Recent reviews by Harven

When I first started playing Warbanners I found the game to be a pretty basic and derivative version of the TRPG genre of games. It hit all the benchmarks and started to scratch that X-Com style in fantasy style setting itch.

Unfortunately as much as I wanted to like the game I could not get past a lot of the glaring faults with it. My first concern was the cap on your mercenary force. While it locks you into a campaign setting it seems this might expand as you get through the game but the starting crop of characters you get from what's available are not very good to start with. It offers no method to tailor your forces beyond what you have and what you slowly unlock.

The other problem I had is that while the units were nicely customizable in the style of Battle Brothers - you choose a stat to increase at each level up, a perk at 5th level - short of stacking one stat that you might roll, there was no way to tailor the members of your mercenary team to be more specialized in what you want them to do.

This lack of ability to tailor the characters becomes glaringly obvious in how much it is needed when in combat. Every combat will be against forces half again to two times your size against enemies that have the powers and abilities that you wished your guys would have. Now some of these abilities may be available on later unlocked units but...that doesn't make me feel good about the limitations to get there. Lastly, the UI feels clunky and I kept constantly moving units where I didn't want them to go and the moment you click off them Undo is no longer available.

Overall this game feels like it wants to be more and doesn't quite accomplish that. I like that it's a simpler take on the genre. I think too much was sacrificed though for simplicity and there's just not many aspects of the game that are enjoyable when put up against what's bad, to keep me coming back to it or to recommend others invest their time in the game.

Edge of Eternity is a quaint throwback to the old JRPG era that is well worth the investment of time. First, I want to compliment the visuals - the entire game looks wonderful with a great amount of vibrant biodiversity in its locations that are downright beautiful. With that said I think the character models could have been better done but they aren't terrible. I think overall graphical experience of the game is very nice.

I also want to compliment the music. Usually I turn off the music in a game because I prefer my own but there were a lot of qualities to the music of Edge of Eternity that hit a lot of notes of childhood reminiscence for games like Phantasy Star and Final Fantasy. I recommend giving a few hours of game play to get a feel for the music if that's a big part of your immersive experience. I don't believe anyone will be disappointed by the music.

The next thing is the story and character development. I think the story was interesting and engaging and, while not a criticism overall, I think it could have been fleshed out with some additional main quests that are sub to the overall story quest, that gave us some more early game exposition that explained some things that the game kind of leaves open ended. Particularly where some major NPCs are concerned and the entire purpose of the Archelites and the Corrosion.

Character development on the primary protagonists in the game was well done, although personally I found it hard to like Daryon - his distrustful broody nature gets kind of exhausting. I enjoyed how other companions were organically added to the story and rounded out the party - but there could have definitely been more places to flesh out Fallon with story beats or dialogue, and especially Theia - who comes so late in the game it's questionable if the character is a worthwhile roster addition.

The last thing I want to note and hope that the developers, if they see this, take as food for thought. There are a lot of missing elements to the game that should be clarified if there is a sequel. The ones that immediately come to mind are what the bonuses of a +1 or 2 on a gem or item does - at times it seemed it didn't serve a purpose at all. Lastly, noting whose powers were whose in the gem crafting phase so it is easier to make a gem tailored for a character. I would also add...a multi-sell function for items at a vendor.

Overall - with those little things, I found the game fun and engaging. I would definitely recommend it for any fans who like the old tactical ATB style JRPGs. This one is definitely in your wheelhouse.

The first time I saw this game was when a friend streamed it and I immediately picked it up. It reminds me of older similar games like Shining Force and Warsong - leading character driven forces on a grand adventure.

Overall I found the game very enjoyable to play. I found the gameplay pretty intuitive and the mechanics pretty easy to grasp. The sound design for the game is quite enjoyable and I am so glad that the devs took the time to provide additional animations for things such as critical hits.

In a world of AAA disappointments I recommend this indy darling. Give it a try if you like this genre of game, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Vampire Survivors is a difficult game to classify. It has rogue lite elements in the choices of accessories and weapons you can take - but you have some control over the game by choosing your character and map. It comes off somewhat like tower defense - except you are the tower. Your goal is to put out as much damage as possible and stop the endless waves of enemies.

And the whole game works. The abilities are pretty fun to play with, the ability to take some bonuses into a map through gold purchases is great, and the weapons are just fun to find different builds with. The music is pretty banging too.

All in all if you want a short game you can play a couple rounds into without being forced into a heavy time investment this is a great game and easy to pick up and put down. The devs are continually adding things so it has some nice replayability chasing new unlocks.

I am often not a fan of ARPGS but this was recommended to me both by Steam, a friend, and was given a great review by Quill18, a Twitch streamer sometime in the past. I will say the music of the game is very atmosphere and fits the mood. The class and build options are fantastic and the story is not only engaging but worth pursuing to the end. I'm glad I picked this up as one of my game experiences.

If you are a fan of ARPGS and you find Diablo to be tired and stale - this is definitely a worthwhile successor. It may have a bit of age to it but the game is fantastic and the devs are still engaging with the community.

Poker Quest is one of those rare EA gems that really has a lot going for it. It's a Slay the Spire style of game but quite different mechanically. The game mechanics are set up across various styles of characters with half a dozen and counting various playstyles. Right now you get two modes - an upgrade mode where you can buy progression improvements and then the harder more challenging classic mode. There's even a daily challenge to test your skills with. The game is a lot of fun and at its current price point quite a steal. An additional bonus is the devs are quite active in their Discord and are very interactive with their community.

Many Months Later Edit:

Poker Quest continues to be a dev loved game. Many new heroes, several new game modes, and the ability to tailor your runs to your satisfaction. The game continues to be a wonderful game and should be a staple in any library for those who love card-based mechanics games.

Cloudpunk is a pixellated sci-fi story about a delivery driver that flies through the skies of the city of Nivalis.
The game has great musical composition and interesting and eccentric characters, that all compliment the overall atmosphere of the game, I recommend this game for anyone who wants to follow Rania's story as she makes her way through the city.

I found the game to be fun to play, the story to be very interesting, and the dialogue to be witty and well written. For those who like good cyberpunk style sci-fi this may be worth a look.

For an indie game done by Spiders this was a well thought out production. The story from start to finish was interesting. The side quests, each their own contained stories, were interesting. And the finale made the choices that were made in earlier parts of the game actually matter.

While there can be some criticisms of the game - I found none of what I thought to be an issue big enough to overcome the enjoyment I had bringing this game to its conclusion. For action/adventure RPG fans who like games styled like Risen or even the Witcher, I highly recommend this.

I missed out on the chance to back this game but I eagerly waited for it to come out. Once again we have another great Wasteland game that hits all the right notes about being a Desert Ranger and striving in a harsh landscape of tyrants, warlords, and marauding gangs.

I'm going to say that right out I loved the soundtrack for this game. From the first song that caught my attention all the way to the end. The covers were all well done and added to the flavor of the game.

I want to also compliment the story. I played through to two different ending and I can see where my choices had huge impacts on how things turned out. Often subverting expectations is hard to do, and do well, but the storytellers for Wasteland 3 are able to do so superbly.

I definitely recommend the game to post-apocalypse rpg fans and especially to fans of the Wasteland franchise.

A sci-fi roguelike with a strong story and interesting gameplay. Many people would compare this game to FTL and while there are many similar mechanics, Crying Suns manages to take those elements and wrap them up with a more interesting story, better gameplay, and interesting combat mechanics.

If you are a fan of FTL you will like this game and for people interested in a fun sci-fi game with an interesting story, you can't go wrong with this game. Props to Splattercat for showing this gem off on his Youtube channel which is where I was first introduced to the game and ultimately lead to my decision to pick it up.