stef

Mid July Update!

 

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

11 hours, 11 of 34 achievements
4/5 The best bar around!

I played this for my Play or Pay: Medium game challenge

VA-11 Hall-A is a cyberpunk bartending visual novel where you mix drinks and listen to your customers vent as you learn more about them and the world around you.

You play as Jill, a bartender in a bar VA-11 Hall-A (Valhalla). The gameplay is mostly reading text while mixing drinks. It's a very casual game and it's fun to get to know the characters and learn about the world around you.

The characters are very interesting and the dialogue is unique. I didn't quite like all of the dialogue. Not a specific reason but its like reading a book where some parts did not peak my interest. The soundtrack is fun and it lets you pick the songs you want to listen to while bartending. The game also has multiple endings so there is a lot of replay value!

If you are into the cyberpunk setting or relaxing visual novels with interesting characters, I definetely recommend this one, both off sale or on sale!


Reventure

13 hours, 101 of 101 achievements
3.5/5 the worst hero around!

I played this for my Play or Pay: short game challenge

I have so many mixed feelings about this game. I didn't know what to rate it!

In Reventure you play a "hero" who is on a quest to save the princess. The game has one hundred different endings, each ending taking from around 10 seconds to around 15 minutes to get. It's not a full game where you get different endings; getting the different endings is the game.

Your goal is to save the princess, but you can choose your adventure and go around trying new things until you get a new ending. the endings can be absurd, out of the box, and very funny.

I applaud the developers for putting so much into this game. So many endings, secrets, etc. Each achievement is linked to an ending so you have to get them all to actually beat the game and get 100%. It's kind of a double edged sword because although its the charm, the numerous endings is also the problem. Getting all of the endings can be a very repetitive and difficult process..

When you get an ending (which usually takes around a minute at first and 10 minutes later) you get an ending screen telling you what happened to that character or world. Then you start over. It can be very.very.very repetitive after a while because you have to collect the same items and traverse the same map several several times. The game does offer some ways to fast travel as you get further in the game, but collecting items limits your ability to use those traveling methods.

Finding the endings can be difficult too. I know that's the entire point of the game, but some endings can be extremely hard to figure out! There are hints and an item that can help you out, but you have to figure out what items you need (you can't carry a lot of them) and what the game wants from you. After about 60 endings I had to start using a guide and playing in short bursts because it was difficult and a bit tedious. I know that won't be the experience for everyone, but that's what brought the score down for me.

The game is 100% worth the price though. Funny writing, plenty of play value, and a lot of love was put into this. Despite my love/hate relationship with this game, I really did enjoy myself and the first half was especially fun for me. The very end of the game is satisfying (although getting the 101'th achievement was a b***). If you are a completionist you will enjoy Reventure. For the small asking price, I definetely recommend Reventure on sale or off sale.


Playing Right Now:

  • My Friend Pedro

    3 hours playtime

    13 of 30 achievements

  • Control Ultimate Edition

    6 hours playtime

    10 of 67 achievements

  • Kentucky Route Zero

    8 hours playtime

    2 of 24 achievements

I’m taking a vacation off of work on the 31st which will give me proper time to beat Control. I want to properly explore the envinroment and play all of the DLC’s. I’m playing My Friend Pedro right now which is tons of fun. Next is Kentucky Route Zero, which I did beat a long time ago before they released the last chapter and added achievements. Now I have to replay the whole game since I don’t remember it very well. I enjoyed it the first time though so I’m happy to play it again. Happy gaming everyone and I hope you all have a great month.

Zelrune

Glad you’re enjoying Va-11 Hall-A! I have it so I’m wanting to play it but… I haven’t tried anything similar to this before so I’m feeling a bit shy.
Congrats on completing Reventure!

stef

Thanks! It’s a very casual game. Mostly reading and the drink mixing is easy because the game tells you which ingredients to choose. Reventure was more difficult then I thought but I’m glad I got through it!

Cece09

Yes definitely try it out, unless you purposely fail its really hard to screw up

Vito

Vacations are always are great thing! I hope you enjoy yours at the end of the month and are able to beat Control :)

stef

Thank you! Yeah I’m excited for Control since I enjoy Remedy games. I want to give it my full attention.

Cece09

Oh reventure that annoying game, 1 wrong action fail the path you were going. The amount of times I ended up at that damn lake being like now what, I’m to heavy to jump, I can’t die how do I end my suffering! I have to agree its a game that kinda sits in the middle