For the week of September 30 – October 6
Check out what I played last week
September 30 – Phoenix Springs
I managed to get a copy of Phoenix Springs ahead of its launch on October 7. The embargo for the game was earlier today (October 7, the posting of this blog), so I can share that I was playing it. I’ll have a blog for the game soon, where I’ll go into more detail of the game. But this is my initial thoughts on the game.
This is a point-and-click adventure game focusing on the main character’s death of her brother. While this is an “adventure game”, the story lands in the surreal department. A lot is happening here, and it’s hard to determine if what’s happening is real or some sort of imagination. I’m sharing my thoughts here before finishing the game, so I could be completely off and I don’t want to spoil anything.
Yet, I can say that I like the game. I love the mystery. For the most part, the game hasn’t been too difficult. The first few sections don’t have you explore too much. It’s at the halfway point that you need to visit a few locations to find clues and advance the story. That also means that I’m also guessing what the game wants me to do. It’s not always clear-cut. There are a lot of red herrings; you might think something is important when it’s not. At the same time, they may be important, but I don’t know why yet.
If you’re curious, my full review of Phoenix Springs is live, check it out here!
October 1 – Ghostwire: Tokyo
In October, I plan on trying as many horror and horror-like games as I can. I’ve already played my fair share of horroresque games throughout the year, but I’ll try more. The first game I played was Ghostwire: Tokyo. I thought this was fitting since I’m also going to Japan again in two weeks. For the first 90 minutes of the game, I like what they have here although it’s very directed.
I booted up this game needing to become more familiar with the plot. I didn’t realize you were killed in the opening cutscene but then resurrected by a mysterious spirit. There is a lot of mystery to start the game, which hooks me in.
The start of the game doesn’t allow for too much exploration. This version of Tokyo is devoid of life, for obvious reasons. But, it takes a while before you can explore. Also, there is a sense of repetition in the game. The combat so far hasn’t deviated from the basic attacking of the same three or four types of enemies. From what I read, that is what most critics lamented.
Although the start of the game does grab my attention, I don’t know if I will keep playing. From what I read, this isn’t a long game so I could venture further if the gameplay is fun. Otherwise, I will move on to other horror games and see if I find one that I can’t put down.
October 2 – Pinball Spire
I’ve had Pinball Spire on my Steam wishlist for a while now. I love pinball, so a pinball-adventure game sounded like a lot of fun. On launch day I played for a few hours and made great progress. While it kept me playing, I don’t know if others will be as engaged as I am.
For starters, I encountered a weird bug in the game early on that forced me to restart a stage twice. While that was annoying, the game doesn’t have clear-cut objectives. You are going through different pinball environments with no real story. In almost every situation, you have to hit certain targets to open the exit so you can proceed further. It’s not always obvious what the targets are, so you have to scan the stage to find them.
Because of the random nature of pinball, even when you know what to do that doesn’t mean it will happen. Stages that should be quick end up taking more time than you hoped. While there are abilities for your ball, typical pinball aspects such as tilt don’t apply.
For its price tag, I’ve gotten value in my time with the game. Based on other people’s reviews on Steam, I’m getting close to the end of the game. If that’s the case, I will push through and try to finish this as soon as I can.
October 3 – Lost Ruins
Heading back into the horror-like theme of the month, I decided to check out Lost Ruins. This is one of those games I got for free through Prime Gaming. I was looking for something that gave me horror vibes and this one looked the part. This is a Metroidvania-type game. Like a lot of the other games in that genre that I tried this year, this could not maintain my interest.
My biggest gripe is that the combat isn’t fun. For all the mystery this game starts with, the combat is dull and feels unresponsive. I’m collecting different weapons, but none perform as I would expect. While your character can perform magic attacks, she has very little MP. Because it’s so low, you only can use two or three magic attacks before needing to refill.
Also, in the time I spent, I never once encountered any upgrade options. So, my character is stuck with 20 HP and 20 MP the entire time. I did reach the game’s first fight, but for some odd reason, they decided that it should be a multi-phase fight. It’s not two phases, but three. With the low HP and MP, I decided to stop playing and move on to something else.
October 4 – Lost in Random
I wasn’t employed when EA announced or published the EA-Original Lost in Random. At the same time, Game Pass is marketing this game in their Horror Category, so it felt safe to try it. So far, I haven’t reached any “scary” parts. Thankfully, this has a great art style and I’m intrigued by its plot.
I’m still very early in the game but I love how this world is set up. You play as Even, who is trying to save her sister Odd, who has been taken by the Queen of the land. Although I’ve spent about 30 minutes in the game, I’ve yet to encounter any real combat. There is a sequence in the prologue, but that’s all I’ve done. I’ve spent most of my time wandering around the world and taking on one easy puzzle section.
Considering I haven’t even reached the main gameplay hook of the game, I need to give more time to Lost in Random. This game looks amazing and I think I could have a lot of fun with it. If I can find time, I will keep playing.
October 5 – Halls of Torment
Steam has a top-played chart highlighting the most popular Steamdeck games. While browsing the list, I noticed a game called Halls of Torment near the top. Since it ranked so high, I needed to know why. Taking a quick look at its screenshots, I could see why. This is an isometric version of my favorite game of 2022, Vampire Survivors. Like that game, I’m having a hard time putting this down.
Where Vampire Survivors was a nod to Castlevania, Halls of Torments looks like Diablo. The concept is the same, try to survive for 30 minutes while waves of different enemies try to kill you. You’ll start with one character and one location. As you progress through the game, you unlock more characters and locales.
Because of my experience with Vampire Survivors, I found Halls of Torment pretty easy. I’ve survived the 30 minutes and defeated the boss characters in the first two stages. Although I haven’t unlocked all the stages or characters, I’ve made great progress. Halls of Torment does include some loose story aspects, which also mix up the gameplay. Gear also plays a larger role here. I need to experiment with different outfits to see how they factor into each run.
I don’t know if this will make it to my Top 10 of 2024, but I’m having a lot of fun. For its low asking price, Halls of Torment is an easy recommendation for any Steamdeck owner.
October 6 – Shadows of Doubt
Shadows of Doubt has been in my Steam collection for at least a year. I picked it up during Early Access because of its early positive buzz. The idea of a sandbox detective game sounded like a lot of fun. I was waiting for the game to hit full release before jumping in. Now that it is, I’m giving this world a try. Unfortunately, I’m bored and disappointed with what I’ve played.
I decided to try the game’s tutorial mode so that I could get an idea of the gameplay. Everything here is procedurally generated, but the tutorial feels structured. It starts with your created character waking up and finding a message slipped under the door. I need to find a person and as you’d expect in a mystery game, I find them dead. So, now I’m off to try to figure out who killed them and why.
While this concept is interesting, the experience isn’t fun. Everything in the tutorial feels forced and the sleuthing isn’t that interesting. When the game gives me hints about how to escape a room if someone is coming, I know something is about to happen. I didn’t feel any sense of discovery.
The tutorial should have been more focused. It should teach me the basics, then let me off into the world so I can explore on my own. If I give this a second chance, I’ll start a new scenario and play it how I want.
