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We’ve seen a multitude of deckbuilders launching, but few of them try something new or revolutionary. Into the Grid manages to spark the interest of a lot of people because not only is it very creative and it features a stunning cyberpunk world, but it also gives you plenty of choice when it comes to builds and playing the way you want. At first, Into the Grid seems very similar to Slay the Spire, but it has its own distinct core gameplay loop and style. You acquire program cards and then you play them in battle against digital defenders, rogue AIs and also corporate security. You need intel and that’s keep deep into the enemy facilities, which is why you need to be extremely careful not to mess things up. Then, we have the dual-resource command system, where you use Virtual Memory for issuing commands, which will allow you to reduce randomness and mitigate some of the bad hands as well. And of course, there’s the map exploration, where we enter various facilities ...

The Terrifier movie series has quickly become one of the staples in the horror genre. There’s a lot of gore, excellent storytelling and plenty of amusing situations, too. A lot of people were wondering, how would that translate into a beat’em’up starring Art the clown, and that’s exactly how Terrifier: The ARTcade Game was born. In the game, we have Art the Clown who goes through a movie set filled with all kinds of villains. There are 7 main levels here, and each one has their own boss, visual style and interesting soundtrack to boot. The game is playable on your own but also coop up to 4 people in total. If that’s the case, the other players will take the role of Art’s troupe, which includes the little pale girl and Victoria Heyes, among others. It’s sad that they didn’t go with a story from one of the movies, instead they went with something completely different. Yet the gore and core Terrifier elements are there, which is what matters the most. Although there a..

What would happen if you got stranded in the middle of nowhere, and you would need to camp and survive? That’s an idea Gold River Project brings to the table, and it’s quite an interesting one. You play alone or with a friend as you camp in the private reserve located somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. The problem is that the plane which should come back in a week isn’t coming back at all. So, all you have to do is to survive in the wilderness, which is not as easy as you might think. Thankfully, there is a tutorial that the game provides, so you do learn the core concepts and features in the game. That’s helpful, because I tried to play without tutorial first, and I easily got lost and didn’t know what to do. Doing the tutorial is the preferred option, although you can go fully hardcore and not opt for that, if you want. Of course, you can try to stick with the safer side of the wilderness and create a camp. Which you’re going to do anyway, but a lot of the time,...

Wall World was quite a delightful game that successfully managed to blend a variety of genres, from tower defense to mining and some arcade gameplay. Wall World 2 builds upon that framework, while adding some new, interesting ideas and a plethora of gameplay mechanics. Having played Wall World, I was quite impressed to see a jump in graphics, but also the world design and gameplay. The fact that you’re exploring a very daunting, yet creative world is what sets the game apart from many others. At the same time, it’s the mining and exploration part of the title that’s the most enjoyable for me. But the story is also interesting, since you’re barely surviving a leviathan attack and thus, you need to find a way to stay alive, which is actually a lot more difficult than expected. Right off the bat, the game’s focus is on pushing the limits and trying to stay alive, while experimenting with different ideas. This sequel places a lot more focus on the dialog between charact...

Threatening suspects with a revolver is probably the worst way to extract information. But I’m very tempted to pull out the Magnum and tell one criminal that I’m ready to put a bullet through his knee. Instead, I press pause and consider the information I have again. I know everything about the victim, including that he was pumped full of narcotics. But my surveillance did not reveal much about the suspects, and there’s no murder weapon to be found. The first day of this investigation is almost over, and I really want to get a clear clue before my detective character goes to sleep. Let’s see if there’s a way to decipher a mysterious note and get to the motive. Obsidian Moon is developed and published by Lost Cabinet Games. I played the preview version on Steam on the PC. The video game uses detective mechanics and will challenge gamers to solve ten intricate cases. Sam Carter is a detective on the verge of a personal breakdown, given one last chance to solve cases ...

Investigating a murder case is never easy, but the theater setting makes it even harder to distinguish between real and fake, which in turn makes it harder to discover the killer. Someone managed to deliver an inch-perfect strike to the heart during a duel scene. I have a strong hunch that whoever did that thought a plastic retractable blade was involved. I pick up all the names and other words attached to the people standing over the body on the stage and move to the lobby. Four men are standing here, including the producer of the play, who was already involved in another case I recently cracked. That makes him suspicious, but my virtual detective gut is telling me someone else is to blame here, even if he is not without sin. There are two other rooms to visit and inspect for clues. The plan is to gather them all, take a few small notes, and then start filling in some info. My detective needs to first nail down the identities of nine characters, which should be re...

Pirates Outlaws was an interesting deckbuilder for me, especially thanks to its pirate theme. Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage strives to make things even better, by adding a very interesting story into the mix, more card types, more deck possibilities and more loot. It’s pretty much what you would expect from a deck building game, while also keeping that extraordinary pirate theme that made the original so recognizable in the first place. Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage is a roguelike at heart, so you have a run, you choose where you go on the map and based on that, you will encounter different enemies and challenges. Pirates Outlaws was already good at that, but Heritage improves upon it by adding card fusion and evolution. It’s possible to fuse these cards, and that will help add even more depth to the gameplay. Runs feel quite different, and you can also take various different routes, so you rarely have 2 runs that are similar. Plus, as you venture on the open seas, you...

Around 20+ years ago, games like Contra or Metal Slug were incredibly popular, and Neon Inferno tries to bring us back to that era, albeit with a modern coat. If you enjoy the run-and-gun and platforming genres, you’ll feel right at home in this game. Neon Inferno takes place in 2055, and you can take the role of one of the 2 cleaners for the mob, either Mariana or Angelo. You will need to deal with crime syndicates, cops and corporations, and you have to do that while also staying alive. At its core, Neon Inferno is a classic shoot-em-up and run-and-gun game: you need to clear all the enemies on your screen in order to move onward. However, in this title you can also shoot enemies in the background, which adds a unique twist, and it’s widely used especially in boss fights, but also during the level as well. The action is always very fast-paced, and there aren’t any real dull moments in the game. The only time when you can stop and breathe for a bit is when you cle...

Have you ever wanted to play a game where your focus is on repairing various electronics? Then ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs is the ideal title for you, since it places you in control of an electronics repair shop in Japan during the 2000s. You will have a variety of gadgets and electronics from that era, carefully recreated to provide you with an immersive and exciting repair experience. Right off the bat, I enjoyed the visual style of the game, it’s rather cartoony, but it also feels cozy. And the repair shop itself seems like the perfect spot where you can enjoy your repair experience, something you will appreciate quite a bit. There’s also the electronics variety you’ll have in front of you, from a Walkman to game consoles, phones and so on. You will have a variety of challenges every time, since each repair is difficult in its own right. Thankfully, every repair comes with its own guide and requirements, so you will figure out what’s wrong and get things ...

Retrace the Light brings us to a very interesting, far future where an AI named Primus joined forces with humanity, in an effort to repair the minds of those struggling humans. We play as Decem, an enforcer, and we don’t have any memory, at the beginning. We go through a test in the Simulation Program, learn the basics, and then it’s down to figuring out how to play and how to better engage as a player, which is always very exciting. There are a multitude of levels in Retrace the Light, all of which are handcrafted and downright beautiful. I am a huge fan of the visual design, but also the great art portrayed here. Everything is visually impressive, detailed, and at the same time, you also get to feel a part of that world. And, of course, the fact that it makes us think about AI and the future is another great layer added into the mix as well. As you play, you will encounter Primus, the AI, but also the various enforcers. The ones I encountered were quite interesti...