November Play Log III

14%

60%

So after five an a half years working at the same company straight out of university, I handed in my resignation on Friday. Mixed feelings overall. I used to really enjoy working there but changes over the last year or so meant that was no longer the case. I’m done at the end of the month, and on the 10th I’ll be starting a new job with a significant raise and (more importantly) more interesting looking work. During the week off I’m hoping to make some good progress on painting my house, and of course playing an unhealthy amount of video games.

Space Pilgrim Episode I: Alpha Centauri

7/10

1.1 hours

7 of 7 achievements

Very brief (completed in an hour), but a decent little story with some humour. I'm intrigued and will likely pick up the rest of the series at some point.

Pros

likeable characters
funny in parts

Cons

no full screen

Semi-recent SG win. On the plus side it was better than any of the games I played in my last post. On the negative side, I now have to get the rest of the series. They’re cheap, but my backlog really doesn’t need extended any more than it already is.

The Magic Circle

10/10

9.3 hours

14 of 14 achievements

Brilliant game. One of my favourites. Definitely one of the more 'out there' games I've played, so if you enjoy unique experiences this one is definitely for you. IMO worth the full price.

Pros

voice acting is easily the best I've heard, especially Pro
unique art style
you can customize creatures endlessly in completely ridiculous ways
interesting story
LOTS to explore and collect

Cons

no sequel

I absolutely loved this game, and highly recommend it for anyone looking for recommendations for the winter sale. A lot of games these days are ‘more of the same’. This game? You’ve never played anything like it before.

Kingdom of Aurelia: Mystery of the Poisoned Dagger

5/10

1.9 hours

no achievements

I have mixed feelings about this game. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't very good either. If you like point & click/HOG type games there are better ones out there. It's vaguely reminiscent of an Artifex Mundi game but with far fewer HOGs. The HOGs in this game aren't the 'collect a bunch of things in the scene' type. Instead you have to get something and use it on something else to get something, etc, until you get something useful. Personally I find HOGs boring so having fewer wasn't a bad thing for me, but the story wasn't terribly interesting either. I also found nearly all of the puzzles really obvious.

Pros

no game breaking bugs
few/no points where you get stuck on puzzles

Cons

a few bugs, but nothing that prevents you from playing the game
voice acting isn't very good
boring story
no challenge
in-game achievements (all story progression) but no Steam achievements

SG win. TBH I really only played it because it’s short and I want to reduce my SG backlog. Definitely falls under the ‘why did I enter for this?’ category. Thankfully I’m getting better at avoid those. I said in the review there was no challenge but I also was lazy and used a lot of hints so that may not be entirely true. But all of the solutions were reasonably obvious so I still think it’s easier than Artifex Mundi games.

Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)

8/10

5.5 hours

15 of 19 achievements

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. It wasn't too difficult and learning about the Iñupiaq was fascinating

Pros:

Good graphics style
interesting puzzle mechanics
not as difficult as a lot of platformers
interesting learning about the Iñupiaq

Cons:

there was a certain event in chapter 7 that while necessary for the story, as an animal lover I really didn't like

Won this on SG Sunday morning and beat it the same day. Hurray for keeping up with wins! Except I won 2 other games in the last 3 days so I’m not really keeping up. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone who enjoys learning about other cultures. I intend to pick up the DLC next time it comes on sale.

Coming Up Next

Lethe - Episode One
0.0 hours playtime
0 of 19 achievements