Recent reviews by The Bell Tolls

Cute incremental game. Can be finished in under 2 hours, but it's fun!

As much as I love MapleStory for the nostalgia, the unique style, and the generally cool looking combat/classes, I simply can't recommend this to others. The company behind it, Nexon, is far too greedy and does not adequately listen to player feedback. I understand that they're a business and their goal is to make money, but they often far overstep their bounds and just hurt the players.

That said, the game appears to be heading in a different direction by breaking away from the Korean version and getting its own unique updates. A lot of positive sounding changes have been put forward by Inkwell, the game's director.

At this time I still wouldn't fully recommend MapleStory, but that may likely change in the future.

When it comes to factory games, Dyson Sphere Program stands shoulder to shoulder with Factorio. Despite being early access, it is very much a fully fledged game which you can easily sink hundreds of hours into. It doesn't have combat (yet), but has everything else you'd expect. Assembly machines, belts, blueprints, sorters, research trees, and infinite ways to build your factories.

If you like this genre, you have to play this.

There is no other space game that has a piloting system like Elite's, it is in a class of its own. If flying your ship is an important part of your space game, look no further than Elite. While it may not have the fantastical worlds of No Man's Sky or the narrative style of Starfield, it is the only game that lets you and explore the entire Milky Way Galaxy (with actual real life astronomical discoveries, no less!). Its flight model and and realism are second-to-none.

You're going to need to use third party tools to make the most of the Galaxy, and probably an extra monitor or two, but Elite is an experience you really can't find in any other game.

Did you like Undertale?

Do you like rhythm games?

If you answered yes to both questions, you should pick Everhood up immediately. It's an amazing rhythm game with varied, excellent music, creative fights, and offers a very good challenge if you're up for it.

The story, while being too vague at times and overstaying its welcome a bit, brings up many interesting questions and dilemmas involving life, death, and the implications of immortality. It drops the player into a moral quandary where your decisions never feel like the right one, but (for the most part), your efforts are rewarded in the end.

The battle mechanics are simple, but the way things can alter and change between fights has to be experienced to really be appreciated, and after completion, you can return to any fight to replay it and go for a high score, or a no-hit attempt.

Extremely good, one of the best indie games I've ever played, highly recommended. Even if the story doesn't do it for you, the rhythm game mechanics certainly will.

Short but sweet, Helltaker is a little puzzle game with a lot of character. It has a simple story backed by a cast of great looking and unique characters, who each have distinct personalities. While the time to finish and get all the achievements can be under two hours, it makes the absolute most out of it. Combined with the catchy music from Mittsies, Helltaker is an enjoyable experience with a world I would love to see expanded on.

It costs $0 and has demon girls. What are you waiting for?

Great co-op title that is even fun in solo mode. All the classes are fun to play, and the randomized cave layouts make every cave adventure different. Combine that with a steady stream of updates, and you've got yourself a great PVE co-op experience.

Rock and Stone!

In short, Doki Doki Literature Club is a visual novel that breaks all the rules and pushes the medium to its limit, and does so with flying colors. It's very evident that a lot of care and attention was put into it's creation, and at the low price of free, it's something I believe every anime fan or visual novel enthusiast should try. While it may not be suitable for the squeamish, it presents its horror in a sophisticated way that, for the most part, doesn't rely on loud noises or obnoxious jump scares to spook you.

DDLC was a very enjoyable experience, and I recommend going for the "true" ending. It's worth it. My biggest problem is that I can't play it for the first time again.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger was a surprisingly fun game, all things considered. The story, while being a simple tale of revenge, did a great job of incorporating iconic figures from the American Frontier, such as Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and others. The gameplay itself is your standard FPS, with extra twists like bullet time, quicktime events to dodge bullets, and a heavy focus on the classic western duels. There is also a bit of an RPG element, where you gain experience and level up to unlock different abilities, ranging from longer bullet time to special weapons.

All in all, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is enjoyable to play, but the story is short enough that it leaves something to be desired. It does allow a harder difficult upon completion, and an arcade mode, but the replayability is very limited.

If you're a fan of FPS games, western shootouts, and reactive gunplay I'd recommend picking this up whenever it's on sale.