High Rise City by developer Fourexo Entertainment and publisher Deck13—PC(Steam) preview written by Susan N. with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 4.5 minutes.
Showing posts with label CGPreview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CGPreview. Show all posts
Kaku: The Ancient Seal - PC Preview
Kaku: Ancient Seal by developer and publisher BINGOBELL—PC(Steam) preview written by Susan N. with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes.
BingoBell released a charming ARPG with platforming elements in 2023 and with its interesting animated style and general game concept, Kaku: Ancient Seal is a fun game. It has some cool features like a customizable combat system, open world exploration, puzzles to solve, and food to cook. That said, it's not a game that will stand out in its genre. In fact, for many, Kaku: Ancient Seal might be considered 'just another ARPG' because it's not particularly groundbreaking.
Gameplay
In the beginning of the game, we meet an old man who sets us out on a journey to restore balance to the land by repairing the Ancient Seal. But before we can embark on this epic journey, we are introduced to basic abilities from attacks to gathering plants for cooking to collecting upgrade materials. To acquire these materials, players need to explore a vast open world and solve a series of puzzles. Each elemental region is plagued with various challenging enemies. The good news is that there are materials aplenty in order to upgrade abilities and weapons. Unlike other ARPGs where the combat system is somewhat limited, Kaku: Ancient Seal has a decent combat list, which will be covered a bit later.
Among the unique features of Kaku: Ancient Seal is the cooking. In order to heal or replenish stamina, you must have made a bunch of food at a cooking station. Like ability upgrades, herbs and mushrooms can be found in each area, thus allowing players to have enough food to heal. Although, there is a limit to how much food one can carry on their adventures, which is why there are multiple cooking stations throughout the world.
Like with many games in this genre, the story is told through dialogue. It doesn't have any voice acting to speak of, which can be seen as a downfall, but thankfully there isn't an over abundance of textboxes. Unfortunately, some of the grammar and syntax used is not great. And thankfully, it is completely comprehensible despite that fact. Overall, the game is quite enjoyable.
Combat
Like with the average RPG, there is plenty of combat to get involved in. However, unlike other RPG's, the combat system is much more varied and fleshed out. Players can boost their melee and ranged attacks as they wish. They are even given a charming pig companion that can also be leveled.
The combat tree is sprawling with different types of attacks from quick attacks to charged heavier attacks. Each attack is executed with a series of button presses like one would find in a fighting game. In order to upgrade these attacks to suit your playstyle, you will need to collect different types of materials. Materials can only be used to upgrade certain types of attacks. Players can also increase their stamina or their shield length as well.
When in combat with creatures, players will have to rely on their wits to take out their opponents. Dodging large attacks will be paramount to your survival. It's not enough to upgrade your attacks, because you'll have to keep an eye out for the opportune moment to strike.
Pros and Cons
Kaku: Ancient Seal has some decent gameplay but has its flaws. For one thing, the game's performance can be sketchy. At critical moments, the FPS can drop significantly which can turn a fight on its head. This didn't happen often, but it was enough to be noticeable.
Another strike against the game is some of the strange texture issues. I found there were points where you could fall through the world or could crash out of the game entirely. Again, this was not a regular occurrence, but it was enough to notice. While it is set in an open world, the game struggled with rendering. A point that needs to be addressed before a full release of the game.
Some of the good points of Kaku: Ancient Seal is the open world nature of the game. Unlike many games which can be quite linear in progression, players get the option to go to whichever island they would like. Players can traverse the islands filled with resources and creatures alike. Not only is there plenty of opportunity to fight opponents, but there are plenty of resources to upgrade your abilities too! It helps that there are a decent number of save points as well.
While some people might find the graphics dated, I found them to be charming. The characters are more caricature-like with heads that are larger than the body frames. Even the old man seems a bit childlike because of the animation style, which makes Kaku: Ancient Seal a little more family friendly than other ARPG's.
Final Thoughts
Kaku: The Ancient Seal is a solid ARPG with a sprawling combat system and open world nature. It is a fun title that doesn't need to be taken too seriously, and it's a fun game to play. While it is not going to destroy the competition as far as RPG's go, it's a great way to kill a few hours. With some improvements to the performance, this game can definitely be a contender in its genre after it leaves Early Access!
Article by: Susan N.
Nioh 2 Alpha Demo - PS4 Preview
Nioh 2's opening act is coming at a good time. There are currently no in the air projects from From Software and Deck 13's The Surge 2 while being put on display isn't really in anyone's hands yet (as far as I know short of some hands-on demos). Following in its predecessor's footsteps, Nioh 2 is going through alpha, and the assumption of beta stages, to let developers iron out any details in order to make the best possible product like they did last time. The only disappointment? The Alpha was closed so unless you got lucky, you didn't get in. Me? I didn't get lucky but I do have some good friends so thank you Robert! I appreciated both the code and the time that I got to spend with it.
Getting the only other disappointment out of the way, for some reason, gameplay recording was blocked so I was both unable to take screenshots or video segments in order to showcase certain amazing elements like the cute round yokai cats that you could find. Petting these little guys gave you a limited time bonus as they followed you around and they were super cute to look at. But that's really something for further below so why don't we start at the beginning?
Story, much like the last round of alpha and beta testing, there isn't much out there. Starting off in “the dojo” for a full introduction to Nioh 2's features, there you'll be treated to a fair amount of changes in the gameplay. Picking either a male or female character, there were a few options available so interestingly enough, I played as a female norse looking goddess of death. While this falls more into cosmetics, I do wonder what it'll actually bring to the whole experience later down the line. THE major change however is that spirit companions no longer boost just your abilities, they turn you into an actual demon which leads into a whole new style of gameplay.
Demonic transformations are seriously cool. It changes your appearance, it changes the weapon style, and further, it changes depending upon which element you have equipped through your spirit companion. Like before, you'll have a timed gauge that tells you how long you have left while also acting as your hit points while in that mode. Like while being human, square attacks have one combo set, triangle have another and finally pressing Circle and Triangle will make your familiar attack alongside you. As cool as it is though, being “demonic” leads to another new feature, being able to survive in the miasma and whole new miasma covered areas.
These areas are scary. Superimposed on top of the real world, you're going to be faced with terrifying mid-bosses or destroying a particular monument if you want to clear the miasma. Do you need to? No. Should you? Probably. Locked away in these areas are chests and your Kodama Shrines that can only be accessed from the real world. So if you want what's in there, you're going to have to fight for it.
There are a lot of returning elements to Nioh 2 from its predecessor. Stances are back in which you can be disarmed, take a low, medium or high stance with your weapon for different attacks. Also back, but in a much more interesting layout that truly shows what connects to what, are the skills that you can unlock in order to further customize your character. Parries from various stances, onmyo magics to set your weapon on fire or summon a familiar, ninjutsus like coating your weapons with poison or throwing ninja stars, all back. Where things start to become interesting is that now your spirit companion can equip through a points system up to two demonic cores for some new and interesting attacks.
Demonic cores are a little bit like the various pieces of gear that you'll be picking up. Each core type comes as an attack based off of the enemy that it came off of. Those wall creatures that hide passages for example with come in for a massive crushing blow while this new double scythed burrowing almost zerg creature will do exactly that before shredding the enemy that you used it on. So many others exist like becoming a tornado or launching a spear attack if you got the second boss' core, but if you are the one in control like the tornado, you can still take damage so you still have to be somewhat careful while wreaking havoc.
The variety of weapons and the familiarity system are also back but with a twist. New types of weapons like dual-hatchets can be flung around alongside these enormous greatswords that would be comfortable in a Monster Hunter setting but what's new is that these weapons can now be sentient either in a demonic or a holy sense. Being more popular, I came across many more Demonic weapons and the added bonus is that they pack on the damage which makes them useful for longer even if you should be moving onto a newer and more potent weapon.
Back again, but with a twist (basically the premise of Nioh 2 at this point), are the Revenants that you can fight in order to gain better gear or just test your skills. These Remnants are the corpses of other players that are AI controlled along the parameters of their playstyle. Sometimes they are super easy to take out, other times you wonder how did they die if the AI itself is that freaking good?!
Side to these are Benevolent graves that allow you to summon in an AI version of the player that would have dropped where they thought was best in order to be summoned. Now you don't have to go at it alone nor do you need to wait to try to summon another player as these AI allies are already ready to go and take no time in order to join you. If you yourself put one of these signs down, you will receive an appropriate reward the next time that you go back to the world map after either completing or quitting the stage that you were doing.
Lastly in the returning features are your adorable little Kodama. These tiny green guys grant you bonuses through their shrines the more you accumulate. Extra Amrita (exp), weapons, items, the percentage increases as you find them. What's new, interesting, and I'll be serious that I have no idea what they actually wanted, are Evil looking Kodama? They are purple, they wear skulls on their heads, and they want something. What's that something? No clue. You can greet them, go through emotes, but in the end I never got anything from out of them but in the trailer you see it's possible to anger them as they struck the player dead with a blast of lightning.
Before wrapping it up, there's one detail that I really want to praise the development team on. Originally you basically had three larger demon types. In your basics they wielded swords or daggers, in your larger they were elemental based, and at the largest they were just hand heavy and could crush you without a second thought.
Now you have a whole bunch of new types like a one legged monster that wields a huge club, a four armed swordsman that can basically perform Tosh from Arc the Lad's Shinku-zen four damned times, and then another gremlin looking thing that love to hide whenever they can, run up to you, and eat the corpse of another one to grow bigger and more powerful if you let them. Human enemies are the same and in the grand scheme easier to handle but the variety in even just the three stages that were provided was neat to see.
Quick note: Finishing the demo however did not net a reward this time around probably because it was closed and that would be unfair to the masses.
From just the first three stages that I must have spent over a dozen hours on, it was clear to see that Team Ninja didn't just sit on the success of Nioh and say, “hey let's make a second”. The gameplay has been refined, new features can be found everywhere, you can pet adorable Yokai balled cats, totally named them Squishies, and the environments themselves feel both familiar and new as you still happen to be in the same timeline and areas of Japan from the first one. With the Alpha already looking this great I can't wait to see the Beta!
Game Information
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Team Ninja
Publisher(s):
Koei Temco America
Genre(s):
Action
Adventure
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer Coop and Versus
Other Platform(s):
None Currently
Source:
Closed Alpha Code
Article by Pierre-Yves
Driftland - PC Preview
Driftland: The Magic Revival is a welcome addition to the family of strategy games that have seen great success in recent years. In a similar vein to Sins of a Solar Empire and The Settlers 7 (one of my all-time favorite games), Driftland brings new and exciting mechanics to a genre that has largely been perfected. Though still in Early Access, Driftland's unique approach to world-building and map control has the potential to be a potential game-changer in the genre of real-time strategy titles.
As with all other previews, I would like to note that Driftland: The Magic Revival is still in production. This means that the good folks at Star Drifters may change portions of the game as development continues. As an example, currently of the four races only two (Humans and Elves) are currently playable. At the time of this writing, Driftland is in version 0.3 to 0.4 so there are a lot of changes yet to come.
Set in a world where magic has not only torn the world apart and but is now being used to literally hold the floating masses with which the races live upon together. This very facet of the lore is a spectacular gameplay mechanic. You start each map on an island with a few pre-connected islands, then you expand your base by using a magic eye to scout the island, then you can attach those scouted islands by using magic to drag the island closer to your main base, where you can then build a bridge. It is a phenomenal process that is more than simply dragging islands within reach, as each island you expand to with your buildings the cost to maintain goes up. This means that expanding willy-nilly will land you in the hot seat with regard to upkeep costs. The first few games I was expanding with wild abandon and had no money left to hire knights to defend against the roving barbarians and dastardly ariel units.
Unlike more traditionally-recognized RTS titled like WarCraft or Command & Conquer (classics!), Driftland follows in the vein of pseudo-RTS and pure Strategy titles more akin to Majesty, Sins of a Solar Empire, and The Settlers. As mentioned previously, Settlers VII is one of my favorite games and Drifltand: The Magic Revival comes close to unseating it. Whereas traditional RTS titles are about micromanaging units and loosely managing funds / resources, Driftland is the opposite; you will spend more time managing your resources and slowly expanding than throwing piles of infantrymen at the nearest tank or ultralisk. With that in mind you can, to a point, micromanage the heroes you hire by sending them on quests by adding bounties to various things (monsters, chests/dungeons, etc.) where they can then get gear/addons. You can also upgrade them with various base functions, such as getting flying mounts or adding auras that help other units in the area.
With only two races playable, and them being mirrors of one another, Driftland: The Magic Revival is a little lacking in overall content. However it is a spectacular strategy game that is getting better and better with each of the updates that Star Drivers puts out. In time it can, and likely will, become a far more important strategy title. Excellent graphics and a straightforward user interface that, while being a bit problematic for those coloblind like yours truly, is easily managed with everything you need at a moment's notice meaning you can focus more on gameplay and less on hunting and pecking through menus. With the regular updates that Driftland: The Magic Revival gets, it is only a matter of time before we are blessed with the next great single-player strategy title.
Game Information
PC
Developer(s):
Star Drifters
Publisher(s):
Star Drifters
Genre(s):
Simulation
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA
Source:
Provided by Publisher
Article by Robert
Rimworld - A Second PC Preview
Sheer panic grips you as the alarms sound wildly all around you, your console is lit up like a spazzing christmas tree on the fourth of July. In your view screen looms a rocky, harsh planet that's rapidly becoming bigger. Your ship is going down and there is nothing you can do about it. You and your crew rush to the escape pods. A blinding flash, a sickening crunch and suddenly blackness. As you swim to the surface of consciousness and look around you see the few survivors and the harsh landscape that has suddenly become home. Where are you? A group of large fuzzy animals are stampeding away from the crash, trees smoke and crackle with fire, a beaver sits looking at you from….wait….a beaver? What is this Canada? You stumble to your feet and look around. Unfortunately for you there will be no igloos, no Tim Hortons and certainly no clinics with free health care. You're not in Canada, you are on a planet at the edge of the galaxy. You have crash landed on a Rimworld, and you are in very big trouble!
At it's core Rimworld is a game of survival with a good mix of combat, mystery and misery thrown in. Your only real goal is to survive and get off this planet...or don't it's up to you. At the beginning of your game you chose one of three starting scenarios along with a narrator who will dictate your odds of survival and how much you're about to cry (Editor's Note: What is this? Dark Souls?). Will you take on the group of three survivors from the crash above? Or will you lead the band of five tribes people whose home has been destroyed as they set forth into the unknown? Or perhaps you will be the possibly insane rich investor who has voluntarily stranded himself on this Rimworld. All three provide their own challenges. The crash survivors start out with fewer people but more technology available up front. The tribes people have more helping hands but more mouths to feed and less technology. And the lone rich guy, well he has all the supplies money can buy but this world is not easy to survive in alone.
The narrator you choose will dictate how many events you face and their severity. One will start you off easy but will steadily increase the difficulty until you're calling red alert more often than Voyager in Borg space. One will give you lots of time to prepare in between but won't hold her punches and really loves to kick you when you're down. And the other really doesn't care, he's going to give you whatever he thinks is fun, whether you're ready or not.
Once you've chosen your scenario and level of masochism it's time to chose your location and your people. Your starting location will dictate how long a growing season you have, your chances of disease, wildlife and the types of rock available. Be warned, you are not the only group of flesh bags on this planet. There are other factions and towns already in existence. Some friendly… some not so much.
The people you select are just as crucial to your starting location. Just like in real life no one's perfect and everyone has good points and flaws, it all depends on what kind of flaws you can live with. The super soldier might have a bad back that makes him a grouch or the farmer might have an addiction or is missing an eye. Every person has a trade off. Every pre-existing health problem or severe injury sustained within your colonists life will affect their work output and their mood. If a frag grenade destroys your engineers eye he's going to be a lot less effective and in pain until you can design him a new one. Depending on your technology that new eye can be anything from a wooden eye that makes him look a little like a pirate or an advanced piece of technology that will allow him to rival Geordi La Forge (I've been binge watching Star Trek, don't judge me!).
With your people selected and the clock to your impending doom started, it's now time to begin the base building aspect of Rimworld. Your starting scenario will dictate whether have access to things like electricity right off the bat. As you research and progress through the game you can move from a hunter gather society to a well dressed, gun toting civilization. As your people become more skilled they create better items faster and surviving gets a little easier. But be warned, your circumstances can change in a flash, literally.
During my first playthrough I had the pleasure of watching my wooden base burn to the ground during a dry lightning storm. Then they got ambushed by raiders and… well… that Rimworld got a new ruin. The next game I played I had the foresight to build stone walls as soon as I could, but stone doesn't save you when a cold snap and a blight wipes out all your food. You could go full cannibal but I was early in the game and not that committed. Often Rimworld follows the law of three and you can be coasting alone feeling like you have everything under control and suddenly you're desperately foraging for berries and sleeping on the ground. The unforgiving nature of the game is part of why I love it.
Nature isn't the only danger you'll face. Each of your people has needs and if those aren't met they will have mental breakdowns which can include the sort of funny binge drinking or the not so funny brawling. Each member of your group will have different social ties to the others. Your vet might despise your soldier while trying to make amorous advances on your engineer. The housemate might fall in love and marry the gardener. These social ties make your people happy but can also create discord so manage your people wisely.
As you progress in technology and secure your food and weapon capabilities you can start opening diplomatic negotiations with other nations. Or you can arm a war party and end their sorry existence on this rock. Each action you take towards another faction will gain or lose reputation. Become hated enough and you'll find yourself being constantly raided and attacked. Act friendly and they'll send you trade caravans or help you out in fights. This flexibility is something I really like in games. Rather than following a set story line I can become a mini dictator or a beacon of charity and trade, it all depends on my mood.
In terms of graphics, lovers of the incarcerated nation called Prison Architect will definitely recognize the simple graphic style. All buildings are seen from the top down and are one floor. All the sprites are sort of like chubby chibi people who move like they're riding segways and all the animal sprites look like hover kitties. The simple graphics suit the game well since they make base building and crafting simple.
I have honestly been waiting for a game like this for a long time. It combines the knack of Don't Starve for killing you off in a different way every time you play with the base building of Prison Architect and the resource management of Banished. Despite being an early access it already has a fluidity and complexity of a fully launched game with few glitches and enough content to keep your interest. Just like with Prison Architect, the modding community on Steam is already adding hours of gameplay including auto turrets. I've tried to glitch the game by loading multiple mods and founding three settlements with a large population. It slowed down a little but there was no catastrophic failures which means the coding is already solid.
The menus can be a little cluttered at times with the addition of these mods but overall base building is easy. To create items each crafting bench has bills, like a queue of of items to be created and in what priority. There is a lot of flexibility in this system since you can set limits of certain items or resources, ask your people to craft only a set number and then stop or ask them to continuously create a specific item if the materials are available. Combined with storage zones that are fully customizable, it makes supply management easy.
Combat can be a little clumsy but I think that's more of a me thing than the game since I tend to get stuck in stupid situations. There's a cover system allowing your people to duck behind barriers and trees adding a tactical angle to the whole affair. There's also friendly fire. So if your people aren't side by side be careful especially early game when most of your minions can't hit the broadside of a barn.
Like many games of the genre, Rimworld suffers from the "what do I do now" hump about mid game where you're not really sure what to do next. Hopefully as the game is developed new content will take this away. The ability to create more than one base and to move around the world has already gone a long way towards that.
All in all Rimworld is definitely a time sink you should add to your library and I look forward to many more hours of tears...
Game Information
PC
Developer(s):
Ludeon Studios
Publisher(s):
Ludeon Studios
Genre(s):
Simulation
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA
Source:
Purchased
Article by Breanna
