conquering an area much more rewarding.

Traditional top-down moving and attacking action at its finest. Your character can move, roll-dodge and use a combination of melee, firearms and cybernetic / dark magic to fight against hostiles. Attack from a distance with a rifle and once the enemies get close you can quickly swap to your cleaver and dice em up close. If you run out of ammo or need a breather, hit them with a Cybernetic Implant (such as shooting Lightning, Spewing a ring of fire or Freeze them in place).

Your character always has a Melee and Ranged weapon at home that can easily alternate between in combat. Changing your loadout takes time which makes how you go into battle important and requires you to assess the situation and think through your plan of attack.

As you kill and complete Quests you'll earn XP which can be used to raise several stats which have an influence in non-combat. Some skills can be used to get special dialogue, unlock terminals or locked doors.

Lastly is the crafting system. Simple and easy to grasp. Unlock new recipes by finding them or buying them, and then collect materials or scrap your items for resources. Make ammo, healing items and lockpicks.

ART
The world is harsh and unforgiving which is beautifully reflected. The highly detailed pixelated art has a lot of viscera, gore, blood and flesh. The above world is muted and cold, with little to no signs of life. The underground sections are less alive, with cramped locations and metal coating over everything.

FINAL NOTES
If you enjoy post or current apocalyptic games with an emphasis on brutality, bloody violence and pain then this is the game for you

"What I'm about to do has not been approved by the Vatican"

FAITH: The Unholy Trinity is a retro inspired horror game set during the 1980s Satanic Scare. You play as John Ward, a priest that returns to the scene of an exorcism gone wrong 1 year later to finish what he started.

PRESENTATION
The game is presented as an old school Atari game, making use of a limited colour pallet against a black background, with each object and person being a solid colour. The scanlines, AI generated voice and 8-bit music help set the creepy, intense and suspenseful mood (especially late at night).

GAMEPLAY
FAITH: The Unholy Trinity is played from a top-down perspective and your only actions are to move and hold out your crucifix to cleanse cursed objects and repel Demons, Monsters and other horrors. All 3 chapters are a mixture of exploration and linear progression, requiring John to explore his environment to find keys, notes or figure out how to defeat a certain enemy.

STORY
I'm going to keep it vague here as FAITH is a story heavy game. The majority of the plot can be experienced by playing the game, watching the cutscenes and some smaller details found in the notes if you go looking for it.

MISC
One thing I do appreciate is that FAITH has unlockables! Upon completing each Chapter you'll unlock new game modes (A mode that forces you to see only using a flashlight, a lantern or making the game run 2x fast) new side art for the borders and even colour pallets.

Personally I love FAITH and was eagerly awaiting Chapter III after having beaten 1 and 2 back-to-back and Chapter III delivers. It is much longer, has a lot more content and story and to get all 3 games with some more additions is great.

5/5

REVIEW FOR CHAPTER ONE (16/10/2022)

SHORT REVIEW
CULTIC is a first-person shooter. You play as a detective who travels to the wilderness after numerous people and an investigator go missing. The detective themselves get jumped and murdered, before waking up in a pile of bodies with renewed energy. If you ever played a Build game then you'll be right at home. Plenty of weapons, tons of enemies, locations are big and wide and the difficulty spike is smooth.

LONG REVIEW

STORY
In 1963 several people have gone missing in the New Grandwell wilderness, and when an Investigator has gone missing a Detective is sent out to find out what is happening. But the moment the Detective arrives, they are ambushed by Cultists and murdered, thrown into a pile of dead bodies. Miraculously, the Detective is brought back to life and sets off to stop these cultists with renewed energy.
Each level has notes and readables that provide little bits of world building information specific to each level, as well as notes left by the missing Investigator who explains what had been happening.

GAMEPLAY

WEAPONS
CULTIC has plenty of weapons the Detective can use against the Cultists. You have the traditional Pistols, Double Barrel and Rifles along with some unique ones like the Lever-Action and Grenade Launcher to name a few. These weapons can be upgraded at Workbenches to increase certain stats and provide new features to use.

ENEMIES
As the Detective moves further into the wilderness more and more enemies begin to appear. At first it'll be just Cultists wielding firearms but slowly more and more horrific, undead creatures begin to take stage. Each enemy has a unique style and a weapon to counter them.

LEVEL LAYOUT
One spot that CULTIC shines (for me at least) is the level designs. The majority of levels are vast and open, with plenty of spaces to explore as well as small linear sections to help guide you on the right track.

OVERALL
If you're a fan of boomer shooters and want to add some horror to your usual run-and-gun fun then I highly recommend CULTIC.

(EARLY ACCESS REVIEW FOR 12/07/2022)

SYNOPSIS
HROT is a first-person-shooter set in the wonderfully grim and bleak 1986 Czechoslovakia. You have no name and your only goal is to destroy the hostiles that reside there.

GAMEPLAY
It's traditional FPS goodness with some thriller elements thrown in. Run, shoot, find secrets and kill enemies as you explore various locations. Weapons are your usual pistols, shotguns, submachine guns to the explosive grenade launchers and lightning canons.

Your enemy variety is quite expansive, from the Soldiers, Mutated Animals, Cultists and a horrific combination of all 3 thrown together.

PRESENTATION
Don't be put off by the all brown / grey style, it actually works REALLY well for this kind of game. The feeling of dread, despair and grim shines through in the best way as the feeling of "something horrible happened here" starts to creep in.

MISC
If you've finished the story and want more to do, you always have secret hunting, endless levels and of course Steam Achievements to work through.

This game also doesn't demand much in terms of hardware. I was able to play the demo relatively smoothly on my laptop without having to alter any settings.

Overall I recommend this game if you're in the mood for a suspenseful shooter.

RUNDOWN
People Playground is a sandbox experimentation game. Spawn in AI, Weapons, Objects, Vehicles and do whatever you can think up.

GAMEPLAY
Experimentation is the name of the game and you're given more than enough tools to do so. You can kill the AI Humans in sadistic, cruel and inventive ways using the weapons and tools the game gives you.

Weapons range from the basic blunt and bladed weapons (baseball bats, swords, chainsaws) to firearms (pistols, shotguns, machine guns, crossbows, flamethrowers) to explosives (grenades, missiles, atomic bombs) to godly powers (create fire, electricity and alter gravity at a whim).

If you're more incline to make torture devices, the game is loaded with a lot of logic and gadgetry. Rig up triggers, sensors, pressure plates and tripwires to set off weapons and explosives.

You're not just limited to a single, flat plane. There are tons of environments that mix up the layout to allow for new ideas. An environment that is flat, an environment that has a giant slope, an environment that has a giant body of water and lava, an environment that has floating platforms and even the void are some of the numerous locations you can experiment around in.

STORY
There isn't any lore or story to speak of (at the time of this review). You're simply just doing whatever you want within the confines of this game. The only objectives to strive for are achievements if you're into that.

UPDATES
So far this game is going to have continued support for a while, with tons of new weapons, items and environments as well as features being added with no end in sight.

OVERALL
If you're a creative individual that enjoys trial and error and experimentation then this is the game for you!

Since the full release is nearing, I'm going to give my Early Access review and then update it in post (05.03.2022)

EARLY ACESS REVIEW

GAMEPLAY
NR is played in two different parts. First is the main part, which are the Nightmares.
- It is first-person-shooter action in its finest. Hip-fire, aiming down sights, full 360 degree viewing and plenty of verticality instead of flat ground
- Each level is randomly generated, using pre-set rooms to construct the map
- Monsters and Loot are strewn about, hidden in chests, destructible and secret walls
- The game has a healthy amount of weapons to choose from: Pistols, Assault Rifles, Shotguns, Rocket Launchers, Axes, Swords, Sniper Rifles, Revolvers, Magic Books that cast spells and Staffs of various elements. Each weapon itself has also different stats that makes them better than the previous one, allowing you to pick up more and more powerful weapons as you advance through the levels
- The game does have a Perk System which can be used to improve your character. The majority are stat increases (More Health, Hold more Ammo, etc) but there are some that grant new abilities to navigate the levels with, especially during the later sections as the maps get bigger and bigger

The second is the Asylum part.
- In between Nightmares, you can explore the Asylum which acts as a sort of break area, where you can discover more lore about the Patient and the asylum
- After Episode 1, Map exploration turns into a mini hub that allows you to choose which level you want to visit next. Each area has its own theme with different enemies and bosses

STORY
You control the Patient, a young woman that has been sent to an asylum due to their aggression and violent tendencies. As you progress the story, you'll learn more about the Patient through notes left by an unidentified doctor who is monitoring her, as well as discover the secrets that lurk in the asylum.

ART
It's high res pixel art in all its glory. The world and character are well detailed, the lighting effects element affects help it pop and the blood splatter and destructible just amplify the feeling of carnage. The music is, of course amazing and the sound design for the weapons are grand.

FINAL NOTES
If you enjoy FPS with an element of randomly generated goodness, then this is the game for you!

'Dusk '82' is a prequel to the amazing Dusk. Players once again resume the role of The Intruder, this time set before the events of the main game.

GAMEPLAY
Unlike the fast paced, frantic first-person-shooter of Dusk, Dusk '82 is a top-down puzzle and mini shooter. In order to complete the level you must kill all the enemies and reach the exit. Returning favourites such as Black Phillips, Leathernecks and Wizards return along with the iconic Shotgun, Riveter and Crossbow to help you despatch foes. Destroy the environment, move blocks, activate switches and collect keys as you blaze past the levels.

Once you've beaten the campaign you'll be able to continue the adventure with the Level Editor. Very easy to use, quick to load in and out, and a nifty how-to guide will have you pumping out levels in no time. If you're not the creative type then you can use the Steam Workshop to browse and play user made levels.

ART STYLE
Much like the low-res polygon of Dusk, Dusk '82 goes even further by having ASCI styled graphics. All of the characters are pixelated, the chiptune soundtrack is wonderful and overall is pleasing to play.

STORY
All of the levels are accompanied by intro text prepares us for what's ahead. It also ties up the events leading up to Dusk joyfully.

OVERALL
I absolutely love this game and have no doubt the editor and community will keep me coming back for a long time.

5 / 5

Battleblock Theatre is a 2D Platformer. In it you play as an unnamed person that was a crew member aboard the S.S. Friendship, lead by the Friendliest Friend to one and all Hatty Hattington. After a particularly nasty storm causes the Friendship to drift off course and crash onto an unknown island that is inhabited by deadly Cats that force the Player (and the other prisoners) to participate in deadly plays and theatre performances to the delight of their Cat Captors and Hatty, who is forced to join them.

GAMEPLAY
The game is a standard platformer. Run, jump, double jump, climb and move blocks around as you avoid the various lethal and deadly hazards scattered about (Buzzsaws, Lasers, Water, Cats). Levels are as simple as get from Point A to Point B with a few minor puzzle solving elements but near the end they devolve into reflex-based endurance challenges which aren't INSANE but do require you to properly focus.

Throughout the level you can collect Gems and Yarn Balls. Gems are used to buy more prisoners that you can select. This is entirely cosmetic as all prisoners operate exactly the same. Yarn however is used to buy weapons that you can use in the levels. There is a good selection of weapons to fluff about with and each one can kill Cat Guards in comedically funny ways and if you're crafty enough can be used to get through the levels or reach Gems that would otherwise require a longer route.

ART
The game continues the same refined art style Dan has used since Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers. It is bright, cartoony and some of the levels are nice to look at. The entire world is made up of blocks and the world follows a grid format. Certain Enemies / Hazards ignore this rule but for the most part everything is indeed blocky.

MISC

MULTIPLAYER
If you love playing with people (local or online) BBT has options for you. Play the Campaign with another friend in a separate Story Mode that actually caters to 2 people and has puzzles that require it instead of just having a friend in the single player portion or gather up to 3 friends and duke it out in the various multiplayer versus modes. Standard Capture the Flag, King of the Hill and many other games exist and are a great way to have friendly competition or kill time if you need something to do.

LEVEL EDITOR
The game does feature a Level Editor that has everything the main game has as well as Steam Workshop Support. Create Single Player, Co-Op and Versus Mode levels that you can publish and play other community made maps.

Overall I highly recommend this game if you want a funny and lighthearted story that you can enjoy by yourself or with another friend