Update #3

A typing adventure game? I have a soft spot for unique games, and this one turned out to be very good. The origami-style environments are a pleasure to explore and the narration creates an aura of mystery. I wouldn’t say that the plot is particularly compelling, but at least it provides some sense of direction. Much of the game’s playtime is spent in dungeons, each of which is visually distinct and has its own type of puzzle. The typing mechanic is used during exploration to interact with the environment, such as by freezing bodies of water.

Typing also plays a key role in combat, and it’s here that Epistory really shines. Battles involve facing off against swarms of insect enemies, each defeated by typing one or more words. During your journey you’ll acquire four elements with unique effects in battle. Of course, some enemies are only susceptible to specific elements. Having to rapidly switch between elements to handle a large horde of approaching enemies adds tension to an otherwise relaxing game. I found the difficulty to be consistent throughout, and the encounters offered a decent challenge. The game is supposed to adjust its difficulty based on your typing speed, so I expect this would remain true for others.

You don’t have to be a fast typist in order to complete the main story. You’ll be fine as long as you can type without looking at the keyboard. For those seeking more of a challenge, optional monster nests are scattered around the overworld and an arena mode is unlocked after the main story.

I had some decent fun with this steampunk puzzle platformer. The protagonist pilots a Scarabeus—a giant steam-powered ball. By docking into special stations it gains the ability to shoot out smaller balls à la pinball or minigolf. There are various types of balls; for instance, one creates a ramp if it hits a wall. This forms the game’s puzzle element, and the goal is usually to make one of your balls activate a switch. The puzzles aren’t particularly complex but can require some trial-and-error. The Scarabeus gains new ball-shooting abilities regularly throughout the game’s 18 levels. I enjoyed the puzzles and found the stages varied enough to remain interesting.

In later levels Steamroll starts to place a greater emphasis on platforming. This typical involves gingerly maneuvering the Scarabeus through a series of cliffs, ramps and thin ledges. Reminder that the Scarabeus is a giant metal globe propelled by gusts of hot air; it controls about as well as you’d expect. I really wasn’t a fan of this element and just wanted to get back to the minigolf.

Steamroll gets a tentative recommendation despite some flaws. It’s short and a bit buggy, but implements its unique features well. If you like minigolf games, you should get a few hours of fun out of it.

Broken Age starts off slow but promising. The setting is creative, the animation excellent, and the story intriguing. Puzzles are logical but a bit on the simple side. The ability to switch at will between two characters with different settings keeps things moving in case a solution isn’t obvious. I was interested to find out where the story would go and how the two protagonists were related.

Then the game enters its second Act, and everything seems to go downhill. The story starts to follow a more generic path, and most of the mystery established in the first Act is essentially invalidated. There’s some characterization that makes little sense. The puzzles take a dip in quality as well. There’s a lot more backtracking and trial-and-error involved. I found a certain group of puzzles to be especially frustrating and illogical from a story perspective. They require one protagonist to employ knowledge gained by the other, even though they have no way to communicate.

I ended up being unsatisfied with how the story was resolved and found the game lackluster overall.