Author: George

Idle games don’t take as much of the spotlight from the gamers, and I think that’s undeserving. So, I’m here to review one of the best idle games around.

Being around since 2015, released and created by our dear Kongregate, Realm Grinder is a true idle game.

I will tell the rest through my review.

As always, this review will be split into Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and finally, Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:

Storyline

The game does not have a storyline per se.

You are just a small ruler, trying to build your kingdom and make it prosperous. To do that you ally yourself with 1 of 6 factions, 3 of which are good, and the other 3 are evil.

Once your kingdom reaches a peak amount of income, you abdicate your position in order for a new ruler to make new alliances to reach new heights.

When you abdicate, you lose all gold produced, and in exchange, you get some gems that help your successor (who is you again) boost his production.

When you collect enough gems, you can reincarnate resetting everything and gaining new bonuses that further boost your production.

And that’s the gist of it. Unwillingly, with the “storyline” section, I actually described the gameplay pretty accurately, albeit less thoroughly. Which actually brings us to:

Gameplay

Ok, when you begin, you will have the assistant telling you the basics. What you will see is a choice between 3 buildings, the Farms, the Inns and the Blacksmiths.

By clicking (or tapping depending on your platform) you gain gold. With enough gold, you can start buying buildings, which in turn generate more gold passively.

You might notice you also have 2 spells at the start. These spells are your basic spells and will follow you through any alliance.

While you build and click, you will also start generating assistants who also offer passive income.

By clicking, though, you generate faction coins as well. Their only use (at the start) is to help you ally with a faction of your choosing.

Before you can become allies with a faction however, you must first collect enough money to buy a Proof of Good Deed or a Proof of Evil Deed.

Essentially, this means that you deny yourself 3 out of 6 options for factions until you abdicate.

Anyway, Good Factions are more focused on active gameplay (through spellcasting or clicking) while Evil Factions provide you with passive income and don’t require much effort.

Becoming either of the 2 also unlocks an alignment exclusive spell. Affiliating with a faction unlocks a faction-specific spell.

Every faction also has its own treaties that you must buy and offer a triad of upgrades, exclusive to the faction.

You might notice after playing for a bit, that some factions are certainly stronger than others, or at least faster. While that is true, I assure you, every faction will have its use in the long run.

By the way, when you align your kingdom you will see (besides a change in the kingdom’s appearance and landscape) that there are now 8 more buildings to buy, 7 of which are alignment exclusive, and the Halls of Legends, the highest tiered building that every faction has.

Some factions might have an affinity to boost the production of specific buildings. that’s all part of a faction’s gameplay.

You may also notice a Trophies tab. Trophies are rewards you get for various tasks. There are also secret trophies that require more expertise and cannot usually be acquired by simply playing the game.

Consider everything I say from now on until the Visuals section spoilers for the games. If you don’t want to have any idea what’s to come and instead want to find out yourself, skip to the Visuals section.

By playing you will start unlocking various stuff. For example, by buying all the 9 upgrades of a faction, you will unlock its Heritage, which is a bonus that you can use in every abdication onward, regardless of your Faction.

You will also unlock Excavations, which help you unlock (more spoilers) new Neutral Factions, that are far more powerful.

And it all goes out of hand once you start Reincarnating.

There is a myriad of things to unlock, including but not limited to new factions, researching for bonuses, mercenaries that can combine the power of all factions, etc.

While that might seem tedious, it really isn’t. It’s a great way to pass your time, but I will talk about it on the Personal Thoughts section so everyone can see it (remember, you are in a spoiler area).

[adinserter block=”1″]

Visuals

The visuals are pixel art and nothing too fancy at that. The game also has barely any animation so there’s nothing special.

Personal Thoughts

Ok, so the game might seem boring or tedious at first glance. Especially if this isn’t your kind of game.

But I really think it isn’t.

The game offers so much to do, that you really lose track at some point. You’re working toward unlocking something, and while you do it, you find out that it’s only the beginning.

And this will keep happening!

What’s really fun to think about is (small spoiler) the fact how everything you do will be literally massively overshadowed and outclassed by your newer way of producing money.

And that happens with every milestone.

Generally, I recommend this game to anyone who really likes unlocking things over and over (as the game is getting frequent updates with new additions to the game), as well as those looking to kill some time without doing something pointless (like watching a video for the millionth time).

Before I move on to the score, I would like to add 1 more thing.

While this game is very fun to sit and discover on your own, there is a lot of math involved after some point. G00F’s Not a Wiki, fortunately, helps with that, as it has the optimal path to the end, including which factions to choose and what upgrades/trophies to unlock.

Of course, you are free to experiment and play on your own, in fact, that might be more fun, I just suggest the above in case you’re impatient and just want to move up without overthinking (like me).

All in all, this is the perfect game if you want to know the genre, as well as a very good game in general. It’s just what you need to have while working in your office, or waiting for a bus, or generally, brighten up any tedious task of everyday life.

Final Verdict

Storyline: –

Gameplay: 9.5

Visuals: 5.5

General Rating: 7.5

That’s it for my review. Do you like the game? Do you like Idle Games in general? Tell me in the comments below.

You can support us and get notified when we post a new article by following us on Twitter, liking our Facebook Page and sharing our articles.

Everyone wanted a 3rd Portal game, and this is certainly not what they expected.

Released in 2017, Bridge Constructor Portal isn’t developed by Valve. ClockStone developed this game and it is a continuation of their Bridge Constructor series.

Is the game good enough to live up to Portal 1 & 2?

This review will be split into Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and finally, Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:

Storyline

We don’t know whether the game takes place after or before the events of both Portal 1 and/or 2.

However, GLaDOS is present and sarcastic as ever!

Judging by the lab’s condition, it’s probably safe to assume that the game happens at least before Portal 2.

Anyway, you are an applicant for a job in Aperture Science. The game is practically GLaDOS testing you with various puzzles to see if you are fit for the job.

Gameplay

I don’t know if you’ve played any of the previous Bridge Constructor games, so I’ll keep this as detailed as I can.

For each level, your ultimate goal is to reach a truck from its starting point to the endpoint.

Usually, the game will have hazards, such as ledges with acid on the bottom, or aggressive killer Turrets that shoot anything that passes by their sight radius.

In order to avoid all that, you can build various bridges. You have 3 materials to choose from.

The first is the bridge material, which, as the name implies, is the bridge that trucks can go over.

The second is the supporting material called strut. Simply put, the supporting material is used to support the weight of the bridge and anything that passes it (or gets thrown at it).

It can also be used to help a bridge not fall from gravity when you can only start building from one side of a ledge.

Finally, the cables are elastical(-ish)… cables that help you create vertical powers and hold bridges and constructions better.

Everything must begin by specific points attached to walls or extensions of bridges and struts.

Also, everything but the cable has a maximum length you can use.

The game uses many elements from the portal series like the aforementioned turrets, portals (duh), the weighted companion cube and others.

While your goal is to get 1 truck to the end, you get a better evaluation for passing a convoy of 3 or more vehicles (the exact number differs among levels).

That means that to truly finish the game, you must also pass the convoy tests.

You’ll notice in the first puzzles that passing a convoy isn’t as hard. If your construction can last through 1 truck without collapsing, what’s the problem with 3 or more?

2 issues can arise with convoys. They both have to do with timing.

The first is that sometimes, each truck begins shortly after the previous. This can cause problems to your bridges, as they might not be able to handle the weight of 2 or 3 vehicles at the same time.

The second issue is that sometimes, the trucks may bump into each other through the use of portals.

Portals are essential to finish a level, and sometimes lead you back, causing a truck to hit another and put everything of course.

You will also see how much money you (wastefully) spent on each level. The more materials you use, the more costly the construction.

Money spent doesn’t affect gameplay, nor is it used in achievements. It’s there for you to compare with other players on who can find the most optimal (economical) solution.

There is also a DLC for this game called Portal Proficiency. It just adds more levels.

[adinserter block=”1″]

Visuals

The visuals in this game are nothing spectacular, but that’s not to say they aren’t great.

It’s what we’re used to in Portal 1 & 2. That said, the game can run on most PCs.

Personal Thoughts

I asked in the beginning whether this game can live up to its spiritual predecessors.

First things first, it’s unfair to outright compare the games, as they are of different genres within the puzzling world.

However, that question was not a simple clickbait; the game won’t offer you any of the feelings or the excitement you get from Portal 1 & 2.

Don’t get me wrong, the game is a perfectly good puzzle game to pass your time. But, Portal 1 & 2 are legends.

Ellen McLain is back to reprise her role of GLaDOS (and the turrets), so there’s also that.

In the end, I recommend this game to anyone looking for a good puzzle game to play. But if you’re expecting to get into this and play Portal 3, forget about it.

Final Verdict

Storyline: –

Gameplay: 7.8

Visuals: 8.8

General Rating: 8.3

That’s it for my review. Did you like the game? Do you have anything to add? If so, leave a comment down below.

The image(s) I used are from the following site(s):

www.igdb.com

You can support us and get notified when we post a new article by following us on Twitter, liking our Facebook Page and sharing our articles.

If you’ve heard RTS, you’ve probably heard 2 names: Warcraft III and Starcraft II, both from Blizzard. Starcraft became more dominant due to being much more recent.

Being 1 of the most competitive games out there, the game is no stranger to the gaming community.

This review will have a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals, and finally, a Personal Thoughts section. Without further ado:

Storyline

The storyline takes place 4 years after the original. At first, Starcraft II focuses on the Terran’s side of things, but with more expansions, a Zerg and Protoss story was included.

The Terrans’ side focuses on the aftermath of the war 4 years prior; the Dominion rules among the Terrans and Raynor creates a rebel group to stop them.

The Zerg take it directly from the end of the Terrans’ campaign. (A now human) Kerrigan attempts to regain control of the Zerg in order to attack the Dominion in an attempt to avenge Raynor, who is presumably dead.

The Protoss, leading with Artanis, try to face a threat to the whole galaxy, a Xel’Naga (an ancient race that had a huge involvement in the evolution of Protoss and Zerg) called Amon, who controls forces from every race and wants to annihilate all life in the galaxy.

In the epilogue, a combined alliance of Protoss, Terrans, and Zerg fight to take out Amon’s last forces.

The story is amazing, but hey, it’s Blizzard, what did you expect?

There’s no chance you won’t like the characters in the story, but it’s highly recommended that you play the original Starcraft prior to playing this one or at least read its lore.

Gameplay

The gameplay is the classic RTS genre gameplay; you are given a starting position and you have to manage the resources around you to build a base, and an army, and destroy every opponent.

Of course, every race has its advantages and disadvantages.

The Terrans are well balanced and can utilize many strategies. They are very good throughout the game, early, mid and late game.

The Zerg are swarmy and fast. They rely on sheer mass, as their units aren’t that strong individually. They are unbeatable during the early game but scale really bad as time passes.

The Protoss are polar opposites from the Zerg. They have the most powerful units individually but need a lot of setting up to get there.

All in all, it’s about your playstyle, and whether you prefer to be good early or late, or just be balanced throughout the game.

As a true RTS, the player must find a balance between micro and macro management.

The game is very challenging mechanically, as in most battles, you must control many different types of units, with lots of different abilities.

The game, as mentioned, is highly competitive and hosts tournaments and pro leagues quite frequently. The pro player awards are quite high as Starcraft II is among the top 5 esports games in prize pool money.

The game is pretty balanced too, something rare with competitive games these days.

Starcraft II also offers a map customization feature with lots of tools to help you create custom modes and maps. It also allows the creation and use of mods.

[adinserter block=”1″]

Visuals

the visuals are very well done and relevant even to this day. You won’t be having a problem despite the fact that the game was released back in 2010.

As a matter of fact, the game can actually run very stably on most bad PCs with bad specs.

Personal Thoughts

Starcraft II is a true Blizzard gem back from the age when they weren’t so political.

You won’t be disappointed with this game now that it’s free, even if you play it just for the story.

But the game should be appreciated, not only for lasting to this day but for exceeding expectations; many players thought that there couldn’t be a professional scene due to the lack of LAN group creation.

And to top it all off, the game is 1v1, which means you won’t be having these annoying teams ruining your day.

I recommend Starcraft II to anyone looking for a competitive game in the strategy genre.

Final Verdict

Storyline: 8.8

Gameplay: 9.5

Visuals: 6.5

General Rating: 8.2

That’s it for my review. If you have anything to add or ask, leave a comment below.

You can support us and get notified when we post a new article by following us on Twitter, liking our Facebook Page and sharing our articles.

Guns of Icarus Alliance is a weird mashup of steampunk, FPS and multiplayer tactics game. Unique in its kind, the game focuses on flawless coordination and teamwork.

The game started from a Kickstarter created some years after the release of the original game: Flight of Icarus (formerly known as Guns of Icarus), which was a single-player game.

The review will have a storyline, gameplay, visuals and personal thoughts section. Without further ado:

Storyline

The game doesn’t have any storyline in itself, however, its single-player counterpart does.

Generally, the point in both games is to defend your airship against enemies.

Gameplay

As mentioned, the purpose is to defend your airship. However, that is easier said than done.

First things first, the game has 3 classes. Every ship has 4 players on it, and at least 1 player from every class.

The classes are the pilot, the gunner, and the engineer.

Although everyone can do anything the other classes do (in cases of emergencies), being of a specific class gives you a further specialization in that regard.

Let’s start with the basics though.

Generally, an airship has its hull, its balloon, an engine (or more) and various guns (of differing power). Different ships have different shapes and different strengths and weaknesses.

There are several ships available:

• Galleon: the Galleon is the most resilient ship, but also the slowest one. It’s the go-to ship if you want to tank.
• Squid: the Squid is the fastest ship in the game. It’s also the least tanky one and does not have any weapon slots for Heavy Weapons.
• Goldfish: the Goldfish has a main gun on its front, and two secondary guns on the left and right sides. It relies on its moderate speed and high maneuverability.
• Junker: the Junker has 5 small weapon mountings. It’s kinda slow but easy to maneuver.
• Pyramidion: the Pyramidion has two guns on the top deck and two on the low deck. With 2 gunners, it deals tremendous damage and is very adaptable.
• Spire: the Spie isn’t very fast unless it’s steering. It dishes out high DPS in general.
• Mobula: the Mobula has 5 weapons on the front, but none on the sides nor the back. It isn’t very easy to defend major damage consistently.

After the Alliance add-on was released, 4 new factions with exclusive ships were released (among other things).

The new faction exclusive ships are:

• Magnate: A ship belonging to the Mercantile Guild faction, this decorated ship is slow-moving, but has three guns on each side; two light gun mountings and one heavy, allowing for the Magnate to have high DPS.
• Corsair: A ship belonging to the Anglean Republic, the Corsair is the largest ship in the game. This ship is heavily armored and slightly faster than a Galleon and has lots of guns of every kind on every side thus allowing the Corsair to exhibit high damage within limited intervals due to its large amount of weapons.
• Shrike: Specific to the Order of Chaladon, the Shrike is the second fastest ship in the game after the Squid. However, like the Squid, it’s pretty weak. This ship has two heavy and light gun mounts on the left and right sides of the ship, making the Shrike preferable for “hit-and-run” tactics.
• Crusader: Belonging to the Fjord Baronies, the Crusader is large and heavily armed, with two heavy guns on the front and two light guns on either side, allowing for a wide frontal attack range. It has good vertical speed, but low health and armor.

The following two ships were added to Alliance after its launch:

• Stormbreaker: A patchwork airship specific to the Arashi League, this aircraft has extremely fast acceleration and decent speed, as well as fast turning. Its firepower is concentrated on the left side, with one heavy gun and three light guns lined along this side of the ship. It is nimble but has low health and armor.
• Judgement: Belonging to the Yesha Empire, the Judgement is versatile and has high armor, but low speed and HP. Its firepower is concentrated towards the front, with two heavy guns and three light guns.

Now, after seeing the all the ships let’s move to the classes:

The Pilot

The pilot’s first task is to choose a ship that fits him best, and then load it with the guns he deems best for his style.

There are 2 different types of guns; light and heavy. As the names imply, light weapons dish out slow but consistent DPS, whereas the heave ones do lots of damage slowly.

A ship usually has many slots for guns; some can only take light weapons, others can only take heavy, and some can take either. There are many different combinations here, and the pilot must have a good gunner, but generally, he chooses based on his needs.

For example, a pilot that likes hit-and-run strategies will probably prefer more light weapons to utilize this playstyle.

As with every class, the pilot must also choose his equipment. A pilot’s equipment boosts movement, steering, or even ramming force. It’s all up to his playstyle.

The pilot can also take an engineering tool and some special gunning ammunition, but we’ll get to these with their respective classes.

The Gunner

The gunner is the ship’s force. His task is to successfully use the weapons given to him in any given ship to their best.

The gunner is arguably the hardest class. Firstly, he doesn’t even choose the weapons he’ll be using (nor the ship for that matter…)

But the hardest thing about a gunner is learning every weapon’s use and other trivial things like recoil and ammo in order to use them effectively.

And to boot, the gunner must have a deep understanding of airships in general, as he has to know where to go in his ship when he runs out of ammo, plus where to hit the opponent for maximum damage (some ships have weaker hulls, others have weaker sides, etc).

The gunner must definitely learn to control the battlefield, plus, he can be used as an emergency engineer.

The gunner can also have a piloting tool, but it’s almost never used.

Their special tools are ammunition. You can take ammunition that increases your AoE damage or increase DPS.

Generally, as you will have some preset ammunition builds that you can choose for up to 4. As you level, you can unlock another 1 that can contain the pilot’s recommended layout if you want.

The Engineer

The engineer is nowhere near as complicated as the gunner but is usually the unsung hero of the ship despite not being in the spotlight (a support if you will).

His job is to repair any damage done to the ship, and depending on his tools, buff various aspects of the ship and/or guns.

Another important job is to extinguish fires from the ship.

As for other tools, he has the basic piloting and gunning tools, mostly making use of the gunning ones (especially at the start of the battle, when no damage is done).

The engineer also must have some knowledge of every ship, so he can maneuver easier in every scenario.

The classes can all communicate with each other through pings, and communication is key.

The game, unfortunately, doesn’t have any kind of competitive mode, although that makes for a fun casual experience.

It does have the faction war though, where you choose a faction and fight to gain points for them in order to conquer territories in a map.

[adinserter block=”1″]

Visuals

The visuals are very good, expectable since it’s been built on the Unity engine.

The graphics on the lowest settings are able to run on most PCs, even some toasters as well.

You can also customize your character through various cosmetics.

Personal Thoughts

The game is very decent, and honestly, if you can spare the money along with 3 of your friends, you can have lots of fun, and without it turning competitive or toxic.

You can even take the game in a sale, and believe me, it’s definitely a money’s worth since it’s so cheap.

Final Verdict

Storyline: –

Gameplay: 7.5

Visuals: 6.8

General Rating: 7.2

That’s it for my review. If you have anything to add or any requests, just leave a comment down below.

You can support us and get notified when we post a new article by following us on Twitter, liking our Facebook Page and sharing our articles.

The image(s) I used are from the following site(s):

www.gunsoficarus.com

Not to be confused with Sonic Forces, the platform game released in 2017 (although the 2 were released in the same year), Sonic Forces: Speed Battle is a mobile multiplayer game by SEGA’s very own European mobile development studio (SEGA HARDlight).

AS per usual for mobile games, this review will have a general, gameplay, visuals and personal thoughts section. Without further ado:

General

There’s not much here really.

At some point in 2016, SEGA HARDlight wanted to try out whether synchronous play was possible for mobiles. That’s how the game became a prototype.

Fast forward about a year, and the Sonic Team, along with SEGA HARDlight decided on the final pitch of Sonic Forces: Speed Battle which was soft-released for playtesting and officially released in 2017.

Gameplay

The game has gameplay elements from mobile processors Sonic Dash and Sonic Dash 2 as well as PSP hit game Sonic Battle.

Unlike its precessors, Sonic Forces isn’t infinite, nor single-player, instead, you compete against 3 other different players.

The level you play on is randomly chosen, and more are unlocked as you climb the rankings. However, all levels are based on the classical Green Hill, the ruined City from Sonic Forces, the Mystic Jungle and the sacred Sky Sanctuary.

The game starts on (relatively) equal terms, and you are tasked to maneuver yourself through the level’s obstacles, the enemies’ attacks, and various other hazards and boosts.

Through the race, you can collect Rings. Rings increase your running speed, and there is a max of 100. Once the race is over, you get to keep the rings for further use in racer upgrades.

Rings are very important and getting hit by an opponent or any obstacle, you will lose 10 rings, as well as slowing down.

While your runner will run forward automatically, you can control him by switching lanes (to dodge enemies’ attacks or obstacles, or collect rings), jump, and slide.

Jumping and sliding are used mainly to avoid obstacles, but some attacks can be dodged with one or both of these actions.

Now, about the attacks. Every character has 3 attacks. The first usually covers 1 lane and is shot straight. The second is always a dash. The final attack (usually) affect every lane beside the one you’re currently on.

Attacks can be picked up at random by various item boxes scattered throughout the track. You never know which attack you’ll get, but since you can keep them, if you wait long enough you can have all 3 at once.

There are some soft-rules however. For example, if you’re first, you won’t be getting a dash to prevent huge leads. Instead, you’ll be getting a shield, which protects you from 1 attack or obstacle.

If you’re last, however, you have an increased chance of getting a dash in order to catch up.

While the attacks are mostly the same in their use, every character has different attacks. Some might share some of their attacks, but no character has the same trio.

Attacks are separated by their effects, and stronger attacks have less effects and vice versa. For example, a Fireball will do much more damage than the Whirlwind, but it doesn’t have Whirlwind’s ring steal effect. Damage is how much speed you lose when hit.

The characters also have 3 stats:

• Speed, which is how fast they can go.
• Acceleration, which is how fast you can reach your max speed.
• Power, which is how much speed you lose when hit (more power = less speed).

It’s all about finding your perfect match (or character)!

Whenever you finish a race, you gain or lose points depending on your final position and the ranking of the opponents. You also get a bonus Race Chest, depending on your position, for up to 20 per day.

Points are measured for the ranking, the more you have the more tracks you can play on, and the better chests you get. After a specific point, you compete in the monthly seasons, which reset your points every start of a month to the season minimum.

If you have a free chest slot (the Race Chests don’t count as they open instantaneously), you also get a chest that you have to queue for opening. The rarer the chest, the more it takes to unlock, and the more loot it has.

Chests contain rings and character cards. They are used to unlock and then upgrade a said character.

When you upgrade a character, you gain experience points and with enough, you level up. Leveling up gives you more speed from in-game rings, as well as more attack resistance.

Upgrading a character gives you an alternating bonus of boosting his starting rings by 5, or upgrading one of his attacks. Every character can reach up to level 16.

Characters are also split into rarities. We have Common, Rare, Super Rare and Special. Obviously some of these are harder to find. However, I’ve seen good success with all classes, so don’t let the fact that your favorite character is common discourage you.

The SFX are from Sonic Forces (the platform one) and every stage that came from there has the same soundtrack.

However, one major complaint I have is the lack of voice acting, as I believe it would boost the game even more.

Visuals

The visuals are stunning, and actually, quite similar to Sonic Forces. They are very well done.

The character models are mostly taken from the game as well (at least the ones that were in the game (*cough* Jet, Wave, Storm *cough*)), so don’t be too weirded out if they seem familiar.

[adinserter block=”1″]

Personal Thoughts

The game has been quite successful and fun. However, it is filled with bugs, and there are a lot of cheaters.

SEGA HARDlight is trying to get rid of these problems and it shows. The game has numerous balance and bug fixing updates, while also steadily releasing new content.

I think that it is an awesome game to have to spend your time on and play with your favorite character (that will be much better with voice acting, SEGA pls).

General Rating: 8/10

That’s it for my review. Do you play Sonic Forces? Who is your favorite character? If you have a comment feel free to add it below.

You can support us and get notified when we post a new article by following us on Twitter, liking our Facebook Page and sharing our articles.

Brawlhalla is a relatively popular fighting game officially released in 2017. Having a lot of similarities to hit series Smash Bros in terms of gameplay, Brawlhalla is outright awesome to play if you’re looking for something competitive.

This review will have a storyline, gameplay, visuals and personal thoughts section. Without further ado:

Storyline

Brawlhalla doesn’t have a continuous storyline that is constantly updated like most other games. The premise is simple.

Brawlhalla is the place where the greatest of warriors go after they die (although some don’t have to be dead to get there).

There, they solve the eternal dispute of who is the greatest warrior among them.

Every character has his own lore, which is practically their history before they died.

The whole system is pretty good, easy to keep track of, without making every character feel like a boring puppet with different appearance and weapons.

Gameplay

As I mentioned, the gameplay is pretty similar to Smash Bros.

Essentially, you pick your character and fight in various arenas. Your goal is to make every enemy lose all their lives.

You lose a life when you are knocked off the arena.

The more a player gets damaged, the more susceptible he is to being knocked back. In other words, the more damage you’ve taken, the easier it is for your opponent to knock you out with a single attack.

You can see the amount of damage you’ve taken from the color around your character’s icon.

The color becomes from white to gradually red, and from there black.

There is also a timer, which makes the player with the most lives win by the end of it. Usually, the timer is not needed to resolve matches, it’s just there for the really close matches.

The game has many different characters, with a new one being added every 2.5 months or so.

Every character utilizes 2 weapons out of the total pool, and no character has the same combination.

In addition, every character has 3 signature moves for each of their 2 weapons, making them all completely unique in terms of playstyle.

The weapons themselves define playstyle. Some or better for close combat, others for ranged combat, and some are better for traveling.

There are 2 kinds of attacks you can do; light attacks, which are faster and weaker, and heavy attacks, which are the opposite and require a charge time.

You can also dodge the opponent’s attacks, and that is a very difficult mechanic to master as there are different types of dodging and you must also learn when to dodge.

All characters also have some stats. The stats are :

• Strength, which is the amount of damage you do with your attacks. The more strength you have, the easier it is to knock your opponent out quickly. Each legend’s signature move is unaffected by strength as they have their own values.
• Dexterity, or attack speed. This helps you attack faster, while also reducing charge rate for heavy attacks. As with strength, dexterity doesn’t affect cooldown between signatures, but it does help when you use another attack after a signature. It also doesn’t help with doge times and cooldowns.
• Defense, which is the opposite of strength. Pretty self-explanatory.
• Speed, or, how fast you can move.

You can slightly modify each character’s stats by using stances. In essence, they allow you to move a stat point from 1 stat to another.

There are many different arenas. Every arena has some drops. Besides weapon drops, various other things can drop, which can be used in combat.

Every character can fight without a weapon. They can also throw their weapon to their opponent as a last-ditch effort of a long-ranged attack, or before switching weapons.

The controls are very simple to grasp as well.

Now for the game modes.

The game has 5 different game modes and a bonus rotating mode every week.

The first mode is Free-for-all. 4 players fight in a free-for-all, point collecting match. You can collect points by knocking other players out.

The second is 1v1 Strikeout. Here, each player chooses 3 characters and plays each one once until they lose a life.

The Experimental 1v1 allows players to try out changes and new heroes before their official release.

There is also the rotating game mode which changes every week.

These are all the casual game modes. The game also has 2 competitive game modes.

The 1v1 Competitive and the 2v2 Competitive. They are pretty self-explanatory.

Each competitive game mode has a professional scene with tournaments hosted by the game’s creators, and sizeable prize pools.

Lastly, the game has 8 legends available for free every week. You can purchase them permanently by using in-game currency, or, you can unlock every legend, and every future legend by buying a special deal.

[adinserter block=”1″]

Visuals

The game has very good visuals. Everything seems fluid, and the colors are vibrant so you can always tell what’s happening.

Every character has some skins available for purchase, as well as some weapon skins, allowing for further customization.

Many characters have skins from other series or games like Adventure Time, or Steven Universe.

The game is playable on most PCs, even those with bad specs. However, you might experience frame problems if your specs are too bad.

Personal Thoughts

The game is pretty fun and is a great getaway if you’re looking for something competitive without relying on a team.

However, it doesn’t share the massive player base or competitive scene of other popular games, so don’t expect too much fame and recognition if you achieve something in this game.

Final Verdict

Storyline: 6.0

Gameplay: 8.5

Visuals: 7.5

General Rating: 7.3

That’s it for my review. Do you play Brawlhalla? Who is your favorite character? If you have anything to add, leave a comment down below.

You can support us and get notified when we post a new article by following us on Twitter, liking our Facebook Page and sharing our articles.

Infinifactory is an interesting puzzle game released in mid-2015, with Early Access being available since the start of that year.

I won’t go into too many details here, and instead cut to the chase; the review will have Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:

Storyline

The storyline is pretty simple. You are a human abducted by a weird alien species.

The aliens use you in order to build assembly lines for various objects for their own purposes.

Throughout the game, you will find others, previously abducted; now dead humans and hear their last log.

The game has various sectors and each sector has various puzzles. When you complete all the puzzles in each sector, you are then brought for evaluation before the aliens, who award you with a random object and some food pellets.

When you finish all the puzzles in the main story, there is also some bonus levels that further advance the story.

Some humans that were previously abducted managed to escape and build a base on that alien planet, and they recruit you.

The final levels are you and the other survivors trying to escape the planet to return home.

Gameplay

The gameplay is what makes this game so interesting.

In every level, your purpose is to have specific types of blocks (or their combination) to reach an endpoint.

The blocks that must reach the endpoint are produced by an assembly line, your purpose is to use other kinds of blocks to bring them to that endpoint.

While this might sound complicated, it really isn’t; the game’s mechanics are very much alike to those of Minecraft.

Movement, for example, is identical to Minecraft’s creative mode. You can even double-tap the jump button in order to fly with the use of a jetpack.

Every level, of course, has some boundaries, both for you and your constructions. Breaking them won’t have any severe punishment, you’ll just return to the start of the level with the construction intact.

PLacing blocks is another thing that this game shares with Minecraft.

At start, the only blocks you can use are conveyor belts. They are as simple as they sound.

You can unlock more blocks as you advance the story, blocks like pistons and sensors, or rotators among others.

You can also start the assembly line to check for any possible errors in your construction. There are no penalties to starting the assembly line so trial and error are key here.

There is also the option to pause production in order to check various production block positions and speed it up.

You can set the input rate before starting the production line to be faster or slower, which might help you or hinder you depending on each puzzle.

Input rate also helps with the total cycles, higher input rate; fewer cycles. More on that later.

One key difference between this game and other building games is the existence of gravity; you cannot place a block on the air without it being attached to anything else.

Some of the puzzles might have relatively complicated solutions, but what makes the game truly challenging is optimization.

Every puzzle has 3 save files. When you complete a puzzle, the save point shows your stats.

In every puzzle, once you are finished, you are then shown your scores in footprint, cycles, and blocks used. In fact, you are compared to other player’s solutions through a histogram.

Footprint is a number that calculates how much of the free floor your assembly line takes. Essentially, the more floor you use the higher this gets.

Cycles is simply the time between the start and finish of the puzzle.

Blocks used are pretty self-explanatory too; it’s the number of blocks you use that do not belong in the production line.

The hardest thing in this game is coming up with solutions that are optimized compared to other people, many of the game’s achievements rely on that.

The game also has a puzzle creator. You can create any puzzle (and present a solution to it) and post it for other players to try it out.

[adinserter block=”1″]

Visuals

The game’s visuals are decent. They aren’t anything special, but they get by. The positive is that this game plays on most computers, failure to run this will probably be to processor speed instead of graphics problem.

Personal Thoughts

The game is very good. It’s a unique puzzle game that encourages creativity and rethinking a problem from different angles.

No wonder it has so many positive reviews.

The only problem you may find is its difficulty. I’m not saying that this game is extremely hard, but the fact that there is no limit to what you can do may be overwhelming for some.

Other than that, I definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes puzzle games.

Final Verdict

Storyline: –

Gameplay: 8.8

Visuals: 6.0

General Rating: 7.4

That’s it for my review. I hope I convinced you to try this game out because it really is worth it. If you have any questions or want to add anything feel free to leave a comment below.

You can support us and get notified when we post a new article by following us on Twitter, liking our Facebook Page and sharing our articles.

The images I used are from the following site:

www.igdb.com

The Room games are a series of puzzle games developed by Fireproof Games. The games have been praised by the press and players, and this review will cover everything you need to know about it.

As always, the review will be split into storyline, gameplay, visuals and finally, personal thoughts sections. Without further ado:

Storyline

As usual, the storyline continues from where the previous games left off.

If you’re not acquainted with the prequels I’ll give you a quick heads up.

The first game doesn’t have much plot, but the little plot it has is centered around the box that is used for the puzzles.

Through various letters, you learn that the box uses an ethereal material that is called “Null” and warps reality.

You also see that with more letters, the more crazy the uknown author seemingly went.

The second game capitalizes on that. You follow the footsteps of someone who is referred to as “A.S.” into a “Null” pocket dimension that is seemingly endless.

A.S. warns through letters that each room is self-contained but linked together by the “Null”.

This game picks up from the previous one’s ending. After you escape from the pocket dimension, you take a train to return home.

While in a tunnel, you find a mysterious pyramid with etched markings in the passenger compartment, which teleports you to the Grey Holm, a faraway island estate.

There, the self-proclaimed “Craftsman”, takes credit for all the puzzles in every game, as well as taking an interest in you for being able to resist the “Null”.

He asks you to find the other 4 pyramids (called Null Shards) in order for you to escape and for him to release the “Null” into the world.

The game has many different endings depending mostly on how many of the puzzles were solved.

I won’t spoil them though, but each ending reveals more and more about the plot.

Gameplay

Every game in the series was developed to be on mobile platforms mainly. So you might see some things optimized in that regard.

For example, movement is done by clicking where you want to go.

Nevertheless, the game does allow you to explore each room wholely, by dragging your mouse, you can see your surroundings.

The games are also kinda easy in the long run like you’d expect from “escape the room” mobile games.

The general gameplay is you trying to find items and solve puzzles in order to advance the rooms.

Every item you pick can be interacted with (meaning you can check it out by rotating it). This is important as some items hide secrets on them.

None of the base storyline puzzles need any creativity to be solved, they were designed to be able to be solved with regular, logical thinking.

The puzzles that are required for any other ending, however, are certainly harder and require you to use more critical thinking to solve.

The game gives you from the start a special one-piece red-tinted lens, that when used, allows you to interact with anything related to the mysterious “Null”.

This varies from being able to interact with tiny spaces (like keyholes and model houses) to plainly finding more clues and objects.

The game offers hints as well after some time has passed without making any progress.

Generally, there is a main hub which is connected to 4 extra rooms. Every room leads you to a place where a Null Shard is located.

Any of the extra puzzles required for the alternate ending are located on the main hub and 4 adjacent rooms; none is contained within an area that has a Null Shard.

[adinserter block=”1″]

Visuals

The visuals are absolutely stunning, which is weird if you think that it was developed with mobile platforms in mind.

That didn’t stop Fireproof Games though, and they poured their souls in the visual making department, and it shows.

Even tiny details like the black tentacles from an unknown entity pulsing when you look closely.

Despite having stunning graphics, the game doesn’t require a great PC to run, partly due to it not being an overworld game.

I have to note the huge difference in graphics from the original mobile version.

The 3-year gap between the release of mobile and PC is definitely visible.

Personal Thoughts

The Room Three is certainly fun, which is to be expected when you consider its prequels.

Standalone, you will probably not understand a thing about its lore. But the gameplay is simplistic and easy to pick up.

My only complaint is that the main game (without the optional puzzles) is too easy. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing.

It’s just something you’ve seen before, and it doesn’t offer a great deal of satisfaction when you finish it.

If you’re in it for the lore, then you’re gonna be ecstatic.

But, if judged purely as a puzzle game, it’s just another pleasant way to pass a night or two.

If you’re looking for a challenge, there are other games much more worth it than this.

Final verdict

Storyline: 7.0

Gameplay: 6.8

Visuals: 8.8

General Rating: 7.5

That’s it for my review. Have you played the games? Have you played its sequel? Do you have anything to add? If so, feel free to add a comment below.

You can support us and get notified when we post a new article by following us on Twitter, liking our Facebook Page and sharing our articles.

The images I used are from this site:

www.igdb.com