Look, powering up your monsters by feeding them little dumpling size monsters, might be one of the best mechanics in a roguelike ‘deck builder’ out there. For nothing else, it puts Monster Train at the top of my list.
3 Likes
FWIW I took a leap of faith on Roll Player and am enjoying my time with it so far. It’s a satisfying mix of die chucking and matching coloured die into positions on 6 different tracks representing attributes such as strength, wisdom, intelligence etc. Each track depending on which race is allocated has different goals to either meet or exceed ie 17 or more total across sum of 4 die or a specific total eg 15. Each track provides optional additional effects when the dice is placed e.g. flip any 1 die to its reverse side, swap 2 die etc. after placement earned gold can be spent to buy cards from a changing market which provides equipment, armour, traits and skills. Light weight RPG elements are also present such as a changing alignment system, different races and classes with varying strengths and benefits. Essentially a high score chaser and (for me) providing a lot of fun. The developer has also stated they may consider adding one of the two expansions Monsters and Minions which provides even more content.
7 Likes
1 Like
Finally trying Dawncaster after it was recommended here some time ago. Great game, nice presentation and story for a roguelike. Kinda wish each playthrough was not quite so long, though.
4 Likes
Ixion…I played yesterday until the morning bell rang outside. o.O;
Homeworld meets Frostpunk meets Surviving Mars. A story-rich base-building/Survival/Fleet-Management/Colony-Sym. What a jewel!
Ixion on Steam (release 10% discount)
Ixion on greenmangaming (release 25% discount)
Excellent Indie/Mid-Tier/AA game. The same developer which did the stellar Warhammer 40k Mechanicus XCOM-like game. For ~ 25€ really value for money.
5 Likes
I might have to get it, but damn it looks intimidating from the screenshots!
3 Likes
TL,DR: Ixion is my Game of the year 2022!
Make no mistake this game IS really intimidating, but not for being overly convoluted or complex. No, it is decepively NOT so complex. It tricks you into thinking it is just another cutesy Colony Builder with no real stakes and just some sci-fi flair with a mysterious story and grand production value (music is spot-on so is the graphical style).
Boy, are you in for a rude awakening. You should think about it like in Frostpunk. Each grain of coal is precious, each tree you cut down could be your last. Every second you twiddle your thumps is you running really fast to your inpending doom instead…winter is coming!
The same happens in Ixion. Every bit of Metal, Carbon or Silicium is precious. Every square-meter is worth several GDPs of your favorite country.
I was thinking smugly to myself “You are such a clever bastard delaying your travel to the next system and strip-mining this current system to the core”. Ignoring the pressure of the populace to leave while spending a long time not twiddling my thumbs but tawing every cryo-pod with survivors early and unlocking 2 additional parts of the 6 part toroid shape of the ship. Nothing to do in the meantime? Well let’s plan out meticulously what to do with our time. Let’s unlock some sectors - MORE SPACE YAY!
Oh now, let’s wake up everyone - MORE WORKERS YAY! That means MORE REFINED PRODUCTS DOUBLE YAY! LIFE IS GREAT YAY!
Well after several wasted efforts I was finally satisfied with my layout. A sizeable industry, homes for everyone, everything good right? What do you think now you entitled bastards who wanted to leave as soon as possible? Pretty decent colony right? WHO IS DA administrator-MAN?
Well, I guess I was an idiot after all. I won’t spoil the facepalmingly obvious flaw in my plan here in case you want to play and see for yourself but suffice it to say this game knows how to punish you…hard!
Don’t think of it as a relaxing colony-sim. Think of it as a survival-puzzle game inside of a gordian knot inside of an Escher Painting scratched hastily onto an old Picasso picture.
Oh and also an addendum for this part:
It has no combat like in Homeworld (at least not yet but I think this isn’t a space-combat game at all). To specify it has the vibe and feels Homeworld gives you. As in desperation, graphical artistry, and sound design. It leans more into Surviving Mars (Sci-fi colony setting) and Frostpunk (difficulty and premise).
Sorry for the usual long rant…but it is such a great game. I screwed up my sleep cycle a heavy amount this week because of this game. Not only playing repeatedly until the 6:30 church morning bell in my village makes me aware of my folly, no I spent every second of my spare time thinking about it.
People may complain about the difficulty of this game (no sandbox/easy/unlimited/god mode) but if you like honing your colony management skills down to a perfect form and don’t mind restarting a lot (I replay games often and don’t mind restarting often hence my never shrinking backlog) than this is the game for you!
8 Likes
After maxing out every character’s level in Dawncaster, I decided to go back to the OG, and reinstalled Dream Quest. I understand why we talk about these games as Slay-the-Spire-alikes, and I do it myself, but it’s shocking how much of the genre is already present in DQ. Just a wildly inventive game. Not too concerned with aesthetics or perceptions of fairness, but still satisfying, even after far more polished competition saturated the market.
6 Likes
I am impressed you played dawn caster long enough to max all the characters! Well done!
And yeah, dream quest is amazing. I still thoroughly love that game (though tye shades can jump in a lake)
On a different note I have clocked up 30+ hours of “Against tye Storm” which I thoroughly reccomend. Survival city builder that plays out in short 1 hour rounda
1 Like
Vampire Survivors is consuming an inordinate amount of my time. I have it on Steam, Xbox, and iOS and the new things to discover / combos is what keeps me coming back for more. I think the best control scheme is Xbox, followed by the mouse on Steam - the touch controls make my finger hurt lol.
Just had my best run yet on Steam -
5 Likes
I really like it on the Steam Deck the most, it has been great there. Probably for a similar reason you like it on the Xbox.
Have you picked up the new DLC?
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Oh, I bet! That would definitely be ideal, but I think I’d lose the steam deck in the divorce that buying it would result in lol. Controller is definitely the ideal way to play!
Just grabbed it on Steam today, haven’t played it yet. Is it out on Xbox? I haven’t seen it on iOS yet.
3 Likes
I think the DLC is out on Xbox, and it’ll come to iOS next year.
I love it on Steam Deck, but I really like the iOS port too. I give the devs extra credit for putting the game in portrait mode to allow one-handed play when they could have easily kept it landscape like so many other mobile ports.
1 Like
Checking I have this right….
You just move around and things auto attack?
It was hard to find in the (UK) App Store. After searching on “Vampire Survivors” I had to scroll down quite some distance to find it. A search on the developer/publisher Poncle might work better …
Yes, it is basically a reverse bullet hell. You try to move away (or in rare occasions run towards) the hordes of enemies and your character does its best to thin the herd on its own. The addiction is from leveling up your arsenal etc. It is quite a clever twist on the Bullethell/Roguelike genres.
A perfect fit for the Steamdeck. A run or two before turning in for the night keeps them vampires away!
2 Likes
The expansion, I meant, but thanks!
Yup, grabbed it on Xbox too
Oh yes, d’oh, it is completely clear that your were talking abnout the DLC…
Must. Read. And. Also. Comprehend. Before Replying.
2 Likes
I have found “Artist Life Simuiator”
It has to be from the same people as cultist simulator, and it is so much better simply because it has better rails and structure on how to actually play the gane
2 Likes