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Recent reviews by Happiness Officer

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Showing 1-10 of 65 entries
No one has rated this review as helpful yet
96.3 hrs on record (42.9 hrs at review time)
You might like if: You want a cute, cartoony deck-builder that also tickles the Pokemon-esque playing-your-favourite-creatures goodness. Especially promising if you loved Monster Train and want something with a bit more upfront bite.
Duration: 20-40hrs+ to unlock everything. Solid replay value on top of this.
Difficulty: Challenging, but the sweet-spot of reliably satisfying once you know what you're doing.
Feels like: Monster Train on more of a chess board where you can freely move people around. Into the Breach were it a deckbuilder.

Wildfrost is to Monster Train, what Monster Train was to Slay to Spire: A brilliant creation that builds on many of the beloved mechanics whilst proudly standing alone as a fantastic title in itself. Here, the focus is even more on your creatures on the board... pushing further into the importance of formations and timing.

Whilst you play your turns, each character on the board also has their own turn counter (rather than all acting at the end of every turn). It has a fun auto-battler feel whilst very much keeping you in full control: You can recall companions or move them around your side of the board (critical in sweet combos or shielding people from damage) and help with action cards of your own. Whilst it can sound a bit much, it's very easy to get to grips with... yet the subtle nuances of formations, timing, recalls and redraws give this game the kind of sublime tactical depth that I loved in Into the Breach. For example, your hand doesn't discard at the end of each turn. You either play X turns before you can re-draw up for free, or spend a turn to immediately do so... and the latter is more important than it may sound at first.

The difficulty makes for a solid and satisfying challenge once you're up to speed, and seems to keep the RNG nicely in check - even in spite of some dud items. However, the lack of difficulty variation does mean that it can feel a bit brutal whilst you're finding your feet. On the whole though, I'd say the difficulty feels more consistent than its counterparts: Ranging from 'tight win' to 'awe-inspiring steamroll'... even if it does chuck you in at the deep end.

Additionally, the game is just plain gorgeous. The visuals are delightful and the design is charmingly fun, tongue-in-cheek and fresh: Both for your folks and the bad guys. The OST is also possibly one of the most cleverly creative works I've heard in ages... I can only describe it as "Wintry Tribal / Nepalese". It sets the scene perfectly and the boss level music is pumping enough to make those fights very exciting.

Cute, fun, brutal. Glorious indie goodness.
Posted 27 November, 2023. Last edited 27 November, 2023.
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34.7 hrs on record (9.2 hrs at review time)
Early Access Review
You might like if: You have a good group of 4 friends and want something scary yet tongue-in-cheek, where succeeding feels fantastic and failing can be a source of hilarity.
Feels like: Amnesia: The Dark Descent with multiplayer. Left4Dead with next-to-no weapons and more dead-ends.

Lethal Company's reputation is well-deserved in that it might not boast a lot (it's a one-person show, after all), but what it has is outstanding and excellently crafted. If you have the right group of friends, this is a very solid bet.

Firstly, much like Amnesia, the scariness ticks all the good boxes in being a thriller more than a horror. There's blood and creepy monsters, but it doesn't lazily rely on the overused mechanic of gratuitous deaths to create the "horror" (at least, I haven't run into any yet). You have jump scares, scary noises in the dark and (most importantly) sometimes nothing at all to bust the predictability of "gee wizz, what's going to jump out this time?". To be in a group and turn around to find nothing but a blood splatter and your friend's torch... sublime. As someone who can't stand horror, I'm having a blast.

Next, the co-op is well balanced so that working together pays off, but it's not too forced either. You can still mess around or have your one-person-army heroic moments, and being the person on intel can also be the most important... so everyone can always be meaningfully involved.

Lastly, the proximity voice chat is glorious. You can only hear your friends if you're nearby or over the radio... and are alive, of course. It's the sudden silence as your colleague disappears into water or you hear a nearby roar that really makes this both nerve-racking and hilarious. And whilst the remaining survivors are frantically calling out over the radio... all the dead folk can sit back in spectator mode and laugh their butts off until they respawn next level.

The game runs well, the net-code seems very reliable... all in all, I don't know how much there'll be once the novelty wears off, but the sheer amount of laughs and stories has already paid for itself by the bucket load. Very pleasantly surprised.
Posted 27 November, 2023.
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20.4 hrs on record (20.3 hrs at review time)
You might like if: You want a pleasant story-driven card-game which features meaningful progression as you go along. This may especially be a winner if you enjoyed the likes of Triple Triad from Final Fantasy 8
Duration: 10-15 hrs
Difficulty: Casual but scales well

Card City Nights was a surprisingly fun casual romp. My biggest fear was that, being of a casual fare, it'd be a cakewalk. Not so. Sure, if you pick up the mechanics quickly and keep your deck honed, you should be able to maintain a pretty consistent win-streak... but I was very pleasantly surprised to see that, from about the half-way mark, the opponents kept my on my toes and often made me work for those victories.

The basic gist is that each player plays on their own 3x3 board and places cards to make combos. You link cards by matching their corresponding arrows (it's easier to understand when you see it...). Where most cards only have 1 or 2 arrows, it creates an interesting tactical challenge to keep your deck versatile and place cards carefully so as not to paint yourself in a corner where you're unable to make any links; a common problem especially when you can disable opponent's cards, rendering them dead weight unless revived. It's elegantly simple but the various card types and effects tend to keep things pretty fresh.

The deck development is also pretty cool. Unlike Triple Triad, it's not just about stuffing your deck with every over-powered beast and steamrolling everything. The high-powered cards often need to augment a solid foundation of the basic cards (of which you can field more), so it created a really nice organic growth to your deck as you go along: Patching holes in your loadout or seeing what you can swap out to field that really neat card you picked up. The only downside is that, once you start getting a good deck down, there isn't much of an incentive to try other builds.

The humour's silly and good for a few chuckles. Combined with the uncomplicated, good-natured story and night-time setting, it ultimately makes this a charming wind-down for when you just want to get away from things for a while. It's the gaming equivalent of a book before bed.... only with more sentient turnips. The music also wins the prize for the best music I never thought I'd want: It's an electro-jazz, which was fun enough but seemed 'meh' for the most part. Once I finished the game though, I couldn't stop humming it.

All in all, "Uncomplicated" is the best way to describe this lovely little title. It's not out to make waves, but simply serves as a damn good sidekick to your other games. A casual feel-good game that hits the spot.
Posted 28 March, 2020. Last edited 28 March, 2020.
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10 people found this review helpful
12.9 hrs on record (11.7 hrs at review time)
You might like if: You find boss fights to be the best bit of many games

If, like me, you'd often find levels to be mere formalities to skip through to get to the more exciting bit - The boss fights - then this game might be right up your street. It is an intense, white-knuckle romp of classic boss fight-goodness: Duking it out with an overpowered entity with little more than your wits.

What I love is that it's very much a skills game. The bosses aren't unfair - they just need sussing out. It's all about spotting their quirks and then executing it with precision. The good news is that you have infinite lives, so there is no penalty for dying. And you can also go back and pick whatever (unlocked) boss you want to fight. It's a pleasant combo of being intense without being punishing. No "Ha! You lose. There goes 2 hours of work".

For a tiny, one-man indie game... it is sublime. The 10+ bosses are unique and ruthlessly challenging. Each with a their own collection of attacks which they unleash seemingly at random - so you can never quite truly 'memorise' a boss, but more learn how to handle each attack (and give yourself enough space so you're not pummelled by the next one!). The mechanics are charmingly varied where some are puzzles, some come with friends... and others are just downright vicious. (Yes, Silenced, I'm looking at you)

It's the sort of game that induces a rage-sulk against a "totally unfair boss" only for you to return 5 minutes later determined not to be one-upped by it. Each time you hit it, you get its health just that little bit lower than last time... until that serene moment where you actually crack it and are left in that stunned silence of "ommigod... I beat it... I actually beat it!" and needing to go make a cuppa to deal with the adrenaline dump and shaking hands.

For reference, one of the worst bosses took me around 60 attempts over a few days.

You can probably get through the base game in around ~6 hours - but there's plenty more waiting for you in terms of challenges, the infamous "easy mode" and perhaps a naughty secret or two... 11+hours in, and I'm still duking it out with the harder modes - so you easily get your money's worth.

Aesthetically as well, the game nails it. The bosses and colours contrast brilliantly, right down to the wonderful character portraits in the stats screen. The sound effects are also fitting and the music outstanding - Furnace and Totem's, in particular, are just epic - Just the sort of thundering backing you'll need!

Only thing to beware of it that it can get quite graphically demanding, so you ideally want a decent-ish rig to run it. Fullscreen can also slow it down if you have a slightly unusual resolution.

Very highly recommended if you're the sort who wants a short, sharp title to really slug it out with.
Posted 7 April, 2018. Last edited 7 April, 2018.
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1 person found this review helpful
35.3 hrs on record
You might like if: You love the idea of the South Park series being playable.

You can be forgiven for a holding healthy dose of scepticism here, as game spin-offs from TV shows tend to be eye-wateringly bad wallet leeches at best.

But not this time.

The Stick of Truth defies the odds for 2 key reasons: Firstly, even without the South Park element, this would still be an accomplished turn-based RPG. Secondly: Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the show's creators) had executive input over this, meaning that the game is a perfect rendition of the show; whether it's the writing, sharp humour or the visuals. You are, in effect, playing through an episode.

Obviously then, if you dislike the show - turn away now. If the small shopping list of reasons why this is an 18 game isn't a hint, this game takes no prisoners. Simply put: You need to be cool with attacking Nazi-Zombie aborted foetuses.

If you can stomach that, then the rest of the game will be peachy. There's a huge amount of laugh-out-loud moments to be had, aided by the cracking dialogue, lovable characters and obscene number of references to the show... And Randy Marsh. Everything is better with Randy Marsh. It's a fun story that parodies the RPG genre as much itself, frequently hinting how it's just kids in costumes playing humans vs elves.

The game itself is a turn-based action-RPG. What's neat is that you need quick button presses to pull off attacks and block incoming ones; with special moves obviously requiring a bit more. It adds a nice level of skill to the game, even though I still frequently manage to skewer Kenny onto a unicorn. There's a great selection of weapons and kit too, providing a surprisingly wide arrange of abilities, particularly where some weapons can hit a whole column, pierce targets or work best when there are multiple enemies on screen. That said, the character classes are a tad disappointing. Though they have some starting differences, there's not much change in terms of playstyle, especially where you tend to swap out your class-specific kit for the generic in-game pickups anyway. All 5 special moves tend to follow the same pattern as well: Single target damage, stun attack, defence down... and so on.

And for all its variety, it does err on the side of easy, even with the difficulty cranked to the top. With ridiculously overpowered damage-over-time effects like bleed/fire (we're talking shreds 50% HP here), any veteran of the RPG genre will likely have little trouble aside from the odd fight or 2. It's not a challenging game, but the interactive combat at least makes it engaging and fun. You can get a decent 10-15 hours out of a playthrough, which can feel a little short, but is at least engrossing and enjoyable enough to warrant multiple playthroughs to try new things out.

All in all, a very rewarding must-have for those who love the show.
Posted 30 June, 2017. Last edited 30 June, 2017.
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2 people found this review helpful
1.7 hrs on record
You might like if: You want a high-octane, action-packed arcade-style game.

Never thought a brick-breaker game could be adrenaline-filled? Guess again.

I'm on the fence with Shatter though. It's fast-paced, slick and has a killer soundtrack, but I feel the gameplay is a little watered down by the fancy extras they've introduced. In many respects, I'd say it's more akin to those side-scrolling arcade shooters than a brick-breaker, so feel it'd appeal more to those fans.

A curious modern take on the Breakout-style games (or 1-player Pong). It has the familiar 'bounce the photon to knock out blocks'... only with tons of explosions. Because who doesn't like massive explosions? The ability to gamble your lives by adding multiple photons to the field is also pretty neat. Artistically, it's a masterpiece and looks exceptionally sleek and sharp. Stunningly intense for an arcade game. And if there's one thing I can't fault... dat soundtrack. DAYAM. Talk about getting you pumped.

Ironically though, in trying fill an ordinarily laid-back brick-breaker with 7 metric tonnes of OOMPH... the actual brick-breaking is, by-and-large, shoved to the wayside. You get all sorts of new block-types, but tend not to notice them as you can just shred through it all in under a minute with the ability to push/pull the photon and unleash a Gatling-gun special attack. You can get so swept up in the slow-mo explosions that you look back and realise you have no idea what just happened. As such, the regular levels are pretty much hollow formalities leading to the boss fights. Oh yeah, there are boss fights! And they are, at least, pretty well-made and nicely challenging.

In many respects, I feel the game was limited in being a brick-breaker. The devs have tried to spruce something up which doesn't lend itself well to HIGH-OCTANE-PLUGMEINANDCRANKUPDATVOLUME meaning that, in order to fit the look-and-feel, it had to be warped so far beyond comprehension that it's not particularly recognisable any more. So perhaps a bit more look than substance, but you cannot fault the developers for trying. Maybe not one for those who want an in-depth brick-breaker. But as a pumped, upbeat arcade-style game with sublime graphics... yeah, why not.
Posted 28 June, 2017. Last edited 28 June, 2017.
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1 person found this review helpful
2.6 hrs on record (2.6 hrs at review time)
You might like if: You enjoy large-scale, fast-paced combat overseen by straightforward, yet in-depth empire-management.

The legend returneth, as seen on Time Commanders and a nostalgic field-day for many a gamer, who likely unanimously agree that the proud and wise Pharaoh can go do one.

This was ultimately the Total War series upping the ante and becoming more action-oriented. The pace had quickened with battles being upbeat and lively, augmented with thundering music and heroic war horns as your cavalry smashes into the enemy lines. Even smaller battles can be scrappy and intense as you eagerly wait to see which lines crumble first. In many respects, Rome: Total War proudly surfs the Rule of Cool - The AI might be a bit thick at times, the pathing can be annoying and historical accuracy might be blurred... but screw it, it looks and feels fantastic. Plenty of fun to be had if you're out looking for epic army action.

This is probably my favourite title, as the factions are so diverse and interesting. It's at a time where nations had wildly different technologies, so you get to enjoy the unique feels of Gallic barbarian hordes, Carthaginian elephants, Greek Phalanxes and, obviously, Roman centurions (yes, you get to Testudo later in the game. And yes, it looks damn cool.)

The map management is straightforward but equally enjoyable and engaging. It provides a suitable collection of challenges - managing income, deciding what's most pressing to build and quashing revolts - without being overly convoluted. Everything is close enough to keep it engaging, but sufficiently sprawling to get that sense of 'stretching your lines thin' as you conquer more lands. The campaign is a suitably challenging slog, with everything starting to crack as you hit 30 provinces... By 40 you're getting desperate. Though it's annoying that you can only select between either a 50-province slog or 15. A mid-range campaign would have been a nice touch, in my opinion.

And don't worry that you can only choose Roman factions to begin with. You unlock more as you go along. And, as a neat extra, you can enable the rest (why they weren't playable, I don't know) with a simple, safe property file tweak.

Whilst arguably superior to Rome 2, whether newer players of Total War (i.e. Shogun 2 / Warhammer) will enjoy this one is tricky. It might feel like a step backwards, not helped where some of the graphics were not designed scale to larger screens (in its defence, it was created in 2004). In many respects, this one's likely better for nostalgia or newcomers. It's certainly one of the more approachable.

And as a neat addition: The game also comes with Barbarian Invasion. Far from an expansion, this is an entirely standalone game with its own campaign, factions, and units; covering the fall of Rome and tidal wave of roving hordes from the east. Whilst it didn't quite strike the same chord as the vanilla game, it shares the same richness and badass soundtrack... and is a freebie.
Posted 28 June, 2017.
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3 people found this review helpful
30.1 hrs on record (16.2 hrs at review time)
You might like if: You want a zen-tastic puzzler which is both challenging and relaxing in equal measure.

The epitome of all things zen and the pinnacle of the Quell series. When this game omms, the rest fall silent (hmm... that sounded better in my head... ah well...)

With a hefty 200+ levels, this title boasts around x2-3 more content than any of the other Quell titles. Suffice to say you're going to be busy for a while. At 16 hours I'm just about to head into the final section which, I confess, is a shame as it's been an outstanding journey to melt into. The puzzles have been tough, yet the atmosphere gorgeous. A perfect combo for any puzzler.

Like before, you're guiding a raindrop around a board to collect all of the pearls. The catch is that, when moved, you keep moving in that direction until you hit a wall. With all of the combined mechanics from the previous titles (plus a few new ones, I believe) there's a huge amount to cover and figure out, leaving very little repetition across the stack. It's paced perfectly to give you plenty of time to get a good helping of each element before they introduce the next one... and then, just to be horrible, start combining them...

In an inspired move, this version has taken on a Japanese theme. Whether it's the pastel colours, candles or backgrounds; everything has been intricately tailored to be both relaxing and inviting. The serene soundtrack from before is still there, augmented with a superb new title track, ultimately giving you one hell of a fluffy duvet of a game.

If you want something to work your brain but equally let you switch off, then you really can't go wrong with this one.
Posted 28 June, 2017.
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No one has rated this review as helpful yet
8.2 hrs on record (1.7 hrs at review time)
You might like if: You enjoyed the original Quell and love laid-back zen puzzlers.

If it ain't broke...

The second instalment of the enchanting Quell series, offering up another neat collection of 80+ levels. It retains the wonderfully familiar mechanics, style and gorgeous soundtrack from before, but augments them with some fun new elements. Some levels now involve multiple rain drops, and others have gold blocks which can only be removed if you find a golden pearl first. They blend seamlessly into the existing game, enriching an already serene puzzler.

The difficulty has scaled nicely, creating a very natural progression from the first title - ultimately making it hard not to love if you enjoyed the first one.
Posted 28 June, 2017.
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2 people found this review helpful
16.9 hrs on record (3.1 hrs at review time)
You might like if: You like gentle-paced 3D visual/spatial puzzlers.

Kula World anyone?

A very unassuming, yet enjoyable marble-rolling 3D puzzler. I tend to forget it's there, then go back to it and go "oh hey, I forgot this was pretty neat!" - You basically roll around the level with the aim to collect all of the sunflowers to unlock the exit. Why a ball need sunflowers is anybody's guess... But screw it, it looks nice.

The challenge, of course, is in the myriad of tiles introduced along the way. Some collapse after you have used them once, others have spikes that can be deactivated with a switch... and the classic: Ice which keeps you rolling in the same direction - often off the edge of the board.

But this is only half the challenge. When rolling over curved blocks, your orientation and gravity shift with it too, adding a neat dynamic to the game. Sometimes the only way to reach a certain spot above you is to roll around so that it ends up below you, allowing gravity to do its thing. Add into this the regular additions of new blocks, and this makes for a decent puzzler that picks up difficulty pretty nicely - many levels often needing a few attempts to fully crack. I'm not even halfway, so estimate you should be able to get at least a good 10 hours out of this one. Not bad at all for a puzzler.

It looks nice but could perhaps be a bit 'cleaner' / more zen (akin to the likes of Quell, Patterna and Hexcells). Right now it feels like it's not sure what its design should be... particularly in combining HD and retro into some sort of arcade machine. I'm not a big fan of the retro music and sounds, which leaves it feeling a little jarring. That said, the pixelated blocks changing into beautiful HD as you roll near them is an interesting touch and makes for a nice extra to 'paint' the whole level so to speak.

So it's a bit slow to get into and not as engrossing as other head-scratchers out there. But the puzzles are plenty and well-crafted enough to give you something to sink your teeth into. Overall, I'd say it's a well-balanced mix of trial-and-error with sufficient "oh! I think I've spotted how to do it!" to keep it rewarding.

Note: The metallic ball does not contain an infinity stone. I've tried looking.
Posted 27 June, 2017. Last edited 27 June, 2017.
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Showing 1-10 of 65 entries