#gamereview — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #gamereview, aggregated by home.social.
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"Wanderburg"
The roguelike where you literally pilot a moving fortress.
It won the 2026 Gamescom Most Entertaining award.#Roguelike #CastleBuilder #GameReview #Gameplay #Medieval #Strategy #Indie #Gamescom #Award #NewRelease #VampireSurvivors #Brotato #videogaming #videogames
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Review: 🎮 Alone in the Dark can’t escape the shadows of its contemporaries 🎮
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Developer (Platform): Pieces Interactive (Xbox Series X)
Publisher (Release): THQ Nordic (2024)Full Review: https://phoenix-prjct.com/2026/08/28/review-🎮-alone-in-the-dark-cant-escape-the-shadows-of-its-contemporaries-🎮/
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Be afraid, very afraid today on GamerPauly Twitch – 06/08/2026
No shooters, platformers, roguelikes or cozy games, its time to get dark and dirty, nasty and naughty, its Horror day and we kick off the with the crazy The Skin Stapler, out today on Steam for PC. This is not for kids and strictly over 18 only, if I think you are under, you will be kicked form the stream 100% Next up is Yellow creek Stories - The Cabin Watcher, a game based on old 80`s VHS horror movies. Thank you to Tainted Pact, PR Hound and Jandusoft. Come say hi in the chat (if you […] -
"Beast of Reincarnation"
Game Freak's Emotional Post-Apocalyptic Masterpiece
Watch my quick review!#BeastOfReincarnation #GameFreak #ActionRPG #PostApocalyptic #SoulsLike #NewRelease #RPGGaming #StoryDriven #GameReview #gaming #videogaming #videogames
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Today on GamerPauly Twitch – 03/08/2026
Damn this heat, uh its not going anytime soon it seems, FAN on lets get on! Two reviews today on the channel, first up is Dart Racer, it looks a lot like the old star wars pod racer game, next up and some might be a bit shocked is Zoominoes, a part deckbuilder (WTF Pauly?) and part roguelike card game, thought I would try something different, I never know, I may even find it fun! Today marks the start of the 2 week steam gift giveaway, people that watch and chat in live streams may be […]https://gamerpauly.wordpress.com/2026/08/03/today-on-gamerpauly-twitch-03-08-2026/
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"Mistfall Hunter"
Region Lock DISASTER Ruins Multiplayer of this extraction ARPG
Watch my quick review!#MistfallHunter #Extraction #DarkFantasy #GameReview #PvPvE #SoulsLike #NewRelease #GameplayReview #ARPG #gaming #videogaming #videogames
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Today on GamerPauly Twitch – 30/07/2026
Where has the time gone, we`re almost in August, then it will be the dreaded "C" word! What's happening today on GPT, couple of reviews to mention, first up is Turnip Mountain, a unique climbing platformer that uses either 2 mice or dual sticks (I'm going with dual sticks) by Luke Sanderson & JanduSoft Then its Mechaconda, an arena shooter with retro style visuals by Nato Games & QUByte Interactive There will be a giveaway on both review streams, picked by a sub, if I have time for a just […]https://gamerpauly.wordpress.com/2026/07/30/today-on-gamerpauly-twitch-30-07-2026/
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What’s going down and up on GamerPauly Twitch today ? – 27/07/2026
Hello gamers, Its Monday again, yes I know, start of the week, bloody work, bloody school or whatever is annoying you again. Time for reviews once more, I start the day off with Welcome to Kowloon on Xbox Series X (previously only on PC) a first person horror game that certainly looks weird and wonderful, hopefully it will be fun! Then, in the afternoon sometime, I'm playing the NEW Halo Combat Evolved on Xbox Series X, would have been last week but there were issues with early access, […] -
Mouse PI for Hire – The Case of the Missing Gameplay
Mouse PI for Hire has one of the most striking visual styles in recent memory, pairing rubber hose animation with a classic first-person shooter. Unfortunately, once the novelty fades, the gameplay struggles to keep pace with its incredible presentation.https://whatsontheshelf.blog/2026/07/07/mouse-pi-for-hire-review/
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Today on GamerPauly Twitch – 07/07/2026
Starting off with a preview of upcoming horror game by Serafini Productions, Brokenlore Done lie, this is the third game I have played in this series, and there are lots more to come it seems, BrokenLore: DON'T LIE is a Japanese psychological horror game exploring trauma, isolation, and a fractured reality where perception becomes increasingly unreliable. After this will be Blast Head by Basement Rift, Blast Head is a meta progression-focused roguelite/bullet heaven with absurd weapons, […]https://gamerpauly.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/today-on-gamerpauly-twitch-07-07-2026/
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"SAND: Raiders of Sophie"
This PvPvE extraction shooter is an Hidden Gem You might have Missed.
Watch my quick review!#ExtractionShooter #sand #raiders #IndieGame #MechCustomization #PvPvE #SurvivalGame #HiddenGem #Gameplay #CommunityFocus #IndieGaming #GameReview #gaming #videogaming #videogames
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My Thoughts on: Astral Chain; a review
Astral Chain is an exclusive for Nintendo Switch, developed by Platinum Games and published in 2019 by Nintendo.
As a fan of spectacle fighters and Platinum, this game (along with Bayonetta 2&3) was the reason I caved in and bought a Switch.
And let’s be honest, a futuristic policeman (or policewoman) with a stand fighting against demons extradimensional monsters is a pretty neat concept.
To be frank: I’ve played in handheld mode, so keep that in mind.
Aesthetics
First things first, the game is set in a futuristic city, verging on a cyberpunk look. Holographic traffic lights, advertisements and the like. There are also futuristic helicopters and talkative vending machines.
The environments themselves are, obviously, urban. Be it the shopping mall, main streets, back alleys, slums or the sewers. The major exception is the red-and-black Astral Plane, full of rectangular blocks and jagged crystals that we visit pretty regularly.
All of the locations look good, though there wasn’t really anything that made me pause to admire the view, which isn’t a bad thing per se.
But what I really loved though, were the enemy (and Legion) designs. There’s a decent amount of variety in enemy types, and each type has a few variants that have some subtle differences… Even if they tend to be hard to notice at a glance. The monsters have this semi-mythological metallic look to them that i find extremely appealing.
The game has an anime style. Or well, the stylised look of animated movies. That is to say, humans actually have noses and facial features. So I guess it could be described as “realistic-leaning anime artstyle”…
But yeah, I liked the looks of the game… even if half the time I had the actual visuals removed by using the Iris (to look for chests and toilet stalls, but more on that later).
When it comes to music… it’s good. AC has some really nice tracks, nice enough that i looked them up to listen to them outside the game. Take that as you will.
Also, this game has a full on Anime Opening, just so you know.
Story
The game story follows a pair of twins, brother and sister, who work as policemen in humanity’s last bastion: Ark. They police there deal with such things as lost property, petty thieves and rifts in reality opening and turning people into mindless monsters.
During one such outbreak, the twins end up facing invisible enemies. These enemies are, undisclosed to the public, native to the Astral plane, and for some reason drag people through the rifts. The only way to fight them are Legions, controlled by the aforementioned special division: Neuron.
The game is divided into 11 “Files”, with twelfth being essentially post-game content. A good chunk of those could be called slice-of-life, almost episodic in nature. Though from about a third of the game, the main story starts to take hold, and I found it rather engaging.
While the main story is mostly serious, the optional (or well semi-optional) side content brings in enough levity to nicely balance it all out.
Though there’s still some weird and baffling elements, like the collectibles for the toilet fairy. No, I won’t explain more.
Gameplay
The game uses a pretty common structure: it has 11 Files, (plus the post-game one), each having several side objectives aside from the main one. Those side objectives can be separated into three categories: Blue Cases, which are essentially literally side-quests without end-of-case ranks; Red Cases, which are challenges that contribute towards File end rank; and Collectibles, so things like taking photos, finding stray cats, using the toilet and opening resource chests.
The somewhat eclectic mix of activities present in here really reminds me of the design of early 2000s platformers, where they seemingly had to add some racing segment, maybe some snowboarding or something else. I don’t mind such things, hell I’d say I welcome them… but there is that one detail: Red Cases are performance ranked. And, at least to me, getting those high ranks in these types of games are kind of a big thing.
So when there’s a minigame that asks you to use motion controls to balance a stack of boxes and move through a city… that’s a bit much. Or the puzzles… or chasing people doing graffiti. Many of those red cases are, frankly annoying.
As I mentioned, this is a Stylish Action game. And yes, the combat is good and stylish, even if it may appear somewhat bare-bones at the start, since we begin with two modes of the weapon: baton and blaster. Each has just the attack string at the start, but the game keeps expanding the options pretty much throughout the whole playthrough.
First it adds in the Legion and all the common things they do, like throwing it at enemies, puling yourself to it, using it to essentially parry an attack as you summon it, binding enemies and countering charging enemies. On top of that later on Legions get a selection of skills (2 at once per legion) and abilities (one of which adds a parry, like Bayonetta’s Moon of Maha-Kaala, sans bullet time)… and there’s 5 legions to swap between on the fly.
So yes, combat is fun and decently complex. Though you won’t find much of enemy juggling or aerial combos, though people have found a way to stay in the air by switching between weapons.
Oh, also: the game offers a “story” and casual modes, which do not give ranks at all. The former is for those who want to experience the story, and the latter… I’m not sure. I’ve played on Standard, and may or may not end up trying out Ultimate. I guess It’s a nice touch, as well as the fact that completing a FIle on Standard lets you play it on Ultimate, instead of requiring a new playthrough.
… Did I forget anything?
Oh, yeah, there’s character creation and customisation: You can get new colour schemes for your clothes and Legions, as well as some accessories for your character. It isn’t terribly deep, but a nice addition nonethelessSumma Summarum
Astral Chain has pretty visuals, nice music and a solid story. And most of all, it has pretty fun combat.
But it is marred, in my opinion, by the fact that file ranks include the minigames. They were fine in a singular playthrough… But I don’t feel like trying to get an S+ rank on those. And, for me, that’s a pretty big minus for this kind of game.
Is it worth dropping it an entire grade? As I’m writing this with some distance from the last annoying Red Case… I’m going to say “no”. I’d probably have said differently had I just tried to get an S+ on some odd case.
I will, however, tack on a second minus.In the end, I’m giving Astral Chain a 5–. With a note that It’s teetering on the verge of 4+; depending on my mood. YMMV.
#ActionAdventure #AstralChain #gameReview #gaming #NintendoSwitch #PlatinumGames #SpectacleFighter #StylishAction #VideoGame -
"Zenless Zone Zero"
Gacha well Made. Impressive movements and art.
Watch my quick review!#ZenlessZeroReview #HoYoverse #ActionRPG #GachaGame #GameReview #IndieGaming #RPGGameplay #FreeToPlay #GamingChannel #indie #gaming #videogaming #videogames
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"Freefall '95"
Falling From a Plane Never Felt This Good
Watch my quick review!#Freefall95 #ArcadeGaming #IndieGame #RetroStyle #GameReview #Gameplay #PixelArt #gaming #videogaming #videogames
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRMQzkfV8uI
Crossposted with @openvibe
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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II delivers scale, chaos, and chainswords—but not much new. A solid co-op horde shooter that feels familiar fast.
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Worlds inside orbs. Orbs inside worlds.
Cocoon turns simple controls into one of the most inventive puzzle experiences in years—and earns a Top Shelf spot along the way. 🕹️🎮👾
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"Dark Light: Survivor"
When Top-Down Meets Third-Person in Carnage festival.
Watch my quick review!#Roguelike #IndieGame #GameReview #DarkLightSurvivor #SurvivalGame #NewGame #MustPlay #gaming #videogaming #videogames
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"FROGGY HATES SNOW"
A survival roguelike where a frog digs through freezing snow.
Watch my quick review!#FroggyHatesSnow #RoguelikeGames #SurvivalGames #IndieGames #GameReview #Gameplay #NewRelease #CozyGames #gaming #videogaming #videogames
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a world you don’t want to leave. Inventive combat, stunning art, and a story that doesn’t always stick the landing—but lingers anyway.
A Top Shelf Game.
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So, in other news, I played Esoteric Ebb over the last week or so.
I thought it was good, but not as good as Disco Elysium, which I'm on record as thinking is the best (computer) RPG ever made. This is relevant because Esoteric Ebb is very open about being influenced by the latter, and by the most philosophical of the late-90s/early2000s D&D video games, Planescape: Torment - broadly, it's approximately D&D 5e mechanics and a homebrew setting with metacommentary on D&D tropes (some of which as well worn as the fact that Enchantment is the most overtly evil school of magic, some of which becomes a bit overly postmodern for me), with DE's "your attributes speak to you", "you can internalise thoughts for bonuses", "politics is everywhere" and general approach to time passing and interactions.
Interestingly, the lone dev does *not* do 5e combat straight - it's a sort of fusion of DE's one combat encounter ("make choices in the same mode as everything else, but with higher stakes") and D&D initiative order and to-hit mechanics. What I find a little irritating about reviews of EE is how they call this innovative, when it's not even innovative for *tabletop* RPGs - there's plenty of systems which don't do D&D's turn-based mechanical approach to combat (including games where combat can be a single die roll, just like anything else, if it's not particularly important to the flow of the game).
And, I guess, broadly, this might also be why I'm generally not as incredibly enthusiastic about EE as reviewers seem to be - it's well-written, there's parts that are even quite effecting (but nothing as good as the best of DE)... but the fantasy-kitchen sink setting and the general "D&D wackiness" of it really detracts from the focus that made DE a truly excellent game. -
WWE 2K26 is the best wrestling game the series has ever produced. The CM Punk Showcase is personal and genuinely well done, the new match types add real variety, and the Ringside Pass is a real problem. #WWE2K26 #WWE #GameReview
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CW: Video Game review - The Séance of Blake Manor
Solid puzzle game, where you've been hired to investigate a missing woman at a séance held at a remote manor in the Irish moorlands
It's a first person point and click mystery, where you investigate the people in the manor. Partially voiced, it has some excellent voice acting, and presented in a pulp comic book drawn style.
There's a 'time' mechanic involved which lets you spend a 'minute' at a time to do a particular investigation/conversation, and you have effectively two days to fully solve the mystery.
Travel does not cost time, nor does revisiting previously investigated points, so you're not punished for reviewing info.
You investigate the guests/staff at the manor and form hypothesis about their reasoning for their presence at this séance, attend lectures, research in the library, get lost in the hedge maze, and ultimately save as many people as you can before the end of the game.
It took me 18hrs to finish, and I took my time, and there were occasional moments where I was truly at a loss of what to do next, but for the most part, I highly enjoyed this mystery.
It's spooky but not scary, and an excellent Halloween game, filled with a broad variety of guests and staff, who all have their own agenda around this séance
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Wordatro! bears some similarities to my last game review of Word Play. Basically, it follows the pattern of being a rogue-like game, however this one employs fewer mechanics. Each game consists of 10 rounds, with each round requiring a higher score to continue. You have a limited number of turns and re-rolls in each round, however as you make it past rounds you can add more turns and/or re-rolls.
Instead of adding or removing tiles from the bag (as you could in Word Play or Balatro), you can enhance a number of tiles value. You also get bonus effects as an award for completing a round. There are no additional specials, nor are there any bosses (or blinds like Balatro).
While this could lead one to think that this is an easier game than Word Play, it most certainly is not. It is in fact more difficult than Word Play by a mile. The escalation of the point targets in each round makes selecting more complex words that will score better difficult. It's not just selecting longer words, it's understanding the values that they will have by their placement on the board, and how they will interact with the bonuses that you've gained.
And that's something else that makes the game more of a challenge: whether you have selected the best combination of bonuses and sequenced them correctly will affect the game.
I've made it to the hard setting of the game, however, I have never completed a full game. I can make it to about round 8 (of 10), but continue to come up short.
There are, however, a few things that I have found lacking. The dictionary does seem to be missing some words that, while not the most common, are valid words that would be allowed in most other games. (The one that comes to mind right off is "rugrats".) There's also a case where I would say that the description of some of the bonuses isn't exactly clear (but that could just be me).
However, for $10USD on Steam, it's a game that is definitely worthwhile. It's a game that will bet replayable for a long time. And, there is even a daily challenge game where you compete against others if you get bored of the main game.
#gamereview #wordle #wordlelikegame #roguelikegames #balatro
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What do you get if you take #scrabblepieces in a word-search style grid, and cross it with a #roguelikegames such a #balatro? The answer is WordPlay. This is definitely the game for #wordle loving geeks like me...It's got everything a classic turn-based rogue-like has: challenge rounds, modifiers, bonuses, etc.
It's on #steam for only $6.80 USD -- and it's already given me over 3 hours of engaging play. It's getting to the point that I am probably going to become addicted to it the way I did Balatro.
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Support the Summer Slice of Life Romance Visual Novel, Threads of You Beyond the Bay on Kickstarter
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Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree delivers new roguelite twists, emotional sacrifices, and some frustrating bumps along the way. Our review in the link below! #TowaGame #Towa #review #gamereview #gaming
https://clouddosage.com/towa-and-the-guardians-of-the-sacred-tree-game-review/
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Teleported straight to the Medieval era through TownSpire!
Rebuilding a forgotten town from the ground up, it's a game of conditional placements, threat management, and drawing each structure by hand. All packed into a quick, immersive experience!
Read my review article: https://pnptime.com/townspire-game-review/
#townspire #gamereview #printandplay #MedievalGaming #soloboardgames #indiegames #PNPTime #kickstartercampaign
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"Deliver At All Costs"
An Explosive Thrill Ride Through the Streets of 1959.
Check my quick review!#DeliverAtAllCosts #ActionGame #Destruction #Chaos #1959 #MatureContent #GameTrailer #GameReview #indie #gaming #videogaming #videogames
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Music and games have been intertwined since the beginning. Sometimes that relationship can result in something more. In this video I'll explore the legacy of Rez, Synesthesia, and the talented minds behind this unique philosophy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqDhMn0_4og
#Rez #RezInfinite #TetsuyaMizuguchi #SEGA #SpaceChannel5 #QEntertainment #Lumines #Meteos #EveryExtend #ChildofEden #EnhanceGames #TetrisEffect #Humanity #Synesthesia #Game #Gaming #GameDesign #Review #GameReview #Retro #Retrogames #Dreamcast #Playstation #Xbox #Nintendo #PC #VR
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Wrote up a review of "Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion" the other day. It's a charming little romp on most modern systems. Dropping this screenshot here, with a reminder to mask up if you're feeling sick.
https://dicenbuttons.blogspot.com/2024/02/play-turnip-boy-commits-tax-evasion.html
#gamereview #turnipboycommitstaxevasion #videogames #SnoozyKazoo #covid
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New post on #DuskOfDreams #GameReview on #Indonesia language, courtesy of @VNNZ16 on @dusk-of-dreams-gaming-review-corner :
https://gamingnotes.fioverse.zone/dusk-of-dreams-gaming-review-corner/a-summers-end-hong-kong-1986-sentuhan-romance-dalam-sebuah-visual-novelThis is A Summer's End review, a visual novel that captures 1980s nuance!
This is also part of our combined #365DaysOfGaming ~
No EN version for this one, at this point.
#DuskOfDreamsGameReview #Bahasa #Steam #ASummersEnd #VisualNovel #InDepthReview #CasualGames #VisualArtsGames