April 2023
Steam
- Syberia
10 hours playtime
no achievements
- Syberia II
6 hours playtime
no achievements
- The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
1 hour playtime
no achievements
- Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders
6 hours playtime
Game Pass
- Ori and the Blind Forest
- Townscaper
- Sniper Elite 5
- Vampire Survivors
- Citizen Sleeper
- Syberia: Mostly (internally) logical adventure game, marred by an excess of dead space to traverse and a muddy palette which can camouflage interactables/pickups. For instance, at one point I had to travel 17 scenes for the next step, watch a cutscene, travel another 6 scenes for a pickup and a conversation, and then travel another 16 scenes or so back to where I started from. I understand that this was probably done to make the game “cinematic” and “epic” but on many occasions I kept thinking “If this were an old-style pixel art adventure these X screens would be a single screen. At least double-click runs.
- Syberia II: Much like the first game. The final puzzle required a correlation I missed entirely.
- The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog: Very mediocre visual novel broken up by linear isometric action minigames… but short, free and unexpected,
- The ABC Murders: Stuck to the broad strokes of the novel (which I remember the details of) but still a fun adventure game.
- Ori and the Blind Forest: Somewhat frustrating metroidvania - I did not enjoy the periodic “race” segments or the storytelling when it got heavy handed. But the light-touch storytelling was good, and the exploration and abilities enjoyable. I also mostly played the sequel, but what must be pretty close to the final level is just frustrating.
- Townscaper: I was expecting more of a game (a la Dorfromantik) but this is more of a toy. I would happily play (with) a sequel that had more variety/control.
- Sniper Elite 5: Good stealth/action game. Played on normal difficulty which gives high scope zoom levels, target marking, a focus mode to identify nearby enemies, and a shot-reticuleduring Empty Breath. After completion, had a taste of Authentic difficulty, which is a completely different experience with none of the previously listed niceties - I might go back and play some more of that.
- Vampire Survivors: It’s hard to say when a roguelite is really “beaten”, but I finished a few levels, and unlocked a bunch of new characters and items. Fun but vacuous - there’s some strategy in what you choose and update, and what is effectively bullet-hell navigation at times, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much more here (unlike Binding of Isaac, which is my mainstay roguelite)
- Citizen Sleeper: Quite a good narrative game – I thought it was an inkle (80 days, Heaven’s Gate) game from the “voice”, but it’s not. Possibly unbalanced, since my first playthrough was in position to finish in multiple different ways.
Some really solid games there; thank you for the update. I really liked those first two Syberia games (though they do show their age in places). And Ori of course was so memorable. I hated the chase sequences, and I was playing on Easy because I’m a noob. I still almost ragequit at one point, but I’m glad I stuck with it.
Yeah, Townscaper does look pretty simplistic, but it’s still on my wishlist because it looks fun for what it is.
Hey Trent, saw your comment and remembered I have a spare key for Townscaper from a bundle I bought! Would you like it? (Hope it’s ok to offer a key like this on here)
Aw, that’s sweet of you, thanks. I don’t think there are any rules around here against kindness. :D I’ve been known to do the same kind of thing.
My disclaimer would have to be that I haven’t been playing Steam games lately…nothing since the very end of 2022! I’ve been playing on the Swtich. That said, I’m almost finished with the games I’ve been playing there, so I imagine I’ll be heading back to Steam soon. I think it’s also something my daughter might want to try out. Thank you!
Yep, I was going to suggest it might be something fun for the kiddo as well! I’ll add you on Steam so that I can send you the key there via chat :-) No rush or pressure to play it, it’ll be there for you when the mood strikes! What have you been playing on Switch lately?
I’ve almost finished everything I want to do in Animal Crossing New Horizons, and am fairly close in Elder Scrolls: Blades as well.
Wow, I commend your dedication for sticking with Animal Crossing! I was really into it when I first got it, but then burned out around 60 hours when I got tired of always running out of inventory space XD
Sweet!
Congratulations on all of your assassinations! Great month, Ori and the blind forest, Townscaper, Vampire Survivors - and hey, the reviews for The Murder of Sonic are looking really unexpectedly nice? Did you have a favorite?
Thanks, though Townscaper and Murder of Sonic are both very short, and a few of the other games are mid-length. I’d rank Sniper Elite 5 first then Ori then Citizen Sleeper. I’d guess that there’s a lot of people who like the Sonic extended family - maybe more through one of the many animated series than the games. Anyway, it’s free, so you can make your own mind up =)