Games I look forward to in 2024 and beyond

Previously, I talked about several demos that caught my eye during the recent demo galore that was Steam's Next Fest October 2023. However, not all of those games made into my wishlist, and even if they did, I didn't rank them highly. And that compelled me to write this list: here are some titles that I very much look forward to in 2024 and beyond. Some of them have already been fully released, some are still in Early Access, and some are still in development with demo builds available.

Steam Next Fest October 2023 - demos that caught my attention

Steam's Next October Fest has come and gone. With the tagline "A Celebration of Upcoming Games", it's a great opportunity to look around for hidden gems, as well as to try out demos. A lot these games have already published their demo prior to the fest, but the fest worked as some sort of a "gathering ground" so that you don't have to manually search for those demos yourself. So here are some that I have checked out, in no particular order. Who knows, maybe you too will stumble upon something you'll like!

Awesome games I'm currently playing or played recently

Hello, I hope everything is OK. It's nice to see that things are slowly getting back to normal. Regardless, the quarantine has given me more than enough time to sink into games, and I have discovered a bunch of very addictive ones. Lots of the games on this list ended up becoming my favourite games of all time, so here they are.

Writing once a year, life-long depression, shorter reviews, and what-not

It's been a while since I posted anything here. The sad thing is I actually have a ton of reviews but they're all in a draft shape. I really want to keep up with everything, but it's not easy - you know - living life on hard mode. The life you never wanted. But I have to keep going, and so I want to write something and post it here at least once a year.

Ryse: Son of Rome - spectacularly cinematic, yet unmemorable

Ryse: Son of Rome is a visual marvel, I'll give it that. It's got carnage - blood and chopped off body parts everywhere. If you demand historical accuracy and realism, give the game a hard pass. If you're looking for a game with an impactful story and memorable characters, give it a harder pass. If you're looking for a game with an intricate combat system and branching skill trees, then still, Ryse Son of Rome isn't for you. If you're obsessed with repetition to perfection and craving for a short yet dramatic cinematic experience, then it might just be up your alley. Actually, it's perfect for that, if it's what you're looking for.

Grand Guilds (demo) - a quick glance

This is the last entry of a four-part series I'm doing this month where I try out the demos of four very recent or upcoming tactical turn-based tactics games.

UPDATE, 2021: I actually got a free copy from someone I assume is a friend of the developer's. The campaign took me 36 hours and it was actually very enjoyable.

Grand Guilds is an upcoming tactical RPG developed by an indie Filipino studio, Drix Studios. I heard about it about a month ago and the reason I put it on my wishlist is the game's  wonderful artstyle which reminds me a lot of those Saturday morning animated show I watched as a kid. If its Steam page is of any indication, Grand Guilds is story-heavy. It follows the adventures of Eliza, a former guild leader who's just returned from war, only to find herself involved in a mysterious conflict that's more than meets the eye.

We are the Plague (demo) - a quick glance

This is the third entry of a four-part series I'm doing this month where I try out the demos of four very recent or upcoming turn-based tactics titles (try saying that four times).

The first thing I noticed when I booted We are the Plague is the beautiful yet grim artwork, which reminds me of that of last year's Iratus: Lord of the Dead. However, while the artwork is nice to look at, the demo's showcase of combat is not looking good. There are a couple of glitches here and there. Granted, it's still just a demo, but still.

Legend of Keepers: Prologue - a quick glance

This is the second entry of a four-part series I'm doing this month where I try out the demos of four very recent or upcoming turn-based tactics titles.

I'm enjoying this demo a lot, it's definitely up my alley as a huge longtime fan of Darkest Dungeon and turn-based tactics. This game is reverse Iratus: Lord of the Death, which is the reverse of Darkest Dungeon. Obviously this is just a demo, but if this is what the full game will be like, I can't really recommend it for now, mainly for the very THIN tactical layer (not sure if that's the right term but that's the best I can think of). Do I enjoy it though? Yes.

Alder's Blood: Prologue - a quick glance

This is the first entry of a four-part series I'm doing this month where I try out the demos of four very recent or upcoming turn-based tactics titles.

Alder's Blood is yet another upcoming turn-based tactics game set in a grim Lovecraftian world. Lately, following the popularity of Darkest Dungeon, we've been seeing a surge turn-based games adopting similarly dark, hand-drawn artstyles. Alders Blood is no exception, and that's not a bad thing if you're into it.

What's next?: changes in my writing style and approach to reviewing games, and a bunch of other stuff

It's been a while since I last posted anything. And trust me, I'm beating myself hard over that, other than over my obviously deteriorating "English skillz". Since I started dabbling in ghostwriting and freelancing, I haven't had the time to write any reviews. Some of you on here that I've made friends with from various discussion groups (if you're still lurking around) know that this site was never intended to be a private blog, but it's a space to put my reviews out there. So if I'm not writing anything relevant, this site is going to be rather idle. But lately I've been reflecting a lot about my writing journey, and about maybe it's time I brought it somewhere, as well as how my writing style has evolved over the years.

Against all odds: why the Empire is my favourite faction in the entire Total War series

As one of the best strategy war games out there, the Total War series is known for the variety and choices it offers. Different theatres of war across different eras for you to take part in, as well as various factions and unit types -- all to cater to the insatiate thirst for blood of the inner warmonger in you. For instance, Medieval Total War pits you against the power-hungry nations of the medieval times, with an array of theatres to get involved in, from the Crusades in the Middle East, to the bloody conflicts in the British Isles. Not into medieval history, but want to play shogun? Then there's Shogun Total War for you. Do you have a tough time commanding slow moving infantry? Well, play as the Mongols instead. Ride to war and watch as your ever-evasive horseback archers rain down arrows on the barbarians.

Doki Doki Literature Club - a disturbing surprise

If you've tipped your toe a little bit into story-based games, whether they're episodic adventures or visual novels, then you've probably heard of Doki Doki Literature Club. Sounds like a normal cutesy-anime visual novel, right? That was what I thought too, as someone who isn't familiar with visual novels and anime. But boy, it really took me off guard. the game is best explored the less you know about it (preferably almost zero) but here are some of my non-spoilery thoughts.

What we know so far - Biomutant

I can't remember when or where I first heard of Biomutant. I just remember it instantly making its way into my top 5 most anticipated games of 2018/2019. What is Biomutant? The description on its Steam page sums it up the best: "it's an (upcoming) open-world, post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu fable RPG, with a unique martial arts styled combat system allowing you to mix melee, shooting and mutant ability action". It's Kung Fu Panda, but your hero is a raccoon and he's far more agile, and kung fu isn't the only thing he's good at. Seriously, it's really cool.

Domina - solid core, needs more

"That's my boy," I said, with both excitement and relief, as my Thraex gladiator raised his sword in victory. Cheers from the crowd boosted his ego. Pixelated blood was all over the arena like paint. On the middle were four dead gladiators that he slaughtered in under 10 seconds. Back at the Ludus, I rewarded him some coins and wine, before upgrading his gears significantly. I grew fond of him, and changed his name to "Spartacus". Big mistake. If permadeath strategy games ever taught me anything, it's that getting attached to your characters in a big no-no, and Domina is no different.

Skyshine's Bedlam - simple enough to hook you in, too shallow to last

It's rather unfortunate that Skyshine's Bedlam is one of those games. You know what I mean: the ones that seem promising on paper, but instead of turning out as they should, they end up a disappointment. Bedlam has very interesting concepts and premises, and along with a very memorable art-style, its mechanics are surprisingly simple yet straightforward enough to suck you in right away. That is, until the imbalances and unnecessary grinding slowly begin to make it obvious that the game is yet another missed opportunity.

Six Video Games That Seriously Need Sequels

There are two kinds of reactions to sequels. It's either, "ugh, another Assassin's Creed?", or "another Assassin's Creed? Yay!" Then there are some games that don't get any sequel, at all! Or yet, hopefully! Some of these games here are quite disappointing, but they still deserve sequels because they left us wondering how they'd be like had they were done better. Others are plain awesome, so it's just so disappointing that they're still not having any sequel.

Ah, It's Been a While!

Congratulations, you've seen my fingers.

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything on here! But that doesn't mean I game less and less. In fact, I've been checking out a lot of games and revisiting some old ones for the past couple of months. The thing is that, I haven't had the spirit to write anything on gaming. Maybe the games are too interesting, maybe they're too boring. The thing is, I hadn't felt the need to pour my thoughts on those games down into words. And like I said before, I didn't start this site for blogging, it's for posting stuff that I write. That's different than blogging. For bloggers, they need to come up with something to post on a regular basis. For me, I merely need some sort of a place/site to post what I've written, but I will always write whether the place/site exists or not. Now enough with that, on to it we go!

Skyhill - a challenging little game of luck and gamble

You're a hotshot who just had a business in the city and are now looking for a place to wind up at. The planet is having a rough time at the moment, and word has it that the next world war is very likely at your frontdoor. But you're lucky enough to get yourself into an expensive suite at the top floor of one prestigious hotel, when out of nowhere, the city is hit by a bio-weapon and the impact turns everyone who's unlucky enough to be unprotected into mutants. Your wife is somewhere in the city, and what stands between you and her are 99 floors full of mutants and lunatics lurking in almost every corner.

Let's Talk About Unreal Tournament 3

Whoa, it's been a while since I have wrote (or written, both are kind of correct) something. Been through some ups and downs (mostly downs), had some grammar rules forgotten, and also (and most importantly!), played a bunch of great games since the last time I posted here. I'll talk about them later if I feel like it, but for now, let's talk about Unreal Tournament 3, which I've been playing quite a lot for the past few days.

How Twitter (Rather Unlikely) Helps Me Discover Hidden Gems

Here's a rather lazy post but I already wrote it anyway so why not. Now you must have noticed that the games I talked about here are not all popular mainstream games. There are some games you might not recognize or even paid attention to before. Although they are not necessarily "indie" (as everyone likes to put it these days), they basically are smaller and lesser known games. They are what I personally call "gems". They are out there, but you need a keen pair of eyes to spot them.