Recent reviews by Skiah 40k

A bundle of the first two games that launched the large and expansive Ys series, modernized but still in the spirit of the originals. Something that I find to be a really nice touch - you have a choice of the character art and music you want to experience the games with, your options are taken from some of the older various remakes these games have seen. You can also change the art and music from one style to another in the options menu at any time. An enjoyable introduction to Ys and the best place to start.

I remember playing these games many years ago and the nostalgia factor might be there to some extent but I love the extra features. The graphics are also very much improved and updated from the original versions, while remaining in the old pixel art style.

A really nice little quick free ARPG. The story is great and the endings are something else. I just wish they'd get someone to refine and localize the English translation. What's meant is always understandable, but the Chinese to English translation leaves a lot to be desired. There are a ton of English errors, grammatical and otherwise. Those suggested fixes could turn this diamond in the rough into a real gem but even still, it was still worth the time I spent in the world of Eternal Senia.

I love this game so much, it's really fun and hits all the things one can feel nostalgic for regarding old style JRPGS. It also has a more modern take on the system and interface though, so while it seems like an old friend from the past, a lot of the annoyances from games of that era are a thing of the past.

Also the music is absolutely amazing.

Edit: I've come back to update this review as a lot of time has passed. I got close to the end and stopped playing for a few months because I became absolutely overwhelmed at the amount of loose ends, side quests and things left to do to have a "complete" experience despite clearing the final dungeon. It was the release of the expansion that finally got me playing again. I only meant to prep for the 2nd part but things got out of hand.

I just picked it up again recently -- did numerous side quests, the abyss, got dozens of achievements, hit level 100 and killed all the super bosses including Kali and am doing a combined "less than 5 saves, fewest steps, under 12 hour" speed run. And after that I intend to do the grind/legendary/no saving in dungeons master run. I've gone from overwhelmed to completely addicted and the more I play the more I appreciate all the effort and care that went into making this masterpiece. Its gone from "great game" to earning a firm place in the top 10 of my entire steam library.

Really challenging but also a lot of fun. This game hates you and will kick your ass.

There are a lot of good reviews that go into detail about the game and explain things really well and I don't have much to add there. I just want to stress 2 things:

1. Its so well integrated you may not notice at first, but this game is completely turn based. I didn't realize that when I bought the game and felt a little overwhelmed about the controls. I put off playing it for a long time because of that, but it wasn't necessary. I play with a controller for most things, and hit my hotkeys on the keyboard when I want to use an ability or switch up weapons and that actually works really smoothly for me but you could probably play this game efficiently with just one or the other. And you can take all the time you want to select things in combat. Quick reactions are not the point of this game like I thought they might have been.

2. Understand the fact that you will die, and that means permadeath. Its going to happen a lot - more frequently than not, so be prepared to accept it. However you keep all your decoded messages (even the partially decrypted ones) and recipes. Those persist through all characters and playthroughs and you can stash items and experience points for other characters in your future runs, so a death doesn't have to be a complete loss, but it will happen often.

I got Star Saviors in a very low bargain priced multipack bundle. I never would have bought this game on its own even at a low price because its just not my sort of game at all - or so I thought. Yeah, the criticism that the character portraits are ugly is fair. They're all ugly, like uncanny valley to the max ugly but that's the only bad thing I have to say. But even that is kind of charming in its own way I suppose, simply because of the sci-fi feel of the game. I like to imagine these characters aren't entirely human.

The gameplay is really smooth, fluid and fun. Its also something I can reasonably play, while still being challenging enough to not be boring (I wear braces so anything that's really stressful for my fingers and wrists are pretty much not possible for me to play). Granted the difficulty might spike too much for me, even on easy, in future levels but I wouldn't take points off for this since I don't have the endurance most people would.

And if you're afraid this means the game won't be challenging enough for you, don't be. There are several difficulty settings, including one that pretty much says you're dead meat.

The game is tons of fun, I'm digging the perks upgrade menu where you can choose how to boost your ship, and the fact that all weapons get more powerful as you gather new ones so you can pick what you like without it being totally obsolete to the newer ship equipment.

Also I'm the type that frequently turns off the game music and just has sound effects so I can play my own music while gaming but I actually love the soundtrack for this game, a lot. It seems to vary from nice and chill space electro to an interlude you'd find on a gothic power metal cd.

This game is good on its own but if you compare it in terms of value, its amazing for its price tag.

I'm an audiophile to the bone and I collect way too many albums.

Sometimes I just want to listen to music and I don't really want to be distracted from it, but I also desire something to do other than sitting still. Finding something that fits that need well has always eluded me.

And that was the appeal of the original Audiosurf, which is also why I broke down and installed steam to begin with. Audiosurf did its job.

Audiosurf 2 fills that space now, but is superior in every way. Sure, it might have its overall pros and cons, but honestly I think it all comes down to this:

Do you truly love music? If so, this is the game for you. It will make your entire catalog interactive, bright, fast paced and fun.

Lastly one great thing I can say is that while Audiosurf is flashy and fun to play, it does *not* make me motion sick, unlike so many of the newer music games out there.