Games

Become an acolyte of the Inquisition in this grim dark, party-based, story-driven cRPG.

A fully blown Warhammer CRPG. Could be great.

Admittedly, Arena mostly plays like a Daggerfall beta. But still exciting!

Many of us only view a game's release in passing, and view it as an "event". Groundhog Smasher came out, it failed, and we don't hear of it again. Additionally, many of us associate "online" games with being "live service" - expecting the developers to announce a new skin, battle pass, game mechanic, or character every other week.

But some online games are just purely enjoyable, or get enough unremarkable patches, or sometimes don't even need a high playercount, to be enjoyed for years after the developers stopped emitting news.

This subject also gets confusing with cross-play games; even if one game has hardly anyone in its Steam playercount, sometimes between Playstation and Xbox there's just enough left to garner a following.

Which games do you play, or know about, that most people would've thought to be completely closed down, or at least had totally forgotten about?

Gatekeepers in shambles

Today's game is some more of the oblivion remaster. I did some more of the Mage's guild quest today and the specific quest took me a to a ruin. I have very vivid memories of this specific dungeon because of the puzzle from a few years ago when i did a brief playthrough with a friend. It was very tedious having to open the inventory and find the book again. Luckily i found out i could quick bind a book which made this a lot faster. It did take me a while though to realize i had to cast a spell on the Central Pillar and not the crystals. And i did it all for a Elven Helmet that the mage's guild wants for some reason. Not even a Magic one. Just a plain old Helmet.

I'm not usually a fan of these ruins, or dungeons in general. But damn does the remaster makes these dungeons look pretty. The blue light beams and shadows are a gorgeous effect.

There was also a quest before this which had me meant the count of the area. Dude came outside to meet me and he's a vampire, and i have to say i'm a big fan of the Vampire designs in the Remake. He has a very corpse like design which i like. His lips and mouth being blue are my favorite part. I've heard on players it sadly just makes their face look lethargic which is a little disappointing but it is cool to see the NPCs get a cool design. I accidentally left the poor guy idle in conversation while i answered a call for a bit. He was probably worried the sun was going to rise before we finished talking.

The count's castle had this painting up of an painting in the old oblivion style which i think is kind of neat. I stopped to look at it for a bit. I can't figure out who it's supposed to be but I like to imagine that old Oblivion is a stylized art style in the remaster's world. It's a fun thought. Maybe if the game existed it'd be kind of like that movie about Vincent van Gogh called Loving Vincent?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/26337485

First of all, Bug Hunter is by no means a traditional roguelike. The controls are menu-based, most enemies can't damage you and your character can't take hits without dying at all.

Yet BH is arguably very close to some aspects of tradroguelikes: turn-based tactics with a great emphasis on positioning, multiple losing conditions, trade-offs between short-term advantages and long-term empowerment...

Positioning in this game is great - higher and lower ground give advantages to either you or bugs depending on who's beyond who, placement of enemies and energy cubes interact with multitude of your actions in complex ways.

Randomness of bug types and actions that will be available to you in each run prevents you from sticking to a single strategy while having more than one losing condition (your character can die, you can run out of time or an egg may hatch) adds tension to this already stressful (due to permadeath) game.

And then there's a whole action buying system which is excellent! When you start, you only get 7 actions for the turn - and each action can be used only once per turn. When you run out of actions you have no choice but to end the turn... ... unless you have some energy. When you get 2 or more energy you get access to the shop where you can replace your existing actions for new and better ones, for the cost.

New actions are immediately available for use, even if you replaced an used one. Most actions cost 2 energy but stronger actions cost more - creating an interesting trade-off: you can buy a cheap action now and get more done on the turn, or you can wait til you have 4 energy for the strong one that will help you a lot in a long term.

Waiting is punishing - the bugs that survived a turn evolve into stronger forms gaining special abilities which are quite nasty. Thus, you get to choose: whether you want to get stronger but to let the bugs to become stronger too, or you want to play safely but stay with limited power for the run.

With all these mechanics of hidden complexity and fast-paced thinky gameplay, I got that feeling I'm playing a good ol' roguelike yet again. Sure, it's not much strategical so probably DCSS and TOME4 players won't find that familiar but for Brogue fans it can be quite familiar.

Game Information

Game Title: Monster Train 2

Platforms:

• PC (May 21, 2025)
• Xbox Series X/S (May 21, 2025)
• PlayStation 5 (May 21, 2025)

Trailers:

• Monster Train 2 - Official Clans Reveal Trailer
• Monster Train 2 (2025) Release Date Trailer [PS5]
• Monster Train 2 Release Date Trailer | Coming May 21

Developer: Shiny Shoe

Publisher: Big Fan Games

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 88 average - 100% recommended - 15 reviews

Critic Reviews

Checkpoint Gaming - Cass Barkman - 9 / 10

Monster Train 2 is a roguelike deckbuilder par excellence. Its design makes it clear that developer Shiny Shoe has a deep understanding and love of what is so enthralling about this particular subgenre and doubles down. It's carriage after carriage of big numbers, satisfying combos, dizzying synergies and new tactical possibilities that have kept me tied to the tracks for dozens of hours already, and will likely haul away dozens more in my future.

DualShockers - Michael Manning - 9 / 10

No matter your preferred playstyle, the myriad gimmicks and game plans provided by Monster Train 2 will keep things fresh as you fight your way through the legions of Heaven.

GameGrin - Dylan Pamintuan - 8.5 / 10

Monster Train 2 is a great expansion for the ideas and mechanics of the previous game, with tons of replayability baked in to provide hours upon hours of fun. It's worth going off the rails on this crazy train.

Gamer Social Club - Stephanie Richards - 9.5 / 10

Monster Train 2 meets if not exceeds the bar that they had previously set with the initial Monster Train. For newcomers, perhaps it will feel like option overload even if you choose the easier play style. So for those who need a bit more of an entry point, be patient. For those who want an excellent roguelike experience and hundreds if not thousands of hours, Monster Train 2 is for you.

Gamersky - 心灵奇兵 - Chinese - 8.6 / 10

Monster Train 2 builds on the first game's inventive blend of turn-based card battles and tower defense, introducing a wealth of new content and mechanics that make the experience feel both familiar and fresh. With five new clans - each substantial in depth - and the ability to mix them with the original five, the game offers a long-lasting and highly replayable experience.

GamesRadar+ - Oscar Taylor-Kent - 4.5 / 5

Let's hope the conductor doesn't come through because Monster Train 2 is a truly first class ride through deckbuilder roguelike heaven. I'm already going off the rails with all the possibilities these smart evolutions to the rules and cards on offer bring, each run teasing me to chase new ways to to master the rails. I'm well and truly on board.

IGN - Dan Stapleton - 9 / 10

Monster Train 2 is a fantastic upgrade for what was already one of the best deckbuilding roguelites out there, with so many interesting variables and options to make replays interesting that it feels bottomless.

Loot Level Chill - Lyle Pendle - 9 / 10

Monster Train 2 will be the new obsession for all of you deck building fans, with so many build options and limitless replayability.

PC Gamer - Abbie Stone - 91 / 100

An all-time great deckbuilder gets a sequel worth risking God's wrath for.

Paste Magazine - Elijah Gonzalez - 8.8 / 10

It may not reinvent the wheel, but Monster Train 2’s clever modifications ensure this train keeps chugging along smoothly.

Shacknews - Ozzie Mejia - 9 / 10

Monster Train 2 capably builds on the original game and improves on it immensely. It leaves the station and only picks up more speed as it goes, so get on board or get out of the way.

Siliconera - Jenni Lada - 9 / 10

Monster Train 2 feels as satisfying as its predecessor, with this new game building on everything good from the original and adding more strategic options

TechRaptor - 8 / 10

Monster Train 2 provides a bottomless toolbox for deckbuilder fans to tinker with, and finding exciting combinations is a blast. The resistance you're up against can start to feel mundane, but the ways you take them on seem limitless.

The Games Machine - Daniele Dolce - Italian - 8.5 / 10

Monster Train 2 builds upon the winning formula of its predecessor, enriching it with new factions, mechanics, and game modes that expand the content of the original title. Without radically changing anything, it delivers a deep and highly replayable experience, featuring a rewarding progression system and a steadily increasing difficulty curve that encourages dedication, learning, and experimentation. Unfortunately, the random element plays a significant role in high-difficulty matches, but that's both the charm and the challenge of roguelite deckbuilders.

XboxEra - Jesse Norris - 8.6 / 10

Monster Train 2 is excellent. It takes everything I loved about the first game and makes it just a little better. The looks, music, and strategy will have me playing this one for years to come.

Today's game was Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition. I went ahead and built a farm for my Jungle Tree House. We have Potatoes and Wheat growing. I went and ransacked the local village looking for Carrots but they didn't have any sadly. I'll have to look around for some to complete my farm. I also need Melons and Pumpkins. Both of which should be a little easier to get. Carrots i think Zombies can drop and Dungeons.

On my way back from the village there was a ravine i found. There was a cow and sheep standing on the edge which i pushed in to gather drops (and save durability) and going down i found a good 12 pieces of iron (I used it to make a second bucket and an iron hoe for my farm to make life easier)

I also made plans to explore a cave right outside my house, but the moment i stepped foot in there a skeleton fired an arrow and i backed out. I thought it would be pretty safe because it's surface level but i guess not. I'll have to make some armor and torches and head into the cave to light it up so this doesn't bite me in the ass later. Because i totally could see it doing so.

I ended up winding down for the evening by redecorating the treehouse. I rearranged the vines a little bit because they were starting to overgrow. I left one streak just covering the front of the window specifically though. It was a relaxing way to relax for the evening. Just redecorate the house. Honestly old minecraft is just a relaxing way to chill. Modern Minecraft has a little to much going on where i feel like there are now constant threats. It's not a bad thing, it just changes the context i play in. Being able to kick back and say "Okay, i have 10 minutes to do the creative stuff, then i can sleep or do the combat if i want too" is really chill.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/26297099

In terminal mode you can input various 8 character-long cheat codes: it launches a game with unique effects on top of it (but it also disables saving and achievements :c ).

Here are some that I found to be the most fun:

• Attactics: SLOW-DOWN, makes the game turn-based. Huge change, if you ask me.
• Devilition: EVIL-EYES, highlights tiles that will be affected by your explosives. Great if you want to play it for fun after completing the game.
• Bushido Ball: ZATO-1CHI, makes the ball completely invisible. They hate us.
• Campanella: BEAN-DRIP, lets you play through bonus levels.
• Warptank: SLIM-TANK, lets you play as a slime. No hub and you can't use checkpoints.
• Mortol 2: BENE-DIKT, removes the Scout and Gunner classes from the game. My playthrough was big on Scout so it's hard to imagine beating this game w/o them!
• Party House: MAKE-GLEE, lets you create your own scenario!
• Valbrace: 4RCH-M4GE, start with 15 WIS but 0 STR.
• Valbrace, again: BUGG-BODY, lets you play as a giant insect with powerful claws!
• Night Manor: OPEN-CAGE, releases a bloodthristy hamster to crush you!!!

Tldr; If only things where better, things would be better...

Marathon was announced a some years ago as an extraction shooter with very interesting graphics. As a teen, who didn't even know about the franchise, the art style hooked me greatly.

Fast forward last month, Marathon comes out in a public alpha. And it looks ... Meh. In comparison to what gaming had to offer at the same time it felt dry.

To add fucking pepper spray to injury they used stolen art from some girl named antireal (relevant thumbnail artist). What gives?

Arc Raider is another extraction shooter that did a public test recently and the players loved it. From what I've seen, people are really excited to play this for real.

I'm so sad. To think we could have both games thriving. Competing on the same landscape to offer the best experience. Or even collaborating as leaders of the extract shooter genre.

I don't see how they can get back on their feet to be honest. This looks as dead as concord to me (that was sad too)

At least embark seems to know their craft so I'm still exited for them.

/endrant

Today's game is Super Market Together. I found it randomly on the Steam Store, saw it was multiplayer, and it was free so i figured "eh, why not blow an evening with a friend running a grocery store". We intially called our store TwoBros, but we had a third friend join us so we were due for a rebrand:

And we became ThreeBros instead. Around this time we all agreed the sign kind of looks like the Logo to a Men's Strip Club. We're hoping that brings in customers.

We also hired a guy we named Danny to run the register for us. Danny legit saves us so much time, so to show our appreciation (and since i can't pay him more) we bought him a frog painting and a Potted Plant (along with a TV for the Break Room).

I decided for our inventory that we should appeal to a broad market. And you know what the Broadest market is? Everyone. And you know what Everyone drinks? Water. So i bought a shit ton of water and stocked a few shelves with it. The Shelf above is only 1/4 of the Water we have, and we have more in the back. Sadly my water plan isn't working, and people seem more interested in Soda and Tea. I spent $500 on Water Alone. If anything though i can rest assured that no one will be going thirsty.

Towards the end of our 6th day in business we had a shoplifter stealing a 12 pack of soda so i grabbed a broom and hit the guy into the street (granted i do this to everyone). If it was water i could understand, we've got so much anyways. But that Soda is expensive as hell and isn't a basic human right. He was fine and walked it off, then went inside and started bitching that we didn't have Black Tea, only Lemon Tea.

Our store also has a cat outside the break room. I want to move it inside but can't figure how (or if i even can) move it. Our Break Room also has a Prison Cell with only a sink for some reason. I don't know what kind of Kinky Stuff my Employees (both Danny and my Two Friends) are getting up too, but as long as it's all clean and everyone is safe then i don't want to know. We bought them a Table for their Break Room too and want to get them a Fridge.