*Sources of screenshots are listed in their respective file names.
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Summary
Valkyria Chronicles is a multi-faceted strategy JRPG without magic.
My Experience
·Originally released on the PS3 in 2008, Valkyria Chronicles’ unique combination of tactics and marksmanship feel utterly fantastic in this PC port.
From a top-down map view you will select soldiers, apply special abilities known as orders, and bring reserve units onto the field. Selecting a soldier zooms in to their perspective, allowing you to navigate and fight. Being placed in the role of both impersonal military commander and frontline infantryman/woman gives every move and shot real weight.
·Recruits can die permanently, remaining unavailable for the rest of the game. Battles are more like puzzles than firefights, forcing you to adapt to changing situations and use every class of soldier (Lancer, Shocktrooper, Scout, Engineer, and Sniper) wisely. A mistake in judgment or unit used can result in a difficult war of attrition, or having to restart a scenario entirely (I recommend saving often)…These small, important touches, while occasionally frustrating, make you aware of how much your actions and choices matter.
*Sources of screenshots are listed in their respective file names.
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1:57…
1:58…
1:59…
2 AM–finally. It will take at least 5 minutes for the store to stabilize, 10 more for prices and discounts to appear correctly, and another 10 after THAT for trading on the best titles to really begin. And yet I force myself to stay awake anyway, hoping the sun doesn’t rise too quickly and reveal the tired mess hunched over the computer–me.
There’s a weird heaviness in my chest and a dull, throbbing ache throughout my body. I’ve been doing this almost a month, now. In most cases, only to buy nothing at all once I see the featured games of the day–but if I stay up a little bit later…
Maybe a user will want the extra copy of Half-Life I have in my inventory.
Maybe I can get BattleBlock Theater for a friend with a little salesmanship and a few Trading Cards.
Maybe I can find a good deal before being drowned in a tidal wave of traders advertising their wares, and scammers wishing to take advantage of those new to this way of life.
3 AM…
4 AM…
5 AM…
Yes, this (true) story probably seems a bit ridiculous. However, look into the depths of Steam Trading and you’ll find a brilliant ecosystem formed around the unique quirks of the Steam platform. Few discover this world fueled by virtual “keys” and ever cheaper games, but many who do eventually become a part of it…Or burn out along the way.
The lifeblood of the Steam trading economy–a single Mann Co. Supply Crate Key’s value fluctuates somewhere around $2.50 USD, making it an ideal replacement for money in many trades.
The internet may be clamoring for Half-Life 3, but I believe Valve has (perhaps unintentionally) already created its greatest game–and I can’t stop playing it.
Every Wednesday from 2-4 PM EDT, I (Nelson) co-hosted a live, non-religious gaming talk show called Beta Wave Radio. Recently, I’ve taken a break from the weekly show to focus on specific guests. However, my purpose remains the same–to show the humanity behind the games we play.
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*The interview below was recorded June 10th, 2015*
I spoke with Sam Barlow of Aisle, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and the upcoming Her Story (among other things) about detective stories, the ephemeral nature of gaming, and the worst art portfolio ever made–take a listen!
You can support Sam and buy Her Story on Steam here, and play Aisle (Sam’s first title) here.
In our review of the game last year, I said Mount & Blade: Warband was one of the first RPGs “I can play as a Christian without a serious weight on my conscience.” It remains my Game of the Year for 2014.
Normal Price: $19.99 USD
Discounted Price: $3.99 USD (80% off)
Featuring intense boss battles and an evocative minimalistic art style, David. is one of the best examples in gaming that a title featuring explicit Christian messages can be entertaining to players–regardless of their faith.
Normal Price: $1.99 USD
Discounted Price: $1.33 USD (20% off)
Cook, Serve, Delicious quickly descends into finger-numbing, button-mashing brilliance, tasking players with managing a restaurant and serving its evolving clientele in real time. Since release (and our original review), the game has been further refined with improved art, local multiplayer/co-op, and Weekly Challenges (upping an already-sizable replay value).
Normal Price: $9.99 USD
Discounted Price: $2.49 USD (75% off)
Guns of Icarus Online is an exceptional multiplayer shooter where players fight together in massive steampunk airships to keep afloat and destroy the competition.
Normal Price: $14.99 USD
Discounted Price: $3.74 USD (75% off)
Normal Price: $9.99 USD
Discounted Price: $4.99 USD (50% off)
Influent is a charming vocabulary memorization tool that manages to be both educational and fun. The number of details the developer packed into the single, simple apartment you’re placed in is pretty surprising as well.
Nearly a year after completing it, FRACT OSC has stuck in my memory. It’s one of the most cohesive, mentally satisfying and incredible open world experiences I’ve ever had, and FRACT OSC remains one of the few titles I wish I could experience for the first time.
Normal Price: $14.99 USD
Discounted Price: $3.74 USD (75% off)
Valkyria Chronicles is a breath of fresh air as far as JRPGs go. It eschews magic in favor of a world analogous to that of WWII Europe, and rarely oversexualizes its extensive cast of female characters (a huge contrast to typical anime-styled games). The unique tactical combat and wide range of activities/customizations mean that after almost 20 hours, I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of this wonderful game.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch is the heartwarming adventure of an octopus–sorry, normal human–who happens to be a loving father and husband. It’s unique, quite often hilarious due to the physics-based gameplay, and relentlessly adorable even at the most serious of times.
Normal Price: $14.99 USD
Discounted Price: $7.49 USD (50% off)
Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball is a non-violent shooter with a huge dose of personality and a high skill ceiling. It’s designed to be played over and over again, and the fast, addictive flow of the game definitely facilitates that.
Normal Price: $14.99 USD
Discounted Price: $7.49 USD (50% off)
One of the most criminally-underappreciated independent games I’ve had the fortune to cover, The Marvellous Miss Take, flips the typical morality of a heist game on its head. Players slink their way across levels as 3 unique characters (each with their own differing playstyle) to retrieve artifacts stolen from the protagonist by a greedy businessman.
Since it can be played using only the mouse, The Marvellous Miss Take also happens to be significantly more accessible to the uninitiated than similar titles in the genre.
Normal Price: $14.99 USD
Discounted Price: $6.79 USD (66% off)
Windward is a surprisingly relaxing title where you can trade, explore, and blow things to pieces while sailing through beautiful tropical environments.
Normal Price: $14.99 USD
Discounted Price: $9.74 USD (35% off)
Lemma is another title by a Christian developer–this time, without an explicit Christian focus. Setting players loose in an imaginative dreamscape with an easy-to-grasp parkour system, it’s a thrilling, non-linear, non-combative FPS that truly soars.
Normal Price: $14.99 USD
Discounted Price: $11.99 USD (20% off)
For newcomers to the long-running Nancy Drew adventure game franchise, Alibi in Ashes remains a perfect introduction to its world and one of the best titles in the series.
Normal Price: $6.99 USD
Discounted Price: $3.49 USD (50% off)
Every Wednesday from 2-4 PM EDT, I (Nelson) co-hosted a live, non-religious gaming talk show called Beta Wave Radio. Recently, I’ve taken a break from the weekly show to focus on specific guests. However, my purpose remains the same–to show the humanity behind the games we play.
__________________________________
*The interview below was recorded May 28th, 2015*
I had the pleasure of chatting with Darryl Still of independent games publisher KISS Ltd. (formerly of Atari, EA, Nvidia…) about his career, taking chances, and recognizing games as art, among other things!
You can purchase KISS Ltd. titles through Steam here.
*Sources of screenshots are listed in their respective file names.
*Note: Evan Todd, the developer of the game, is a good friend of mine. The various modes of coverage below contain my honest opinions regardless of that fact.
*Sources of screenshots are listed in their respective file names.
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Summary
In first person shooter Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball* (RRDDD) players sling dodgeballs at each other instead of bullets.
My Experience
·Robot Roller Derby Disco Dodgeball’s gorgeous neon and electronica-fueled visuals mask a surprisingly intense challenge. When you finally grasp the unique movement system, or wallop an opponent from across the room with a calculated throw, the satisfaction is palpable. Beneath the silly moustaches and customizable eyebrows is a deep yet non-violent shooter that relies on precision and exact timing.
·Outside of afewexceptions, fast-yet-strategic FPS gameplay has largely disappeared since the days of Quake and Unreal Tournament. This makes Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball a fantastic option/alternative for fans of old-school shooters.
·The game features a multitude of modes and maps, giving it a HUGE amount of replay value. You can battle an opposing team around a series of neon pillars one match, and play a game of pseudo-basketball in a discotheque the next. RRDDD even features a randomized “Arcade” campaign where you fight to earn superpowers and become the President of the Galaxy.
·In a gaming environment filled with gritty, “mature” shooters, a bright sense of humor and style makes Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball a refreshing change of pace.
Potential Concerns
·One “Trickshot” worth 500 points is called “Godlike.” You earn this by catching an opponent’s ball in mid-air and using it to destroy another enemy before touching the ground.
*Sources of screenshots are listed in their respective file names.
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Summary
Frozen Cortex* transforms the simultaneous turn-based strategy of previous Mode 7 Games hit, Frozen Synapse, into a streamlined, non-violent futuresport between two teams of five robots with varying skills.
Despite this seemingly-complicated network of lines and circles, the interface and gameplay basics of Frozen Cortex are easy to grasp and not dependent on extensive sports knowledge.
My Experience
·Since turns are executed simultaneously, you’re constantly guessing what your opponent will do next, what you should do accordingly, and how to gain the upper hand. If you’re wrong that entire plan can fall apart, making the next 10 turns a desperate struggle to redeem a crippled strategy.
·Turns, when executed, last 5 seconds or end when a critical event occurs (someone’s intercepted the ball, etc.). It’s real life, focused purely on the interesting moments, and approximated in a turn-based game–or as close to real life as robots beating each other to bits on a field suspended over lava can be.
·Who to bet on for winning the next match, or whether to gamble at all. To chance your entire budget on a promising player, or several reserve players. To queue in a general strategy and have the computer simulate a match, or to play it yourself and struggle against the AI once again. Players are presented with choice after choice–each with a lasting effect. This pressure makes the game tense even off the field, and as a result difficult for me to play for long periods.
·Frozen Cortex’s fairly radical approach to time and strategy in a turn-based game creates an extremely steep difficulty curve. This is mitigated somewhat by the Easy singleplayer modes added in a recent update. These Easy modes allow you to actually see what your opponent plans to do next. You can still make mistakes and play yourself into a corner, but this addition allows you to learn valuable mechanics and tactics from the AI.
·It’s comforting to see that outside of robots hitting each other extremely hard, blood, gore and violence is nowhere to be seen.
Potential Concerns
·Players can bet on matches in both the main GCL (Global Cortex League) and College leagues.
·Rare examples of profanity can be found.
·The backstory of the GCL Redemption team is defined by their religious belief in a system operating in daily life known as “The Pattern.”
·An element of risk is present whenever you’re dealing with other players (and the customizations they’ve made to their team) online. A switch to block the viewing of another player’s customizations is present in the Options menu, which should guard against inappropriate team/stadium names, etc.
We met on Beta Wave Radio a few months ago and now chat every few days, discussing everything from the Bible to Steam Trading Cards.
While I see you’re a believer in Christ (and a firm one at that), I’m still uncertain regarding your theology and its veracity. So, I chose not to cover your games on this website.
Until now.
In Selfie: Sisters of the Amniotic Lens [AKA “Selfie”], you’ve created something truly special. I’m afraid that if I speak about it, it will bring the unexpected safe haven you’ve made to the attention of the dark and frightening corners of the internet–and everything will be ripped away.
Video Games and the Bible 