Happy New Year... this is the first TALW of the year. I made it to see 2021, and if you're reading this... you did too. That's something to celebrate (IMO), so grab the gummies or something sweet and... check out the top audiences this week! BOOM!
Top 10... let's go!
Shout out to Raw Fury for supplying a copy of this game for a review.
Story: Star Renegades revolves around Wynn Syphex, a female protagonist who began this story off by being shoved into an escape pod by her mother. Her mother fought until her dying breath to ensure her daughter's escape, this also resulted in Wynn witnessing her mother dying.
She was a little girl at the time, so seeing that did something to her. Rather than letting fear take over, she moved forward knowing that her mother went down fighting for her survival... and decided to step into her shoes to fight back. That's where you come in, leading a war-hardened Wynn and her ragtag squad of renegades into a life or death battle against... the Imperium. Gear up, they're coming!
Gameplay: Star Renegades is interestingly cool. It takes what could have been a safe traditional RPG and puts a spin on it. At the core, it's still a turn-based RPG, but you basically know who you're going to be facing from the get-go (at least to some degree). I would say that would take some of the mystery out of it... but it doesn't, there are many unknown challenges tucked in there for sure, and not all of the major boss characters are revealed.
I won't lie, this game is challenging... if you don't figure out a strategy, you will be overwhelmed by the Imperium. You will see Behemoth's revealed to you... and the reason why I like seeing them in this game ahead of time is that it allows you to prepare (somewhat). If you aren't prepared for certain enemies in the multiverse, at least you can avoid some because their stats are revealed to you before you face off. All you have to do is hover over them and see.
Even if you're facing off with an unavoidable Behemoth in your procedurally generated campaigns, your team can take them on in these fast-paced, turn-based battles by juggling tasks. Break their attacks by knocking them off the action timeline with your attacks, restore shields, and hunker down for retaliation.
Not only that, but these relationships can also result in your squad members creating... progeny. So outside of equipment + skill upgrades, you have other interesting things like relationships to build upon that result in... entanglements.
Tip: Defense isn't always the best way to protect yourself (when it comes to some of your team members), so keep an eye on what works best for them. You don't just obtain the same characters either, you can decide who joins the team... if you can afford them. I currently have two members of the squad that increase my chances of breaking enemies and preventing them from attacking. They're essential to my strategy.
Anyway, check out the gameplay below... and then we'll dive into the visuals.
Visuals: The visuals in Star Renegades are... kick ass. Not only does it serve up traditional 2D animation for the opening of the game, but it also delivers this cool 2D pixelated animation in combat that I would have loved to see on the Nintendo 3DS. Overall, I would actually love to play this game on the Nintendo 3DS because of the 3D slider feature on the device and the game having a lot of parallax layers going on.
They worked the pixel art in a very eye-catching way too, like with the special attacks and so forth. It may not seem like a big deal, but someone had to put in the work to piece these pixels together in order to make them look this badass. That's why I have a deep respect for 2D animation because you have to do that frame by frame versus using a rigged 3D model. That still takes work, by not as much as 2D animation (IMO). Oh yeah... The Art and Illustrations of Star Renegades artbook is available now!
Price: Pricewise, Star Renegades comes in at $24.99. Kick-ass price and one thing I forgot to mention is that... the game has a lot of references (even if they don't openly mention it) that remind me of Star Wars, TMNT, and many others. It's not a blatant rip-off of anything... but there are cool little references there to check out. I just found that to be a plus.
In addition to what's currently offered in the game, the developers are providing updates that include new planets, adversaries, behemoths, and drones via updates like "The Imperium Strikes Back" (what did I tell ya about those references... huh?). It's currently available for PC gamers, but console owners will have access to the content in early 2021. I'd say that the game is strategically priced, even if it could sit comfortably at $29.99... because it's a solid game with a good chunk of replay value.
The deluxe edition is about $5 more and includes the game (duh of the day), the OST + the artbook! Grab the game on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox... now!
Overall, I just think this is a great game. It's challenging, and it will send you back to the drawing board to fill in the holes of your strategy until you figure out a way to successfully take on... the Imperium.
Top 10... let's go!
Shout out to Raw Fury for supplying a copy of this game for a review.
Call of the Sea is... an interesting first-person adventure puzzle game. I'd call it an adventure, thriller, puzzle hybrid that starts out where it should just to gear you up for... to gear you up for a nifty adventure.
Story: Call of the Sea... takes place in 1934, and the story revolves around a female protagonist by the name of Norah. Not only are you in Norah's shoes, but this H.P. Lovecraft inspired story is based on her going on a quest to find out what happened to her husband... who ventured off to find a cure for her. Needless to say, she comes across some interesting things on this island that she doesn't find a need to weapon up for.
Not to rant or anything, but... (hmmm) I just couldn't help but wonder why in the world would someone venture off to an island with unknown dangers... and no weapon(s). Even if the weapon isn't used... I think it would've been more realistic to grab something. By the way, I had to attach thriller to this game, because of the things you come across. It's not considered a horror game.
Gameplay: The gameplay consists of you venturing around an island in the South Pacific, uncovering secrets of a lost civilization while connecting dots to uncover what happened to your husband and where he might be. In order to progress from one section to the next, you have to figure out the clues to overcome a variety of challenging puzzles.
Of course, you aren't just going from one puzzle to the next... you uncover more of the story and history of the island at the same time. The story actually goes from 0 to 20 to 60... and even if it's not considered a horror game, one part of the game (once it switches gears) really was out of the playbook of horror.
While I don't have a problem with the puzzles in the game, I kept going back to Norah traveling alone. There was a missed opportunity to add a survival element to this game with the fact that she was traveling to an unknown island to face who knows what. She didn't know how long the adventure would be, she would need food, and shelter... at least. That would have really transformed this game and took it to the next level.
Visuals: The visuals are like a quality cel shade (at least in some areas), that almost fades into full 3D models and textures after a certain occurrence. This is when the game really came alive for me... while maintaining the puzzle elements and your pursuit of finding Norah's husband. The environment is lush both on land... and in the sea, during those times when you swim the fishes.
Price: Pricewise, Call of the Sea... comes in at $19.99. That's the sweet spot for this otherworldly tale of mystery and love.
