July 21, 2024 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 501

Game: The First Descendant

Platform: Steam
Released: Jun 30, 2024
Installed: July 2, 2024
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 2h36m

I'm baaaack.

It's been a good break, but I still find myself wanting to write about games, just not daily. I need to stop finding ways to turn fun into work.

Let's talk about The First Descendant.

It's a F2P MMO third-person sci-fi looter-shooter, that's Warframe by way of Destiny 2, with more than a little inspiration from Outriders, and Overwatch (there's one character that feels like almost a straight rip of D.Va, minus the mech suit).

Also, it's a NEXON game, which means:

1. Microtransactions
2. It might not have a long lifespan

The game is set in Albion, the last human bastion on Ingris. Albion is full of various people you need to see for various things, & feels almost exactly like The Tower from Destiny 2.

You are a "Descendant", a specially powered individual connected to the 'arche', a kind of force that gives you special powers (oh hai Outriders!)

Early on in the game you find an AI that you activate that may or may not be trustworthy, but talks to you through each mission (...The Lotus?).

This is where things get stickier, because a lot of the game mechanics for Descendents & weapons is just a straight rip from Warframe.

- You can collect Descendants, by farming the various parts and materials required to add each different Descendant to your roster.

- There are standard and powered up versions of each Descendant (aka "Primed" versions)

- You can add "mods" to each Descendant AND to the weapons that drop abundantly thoughout the relatively short missions.

- Some of the mod slots have specific polarities, and matching the mod to the polarity halves the installation cost.

This particular part of the gameplay loop is so much Warframe that I'm not sure how NEXON won't end up getting sued for IP infringement by Tencent/Leyou.

In terms of playability, it doesn't quite play like Warframe. One of the key traversal mechanisms in Warframe is "bullet jumping", allowing you to cover a lot of ground very quickly, either horizontally or vertically. It makes for some frenetic gameplay.

In The First Descendant, this is replaced with a grappling hook, a la Just Cause, which is... OK, I guess?

It doesn't feel anywhere near as cohesive as JC's grappling hook, and also feels more limiting than bullet jumping for traversal.

All in all, it does feel a bit rough around the edges, but it seems like a lot of work has been put into the game, not just in visual design, but in terms of storyline (which is not Warframe). The VA work is pretty good as well.

It's *definitely* aiming for that Skinner box sweet spot to get you hooked and wanting to pay more to buy things you need, but whether the playerbase will be sustainable is the question.

So far, The First Descendant is:

3: OK

#TheFirstDescendant #ThirdPerson #F2P #SciFi #LooterShooter #MMO #Gaming #ProjectONG

April 21, 2024 - Day 477 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 500

Game: Pacific Drive

Platform: Steam
Released: Feb 24, 2024
Installed: April 18, 2024
Unplayed: 3d
Playtime: 2h24m

I wanted to make the last game in ProjectONG a game that was new to me, and a game I hoped would be good. Instead of playing something from my library, I wanted something new.

One of the things that caught me out many times over the past 500 games was an inability to describe their genre.

Many times it was a lack of experience with particular genres of games. It sometimes lead to me going back to a game because I had a new understanding of the game mechanics.

On several occasions, I found myself stumped because a game didn't cleanly fit into a particular genre.

To that end, Pacific Drive is a doozy. It's a first-person sci-fi supernatural-horror roguelite/extraction/survival crafting driving game.

It feels like someone took Firewatch, Far Cry 5, Car Mechanic Simulator, Destiny 2, Insurmountable, Fallout 4, Control, Voidtrain, Horizon New Dawn, and Prey, and made a Blendtec video.

It feels like influences come from all of these games (and more) in one way or another, and yet it's completely different to all of them.

Pacific Drive is set in what feels like an alternate universe version of what seems to be the Pacific Northwest of the USA. In this world, scientific experiments have rendered an area on the Olympic Peninsula as off-limits, an entirely walled-off region called the "Olympic Exclusion Zone". There is no way in, or out.

I won't spoil how you find yourself inside, but once you do, it becomes a survival game, where you must travel out into the constantly changing environments of the OEZ, to gather materials & blueprints to fix and upgrade your car, and tools, while learning about the mystery of what caused the events that lead to the existence of the OEZ.

To answer the question posited by Tom Dickson, "Will it blend?", the answer is "Yes". Pacific Drive is:

5: Excellent

#PacificDrive #FirstPerson #SciFi #SupernaturalHorror #Crafting #Roguelite #Survival #Driving #Gaming #ProjectONG

April 20, 2024 - Day 476 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 499

Game: XDefiant

Platform: Ubisoft Connect
Released: Server Stress Test
Installed: April 20, 2024
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 47m

XDefiant is a (will be) free-to-play squad-based arena FPS that seems to be a mashup of Ubisoft's various franchises and Overwatch.

I signed up for the beta months ago, and forgot about it, then found a mention of the server stress test running from the 19th to the 21st in my email.

I'm not big on online shooters in general. I *bought* Overwatch and rarely played it. I gave Valorant a couple of goes, but given Riot's penchant for overly invasive software that insists on running all the time, I banned Riot games when I upgraded my PC and re-installed Windows. I've tried many of the others, and nothing really clicked.

XDefiant was announced in July 2021, and multiple online PvP shooters have appeared (and disappeared) in the intervening years. They've all left me cold.

Since I started the project, I don't think I've done a beta test review, but so close to the end of the project, why not do something new?

The game utilises several "faction"-based classes that include The Division, Splinter Cell, and Watch Dogs.

There are goals to achieve to build XP, and I'm pretty sure that it's absolutely going to have a battle-pass to use all of that XP.

I think Ubisoft do an excellent job of immersive environmental design. Far Cry 5 is one of the few AAA games I've actually completed. I sunk a huge chunk of time into The Division 2.

To me, XDefiant feels like they've brought those same skills to bear on the arenas, and I really like the feel.

However, as I don't really play squad-based shooters on the regular, I can't judge for the quality of the gameplay, or compare it to other games.

What I do know is that I don't play those other games, because I don't really enjoy them (or the abuse that often comes from other "teammates").

I enjoyed XDefiant last night, and will put some more time in today.

To be clear, this is not a sponsored post (I wish!); the server test runs from April 19th through April 21st, and is open to all platforms (link below).

I'd love to know what other people think; for me, XDefiant feels fun, so it's at least:

3: OK

#XDefiant #SquadShooter #ArenaShooter #FPS #Multiplayer #Gaming #ProjectONG

https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/xdefiant/news/5Fb8s9KfEsuwvkWJZJJsCZ/server-test-session

April 16, 2024 - Day 472 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 498

Game: FORCED

Platform: Steam
Released: Oct 24, 2013
Installed: May 25, 2019
Unplayed: 1789d (4y10m23d)
Playtime: 20m

FORCED is a difficult game to describe. It's an isometric part multiplayer arena brawler, part puzzle game.

I didn't even realise I owned it; I own and occasionally play Minion Masters, and this was a free giveaway by the devs this week, and when I tried to use the Steam key, "this game is already associated with this account".

I went through a couple of the tutorial levels. The tutorial (at least) is designed around a series of arena trials where you need to defeat a certain number of mobs, and complete particular goals.

You have a voiced assistant/instructor; a floating energy orb who can be used to interact with otherwise inactive environmental elements to complete said goals.

Between trials you can pick between one of four weapon types/play styles, some of which are better suited to a particular arena than others.

The multiplayer appears to be local or organised remote co-op; there doesn't seem to be any public matchmaking aspect, and I've got no-one to play it with, so can't really comment.

Interestingly, I can see hints of things that were developed as part of Minion Masters, but in the end, the gameplay didn't really grab me, and it's not something I think I'll play again.

Unfortunately it's just a bit:

2: Meh

#Forced #Isometric #Arena #Brawler #Puzzle #Multiplayer #Gaming #ProjectONG

April 14, 2024 - Day 470 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 497

Game: Rebel Galaxy Outlaw

Platform: Steam
Released: Sep 22, 2020
Installed: Aug 1, 2021
Unplayed: 987d (2y8m13d)
Playtime: 22m

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is a 3D space combat game.

As Juno Markev, the opening animated cut-scene finds your ship shot down by the man who killed your husband.

You now need to work your way back up by running missions to earn credits to upgrade and buy new ships, to (I assume), take revenge on the man who took your husband's life, and tried to kill you too.

One of the niceties in the dogfighting is the ability to lock on and follow a target. Had I played the tutorial before the game, knowing this, as well as how to fly the ship, may have saved me from a premature death.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw might be next up after I finally finish Chorus, because it's:

3: OK

#RebelGalaxyOutlaw #3D #SpaceCombat #Gaming #ProjectONG

April 12, 2024 - Day 468 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 496

Game: The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

Platform: Steam
Released: Sep 8, 2022
Installed: Apr 11, 2024
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 27m

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is the eighth and final game in April's Humble Choice Bundle. It's a 2.5D pixel-art point-and-click horror adventure set in Victorian England.

You play as Thomasina Bateman, a grave-robber... sorry, "barrow-digger", who's been asked to come to a small village in rural England to excavate a barrow (a large, round, ancient grave).

When she arrives by train in the village of Bewley, the man she's there to meet is nowhere to be found, and the locals claim to know nothing of the site known as "Hob's Barrow", with the mystery unfolding from there.

In this case, the narrative does lift the game above my resistance to pixel-art games, but it's definitely a game I'd need to be in the mood for.

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is:

3: OK

#TheExcavationOfHobsBarrow #PixelArt #PointAndClick #Horror #Adventure #HumbleChoice #Gaming #ProjectONG

April 11, 2024 - Day 467 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 495

Game: Coromon

Platform: Steam
Released: Apr 1, 2022
Installed: Apr 11, 2024
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 17m

Coromon is a top-down pixel-art ... Pokemon clone. I'm sorry, it's a Pokemon clone, and I'm not even going to try and pretend it isn't.

Seventh game in the April Humble Bundle, and if I wanted to play Pokemon, I'd play Pokemon.

Which is the problem with this game, because I don't want to play Pokemon.

Can I get back the 17 minutes of my life I spent playing Coromon?

1: Nope

#Coromon #PixelArt #NotPokemon #HumbleChoice #Gaming #ProjectONG

April 10, 2024 - Day 466 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 494

Game: Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga

Platform: Steam
Released: Jun 11, 2022
Installed: Apr 10, 2024
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 25m

Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga is a JRPG-inspired pixel-art turn-based tactics RPG. Number six in the April Humble Choice Bundle.

Sometimes, if you can't say something nice about something, better not to say anything at all.

Did I enjoy it? No. Am I the target market for Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga?

1: Nope

#SymphonyOfWarTheNephiliSaga #TurnBased #PixelArt #Tactics #JRPG #HumbleChoice #Gaming #ProjectONG

April 9, 2024 - Day 465 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 493

Game: Terraformers

Platform: Steam
Released: Mar 10, 2023
Installed: Apr 9, 2024
Unplayed: 0d
Playtime: 1h34m

Game number five in this month's Humble Choice Bundle is Terraformers. It's a "turn-based colony builder and resource management game with roguelike elements", built around an Earth expedition to terraform Mars.

You start with a single base, and need to explore and colonise various areas of the planet, gathering a whole load of different resources, which in turn pay for the various "research projects" that are delivered in a roguelike card-shuffle each turn.

Some turn-based games could be categorised as "just one more turn" games. Those games in which you're so deeply engrossed, that you look up, and the sun is coming up, and you need to call in sick so you can get some sleep, and then play for the rest of the day.

The key to those games is that they're scratching a particular itch, in an enjoyable and satisfying way. There's a constant series of build-ups then payoffs, and the effort->reward loop keeps those sweet dopamine hits coming at the right intervals.

I think this is why an integrated and well-planned narrative is so important; that's frequently the key to the payoffs.

Terraformers prods at the same territory, without delivering on the same satisfaction. I clocked out at just over 90 minutes, and just felt frustrated.

At the start of the game, you're presented with a choice of two leaders. Each leader has three skills, and a permanent buff. That bit's critical, because after each in-game year, you have to select a replacement leader.

I get why it's done from a gameplay mechanics perspective, but it feels like it repeatedly broke my sense of connection with the colony.

The game sets itself up as an "ancestors planting a tree" kind of story. It makes it clear that the colonists are doing this with the realisation that they'll never enjoy the fruits of their labour. I think that might be one of the key problems with the game.

I understand that the in-game population is building towards a long term goal with little short-term payoff, but the *player* needs some short-term payoffs, or else it feels more like a job than a game.

On top of everything else, Terraformers gives the population a hedonic adaptation loop. As they game goes on, it requires an increasing amount of effort to keep them happy, as they adapt to life on Mars.

With the repeated loop of disconnection, the cost of research projects grinding upwards and needing more resources, and the population becoming increasingly demanding, I eventually just tapped out.

Terraformers has some interesting ideas, but ultimately it felt like the gameplay was a lot of effort for little reward, and left me feeling pretty:

2: Meh

#Terraformers #TurnBased #ColonyBuilder #ResourceManagement #Roguelike #HumbleChoice #Gaming #ProjectONG