Nick Herber

“Medieval Dynasty is a fun mashup of survival, RPG and building simulation that works far more often than not. The visuals are attractive and the world is fun to explore, even if the characters discovered during the exploration could be more engaging. There is a lot to do – but the pacing of Medieval Dynasty can make for a satisfying if slow-burn experience that I enjoyed but certainly won’t be for everyone.”

“In all, the Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory / Fallen Legion Revenants packed is a well-made one that should provide north of a couple dozen hours of gameplay. The action / strategy mix is unique and can create for some rewarding experiences, even if the combat and character progression didn’t always have quite as much depth as I like from my more traditional RPGs. The presentation is a solid one and the world that these games are set in is interesting, if perhaps not as deeply explored as I would have liked in the end. Still, the overall experience is worth having for those looking for a different take on the strategy genre.”

“Simply put – I loved my time with Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi. This is one of the best dungeon crawlers I have played in a very long time. The story and setting is unique and interesting, progression gives a great sense of ownership over your characters and the overall package from presentation to quality of life make Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi one of the most approachable, enjoyable RPG’s I have played in some time.”

“Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II is not a bad game, but by more modern standards it is not really a good one either. Fans just looking for a trip down memory lane will probably get what they need out of this, but Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II is a barebones remaster that touches up the in-game visuals and little more. On those merits, it is hard to argue that Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II is good bang for the buck at roughly thirty dollars, unless you are a diehard fan of all Dungeons & Dragons games. Despite some technical quibbles and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II’s evident age, there is fun to be had here for those who enjoy an action RPG.”

“Rogue Lords is a solid overall RPG roguelike with an interesting theme and a really cool mechanic in its Devil Mode. These things help to separate Rogue Lords from the pack, but unfortunately some uneven difficulty spikes and combat’s pacing slowing down in later runs takes a bit of the shine off the game’s longevity. It’s still worth playing until that happens.”

“Deck of Ashes: Complete Edition is a mixed experience for me right now. The core experience was engaging and one that I enjoyed – when things worked the way I expected them to. Unfortunately, I ran into enough technical hurdles that I stopped my second playthrough and have only picked it up once since then (three days ago to see if the issue with not being able to refresh middle rows of cards was still happening – it is). It’s a shame, as things currently stand – but thankfully with a few tweaks to polish up some of the rough edges and make the most of the core experience.”

“Pinball FX3 – Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure is a fantastic table that filled me with nostalgia as soon as I fired it up and heard the familiar music. The presentation is top-notch across the board, and it is a fast-paced, entertaining table. The value proposition might not be for everyone however, as it is a single table at a premium price.”

“Thea 2: The Shattering shares that DNA from the first game, but has evolved into something different – and something with higher expectations. It’s hard to say whether or not those expectations will be fully met by fans, but at the same time? Like the original, Thea 2: The Shattering has an addictive quality that tugs at me in a variety of different ways that kept me engaged for hours at a time.”

“Vaporum: Lockdown creates a nice sense of isolation and is a fun experience, despite some frustrating puzzles along the way. The presentation is solid and the progression elements are rewarding, even if the combat itself can be slightly repetitive after a time. Vaporum: Lockdown made a great initial impression on me, though by the time I got into the title’s later content, I was less enamored with it overall.”

“Corpse Party is the best version of this release yet, which is saying something as it has seen multiple ports over the last twenty-five years. It has the most polished visuals, accessible menus and extra content. The pacing and graphics might not be for everyone, but if you are a fan of creepy writing and outstanding audio design, then give Corpse Party a chance during this year’s scary season.”

“"Disciples: Liberation is a very enjoyable fantasy game that mixes turn-based combat with real-time exploration and a smidge of simulation / city-building. It can be a risk trying to balance these different elements, but kudos to the development team for striking a satisfactory balance. I really enjoyed my time with this game and it is pretty easy to sink a few dozen or so hours into it. Fans of strategy / RPG titles will find a lot to like here and should definitely give Disciples: Liberation a look." - Nick "So overall, even with the shift of the Disciples series with Disciples: Liberation to a more real-time and turn-based tactics RPG than the older entries of “player versus player” styles, it’s in good shape. The shift isn’t a bad one but as mentioned above, a few small tweaks could definitely help to polish this off even further regardless of if you decide to drop into this dark and intriguing world on the PC or on the consoles at the beginning of next month." - Pierre-Yves' PC Preview (https://chalgyr.com/2021/09/preview-pc-disciplesliberation.html)”

“Song in the Smoke is an excellent survival game that creates a genuine sense of dread as you manage your resources and explore often unforgiving environments. The setting is interesting, and while the visual textures can suffer a bit at times and the actual combat was a bit off for me, the sense of discovery while exploring new places was an immersive thrill.”

“Mayhem Brawler is a solid beat-‘em-up game that manages to do something few games in the genre do: make the narrative interesting. This is handled through a bevy of excellent comic book style panels and the ability to choose your own path to different endings. I do wish the combat was just a bit smoother, since that is what the core gameplay is all about, but the oodles of variety and fun supernatural theme make Mayhem Brawler fun despite its flaws.”

“For me, Cardaclysm: Shards of the Four is a mixed bag with a ton of potential, but too many small issues that are impossible to completely overlook. I really liked the card evolution and deck building systems, I appreciated the quests, equipment and randomized nature of the stages, and the turn-based combat is generally satisfying. I just don’t like the difficulty spikes that are largely due to the uneven resource requirements and the rough control optimization. I have a feeling this would play better on PC with a mouse and a keyboard, but appreciate seeing games like this make their way to consoles, where I tend to play more. A bit of UI / control cleanup and better balance of resources would make Cardaclysm: Shards of the Four a much better overall title that is still worth a look – but be ready for a bit of frustration.”

“Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare is a fairly priced bit of DLC that is the perfect reason for people who played this title a year ago to pick the game back up again. All three new characters play differently from one another, providing a satisfying variety as you pound your way through hapless bad guys once again. The Survival mode also exceeded my expectations and has that addictive ‘one more time’ feel to it.”

“Empire of Angels IV is a nice enough strategy game that does just enough for me to enjoy it, even if I did find myself sometimes wishing for a bit more meat on the bones. A cleaner translation, items / equipment, and a more interesting combination of characters and narrative would have helped elevate the entire package. What we still have is a fundamentally sound, relatively easy SRPG that can be enjoyed over a couple of dozen hours or so.”

“Wingspan is an interesting game. There is a good deal of strategy to it, and a lot of depth to the gameplay. It is certainly a more relaxing, less directly competitive type of game than many of them out there, making it one I particularly enjoy in the evenings when I am trying to wind down. Being based on a boardgame, there is an element of random luck in there that can subvert even the best strategies, but careful planning can certainly help pave the path to a win. All in all, Wingspan is a charming game that strategy fans should enjoy.”

“All in all, REKT! High Octane Stunts feels like an old-school arcade game. It is a bit of a misnomer to call it a racing game, despite having a car in it. At its core, REKT is all about the stunts and points, and while the game handles well and delivers on that promise, the number of environments and differences in unlocked cars are somewhat limited. There are not a lot of modes here either. What is there is great deal of fun for a time, but REKT! High Octane Stunts’ overall content is somewhat lacking.”

“Star Wars Pinball VR provides a pretty good bang for its buck, given that there are eight total tables and two of them are brand new. Some table layouts and thematic choices will resonate with people differently, but as a whole the package is quite enjoyable. The presentation is fantastic, both of the new tables are well-made and Star Wars Pinball VR gives me hope we will see even more virtual reality pinball from the wizards at Zen Studios in the future.”

“ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is a fun adventure and a really interesting use of virtual reality. That being said, the visual novel genre and its notoriously slow pacing is not going to be for everyone. For better or for worse, the genre has a bit of a stigma with gamers for not necessarily being much of an actual game and ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos won’t do anything to change that perspective. Thankfully though, the branching paths and generally interesting narrative add plenty of reason for fans of the genre to give this science fiction adventure a go and experience it with the twist that the PSVR provides.”