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Death Howl review – A soulslike deckbuilder that turns sorrow into strategy An open-world, soulslike deckbuilder sounds like a mishmash of genres that just shouldn’t work. But somehow, developer The Outer Zone has masterfully stitched them all together into something remarkably cohesive—a harrowing, punishing, and visually striking game about grief and survival called Death Howl . The game hit digital shelves on Dec. 9, and its premise is simple: You play as Ro, a woman who enters the spirit realm to save her son Olvi from the clutches of death. But the other side of the veil isn’t all that friendly to outsiders, and Ro must fight her way through dangerous spirits who aim to cut her search short and send her back to the world of the living empty-handed. Using mana and a deck of cards, you battle these spirits, moving Ro around a gridded battlefield. Each battlefield looks a little different, consisting of a set of tiles arranged in unique layouts with various environmental objects that can either help or hinder you in the fight. The foes you face vary greatly in design and combat style: floating crow heads that attack from a distance, infected molars that cause fissures at your feet (yes, you read that right), and jellyfish that can kill you with a single touch. Yeah, did I mention how dangerous the spirit world is? And that's why we don't skip dental cleanings. Screenshot by Destructoid Throughout your journey around the spirit world, you'll travel five different “realms." In every realm, you craft cards with items and Death Howls (or spirits) left over from the entities you defeat. Each realm has its own set of cards that vary in effects, giving you the chance to rebuild your deck with an entirely new playstyle for each region you visit. The Realm of Hostile Plains, for example, has an archetype based around movement. Certain cards in this realm increase the number of tiles you can move at one time, while other cards reduce their cost the more tiles you’ve traveled that turn. There are over 160 total cards in the game, and with the various playstyles they offer, gameplay never feels stale. Though you’re not limited to using only cards from the realm you’re in, cards from other regions cost more mana to play. And because you only have five or six mana per turn, and most cards cost between one to three mana, you’ll likely be swapping cards out every time you change realms. This isn’t a big problem if you choose to focus on one realm at a time. But the game is open-world, and realms can become more difficult as you progress through them, so you may find yourself fast-traveling from one to another to train up. This then leads to you having to change out your deck every time you do so, which can be quite time-consuming. At the heart of each realm lies a powerful boss, or Great Spirit. In boss fights, you'll find fun and unique mechanics that challenge everything you've learned from the realm thus far, but getting to them won’t be easy. Don't forget— Death Howl is a true soulslike experience, and any good soulslike boasts a difficulty level that's not for the faint of heart. Through limited health, frequent enemy encounters, and close-quarters combat, gameplay can be quite unforgiving, and you'll have to consider your every move. But whenever I lost a fight, I felt as though victory was within reach, and I was always eager to jump back into the fray and try again. Like other soulslikes, Death Howl has a checkpoint system that allows you to restore health but respawns every foe you've defeated up until that point. As mentioned earlier, foes drop Death Howls that can craft cards or be put towards Teardrops that unlock new skills. Die in combat, though, and all your hard-earned Death Howls will be dropped at the location of your demise, and you'll have to return to the scene of the crime to pick them back up. If combat proves too difficult for you, or you can't progress past certain encounters, you can choose to grind easier encounters, stock up on Death Howls, and then use them to unlock better cards and more skills that will assist you in your next fight. Spend Teardrops to unlock skills in each region's skill tree. Screenshot by Destructoid These skills can be unlocked in each region's skill tree. Though they're all separate from one another, there's quite a bit of overlap between realms. Some skills allow you to charge an ultimate ability, which varies in effect depending on the realm. In one realm, for example, your ultimate increases the damage you deal in a turn, while in another, it deals damage to all enemies in a row. In between combat encounters, you’ll navigate the various spirit realms and their harrowing landscapes. Death Howl 's environmental design is simultaneously creepy and breathtakingly atmospheric, with giant forests filled with poisonous mushrooms, corpse-filled crevasses, and ghouls of Ro’s regrets. Visually, the spirit world may seem straightforward at first glance—but make no mistake: it’s full of secrets, and those who pay close attention to their surroundings will be rewarded with hidden maps and extra resources. You'll also meet non-hostile characters who will assist you on your journey if you first solve their problems. These side quests add a layer of intrigue to the worldbuilding and help the spirit realm feel truly alive. The spirit world is full of creepy characters. Some hostile, some not so much. Screenshot by Destructoid I played Death Howl on both my gaming laptop and my Steam Deck, and it ran excellently on both—though, I’ll admit, there were times when I couldn’t properly select cards or menu navigation was wonky, and I’d have to switch back to my mouse or touch screen to bypass the issue. These problems were few and far between, and they by no means disrupted my overall positive experience with the game. All in all, Death Howl is a fantastic representation of both the deckbuilding and soulslike genres. The gameplay will teach you a few lessons, but the experience will be well worth your patience. The post Death Howl review – A soulslike deckbuilder that turns sorrow into strategy appeared first on Destructoid .

Reviews Archive – DestructoidDec 23

Total Chaos Review – A Haunting Catharsis Reviewed on: PC Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Apogee Entertainment Developer: Trigger Happy Interactive Rating: Mature Total Chaos’ headlines over the years as a public-facing project center on it being a total conversion mod for Doom II. After more than a dozen hours with it, that’s the least interesting aspect of this game. Total Chaos is about one man’s escape from an isolated and desolate coastal mining town run amok by a rotting disease that’s infected both his mind and the very town itself. Its story is vague and mysterious, but reveals itself plainly in metaphor as a fight against cancer, leaving a particularly personal mark on me as someone who’s lost family to that terrible blight. Though the voice acting sometimes fails to match the narrative momentum, the combat, with its heavy emphasis on crafting makeshift weaponry, remains an experimental blast through the end, especially for those nostalgic for the joyous gameplay feel of Doom II. Like the blood and guts that fuse to create the unholy monsters that fill its action-heavy moments, that story and combat come together to deliver a catharsis of destruction I was delighted to be part of. Fort Oasis, the aforementioned mining town, was once a vibrant community of industry, with hotel balconies overlooking the sea, shopping malls for spending hard-earned bucks, and all the frills of a place to call home. However, when a rot settles in, what was once home becomes a prison of torment for protagonist Tyler. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding Tyler’s plight from location to location here, and his attempt to come to terms with what’s gone wrong, and though it’s easy to miss, its wall writings and metaphorical developments speak to something dark festering deep within the mines of Fort Oasis. That something – cancer – spoke to me, forcing me to analyze why Total Chaos is so adamant about its exhausting, torturous carnage. Tyler is tearing through an insidious rot on Fort Oasis, yes; but he’s also ripping through the cancerous cells that threaten his existence. The slaughter must not stop. There are shotguns, pistols, a submachine gun, and even a harpoon gun, but ammo is so limited that you’ll never feel too comfortable using them, and this acts as a smart way to emphasize Total Chaos’ crafted melee weapons. As you explore abandoned and decrepit jails, plazas, apartment buildings, cemeteries, and more, you’ll collect nails, hammer heads, pickaxes, wooden poles and handles, lead pipes, wrenches, rebar, bottles, rags, and more, including various types of food and drinks. All of these pickups can be mixed and matched with each other, and the more than 30 recipes offer deadly melee combinations and beneficial chemical compounds to heal, stop bleeding, and more. The meat of the game is this crafting system, and it provides the most gameplay variety of the experience. However, the bones that Total Chaos is built upon sometimes break, leading to moments of frustration. Void of automatic saves like the survival horror games it’s so clearly inspired by, you can only save at vinyl record players that always feel placed just a bit too far from the places your progress is likely to be stopped with an untimely death. I lost a few hours because of this save system, thanks to instant-death segments that feel impossible to nail on the first go. As low as those moments feel, other moments, like a haunted house of hanging bat-like creatures that can only be stopped by the flicker of your lighter’s flame, go far to make you forget those problems exist. Between those highs and lows, there are the typical gameplay trappings of the genre, including bog-standard puzzles and predictable search-action walkbacks, and they round out an otherwise fantastic experience with moments that land as fine, nothing more and nothing less. Regardless, dealing with the various symptoms of Tyler’s health adds tension to Total Chaos’ best and worst moments. Managing health, bleed, hunger, energy, and stamina in the quiet moments served as a reminder that this was not an oasis for Tyler, despite what his home is called; instead, it’s a torture chamber he must survive. And in the louder moments, these symptoms used gameplay to further heighten the cacophony of stress Total Chaos vomits onto Tyler. Another symptom he deals with, called madness, is underused but alters moments drastically, going far to impose on the player the self-doubt and paranoia Tyler constantly feels. Total Chaos is disgusting, bloody, and taxing, but it’s also sympathetic and cathartic. And despite its misgivings and missteps, it is fun, twisting together horrific perversions with tension-filled gameplay in the way every great survival horror game should. Poor voice acting and repetitive gameplay/monster design dampen what makes Total Chaos great. However, its inventive crafting-focused combat and stirring story cement Trigger Happy Interactive’s sophomore release as one that will surely haunt my thoughts long after this playthrough. Score: 8 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsDec 23

Little Corners Feels Like Playing With Colorforms There are a lot of decoration applications that sort of fall into the cozy game category, even though they are light on the actual mechanical elements. Little Corners is one of those. There are some interactive elements and opportunities to combine stickers for certain reactions. However, it’s largely an opportunity to relax and set up scenes without too many extra features like a zoom or snap-to element. Playing with Little Corners is essentially like playing with the reusable Colorforms sticker sets. Now, when I say that Little Corners feels like Colorforms, it’s almost the exact same experience. There are eight scenes you can visit, which are the Adventurer’s Tavern, Alchemist’s Tower, Astronomer’s Study, Cottage Kitchen, Overgrown Ruins, Pirate’s Cabin, Samurai’s Residence, and Viking’s Hall. When you get to a place, it is a blank slate with a isometric view of two walls in the room and the floor space. You get a handful of “sheets” that appear on the left side of the screen that highlight some stickers you can use. (These can be flipped.) You then drag and drop the into place in order to set the scene to your liking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQYUUfjn5Ho Now, there are some interactive elements here, but there aren’t too many. As I mentioned, some quality of life elements aren’t there. Certain elements like doors or things that would go over ovens or pots won’t snap into place. You custom arrange everything. There’s also no way to zoom in on elements or to resize the stickers you’re placing. Everything shows up and goes in as-is. You can engage in some layering, based on when you place things. But go in knowing the actual arranging can be a bit rudimentary and doesn’t involve the kind of sticker experimentation like in a game such as Sticky Business . It’s pleasant, but you’re working in set confines with defined sizes and color palettes. I do appreciate that there are some set elements and surprises, however. You can get different display options for things like fireplaces or shelving units. Areas can be covered by doors or opened. But the most pleasant occasions involve combining two stickers and being treated to an entirely new one. For example, layering up the broom and witch hat stickers in the Cottage Kitchen, perhaps by hanging the hat on the end of the broomstick, nets you a black cat sticker. It’s a pleasant opportunity. Images via Meteor Pixel Another element that may be a hit or miss for you with Little Corners is that I found it features a lot of… well… brown. Many, many shades of brown. And gray. I wish it was a little more bright and colorful at times, and I found it surprising that Overgrown Ruins ended up being basically the “brightest” area in my experience. This means some elements can blend together a little, and other stickers and decorations might not stand out as much. So while I referenced Colorforms a lot when talking about Little Corners , this sticker room decoration game isn’t nearly as colorful and vibrant as most of those sets were. Little Corners is like an opportunity to return to the times of playing with Colorforms and sticker books to decorate a room. There aren’t customization features, in terms of things like resizing or recoloring. There aren’t tons of interactions. But it is very relaxing to go through the eight different areas and arrange things to your liking. And when you do happen upon a special combination of stickers to unlock something, it can feel pretty special. I just wish there was a little bit more to it. Little Corners is available for PCs via Steam and itch.io . The post Little Corners Feels Like Playing With Colorforms appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 21

Terminator 2D: No Fate Review - Yesterday’s Battle For Tomorrow Reviewed on: Switch 2 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: Reef Entertainment Developer: Bitmap Bureau Rating: Mature The Terminator franchise’s overlap with video games is full of mixed results. Despite it being a universe overflowing with video game catnip-like explosions, robot skeletons, and laser guns, there have been plenty of misses and only a few hits. The same could be said of the film franchise, as well, but Terminator 2: Judgment Day is an undeniable classic – a defining action film of its time that is still entertaining more than 30 years later. Terminator 2D: No Fate is exclusively an adaptation of that film and seeks to recall both the movie and the era in which it was released. As a nostalgic recreation of that time in entertainment, No Fate feels just right. But it is also sometimes a frustrating retread of video game design that we have moved past.   Developer Bitmap Bureau has become an expert in creating pixel art and releasing games that feel like they’re from the past. No Fate’s art direction is some of the developer’s best to date, and seeing all the iconography of Terminator 2 translated into classic arcade visuals is a treat. The animations of all the characters, enemies, and robot tanks look great, and the cutscenes that play out the movie's most memorable story moments are extraordinarily charming. Gameplay is straightforward, primarily recalling Contra III: The Alien Wars’ run-and-gunplay with a handful of visually engaging vehicle levels that rely on quick reactions. The majority of No Fate’s levels play out with Sarah Connor, or an adult John Connor, in a ravaged future, taking a few steps, crouching to shoot enemies, and moving on. It works well and feels good, but I grew tired of the process, especially considering that beating the game and seeing all it has to offer requires replaying the same levels repeatedly. Making your way to the end (which takes about an hour), dying at the penultimate level, and restarting all the way back at the beginning is an outdated style of game that I don’t miss. Thankfully, acknowledging the necessity of replaying, the vehicle levels, a beat ‘em up level where you play as the T-800, and a stealth level where Sarah escapes from the Pescadero State Hospital keep things from getting too monotonous. Replaying levels also means that when you do find secrets (like a better gun or additional continues), they are incredibly rewarding, helpful, and worth re-acquiring on every playthrough. Once you make it through the game to credits, there are opportunities to replay the campaign and make a few key narrative choices that lead to big story changes and new original levels. I like this option a lot, as it’s fun to imagine a different version of Terminator 2 (with at least one really dour ending), and it makes me reminisce about bizarre video game movie adaptations of the past that had no problem going off the rails from properties that inspired them. Terminator 2D: No Fate nails the feeling of a game that should have existed in the early ‘90s to coincide with the release of the film. It’s the kind of game that, had it released at that time, would have likely been revered as a great adaptation to this day. In 2025, it is still a strong retro adaptation of a beloved film, but it is not without some design annoyances that we’ve moved beyond. Score: 7.75 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsDec 19

Octopath Traveler 0 ReviewOctopath Traveler 0 asks you to stick with a 100-hour journey, and it rewards you with an experience only lengthy RPGs can pull off.

IGN PC ReviewsDec 19

Bluey's Quest For The Gold Pen Review - Kindergarten ZeldaLots of cartoon trends come and go, but Bluey's rise to the top of the streaming landscape has been fueled by more substance than the typical preschool kids cartoon. The phenomenon has been almost as strong among adults as kids, as the show's strong writing, imaginative play, lovable characters, and surprisingly deep emotional intelligence has moved many adults to watch it as well. It was inevitable that the popularity of Bluey would invite video game adaptations. And while Quest for the Gold Pen is simple and familiar, it's also well-made in a way that could serve as a gentle early introduction for a new generation of gamers. It's hard to talk about Quest for the Gold Pen without inviting comparisons to the other Bluey video game release, Bluey: The Video Game. That game from Artax and Outright Games captured the look of the cartoon remarkably well, but it was a bit dull. You mostly took part in minigames around the Heeler household, loosely built around the story of finding a treasure map. It was cute, but it lacked the heart and imagination of the cartoon, and its gameplay hooks weren't all that compelling. Bluey's Quest for the Gold Pen, from Jetpack Joyride developer Halfbrick Studios, is almost the precise opposite: a more imaginative setting, with solid game mechanics underpinning it, but also more structured. You aren't just playing around the household and making your own fun this time, and a lot of the activities are very similar. But since it's presented in a familiar framework, this feels like a proper and recognizable video game--just paced a little slower to make it approachable for youngsters. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsDec 18

Review: News Tower Offers a Satisfying Newspaper Management Loop In games where we manage a business, organization, or city, there’s always a consistent gameplay loop. We set up a situation. We let that run for a bit and hope for success. Depending on how that goes, we respond. In the best case scenarios, it’s setting a path for consistent expansion before maintaining stable success. But it can also be just as engrossing if things aren’t going as expected and we need to triage. News Tower, Sparrow Night’s newspaper management simulation, offers a near-perfect gameplay and feedback loop that encourages constant investments. The general premise is very simple. You’re living in New York in 1929. You get the chance to create and manage a newspaper inherited from your deceased father, deciding the direction you take and your sphere of coverage. (Yes, this means you could go moral or sensational.) This means maintaining and organizing your building and newsroom, as well as determining your sphere of coverage, revenue sources, factions you support, and range of distribution. If you do well you won’t only survive, but also best competing newspapers Empire Observer and Jersey Beacon. (Doing that nets you Lowrise and Highrise building and game modes with new challenges.) Basically, you get the opportunity to cover topics that would come up between 1930-1939 based on actual events. Maintain your office, find stories, prepare a weekly paper, see the response, invest in your office and employees, use what you learned to fine tune stories for next week, and keep learning, reporting, and hopefully succeeding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEya-_8sxsI General News Tower progression is divided into two parts. One involves building layout and management. You can purchase floors, place staircases, a generator, and lights, set up a research section with things like telegraphing stations and reporter desks, a text area with assembly tables and typesetting desks, and setting up a printer with input and output modules, belts, and a printer page module. There are also elements to help increase comfort, divisions, and efficiency, like a bathroom, pneumatic tubes, elevators instead of stairs, comfort elements, and walls to further set up divisions. But there’s a lot of getting things set up, then hiring people to manage them. Now, this part is incredibly enjoyable, but it also is an element that I found I didn’t engage with as often as I did the actual newspaper management. Setting up a building to ensure everything flows together, there’s efficient movement between stations, and people can get around matters! I did find I’d need to tweak and adjust things, especially as the paper and building grew. But that actual setup part doesn’t seem to come up as frequently as other management elements. Image via Sparrow Night Which may be for the best! There are a lot of management elements in News Tower , such as keeping an eye on staff, making decisions about news coverage, trying to improve circulation, balance faction requests, and deal with malicious attempts to hamper your success. When we start a game, we can hire reporters who focus on crime, the economy, entertainment, politics, society, sports, and world news. We invest in people to improve them, but also need to take care when sending journalists on assignments as they could end up injured. You wait for ideas to come in on the telegraph. When a story possibly comes up, you need to go through different parts and assign a person to work it. Skill points can dictate how fast progress goes. The number of printer page presses you have determine how many stories you can do, with one page having room for three stories. The meat of it comes from assigning stories, having staff move things from one section to another, and prepare to put out your Sunday papers. Though, from what I’ve seen, a little extra micromanagement to ensure priority stories are staff’s main focus and manually moving some elements along is better than leaving folks to their own devices. I mentioned earlier that you can decide how you cover things. News Tower lets you choose between lies and the truth. You can be practical and honest, or try and lean toward clickbait sorts of situations. These elements can affect popularity and public response. (As can things like pricing.) It also determines whether you’ll catch the attention of different factions. Which plays into the hazards that can come up in News Tower . Issues like smells from a bathroom or sound could be a problem, requiring acoustic panels, walls, and sinks. The printing press is a mechanical monster that’s hot, noisy, and generally unpleasant, so building layouts need to take that into account to ensure people are comfortable enough to actually work. Because if people aren’t happy, they won’t perform. Factions might be unhappy with your coverage choices. (You know, reporting the truth.) This could lead to members of the military or criminal organizations coming in with threats or bribes. Spies can come in to damage equipment. It feels like there’s never enough money, which means taking out loans. Images via Sparrow Night Given how much is happening at once, that News Tower works so well is a testament to Sparrow Night’s work. However, I found that can make it especially noticeable when something doesn’t work exactly right or is a little unbalanced. The UI is a bit cluttered and sometimes isn’t as intuitive as you’d expect for all the information coming in at any time. I got used to it, but it’s a bit to take in when you start. Also, while moral and quality decisions come up, I felt like the simulation didn’t go far enough to reward or penalize these kinds of actions and decisions. While going bankrupt is a threat and there are rivals, it’s pretty easy to work out how to get ad opportunities and the other papers aren’t a genuine threat. Which meant after about 10 to 15 hours or when you are in your second or third run, it might not feel as thrilling. (But even then, it taking that long to start feeling “routine” is pretty good!) I encountered an array of bugs as well, but found the issues with staff intelligence and minor problems seem to be covered in Sparrow Night’s patches , so I’m pretty sure they’ll be squashed in the next few weeks and months. News Tower is a satisfying business management simulation that involves optimizing offices and reporting procedures to ensure success. It feels like there’s are opportunities to keep investing and growing. It can even be so satisfying that it stays compelling for hours. There are some minor issues and sometimes it might feel a bit too easy or routine when you get used to things, but I still very much recommend it. News Tower is available on PCs, and there is a demo on Steam . The post Review: News Tower Offers a Satisfying Newspaper Management Loop appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 18

Terminator 2D: No Fate Review

IGN ArticlesDec 18

Review: Dogpile Is Full of Good Dogs Dogpile is a Suika Game like puzzle, which isn’t uncommon as of late, but it’s one of the most intriguing due to its deck-building nature and implementation of roguelike elements. While there is a barebones, straightforward sort approach that just involves matching dogs, the real fun comes from playing around with your deck, dogs’ traits, and other elements to keep successfully adding more pups to your yard. In Dogpile , you start with a yard and no dogs. Which is no good. You need puppers in your life! Fortunately, there are small and big ones, ranging from a score of a teeny lil’ dude at a “1” or a big ol’ buddy that is a “King.” Each hand deals you three cards you must play, which could be dogs, trainer ones that affect the dogs, or a pet store for a shopping visit. (Depending on the tags on your collar and traits, you might draw more than three.) Your goal is to keep hitting bone objectives through merging dogs to get bigger ones, to meet objectives and get to go to the dog wash for perks, while also earning money you can spend at the pet shop for more dog cards, trainer cards, and tags with perks. It’s all incredibly clever, coupled with an amusing “script” that features great descriptions for items and a personable flea as a “guide.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nypRrTHPCE At its heart, Dogpile is a matching game like Suika Game , since we have the well in the center of the screen and the different sized animals that merge with identical pairs of themselves to create a bigger one, continuing to merge them until they can get no bigger. But it’s the implementation of the deck-building elements and sorts of traits found in roguelikes that makes it feel like we have more decisive and strategic control over things. For example, the dog wash allows us to grant one of three traits to three dogs from our deck. Maybe we go with an upgrade that improves all of them by one level? Perhaps we make them all teenier than they were before. We could also always go with making them friendly, which I love because it then automatically makes them rush over in the yard to pair up with their match. While there are good traits like the ones I mentioned, such as making them extra good to get more currency or a pack trait that will automatically also use another dog card from your deck and deploy it, there are negative traits too. Timid will make them run away from other dogs. If one is fostered, it becomes a single-use card. A dog could end up temporarily crated, which makes it unable to match for a number of hands. And if a dog has fleas, none of its positive traits will come in. A royal dog is opposite of a miniature one, as it will be bigger than usual. Not to mention missing bone criteria via matching will mean incurring a punishment like temporary crating, fleas, or adding a rock to the yard. It makes you think about your decisions and consider adding more trainer cards like a sponge that could wash negative traits off a dog in the yard, sheers to make one in the yard miniature, or a treat to make a specific one extra good. Images via Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot The tags are also great. You’re limited to a certain number on your collar, and these are exclusively purchased in the pet shop. These can give you things like more bones or more money for certain actions, ensuring a certain option always appears at the dog wash, automatically assign traits to certain classes of dogs, and other bonuses for playing in certain ways if equipped. While we can only hold a certain number on our collar at a time, they can be sold back for funds and to make room for more. It’s almost like they’re relics like in typical roguelikes or deck-builders, offering a reason and excuse to tailor our deck and playstyle to a certain situation. Dogpile also deviates from Suika Game to behave more like Balatro with its varied decks. If you “beat” a game by getting the Saint Bernard (King), you can unlock a new deck. These could change the difficulty of a run, depending on the situation. I also noticed that, while no new dogs appeared, I did sometimes see new tags after getting more decks. Images via Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot Dogpile combines the Suika Game formula with deck-building, and I really like the results. It’s quite clever and incredibly cute. I loved playing around with certain builds and trying to capitalize on putting together decks that involved certain mechanics. Did I see myself getting near the endgame? Eliminate all smaller dogs to prioritize minimized versions of larger ones in the deck! Did I want to make things easier for myself and not worry about placements? Try and add friendly and pack traits to as many dogs as possible. I really loved challenging myself and working things out. Dogpile is available for PCs. The post Review: Dogpile Is Full of Good Dogs appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 17

Terminator 2D: No Fate Review - No ProblemoIf I could use only one word to encapsulate Terminator 2D: No Fate, it would be "authentic": Both in the way it faithfully recreates James Cameron's seminal 1991 action movie and its nostalgic love affair with the 16-bit era of video games. Movie tie-ins were mostly awful in the early '90s, but I could easily see myself renting No Fate from my local Blockbuster and blasting through its sidescrolling run-'n'-gun action in between episodes of Dragon Ball Z and WWF Smackdown. It's a brief experience, with the credits arriving in less time than it takes to watch the entirety of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but No Fate is a licensed video game done right, created with palpable reverence for both its source material and the era of video games it emulates. No Fate's story mode opens with a shot of rolling tarmac, as the painted yellow lines in the middle of the road scroll past at regular intervals. If you're a fan of Terminator 2, this shot will be a familiar sight, albeit one now rendered in gorgeous pixel art, with chiptune music and Sarah Connor's monologue presented as blocks of text rather than through Linda Hamilton's hushed tones. It's also in a different place--on a desert road instead of a Los Angeles freeway--and opens the game as opposed to bookending the movie. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsDec 16