Dreamscaper is an endlessly replayable Action Roguelike with a waking/dreaming gameplay cycle. By night, delve deep into your subconscious, facing nightmares in an ever-changing world filled with unique items, abilities, and challenges. By day, explore the city of Redhaven, build relationships and unlock permanent upgrades in order to take on the next dream stronger than ever.
MASTER DEEP COMBAT SYSTEMS
A rich, expansive combat system that rewards skilled play. Use careful positioning, exact timing and quick reflexes to defeat foes with an abundance of combat options.
Each weapon class in Dreamscaper is unique, from rending the earth below your nightmares to whipping a yo-yo into their faces. You’ll have a myriad of ways to approach combat.
Enemies and bosses in Dreamscaper are representations of Cassidy's most negative emotions. Vanquish those deadly foes to clear the dark miasma surrounding her.
OVERCOME THE NIGHTMARE
Adventure through beautiful, haunting dreams to discover untold secrets, vanquish nightmares, and upgrade your gear all while uncovering Cassidy’s story as you plunge through her subconscious. Each dream is another peek into Cassidy’s memories and experiences.
Live Cassidy's waking life and forge friendships with the people around her. Empower Cassidy with their hopes and memories to dispel the darkness of her nightmares.
"They Always Run": The single-player 2-D platformer + space western.
Developed and Published by Alawar Premium
Released October 20th, 2021
Story:"They Always Run" is a single-player 2-D platformer with space and western themes Developed and published by Alawar Premium. You play as Aidan, a 3-armed mutant bounty hunter. As a bounty hunter you will be rewarded with not only money but also information that leads you down a rabbit hole of a galaxy-wide conspiracy!
Gameplay:The game does a great job of introducing you to the many controls that will be used as a 3 armed bounty hunter. While I'm not the best at fighting, navigation was a breeze in the game and oh so smooth. I had so much fun zooming through the levels. I did struggle with remembering how to parry and dodge a lot, along with frequently dying at the hands of gunmen. However, the quick re-spawn and the nearest check-point and no live count kept me going and trying, again and again, to get to the next checkpoint.
If you're looking for a breeze of a game, this isn't it, but if you're into challenges and have nostalgia for Samus and her Metroid games, you may have found a gem here.
Replay Value + Visuals:I love pixel art, so it was already a plus in my book. The game is visually pleasing and I found myself thinking how well done and pretty they made the animation of blood spewing from my foes.
Price:The purchase price of $19.99 is great for those who love 2-D platformers and generally the way indie titles are priced. I would say as a gamer, I wouldn't bat an eye at dropping cash for a game like this.
"They Always Run", is now available on Gog.com, Steam, and Epic Games!
Pre-order Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to outfit yourself with unique cosmetic equipment for your lightsaber and droid companion.
A galaxy-spanning adventure awaits in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order™, a new third-person action-adventure title from Respawn Entertainment. This narratively driven, single-player game puts you in the role of a Jedi Padawan who narrowly escaped the purge of Order 66 following the events of Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. On a quest to rebuild the Jedi Order, you must pick up the pieces of your shattered past to complete your training, develop new powerful Force abilities and master the art of the iconic lightsaber - all while staying one step ahead of the Empire and its deadly Inquisitors.
While mastering your abilities, players will engage in cinematically charged lightsaber and Force combat designed to deliver the kind of intense Star Wars lightsaber battles as seen in the films. Players will need to approach enemies strategically, sizing up strengths and weaknesses while cleverly utilizing your Jedi training to overcome your opponents and solve the mysteries that lay in your path.
Star Wars fans will recognize iconic locations, weapons, gear and enemies while also meeting a roster of fresh characters, locations, creatures, droids and adversaries new to Star Wars. As part of this authentic Star Wars story, fans will delve into a galaxy recently seized by the Empire. As a Jedi hero-turned-fugitive, players will need to fight for survival while exploring the mysteries of a long-extinct civilization all in an effort to rebuild the remnants of the Jedi Order as the Empire seeks to erase the Jedi completely.
KEY FEATURES
Cinematic, Immersive Combat– Jedi: Fallen Order delivers the fantasy of becoming a Jedi through its innovative lightsaber combat system–striking, parrying, dodging–partnered with a suite of powerful Force abilities you’ll need to leverage to overcome obstacles that stand in your way. This combat system is intuitive but takes training and practice to fully master its nuances as you gain new powers and abilities along your adventure.
A New Jedi Story Begins - As a former Padawan on the run from the Empire, you must complete your training before Imperial Inquisitors discover your plan to revive the Jedi Order. Aided by a former Jedi Knight, a cantankerous pilot and a fearless droid, you must escape the evil machinations of the Empire in a story-driven adventure. Explore and overcome a wide range of challenges focused on combat, exploration and puzzle-solving.
The Galaxy Awaits - Ancient forests, windswept rock faces and haunted jungles are all unique biomes you’ll explore in Jedi: Fallen Order, with the freedom to decide when and where you go next. As you unlock new powers and abilities, opportunities open up to re-traverse maps in new ways; leveraging the Force to augment the way you explore. Move quickly, however, as the Empire is actively hunting your every step in their effort to exterminate all remnants of the Jedi Order.
This game... is... challenging, and that's a good thing to an extent.
Hmmm... this game was what I thought it was... and then some.
Death's Gambit is a 2D "Souls-like" Metroidvania game, and I enjoy it... despite having my butt being handed to me many times. There is no doubt that number will go up the next time I play because there is always a tough enemy tucked in a lair somewhere... just waiting to end you (but you can't die... which I'll explain later). You don't have to go that far to encounter one of these boss enemies either... so keep the pain relieving ointment handy, and prepare to get your butt kicked as you build your character. I've been on the grind to level up so I can start to redistribute some of that pain... and it's pretty addictive.
Literally, I've been grinding... going back to the same area where I've found the most success to grind, and have leveled up to a good degree so far... while looking forward to slaying the enemies who sent me back to the drawing board. I can easily say that I'm a lot better than when I started (my archery skills can be used in a wild west style shootout at this point)... and I wanted to present you with the gameplay of that, but I recorded nearly 2 hours of white screen on new software. Yeah... THAT happened. That didn't exactly make my night, but... the show must go on.
In Death's Gambit, you are Sorun, an... undead agent of Death itself. I won't give away the story, but Sorun became a soldier like his mother... and clearly things didn't work out all that great because he's raised from the dead. He isn't just raised from the dead to run around and fight random enemies, he's part of a war waged against the legendary immortals of Siradon. Siradon is the land you venture into to take on your enemies... and some of them aren't even legendary immortals, but they can send you back to the drawing board wondering what the heck happened.
Sorun and Death have an interesting relationship... some of its comical, that got my attention. I appreciate that being added in to break things up, but... even then there some very weird eerie experiences in between gameplay. I'll give you one example... and one only. After Sorun was taken out at one point, he ended up on an island... so I tested out the water. I was able to run in it, it was shallow... so I began running (to the left). After I got a distance from the island, the skies turn dark (dark) and the water turn... red. I assume it was representing blood, and... I turned right back around and tried to run back to the island... but I ended up back in Siradon. It was trippy.
Speaking of the world of Siradon, what agent class do you want to represent while taking on its immortals? You have seven classes to choose from... like Soldier, Assassin, Blood Knight, Wizard, Noble, Sentinel, and Acolyte of Death. Their attributes and items vary, like the Soldier is an all-around fighter, while the Assassin is quick, and the Wizard uses ranged magic.
The Wizard starts off with a spellbook, while the Soldier has a sword. So you have options to approach your adventure... and even still, your movements and the way you fight can seal the deal at level 6 ahead of a level 10 if you approach the battle the right way.
Death's Gambit is packed with replay value. This 2D Action RPG is already challenging enough, but I doubt you can beat it in one seating. If you think you can... record yourself doing so. The same enemies may have you coming back again and again for a rematch... and even then, if you beat them... you can go back and give them a rematch in Heroic Mode (or start a new adventure in New Game Plus mode).
Outside of that, you also have replay value in unlocking the various Talents to boost Sorun's abilities. Using Talent Points gained in your adventure allows you to unlock talents like "Blood of the Phoenix", which lets you use feathers to remove minor status ailments and restores stamina when health is over 90%. You have 3 paths to choose from. Personally, I don't see the value in most of the talents, but that's based on my playstyle.
Replay value goes even further with Journals of Immortals. You find these journals regarding the various immortals and outside of information about that immortal... you deal 5% more damage against the boss (per book). So if you have 2 journals, that's 10% more damage to bring the pain. Like other games with achievements, the life of this game is further extended by the 34 Achievements that are available if you choose to go after them.
Visually... this is a cool looking 2D game with pixel graphics that take it easy on hard drive space and other CPU resources (LOVE IT). From the way the blades are wielded... to the way, you dismount from your horse... I think they did a great job with the animations. What would be awesome is the option to switch between pixel graphics and hand-drawn art that resembles Dragon's Crown.
Audio even sounds good. The in-game music is fitting for the adventure, but you also have the sound of the blade cutting through the air and even clinking if it hits a hard surface. Another cool sound is the releasing of the bow, and these are just to name a few things that help boost the immersive experience of this 2D game. They took what they had and made it pretty sweet... which also includes the price tag.
Price wise... the game is on point at $19.99, which is in the perfect spot. No more... no less... it's right where it needs to be. It would be sweeter at $15, but its home at $19.99.
One potential con for gamers... that I can't dock the game for... is its difficulty. Not everyone will enjoy the difficulty of Death's Gambit at all because some people don't see the enjoyment of a major challenge. The con I will put on this is... the lack of cloud saving, I can't continue on a laptop where I left off on a desktop in the office. So in order to continue a game... I have to go back to that specific PC. That sucks, I wanted to continue with my grind with a collective build up... but until they allow the cloud save... stick with the PC you game on most. PS4 gamers shouldn't have this problem.
Overall, this is an interesting adventure with enough depth and challenges to keep me coming back, and I appreciate the fact that it doesn't require a lot of juice so I can log hours on a laptop.
