Recent reviews by Da' Vane

The Mansus has no walls, but there are plenty in this game to overcome - which makes it perfect if you don't mind a slower pased game...

Another classic Emily game!

This game is great! I loved this game on Android, despite the micro-transactions (which I basically ignored). Now, those micro-transactions are GONE, replaced entirely by the ability to use in-game currency for the premium currency instead. As such, the premium currency becomes just another resource to manage (which you could do anyway, since there were ways in-game to earn the premium currency).

What I really enjoyed though, apart from the train station theme, was that continued play was encouraged over endless replaying, by having a yearly high score for each station. You can switch between stations each year, with a portion of the revenue from your other stations being paid to whatever station you are currently developing, allowing you to set up new stations quicker.

All in all, this is a solid port of the Android game, without the micro-transactions, for everyone to enjoy on Steam!

This is a decent port of the first ever Kairosoft game, setting the standard for the games that would follow. You can already see many of the features that would be present in Kairosoft games of the future.

Game Dev Story is incredibly short, but for a casual game to idle away with, it was, and still is, incredibly enjoyable. Whether it's beating your high score, or unlocking every console (including your own), this is a great game to waste time on, though you may find it primitive by today's standards.

You will almost certainly get more for your money with the later Kairosoft games, but if you become a fan, it's more than worthwhile to pick up this game to add to your collection.

Dungeon Village is a solid port of this game from Android to PC. Very little has changed with the game, which can be good or bad depending on your preferences.

The controls can take a bit to get used to, as the game was originally released using touchscreen and soft-keys, so going to a mouse can seem a bit off at first. Also, the game screens are huge, because the games were designed for lower resolutions - but this shouldn't be a problem if you enjoy the pixel aesthetic, even at absurdly high resolutions.

Overall, I think the game is solid, and most of the complaints seem to be from players expecting more from Kairosoft, just because this is a PC port. If you accept that this is a simple port of a decade-old Android game, which accurately captures the Kairosoft aesthetic and gameplay, you won't be disappointed.

I have played through this game, and it is quite fun for a casual mars "colony" builder. There are some improvements that could be made. I haven't played through with Blue Mars yet, but my impression is that the DLC adds to the main game, but it really feels as if it should have been included in the main game to start with, so consider picking the DLC and the base game up together, especially if you want to support the devs.

This is a nice little puzzle game with an Art Deco Noir aesthetic. The story is compelling, even though there is no dialogue, and you feel invested in these unknown actors. I love how Framed 2 ends up becoming a prequel to the original Framed, and you should most definitely play them in order for the best experience.

Update (17/3/22): Unfortunately, the devs have announced that they are no longer planning to support Hammerting going forwards. This is a shame, as the game is a true unpolished gem that really could benefit from continued support beyond critical bug fixes. I understand and appreciate the reasons by the studio has had to stop supporting Hammerting at this time. With that said, I have enjoyed my time with the game, and continue to enjoy it, and I would recommend the game to anyone who likes the genre, and is willing to put up with the rough edges that the game still has.

Update (19/11/21): Hammerting launched on Tuesday, 16th November 2021 with version 1.0.12.0. I still play it solidly, but it's quite clear that Hammerting really deserved another year of Early Access. Unfortunately, the devs don't neccessarily set the release date for games, and it's clear that there wasn't really any wriggle room here. However, the devs have worked tirelessly to get the game into a playable, if not fully polished, state.

I still like where this game is going, and think that the devs deserve the time to finish it. They have a robust post-launch support programme, and this is the next best thing to remaining in Early Access in my opinion.

My original review is down below:

This game is best described as Terraria meets Oxygen Not Included with Dwarves. Although it's still in Early Access, I like where this game is going, and have been playing it solidly ever since it was included in July '21's Humble Choice...

Age of Empires is still a classic game, and the Definitive Edition doesn't fail to disappoint. Although easily eclipsed by the superior sequel, AoE 2, it's still worth playing in it's own right. Just be wary of the most significant flaw in AoE - it's easy to run out of food before reaching the Tool Age, when you get farms, so almost every game either starts in the Tool Age or features you beelining to the Tool Age, at which point AoE really does begin to shine!

This DLC pack came out merely 14 days after the Cabal Henchman Pack, catching many by surprise. The content within looks like hastily cobbled together cut content, although I am not quite sure about this.

Very little, if any, of this content is required to play, let alone complete, Evil Genius 2. A few items seem to be skins for existing items, such as the various doors which are all the same as a standard door, and it seems strange that there would be a unique door for each Evil Genius in the base game, that fits with the aesthetic of each Genius' Inner Sanctum, if it wasn't cut content.

However, the power level and aesthetic of the rest of this pack, makes it seem like these weren't originally designed as part of the base game. They just aren't very good. In particular, the special minion beds don't match the aesthetic of any actual room, and even look out of place in the Barracks. Aside of limiting who can sleep in which bed, they are identical to the standard bunkbeds, but only allow for one minion to use them at the time.

The Worker Station is identical to the Guard Station, except that Workers man it rather than Guards or other Muscle Minions, and even then, only during High Alert.

The armoury contains a few items which give buffs to guards, but these seem to be very minor, but at least it gives your guards something to do other than just sit around at guard tables.

The Advanced Computer is a control room item that allows Workers to gain intel at a faster rate than they do at the Computer Terminal, but Scientists cannot use it. It's also already unlocked, which the Computer Terminal remains locked behind a Tier 1 research option. This appears to have been a hasty addition added in following patch v1.3, in which extra missions using Intel were seen as a "fix" for the long schemes on the World Stage.

The only reasonable item here seems to be the Security Check point which is an advanced Security Desk with a built in camera and the ability to remove agent disguises. Even then, it seems like a hastily cobbled together item designed to address concerns about not being able to put security cameras in the Armoury.

All in all, this seems like the proof that EG2 was intended as a cash-grab all along, because at first look this looks like a lot of cut content from the base game, until you look closer and realise that it doesn't actually fit in with the base game either.

With the base game already light on useful objects as is, this appears to be more of an insult than anything else. Even with this DLC pack, the base game is light on objects, and don't even get me started on the fact that you need to restart your game, yet again, to add these to your game - only to find out just how bad they really are.

Only the most ardent fan of Evil Genius should consider buying this DLC, and many feel cheated that this is the "item pack" included in the Season Pass.

Plus, can I ask how Rebellion planned a Season Pass, with several DLC packs, and didn't think about how these were going to be delivered and integrated into existing games?

Important: If you want help applying for a refund for Evil Genius 2, feel free to contact the Rebellion for Unconditional Refunds (RUR) on our Discord server (https://discord.gg/WewEacnSHa)