I would add two things to the review, which I lost track of and couldn't find space to add in after the fact:
The music is great, as I noted, but the game also does a solid job of knowing when not to have any. You want to exacerbate the creepiness of an environment? Wander around it in relative silence, listening to the enemies stomp along their path or groan in misery D: An official soundtrack can't capture that.
Bosses love their second-phases with full health bars. It becomes very predictable, and it starts earlier than one might suspect. "Big lumbering moveset followed by a faster + different phase 2" is in store for ya, and as you might expect there are no checkpoints between the phases. There's still enough variety and cool-moments to keep this all in check, but I can imagine it might turn off or frustrate some people.
*excited squealing noises* I'm super fucking hyped for Clair Obscur! Should have no problem maintaining my hype for 3 months and a day - I could easily see Expedition 33 as my Game of the Year (and maybe the official one too?). And I can't believe this gorgeous game is only $50; that seems insane to me!
My only "problem" is how packed that one week in April appears to be: Mandragora on the 17th, Lunar Remastered Collection on the 18th, and now Clair Obscur on the 24th! I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting; watch Hollow Knight: Silksong drop that month too, because of course lol >_>
Diablo IV's Season of Witchcraft started yesterday. I wasn't planning to do anything with it - still got the RTS Steam Fest to review, plus Black Myth: Wukong and so on, but my motivation was torpedoed by some personal events that hit me over the last couple days. I'm just gonna play some Diablo for a bit and try to feel better; January has really sucked.
Isn't Grunty...terrible? 8-Mana for a 3/4 with an effect that's Super Duper random and can't go face. You're just hoping the Murlocs are big enough to clear stuff.
While I remain hurting from my biopsy, I was thinking that I need to find a "cozy" game that I can just play without requiring my full attention, ya know? Something that doesn't need me to tryhard: love Lies of P, quite enjoyed Black Myth: Wukong back in August, and so on, but they require the player to maintain focus (and a fair bit of discipline). Kinda hard to play them when you're drowsy on pain meds, half-asleep lol.
Almost done with Lies of P, by the way, but I've "lost" a fair bit of potential playtime to naps and the like. Also the Horipad Steam Controller turned out to be just what I wanted: it's rather perfect for taking screenshots.
Fair point - I might've thought of that had I still played the game lol. Then again, Blizzard could've foreseen it and played around with who got Starships when, but all well.
I personally would have made Paladin a Protoss class - Divine Shield fits perfectly with their energy shields, and I always considered Artanis a Paladin. Swap it with Rogue (for Ghosts and the like), and it would be much better in my opinion. I guess we'll see how they handle them!
... or any space/turn-based game you enjoy (that is not Baldur's gate lol).
Curious to find out about any hidden gems out there.
If it helps, I did review some demos from Steam's Outer Space Fest about 4 months ago. Only Dark Sky was turn-based, though; there's also a review around here somewhere of the demo for Dimensionals, which is sorta what you might be looking for. I enjoyed Everspace 2 a lot, but it's not turn-based.
For something that is both turn-based and space-themed, but not reviewed by me, I can point you towards Endless Space, or the sequel!
I must apologize to you, anchorm4n: I (sorta) went back on what I said and started Lies of P. Between the breaking of my glasses and the liver biopsy-recovery I'm dealing with, it was easier to play games on my Steam Deck over the PC. Wukong isn't supported on the Deck, so I started Lies of P and am really enjoying the game; I'd rather not pivot back or jump back-and-forth, if I can help it.
Black Myth: Wukong is still on the menu, though! My overall plan is still to get them both done before January's end.
Thought you should know, if you happen to spot me playing Lies of P on Discord.
Broke my glasses this morning, dodging out of the way of a snow plow. So that sucks. Gotta figure out how to play Wukong (or Lies of P) while I await a new prescription...
Don't go out of your way for my sake! From what I've seen so far I understand that you enjoy Baldur's Gate and PoE a lot. Removing one of them for Wukong probably isn't worth it.
Too late :D Going "out of (my) way" for your sake was the whole point of asking for suggestions lol. PoE2 is still in Early Access; it can wait for another day.
Thanks for asking! My vote goes for Wukong as I'm considering trying it myself.
I'll be honest: I've been working to hype myself up for Lies of P, under the impression that no one would reply lol. But I didn't forget about you and your desire to know more about Wukong. Reinstalling the game will involve a hard choice - my level of PC storage means I can't fit Wukong at the same time as two other giant games I've been playing, Baldur's Gate III and Path of Exile 2 - but I'll make it happen!
At least i'm glad there's no burnout with POE2 yet, but i do hate having to redo all the acts on cruel difficulty. I always hated this formula in Diablo too. Hopefully i won't get bored soon.
If it helps, the whole "redo the story, but on a harder difficulty" is just an Early Access thing. The first Path of Exile did something similar: once the full campaign was (finally) released, they dropped the need to go back through.
There will be six Acts of story in PoE2, and then you'll be able to head straight to end-game.
Of course! Glad to be of service hehe
I would add two things to the review, which I lost track of and couldn't find space to add in after the fact:
*excited squealing noises* I'm super fucking hyped for Clair Obscur! Should have no problem maintaining my hype for 3 months and a day - I could easily see Expedition 33 as my Game of the Year (and maybe the official one too?). And I can't believe this gorgeous game is only $50; that seems insane to me!
My only "problem" is how packed that one week in April appears to be: Mandragora on the 17th, Lunar Remastered Collection on the 18th, and now Clair Obscur on the 24th! I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting; watch Hollow Knight: Silksong drop that month too, because of course lol >_>
Pachirisu's text mentions Pokemon Tools, which IIRC are like held items equipped to Pokemon. So a whole 'nother thing to consider!
Diablo IV's Season of Witchcraft started yesterday. I wasn't planning to do anything with it - still got the RTS Steam Fest to review, plus Black Myth: Wukong and so on, but my motivation was torpedoed by some personal events that hit me over the last couple days. I'm just gonna play some Diablo for a bit and try to feel better; January has really sucked.
Regis' livelihood just got torpedoed in the crossfire. Not to mention everyone else who was reliant on Snap and/or TikTok 😧
Isn't Grunty...terrible? 8-Mana for a 3/4 with an effect that's Super Duper random and can't go face. You're just hoping the Murlocs are big enough to clear stuff.
Close enough for ya? hehe While it doesn't have a Battlecry, it has the neighbor effect you were guessing. It can even go face while not going face :D
"Super Switch" was there for the taking, and they dropped the ball. 1 star! lol
This is cool and all, but it don't mean nothin' without some of them there games to play. Let us have a looksie?
While I remain hurting from my biopsy, I was thinking that I need to find a "cozy" game that I can just play without requiring my full attention, ya know? Something that doesn't need me to tryhard: love Lies of P, quite enjoyed Black Myth: Wukong back in August, and so on, but they require the player to maintain focus (and a fair bit of discipline). Kinda hard to play them when you're drowsy on pain meds, half-asleep lol.
Almost done with Lies of P, by the way, but I've "lost" a fair bit of potential playtime to naps and the like. Also the Horipad Steam Controller turned out to be just what I wanted: it's rather perfect for taking screenshots.
Maybe not what people wanted when they asked for the Witch Doctor to join Diablo IV, but still seems like a potentially fun Season.
Also, why is it not called "Season of the Witch"? The reference was right there for those that wanted it.
Fair point - I might've thought of that had I still played the game lol. Then again, Blizzard could've foreseen it and played around with who got Starships when, but all well.
You are correct in your guess - they also updated the Mean Streets tri-class cards to have this little sticker-thingy:
https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/1i0mgx4/does_anyone_know_what_this_symbol_on_some_of_the/
I personally would have made Paladin a Protoss class - Divine Shield fits perfectly with their energy shields, and I always considered Artanis a Paladin. Swap it with Rogue (for Ghosts and the like), and it would be much better in my opinion. I guess we'll see how they handle them!
If it helps, I did review some demos from Steam's Outer Space Fest about 4 months ago. Only Dark Sky was turn-based, though; there's also a review around here somewhere of the demo for Dimensionals, which is sorta what you might be looking for. I enjoyed Everspace 2 a lot, but it's not turn-based.
For something that is both turn-based and space-themed, but not reviewed by me, I can point you towards Endless Space, or the sequel!
I must apologize to you, anchorm4n: I (sorta) went back on what I said and started Lies of P. Between the breaking of my glasses and the liver biopsy-recovery I'm dealing with, it was easier to play games on my Steam Deck over the PC. Wukong isn't supported on the Deck, so I started Lies of P and am really enjoying the game; I'd rather not pivot back or jump back-and-forth, if I can help it.
Black Myth: Wukong is still on the menu, though! My overall plan is still to get them both done before January's end.
Thought you should know, if you happen to spot me playing Lies of P on Discord.
My Horipad Steam Controller arrived 8 days early, so that's cool 😎 Currently recovering from a liver biopsy, though, which is not-so-cool lol 🤕
Broke my glasses this morning, dodging out of the way of a snow plow. So that sucks. Gotta figure out how to play Wukong (or Lies of P) while I await a new prescription...
Too late :D Going "out of (my) way" for your sake was the whole point of asking for suggestions lol. PoE2 is still in Early Access; it can wait for another day.
After I finish Black Myth: Wukong (and another particular article semi-related to it), I will start Lies of P.
...my hope is to get them both done before Marvel's Spider-Man 2 hits Steam on January 31st, or thereabouts!
I'll be honest: I've been working to hype myself up for Lies of P, under the impression that no one would reply lol. But I didn't forget about you and your desire to know more about Wukong. Reinstalling the game will involve a hard choice - my level of PC storage means I can't fit Wukong at the same time as two other giant games I've been playing, Baldur's Gate III and Path of Exile 2 - but I'll make it happen!
If it helps, the whole "redo the story, but on a harder difficulty" is just an Early Access thing. The first Path of Exile did something similar: once the full campaign was (finally) released, they dropped the need to go back through.
There will be six Acts of story in PoE2, and then you'll be able to head straight to end-game.