#newplay — Public Fediverse posts

ei hytte (the cabin), an a cappella musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by Eric Matthew Richardson
Directed by Noah Watkins

During an unseasonable blizzard, two strangers become trapped inside one of Norway's many off-grid public cabins. Without access to electricity, phone or internet service, the hikers wait out the storm. Veronica is a true crime author, and Colin is a warehouse worker. Neither are inclined to reveal too much about their personal lives beyond that. Pressured by the forces of the unseen Valkyries, the strangers push each other to their breaking points.

#musicals #musicaltheatre #musical #theater #theatre #chicago #acappella #playwriting #Steppenwolf #festival #newplay #writing

Happy to announce that my a cappella musical "ei hytte (the cabin)” will be performed on Saturday, August 10th at 8pm as part of the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival at Steppenwolf!

Tickets available here: https://www.steppenwolf.org/tickets--events/lookout/24-summer/chicago-musical-theatre-festival/

#musicals #musicaltheatre #musical #theater #theatre #chicago #acappella #playwriting #Steppenwolf #festival #newplay #writing

December 31, 2023 - Day 365 - NewPlay Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: **400**

Game: Dave The Diver

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Jun 28, 2023 (PC)
Installation Date: Dec 31, 2023
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 43m

Dave The Diver is a 2D sideways-scrolling pixel-art* game that's part management sim, part fishing sim, part restaurant game, and part action-adventure RPG.

When Dave the Diver first showed up on Steam a few months ago, I was still very much of the "pixel-art-no-thank-you" mindset, so it was a pass.

Then I saw some folks raving about how good it is, and then the free Dredge DLC was announced, and I went back and added it to my wishlist.

As they're currently offering a "Dredging & Diving Bundle" on Steam which meant the game was cheaper than the sale price (by a couple of bucks), I decided to add one more game to my pile of shame, and then take it off again, and what a way to finish this project out.

It is REALLY hard to categorise, because it pulls gameplay aspects from multiple different genres, and it's probably best if I lay it out.

Firstly, to address that asterisk against pixel-art, the game uses pixel-art for the gameplay, but uses vector art for the UI, which is a great way to make the game feel up-to-date.

The game opens with Dave relaxing on a beach, drinking a beer, when his phone rings, and he gets a job offer. Queue plane & map intro cut-scene.

A guy named Cobra has offered Dave a job diving in "the Blue Hole", which is a procedurally generated environment that is different on each dive.

After a tutorial sequence, where you learn to catch fish with a harpoon (fishing sim!), you learn that you've been roped into managing a sushi bar as well (management sim!).

Dive twice during the day to complete quests (RPG gameplay!) and catch the fish that you then use at night to set the nightly sushi bar menu.

Oh, and you're also the sushi bar waiter; this takes partial gameplay ideas from cooking sims like "Cook, Serve, Delicious!" in that the various customers will order the things that you've added to the menu, and the cook (thank goodness!) prepares each meal, as you run back and forth serving them, and cleaning up after some detty pigs, as well as another mini-game where you need to pour green tea and fill the cup perfectly.

Some of the RPG gameplay elements like equipment upgrades and weapon upgrades are handled through unlockable "apps" on an in-game "smartphone", and given that there are a number of preloaded apps on the phone with locks on them, looks like there are more mini-games as well.

Somehow, though, the devs managed to pull this off in such a way that it all fits together seamlessly, and is a lot of fun as well.

So, there you have it; for my final game review of 2023, Dave the Diver is:

5: Excellent

#DaveTheDiver #2D #SidewaysScroller #FishingSim #ManagementSim #CookingSim #ActionAdventure #RPG #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

December 31, 2023 - Day 365 - NewPlay Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: **400**

Game: Dave The Diver

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Jun 28, 2023 (PC)
Installation Date: Dec 31, 2023
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 43m

Dave The Diver is a 2D sideways-scrolling pixel-art* game that's part management sim, part fishing sim, part restaurant game, and part action-adventure RPG.

When Dave the Diver first showed up on Steam a few months ago, I was still very much of the "pixel-art-no-thank-you" mindset, so it was a pass.

Then I saw some folks raving about how good it is, and then the free Dredge DLC was announced, and I went back and added it to my wishlist.

As they're currently offering a "Dredging & Diving Bundle" on Steam which meant the game was cheaper than the sale price (by a couple of bucks), I decided to add one more game to my pile of shame, and then take it off again, and what a way to finish this project out.

It is REALLY hard to categorise, because it pulls gameplay aspects from multiple different genres, and it's probably best if I lay it out.

Firstly, to address that asterisk against pixel-art, the game uses pixel-art for the gameplay, but uses vector art for the UI, which is a great way to make the game feel up-to-date.

The game opens with Dave relaxing on a beach, drinking a beer, when his phone rings, and he gets a job offer. Queue plane & map intro cut-scene.

A guy named Cobra has offered Dave a job diving in "the Blue Hole", which is a procedurally generated environment that is different on each dive.

After a tutorial sequence, where you learn to catch fish with a harpoon (fishing sim!), you learn that you've been roped into managing a sushi bar as well (management sim!).

Dive twice during the day to complete quests (RPG gameplay!) and catch the fish that you then use at night to set the nightly sushi bar menu.

Oh, and you're also the sushi bar waiter; this takes partial gameplay ideas from cooking sims like "Cook, Serve, Delicious!" in that the various customers will order the things that you've added to the menu, and the cook (thank goodness!) prepares each meal, as you run back and forth serving them, and cleaning up after some detty pigs, as well as another mini-game where you need to pour green tea and fill the cup perfectly.

Some of the RPG gameplay elements like equipment upgrades and weapon upgrades are handled through unlockable "apps" on an in-game "smartphone", and given that there are a number of preloaded apps on the phone with locks on them, looks like there are more mini-games as well.

Somehow, though, the devs managed to pull this off in such a way that it all fits together seamlessly, and is a lot of fun as well.

So, there you have it; for my final game review of 2023, Dave the Diver is:

5: Excellent

#DaveTheDiver #2D #SidewaysScroller #FishingSim #ManagementSim #CookingSim #ActionAdventure #RPG #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

December 13, 2023 - Day 347 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 367

Game: The Pale Beyond

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Feb 25, 2023
Installation Date: Dec 13, 2023
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 22m

The Pale Beyond is a survival RPG which appears to be set in the late 19th century; it's the sixth game in the December Humble Choice bundle.

You play as the first mate on a ship that's setting out to try and find what became of its sister ship after it went missing five years earlier on an Arctic expedition.

At first I thought it was a graphic novel. A lot of flat, hand-drawn graphics, and clicking to read text.

One line at a time. My frustration levels started to grow at this point. Eventually after clicking through all that text, and setting my character traits in the process (a "Muttwash criminal"), I found myself at the docks.

Well, more like found everyone else. My character is nowhere to be seen, which feels vaguely disorienting for a game that is split between barely animated isometric views, and first-person perspective interactions with paintings of characters and text boxes.

It has a touch of Frostpunk to it, without any of the things that kept me engaged, and ultimately I felt no desire to keep going.

An added point of frustration was that the game only saves at particular points, which meant that when I decided to quit, but changed my mind, I was actually back at the start of the "level", which would have meant clicking through all of the previous ten minutes of interactions again, which completely took the wind out of my sails (pun intended).

The Pale Beyond might be more suited to someone with an interest in survival games and/or 19th century nautical adventures, but I found it a bit:

2: Meh

#ThePaleBeyond #FirstPerson #Isometric #RPG #Survival #HumbleChoice #HumbleBundle #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

December 13, 2023 - Day 347 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 367

Game: The Pale Beyond

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Feb 25, 2023
Installation Date: Dec 13, 2023
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 22m

The Pale Beyond is a survival RPG which appears to be set in the late 19th century; it's the sixth game in the December Humble Choice bundle.

You play as the first mate on a ship that's setting out to try and find what became of its sister ship after it went missing five years earlier on an Arctic expedition.

At first I thought it was a graphic novel. A lot of flat, hand-drawn graphics, and clicking to read text.

One line at a time. My frustration levels started to grow at this point. Eventually after clicking through all that text, and setting my character traits in the process (a "Muttwash criminal"), I found myself at the docks.

Well, more like found everyone else. My character is nowhere to be seen, which feels vaguely disorienting for a game that is split between barely animated isometric views, and first-person perspective interactions with paintings of characters and text boxes.

It has a touch of Frostpunk to it, without any of the things that kept me engaged, and ultimately I felt no desire to keep going.

An added point of frustration was that the game only saves at particular points, which meant that when I decided to quit, but changed my mind, I was actually back at the start of the "level", which would have meant clicking through all of the previous ten minutes of interactions again, which completely took the wind out of my sails (pun intended).

The Pale Beyond might be more suited to someone with an interest in survival games and/or 19th century nautical adventures, but I found it a bit:

2: Meh

#ThePaleBeyond #FirstPerson #Isometric #RPG #Survival #HumbleChoice #HumbleBundle #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

November 5, 2023 - Day 309 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 328

Game: Minoria

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Aug 27, 2019
Installation Date: Oct 21, 2023
Unplayed: 15d
Playtime: 19m

Minoria is 2D Metroidvania about nuns vs witches.

The game is set in the middle ages, with the character designs being vaguely anime-styled.

Attacks are telegraphed by a glowing circle that appears around mobs, yet I still managed to die a lot.

Unfortunately for this game, I've played some excellent Metroidvanias this year which resulted in Minoria just feeling pretty:

2: Meh

#Minoria #2D #Metroidvania #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

November 5, 2023 - Day 309 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 328

Game: Minoria

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Aug 27, 2019
Installation Date: Oct 21, 2023
Unplayed: 15d
Playtime: 19m

Minoria is 2D Metroidvania about nuns vs witches.

The game is set in the middle ages, with the character designs being vaguely anime-styled.

Attacks are telegraphed by a glowing circle that appears around mobs, yet I still managed to die a lot.

Unfortunately for this game, I've played some excellent Metroidvanias this year which resulted in Minoria just feeling pretty:

2: Meh

#Minoria #2D #Metroidvania #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

November 5, 2023 - Day 309 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 328

Game: Minoria

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Aug 27, 2019
Installation Date: Oct 21, 2023
Unplayed: 15d
Playtime: 19m

Minoria is 2D Metroidvania about nuns vs witches.

The game is set in the middle ages, with the character designs being vaguely anime-styled.

Attacks are telegraphed by a glowing circle that appears around mobs, yet I still managed to die a lot.

Unfortunately for this game, I've played some excellent Metroidvanias this year which resulted in Minoria just feeling pretty:

2: Meh

#Minoria #2D #Metroidvania #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

November 5, 2023 - Day 309 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 328

Game: Minoria

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Aug 27, 2019
Installation Date: Oct 21, 2023
Unplayed: 15d
Playtime: 19m

Minoria is 2D Metroidvania about nuns vs witches.

The game is set in the middle ages, with the character designs being vaguely anime-styled.

Attacks are telegraphed by a glowing circle that appears around mobs, yet I still managed to die a lot.

Unfortunately for this game, I've played some excellent Metroidvanias this year which resulted in Minoria just feeling pretty:

2: Meh

#Minoria #2D #Metroidvania #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

November 5, 2023 - Day 309 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 328

Game: Minoria

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Aug 27, 2019
Installation Date: Oct 21, 2023
Unplayed: 15d
Playtime: 19m

Minoria is 2D Metroidvania about nuns vs witches.

The game is set in the middle ages, with the character designs being vaguely anime-styled.

Attacks are telegraphed by a glowing circle that appears around mobs, yet I still managed to die a lot.

Unfortunately for this game, I've played some excellent Metroidvanias this year which resulted in Minoria just feeling pretty:

2: Meh

#Minoria #2D #Metroidvania #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

July 22, 2023 - Day 203 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 222

Game: Kraken Academy!!

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Sep 11, 2021
Library Date: Jul 18, 2023
Unplayed: 4d
Playtime: 24m

The fifth review for this month's Humble Choice bundle is the fifth game in the bundle; this was unintentional, but I'm not making this mistake again. I'll come back to the third game at the end of the bundle, because I'm still trying to decide what to do about it.

Kraken Academy is a... oh no, yet another retro pixel-art top-down adventure game.

I'm not going to fill up another review complaining about how retro games don't do anything for me, unless the gameplay hooks me and gets me past the visual design.

I did not get past the visual design.

The game has a lot of high-res well designed characters. They pop up in voiceover scenes to move the "action" along, but then the gameplay is back to a pixel sprites.

Kraken Academy!! is set in the titular private school, which is so run-down, it justs feels like it's missing Rick yelling at Carl about walkers.

You and your sister have been sent there, she hates you, you're there for music, one of the other students is a girl made of broccoli, named Broccoli Girl.

Smash bins to collect plastic bottles to trade in for in-game currency. Pick up quests, complete quests, which just feels like a grind to fill up the time. Apparently there's a magical kraken a little bit further into the game, but it was pretty much an exercise in clock-watching.

Kraken Academy!! feels like the filler for this month's bundle; for me it's a:

1: Nope

#KrakenAcademy #PixelArt #Adventure #HumbleChoice #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

July 22, 2023 - Day 203 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 222

Game: Kraken Academy!!

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Sep 11, 2021
Library Date: Jul 18, 2023
Unplayed: 4d
Playtime: 24m

The fifth review for this month's Humble Choice bundle is the fifth game in the bundle; this was unintentional, but I'm not making this mistake again. I'll come back to the third game at the end of the bundle, because I'm still trying to decide what to do about it.

Kraken Academy is a... oh no, yet another retro pixel-art top-down adventure game.

I'm not going to fill up another review complaining about how retro games don't do anything for me, unless the gameplay hooks me and gets me past the visual design.

I did not get past the visual design.

The game has a lot of high-res well designed characters. They pop up in voiceover scenes to move the "action" along, but then the gameplay is back to a pixel sprites.

Kraken Academy!! is set in the titular private school, which is so run-down, it justs feels like it's missing Rick yelling at Carl about walkers.

You and your sister have been sent there, she hates you, you're there for music, one of the other students is a girl made of broccoli, named Broccoli Girl.

Smash bins to collect plastic bottles to trade in for in-game currency. Pick up quests, complete quests, which just feels like a grind to fill up the time. Apparently there's a magical kraken a little bit further into the game, but it was pretty much an exercise in clock-watching.

Kraken Academy!! feels like the filler for this month's bundle; for me it's a:

1: Nope

#KrakenAcademy #PixelArt #Adventure #HumbleChoice #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

June 23, 2023 - Day 174 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 192

Game: Breakneck

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Dec 8, 2017
Library Date: Aug 24, 2022
Unplayed: 303d (9m30d)
Playtime: 17m

Breakneck is an endless runner, where you fly a ship that feels like a cross between a pod-racer and a landspeeder.

It is, quite obviously, a mobile game ported to PC.

The visual design and landscapes of the game are very well done, with a post-apocalyptic sci-fi feel.

That's pretty much the only good thing I have to say about it.

Avoid obstacles, but fly close to them to charge up the ship boost, collect coins, try to reach the end of the level without being "caught" by a pursuing ship, or hitting something.

There is no reverse on this ship, so sometimes you just get stuck, and wait to die.

This game is a just pure grind, with no reason to keep playing, and very much a clock-watcher.

I hoped I hadn't paid for it, but turns out I bought it on a discount for $3.99. For reference, the Steam refund policy is less than two hours playtime, within *14 days* of purchase, so at least something of value came out of playing this game.

Breakneck?

1: Nope

#Breakneck #EndlessRunner #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

June 23, 2023 - Day 174 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 192

Game: Breakneck

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Dec 8, 2017
Library Date: Aug 24, 2022
Unplayed: 303d (9m30d)
Playtime: 17m

Breakneck is an endless runner, where you fly a ship that feels like a cross between a pod-racer and a landspeeder.

It is, quite obviously, a mobile game ported to PC.

The visual design and landscapes of the game are very well done, with a post-apocalyptic sci-fi feel.

That's pretty much the only good thing I have to say about it.

Avoid obstacles, but fly close to them to charge up the ship boost, collect coins, try to reach the end of the level without being "caught" by a pursuing ship, or hitting something.

There is no reverse on this ship, so sometimes you just get stuck, and wait to die.

This game is a just pure grind, with no reason to keep playing, and very much a clock-watcher.

I hoped I hadn't paid for it, but turns out I bought it on a discount for $3.99. For reference, the Steam refund policy is less than two hours playtime, within *14 days* of purchase, so at least something of value came out of playing this game.

Breakneck?

1: Nope

#Breakneck #EndlessRunner #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

June 20, 2023 - Day 171 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 189

Game: Funk of Titans

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Jul 25, 2015
Library Date: Aug 4, 2022
Unplayed: 320d (10m16d)
Playtime: 20m

Funk of Titans is a sideways scrolling endless runner, and it's every bit as bad as it sounds.

For some reason, the ancient Greek Gods have been rendered as African Americans. Zeus seems to fall somewhere between Samuel L. Jackson and Morpheus.

You, as Perseus, appear to be an extra from a blaxploitation movie, in a yellow jacket and afro, yelling "shaka laka" and "oh yeah" over and over, giving the whole game a slightly racist tinge.

Then there's the "funk" of the soundtrack. The less said, the better. P-Funk, this is not.

This is a game that could make me hate platformers again. A sideways-scrolling-endless-runner-platformer where the only controls are jump or whack-with-sword.

You better time EVERYTHING just right, because three hits and you're dead.

Did I mention that each hit removes an item of Perseus' clothing, because... yeah, that's a thing.

However, if you're really lucky, you can find a Pegasus in each level, to get a bonus level where Pegasus is a rocket powered horsehead in some horrifying Flappy Bird mashup.

However, sometimes, you just need something to focus all your rage and anger onto, just to let it out and move past it.

Funk of Titans isn't even good for that. I have no idea how I ended up with this game, I only hope it was free with something else.

There is nothing redeeming about this game at all. While this is not the worst game I've played this year, it's really putting in the work.

Run away, as fast and as far as you can. Avoid Funk of Titans like an anti-vaxxer, because it's just:

1: Nope

#FunkOfTitans #EndlessRunner #SidewaysScroller #WhoAmIKiddingNoOneReadsTheHashtags #ThisGameSucks #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

June 7, 2023 - Day 158 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 175

Game: Honey, I Joined a Cult

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Nov 4, 2022
Library Date: Jun 7, 2023
Unplayed: 0d (0d)
Playtime: 19m

Honey, I Joined a Cult is a top-down tycoon/management sim, in which you create a cult.

When June's Humble Choice bundle dropped today, I went through and added the 5 games I didn't already have to Steam.

With the idea of reviewing the bundle over the next week.

This is a tycoon management game about building a cult. I really did not think this through.

For those of you new to my story, my family & personal history is intertwined with two separate cults. This game was starting off from a long way behind, and literally started causing me anxiety.

Firstly, the music. I didn't get around to turning it down, but disco funk is somewhere below Kenny G for me, and definitely didn't not enhance my calm, or gameplay experience.

Secondly, the game visually feels a bit like The Escapists but with vector art graphics instead of pixel graphics.

Finally, coming off a city-builder management sim last night into this was like jumping off a moving bullet train into a push wagon. It... was not pleasant.

I wanted to give this a chance, but at 19 minutes, it was all a bit too much, and I was out.

Honey, I Joined a Cult? Actually:

1: Nope

#HoneyIJoinedACult #TopDown #ManagementSim #HumbleChoice #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

June 7, 2023 - Day 158 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 175

Game: Honey, I Joined a Cult

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Nov 4, 2022
Library Date: Jun 7, 2023
Unplayed: 0d (0d)
Playtime: 19m

Honey, I Joined a Cult is a top-down tycoon/management sim, in which you create a cult.

When June's Humble Choice bundle dropped today, I went through and added the 5 games I didn't already have to Steam.

With the idea of reviewing the bundle over the next week.

This is a tycoon management game about building a cult. I really did not think this through.

For those of you new to my story, my family & personal history is intertwined with two separate cults. This game was starting off from a long way behind, and literally started causing me anxiety.

Firstly, the music. I didn't get around to turning it down, but disco funk is somewhere below Kenny G for me, and definitely didn't not enhance my calm, or gameplay experience.

Secondly, the game visually feels a bit like The Escapists but with vector art graphics instead of pixel graphics.

Finally, coming off a city-builder management sim last night into this was like jumping off a moving bullet train into a push wagon. It... was not pleasant.

I wanted to give this a chance, but at 19 minutes, it was all a bit too much, and I was out.

Honey, I Joined a Cult? Actually:

1: Nope

#HoneyIJoinedACult #TopDown #ManagementSim #HumbleChoice #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

Apr 15, 2023 - Day 105 - NewPlay Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: 113

Game: Fortified

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Feb 4, 2016
Library Date: Jun 7, 2018
Unplayed: 1773d (4y10m8d)
Playtime: 29m

Fortified is 1950's-inspired alien-invasion third-person 3D tower defense game.

It's boring.

I played across two characters, over three levels, and it was just just... boring.

A good tower defense game needs your weaponry and income to scale up appropriately to whatever you're fighting. That balance can be difficult to achieve. Orcs Must Die manages it. Fortified does not.

The "attack" buildings feel incredibly slow and underpowered, and the monsters feel generic and annoying, rather than threatening.

I like to at least reach a checkpoint, or finish a level in a game, and not quit out mid-level, but in all seriousness, I should have, because playing longer to complete the last level didn't make it any more entertaining, which is a fundamental issue. If a game isn't challenging, then it needs to at least be fun.

I can't even offer a hope that there's something under the surface. While 1950's-style the interstitial graphics and interface would feel at home in a pulp sci-fi magazine, the in-game assets feels like generic cut & paste models from a free unreal library.

Could Fortified be more than the sum of it's pulpy parts?:

1: Nope

#Fortified #TowerDefense #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

Apr 15, 2023 - Day 105 - NewPlay Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: 113

Game: Fortified

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Feb 4, 2016
Library Date: Jun 7, 2018
Unplayed: 1773d (4y10m8d)
Playtime: 29m

Fortified is 1950's-inspired alien-invasion third-person 3D tower defense game.

It's boring.

I played across two characters, over three levels, and it was just just... boring.

A good tower defense game needs your weaponry and income to scale up appropriately to whatever you're fighting. That balance can be difficult to achieve. Orcs Must Die manages it. Fortified does not.

The "attack" buildings feel incredibly slow and underpowered, and the monsters feel generic and annoying, rather than threatening.

I like to at least reach a checkpoint, or finish a level in a game, and not quit out mid-level, but in all seriousness, I should have, because playing longer to complete the last level didn't make it any more entertaining, which is a fundamental issue. If a game isn't challenging, then it needs to at least be fun.

I can't even offer a hope that there's something under the surface. While 1950's-style the interstitial graphics and interface would feel at home in a pulp sci-fi magazine, the in-game assets feels like generic cut & paste models from a free unreal library.

Could Fortified be more than the sum of it's pulpy parts?:

1: Nope

#Fortified #TowerDefense #MastodonGaming #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

Feb 21, 2023 - Day 52 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 58

Game: The Dwarves
Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Dec 2, 2016
Library Date: Dec 4, 2018
Unplayed: 1541 days (4y2m18d)
Playtime: 32m

The review is late, but I played this game last night. Yesterday was pretty heavy emotionally, and I wasn't really up to staying past midnight to review The Dwarves as well.

Today was pretty hectic, and I wondered whether it might be useful to let my feelings on The Dwarves steep for a bit, to see if I could review it better.

It didn't help. The Dwarves is quite nice graphically, the voiceovers are well done, the gameplay is... really hard to put my finger on.

The Dwarves is a fully 3D isometric RPG. I generally play 15-30 minutes of a game to get a feel for it. Even after 32 minutes, I couldn't get a feel for this game.

The pieces are all there, but it is feeling its age a bit. It didn't drag me in to keep playing, but it didn't make me want to quit and play something else. It just... is.

I think I'll come back to it, and see if it it clicks if I get a bit further into the game.

For now, The Dwarves is barely:

3: OK

#TheDwarves #RPG #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay

Feb 21, 2023 - Day 52 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 58

Game: The Dwarves
Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Dec 2, 2016
Library Date: Dec 4, 2018
Unplayed: 1541 days (4y2m18d)
Playtime: 32m

The review is late, but I played this game last night. Yesterday was pretty heavy emotionally, and I wasn't really up to staying past midnight to review The Dwarves as well.

Today was pretty hectic, and I wondered whether it might be useful to let my feelings on The Dwarves steep for a bit, to see if I could review it better.

It didn't help. The Dwarves is quite nice graphically, the voiceovers are well done, the gameplay is... really hard to put my finger on.

The Dwarves is a fully 3D isometric RPG. I generally play 15-30 minutes of a game to get a feel for it. Even after 32 minutes, I couldn't get a feel for this game.

The pieces are all there, but it is feeling its age a bit. It didn't drag me in to keep playing, but it didn't make me want to quit and play something else. It just... is.

I think I'll come back to it, and see if it it clicks if I get a bit further into the game.

For now, The Dwarves is barely:

3: OK

#TheDwarves #RPG #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365 #NewPlay