Recent reviews by risaellen

I was not a fan of this game. Guidance on gameplay was damn near nonexistent, and I found out I could easily "progress" by not doing anything at all and just letting the game run on its own. On occasion I had to click a few things, and it was nice to get some actual gameplay in there for like 8 collective minutes. Damn near all of my game time was chapter 2 of 2, in which I basically just let the game run in the background, remembering after 30 minutes, "Oh, I can probably buy another lamp now," clicking that, and wandering off again.

Backed this game on Kickstarter, and I'm glad I did. It's got beautifully composed settings, puzzles just challenging enough without getting frustrating, and excellent pacing. Definitely recommend if you like unique takes on puzzle games.

I enjoy the physical card game Gloom, so I was excited to check out the digital version. I actually like it better than the physical game now; everything is much easier to read, and the voices given to the characters really bring things to life. While there definitely are some bugs to work out at the time of this review, and it does seem like that's in motion, Gloom on Steam is a fun digital card game in both single player and multiplayer modes. I progressed my difficulty in single player by increasing the number of opponents. The downside is that you really only get to use multiplayer if you're playing with friends. There's never anyone in the lobby to play with strangers (not much to really be done about that, I suppose). I'd like to see them add other expansions or postmortem recaps of people's demises. Overall, I'd recommend the game, especially if it's on sale.

I really enjoyed Bad Dream: Coma, so I was very excited to get this on sale. Unfortunately, I found it truly disappointing. With regard to the puzzles, I appreciate a challenge, but puzzles based around nonintuitive tools (like a control option you only use once the entire game) are neither challenging nor fun. They're just frustrating. With regard to the story, all I will say is that the meta humor goes too far for my tastes, to the point where it becomes annoying and tedious. Reminds me of a comic I wrote in elementary school, and even I know my story writing at age 8 was weak as hell. Long story short, I wouldn't pay more than $2.50 tops for this game, let alone the full price.

This is a beautiful little puzzle game. The illustrations are lovely with a simple story, and I'd estimate the puzzle difficulty at beginner to intermediate. It's not 100% straightforward easiness, but it's not rip-your-hair-out hard either. Just enough that you'll have to think on it and try a few options before figuring out the answer. I will say, though, if you're looking for something you're going to get hours and hours out of, it's probably not your best investment.

As an American millenial, this game is likely the closest I will ever get to home ownership. I hope to see more added to this game in terms of things like more items/options, being able to buy some of the non-catalog items you find, and what you can do with the outside of the house (like landscaping and fencing). There are some hidden references and secret stuff to find in this game, too. Only hints I'll give are look at things like your map of a house, and read the descriptions in the house-buying catalog. Even with room for improvement, the game is very enjoyable. Fun at times, soothing at others. If you liked games like The Sims or Viscera Cleanup Detail, you should definitely check this one out.

Found this game during the winter sale, and I think the only way I can properly review it is to split the pros and cons.

Pros: It’s got a nice learning curve. You figure out what’s worth moving toward, how to choose your team, what methods to use, and how to stop the “ritual.” Don’t know that I’d quite call it a ritual so much as a boss, but you’ll figure out how to stop it nonetheless. Just a bit of exploring and experimenting. With the stylistic choices, the game is almost relaxing to play. The music is charming, and the whole thing is quite pleasing to look at. The art style is what grabbed my attention in the first place; reminded me of Skyhill, another zombie killer. I think there's a good number of characters to choose from, and I appreciate that there's an equal number of male and female agents rather than just a token female.

Cons: I did think it would be a bit more humorous, given the whole “kill zombies in time for tea” premiss. Would’ve been nice to at least have a cut scene or something at the end of the surviving agents drinking tea. My biggest critique of this game is that it’s too short. When I hit the end, I went back to check if it was early access because it seemed like more content could be missing. The game would be worth more praise, replay, and price-wise if there were more than just the one level. The cemetery you see in the previews is the only level. Once you beat it, you’ve beaten the whole game. I really expected more levels, be them different cemeteries, cities, houses, woods, etc. Even if it was approximately the same degree of difficulty and type of gameplay, it could at least be a different layout and a different set of visuals. If the game ever updated with more levels, I would certainly return to it and be much more likely to suggest it to others.

Overall/tl;dr: For the winter sale price, I’d say the game was worth it. I got a couple hours of entertainment out of it before it went stale. (Full price isn’t particularly expensive, but there are other games for that price or less that will entertain you for longer.) The game is good, the visual and audio style choices are great, but the whole thing just needs... more. More game to play. If you have a couple $ laying around, I recommend giving the game a go some time. I'm about 60/40 on recommending it in its present state. But I would recommend it a lot more strongly if it had more content.

I was looking for some new relaxing (but still interesting) puzzle games, and this one sounded like it took a unique approach. I love the concept of making one thing out of other things (i.e. objects out of letters). The objects even become functional, which is a nice touch. What I did not expect was to be emotionally grabbed by this seemingly simplistic game. I won't give it away, but the ending hit harder than I ever would've expected pre-purchase. The game was short, under 90 minutes to complete it, but it was definitely worth grabbing on the winter sale. Hell, it's not expensive at normal price anyway. If you're looking for a different kind of puzzle game that still has a worthwhile story to it, this is definitely worth checking out. Music was nice, too.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this game. A friend recommended it to me, and my interests were piqued as soon as I saw the unique art style and nesting doll concept. How many games use nesting dolls as a core mechanic? Once I started playing, I quickly find the characters, story and music quite charming. I like that there are alternate ways to solve the puzzles, and you can explore and goof around in between. As far as puzzle games go, I’d say this is a moderate skill level. Answers aren’t obvious, but it’s certainly not the most challenging game out there. But for all of the aforementioned, I absolutely recommend Stacking, especially to anyone who appreciates quality storytelling in their games.