Tag:

strategy games

Thronefall

by SCG September 24, 2023

written by SCG

Thronefall’s been picking up considerable attention and positive responses since it launched into Steam early access at the start of August. This is deserved success, and I’m interested in where the game goes from here – though I have some reservations.

First off, let’s put the game in context. If you imagine a game that takes liberally from the Kingdom series and the tower defence genre, and garnishes with survival RTS like They Are Billions or Age of Darkness, you’ll be in more or less the right place for Thronefall. You directly control a hero character ala. Kingdom and invest your precious coins into constructing and upgrading buildings. Each night you come under attack from progressively more dangerous and numerous enemies. Some folks just want to watch the whole world burn, you know?

September 24, 2023 0 comments 784 views

Pikmin 4

by SCG September 9, 2023

written by SCG

It’s been delightful to read that Pikmin 4 has met with modest financial success, especially when compared to its predecessors. The Pikmin games are a delight that I’ve loved since my girlfriend introduced me to them. We played through Pikmin 3 together both on Wii U and when re-released for the Switch, and we revisited the first two games back in the Wii U era as well. They’ve never previously seen even a fraction of the success of Nintendo’s flagship games, and that’s doubtless why Pikmin games are so few and far between compared to the abundance of Mario and Zelda titles.

Although, if you’re inclined towards feeling like a special flower, this could be a sad moment, as it’s a rare thing indeed to be able to celebrate a previously little-known Nintendo series.

Pikmin 4 clearly set out to be more approachable than the previous games, which have a fairly aggressive difficulty curve in terms of gameplay as well as an overarching progression system that put pressure on you to make the best use of every precious minute. The game starts out slow with a gentle and extended tutorial which, frankly, I don’t look forward to on any future playthrough. It does do a good job of introducing you to the game’s concepts and mechanics, including the most notable addition to the series’ cast: ‘space rescue pup’ Oatchi.

September 9, 2023 0 comments 477 views

Gladius: playing as Tyranids

by SCG August 3, 2023

written by SCG

A quick administrative note: in the interest of stretching my writing muscles a little more frequently, and publishing a little more frequently to this sadly neglected blog, I’m going to try writing small pieces about stuff I’m doing or am interested in. This might mean some posts seem a bit weird or undercooked… more so than usual, anyway.

I’ve again been playing Slitherine Software’s second most recent 40k offering, the not-quite-a-Civ-game and definitely-a-mouthful Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War. If you don’t know, the potted description is that it’s a hex-based strategy game that looks a little like Civilization or Warlock or Fallen Enchantress or any number of other civ games, but in practice it’s a great representation of the grimdark setting of 40k, because you will never stop fighting. Want to hang back and fix your economy? Good luck, pal.

The game is brutally tough on higher difficulties but, happily, it works well as a multiplayer title. I’ve been playing multiplayer games with some friends and friends-of-friends against AI teams and sometimes things go well, but other times one of us is stomped into dust before anyone else can help them. It’s luck of the draw where you will start out; if you’re close enough to support an ally, that’s good. If there are other players between you, that’s not so good.

Still, you can only blame random deployment so far: knowing what you’re doing with your faction is also very important. Our most recent starting games left me feeling like there was a lot I had to learn about playing as everyone’s favourite voracious bug swarm, the Tyranids. I’ve started a practice game to experiment with some stuff, and figure out possible build orders for the faction. Here’s what I’ve got so far…

August 3, 2023 0 comments 2.6K views