Birthday Games
stargrace 
My birthday was two weeks ago, and I got some pretty awesome games from some pretty awesome people. I’ve been trying to fit in some time here and there to play, but of course there are just so many games out there, finding enough time can be a game in itself.
One of the games I got was Hyper Dimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 and of course a whole slew of DLC for the game. It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s a bit of a grind-fest but I don’t mind that at all. The characters have personality in this turn based JRPG, and it’s a lighthearted funny game that you really can’t take too seriously. Some days I really need that.
Another game I received was Fortune’s Tavern. Now this game is a bit misleading in its description. It sounds as though you’re going to be running a tavern, maybe something like running a shop in Recettear. Unfortunately it’s still got a lot of bugs, so if you’re looking for a polished game keep in mind the development is still going on. I had issues getting it to run at first (lots of crashes if I touched anything at all while the game launched) and you want to make sure you’re not playing in full screen. The movement is also a bit wonky, you use your arrow keys to move around the map and have to aim for doorways and watch out for walls. It’s not quite as responsive as I would have liked, but that’s not necessarily a deal breaker for me. It does bring back a lot of nostalgia, it has an older pixilated look to it, and it reminds me of Harvest Moon in more ways than one. You’re given a brief tutorial with setting up the inn, how to grab quests, and how to earn coin. You learn the story of the land, and get some combat experience in. My first pet was a chicken – doesn’t get much better than that. There are also some DLC available, which I was also lucky enough to have been gifted.
I haven’t had a chance to play If my Heart Had Wings yet, but it’s on my list of games for this week. I’m hoping to get back to a ‘New Games Thursday’ type post where I can talk about some of the .. well, new games.. on Thursdays. This was another birthday wishlist gift, and I’m really looking forward to getting into the story. These visual novels are just a real guilty pleasure for me probably stemming from the fact that I love reading and you don’t have to ‘compete’ to play these types of ‘games’.
Dandelion – Wishes Brought To You is another game I haven’t had the time to start playing yet, but I’m looking forward to it. It also falls into the ‘dating sim’ or ‘visual novel’ type game, so it’s another relaxing game where I don’t have to be stressed by competition.
What have you been playing lately, picked up any new games? Have a backlog of awesomeness that you just don’t have the time to get to? Let me know in comments!
