Recent reviews by TrueKnight

Northgard is a captivating real-time strategy game inspired by Norse mythology. Players control a clan of Vikings to explore, expand, and survive in an unforgiving environment filled with mythical creatures, hostile clans, and harsh winters.

Pros

• Unique Setting and Atmosphere: The Norse mythology theme, combined with a beautifully crafted map and soundtrack, creates an immersive experience.
  
  
• Engaging Gameplay: A mix of city-building, resource management, and strategy ensures depth and replayability.
  
  
• Diverse Clans: Each clan has unique abilities and playstyles, allowing for varied approaches to victory.
  
  
• Multiple Victory Conditions: Offers flexibility in gameplay with conditions like domination, trade, lore, and fame.
  
  
• Challenging AI and Multiplayer: AI opponents provide a solid challenge, and multiplayer matches add a competitive edge.
  
  
• Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master: Intuitive mechanics make it accessible for newcomers, while strategic depth keeps veterans engaged.

Cons

• Pacing: The slow start can feel tedious for players used to faster RTS games.
  
  
• Limited Combat Mechanics: Battles lack complexity compared to other RTS games, focusing more on positioning and numbers than tactics.
  
  
• Repetitive Mid-Game: Resource management and expansion can feel repetitive after multiple playthroughs.
  
  
• Occasional Balancing Issues: Some clans or strategies can feel overpowered, especially in multiplayer.
  
  
• UI Clutter: Managing multiple regions can sometimes feel overwhelming due to limited interface options.

TLDR

Northgard is a refreshing take on the RTS genre, blending Norse mythology with deep strategic elements. While it has some shortcomings in pacing and combat complexity, its engaging mechanics and unique setting make it a must-try for fans of strategy and city-building games.

Contra: Operation Galuga is a glorious revival of everything that made the classic Contra games legendary, while delivering modern flair and polish that never feels out of place. Developed with a clear love for the series, this game reimagines the retro run-and-gun gameplay with tight controls, explosive action, and an updated visual style that stays true to its roots.



Modernized Gameplay: The familiar fast-paced action is paired with new mechanics like weapon upgrades and special abilities, making the experience both nostalgic and fresh.

Stunning Visuals: Vibrant, hand-crafted pixel art combined with modern effects makes every stage a feast for the eyes without losing the classic Contra vibe.

Challenging but Fair: True to its legacy, Operation Galuga is tough as nails but always rewarding. Perfect for players who enjoy mastering patterns and pushing their reflexes.

Co-Op Chaos: Playing with a friend is pure adrenaline-fueled fun, and the game offers seamless co-op integration.

Epic Boss Battles: Each level concludes with unforgettable encounters that test your skill and strategy, all accompanied by heart-pumping music.


Short Campaign: Like its predecessors, the game isn’t incredibly long, but the replay value and different difficulty modes make up for it.

High Difficulty Curve: New players might find it daunting at first, but that’s part of Contra’s charm, and old school gamers, like myself, may actually throw this in the pro section of this review.

Final Thoughts:
Contra: Operation Galuga is a love letter to fans of the series and an excellent starting point for newcomers. Whether you're chasing that nostalgic high or looking for a challenging, high-octane shooter, this game delivers on all fronts.

Highly Recommended for anyone who loves action-packed gaming, tight controls, and a bit of retro madness.

Let me start by saying I loved the original COH, played it on local LANs, and even bought it again once it hit Steam. I never quite got into COH2 for a number of reasons, but I do believe the game got significantly better over time through patching and community feedback.

For COH3 I played in the pre-alpha back in the summer of 2021, the multiplayer pre-alpha later that same year, the summer 2022 alpha, and the multiplayer tech test just a month ago. The game is now released, and yes, it's still buggy. I don't believe it's nearly as bad as the COH2 launch, but it needs a lot of love.

Having said all that, I'm already having a blast. It definitely has more of a COH1 feel than COH2, which may be off-putting for folks who loved COH2. I can't speak to the single player, but the Italian "dynamic" campaign is apparently where a lot of complaints are coming from. I see a lot of minor quibbles, but even those may be justified for a game that has been fully released.

-If you're a fan of COH1 multiplayer, I'd say give it a shot.

-If you're in it for single-player, you may want to wait and see if they address some of the issues.

-If you're a COH2 fan, you may want to wait on it too.

Time will tell if they put the same care into it that they did with COH2 and I can't blame anyone for criticizing it right now. I'm honestly having a lot of fun and can see myself playing a lot, but I do believe they released the game too early or should have put it up for early access.

If you ever played any of the TMNT games from the early 90s at the arcades or on home consoles, this game hits all of the right nostalgia points. The audio and visuals are like an updated blast from the past.

Excellent co-op game, even at full price ($25 is a steal these days)!

This is a great action role-playing/open world game. Story has been pretty good and a ton of side mission content.

I'd liken it to Skyrim with a mythological twist.


Note - If you're playing this on Steam, it will need to launch UPlay in the background. Depending on your system setup, you may need to run Steam as Admin (right click Steam > Run as Administrator). The game would not launch unless I did this because the connection to UPlay couldn't establish properly.

Great sequel! This game is probably better in almost every way (graphically, story, pirates!).

This game does seem to have more story/voice acting than the original, which may not be for everyone, especially if you're looking for more action/battles. Voice acting is mostly top notch and very well done. I'm almost to the end of the main story and will be taking a detour to complete some of the DLC.

Great isometric RPG! Recommend if you're a fan of POE1 or either of the original Baldur's Gate games.

This is like a spiritual successor to the Baldurs Gate trilogy. The story was a little hard to get into at first, but this has been a great old-school isometric RPG.

I highly recommend it.

I've only played for about 3 1/2 hours but already beat the story mode and have all achievements. I never "lost" a game or got into an unwinnable situation but I'm assuming it is possible. Having said that, I know it sounds like a short amount of time but I'd liken it to a movie. Would I pay $12 bucks to see a good movie in a theater? Yep. Would I pay $12 bucks to play a good 3+ hour video game (paid $9.59 since it was on sale)? Yep.

Countdown mode looks like it will be a good reason to keep me coming back (unless they add additional modes in the future). Also like that you can reset all of your progress if you'd like to unlock everything again.

10/10 Another fun and enjoyable game from Bithell Games.

Almost like a mix of GTA and Skyrim in the Wild West but with a bit more cinematic flair. Only in Chapter 2 but a great game so far.


Edit - 6/30/2020 after having the game for about 5 months.

This may well be the best game I have ever played. The story and voice acting had me more invested and engaged than I have probably ever been with a game. I finished the single player campaign almost two months ago (you can keep playing after finishing the story).

Came back a couple of weeks ago, just intending to mess around in single player, and decided to try Red Dead Online. I'm hooked yet again and so many new things to try and explore as well as random players (good and bad).

I often look at prices of games much like I would a movie for time/enjoyment factor. This is a great example of a game that you are getting your moneys worth and then some. My hour counts are always a bit skewed because I will leave a game running, sometimes for hours, while I'm away, but I have still sunk a ton of time into RDR2.

Try to avoid spoilers to the single player story. I cannot recommend this game enough.


Edit - 11/25/2020

I'm still playing online fairly regularly. They have continued to release new content (some of it's not great but you can't win em all). Great game!

This game is short but so worth it. Great story and the controlling of the two brothers, at the same time, is fairly unique. Having to use them together to solve puzzles and challenges was a real treat. Your path is fairly linear and that may be off-putting to some but, because of its short length, it never really gets stale or old.

I highly recommend this game. It packs an emotional wallop.