Steam Game

Yonder – Where did you come from?!

stargrace July 19, 2017 1 Comment

I had never heard of this game before, Yonder, but then it started showing up in a few Twitter feeds that I follow and of course as soon as I heard it was a Steam game I had to check it out which lasted not even a full day before I ended up getting the game.

Yes, it’s good.

Well, that depends on what you’re “into” as far as gaming. There’s no combat which for some people means they simply won’t enjoy the game. You basically run around as a shipwrecked person doing fetching / finding quests for townsfolk and eliminating “Murk” (the big evil) from various places while playing hide and seek with sprites that you collect.

There’s crafting, there’s housing (in a way, you’re given a farm to run), there’s collections, quests, exploration, and all of it is bundled into a game that looks absolutely beautiful. There’s seasons, weather, and so many little tiny details that I have no idea how I had never heard of the game before.

The best part? It was on sale (already) on steam, and even without the sale it was under $25 CAD. That’s a big win for me.

Oh, and there’s fishing, too. Because what fun is a game like this if it doesn’t have fishing!

If it sounds like something you’d like to play I’d seriously consider picking it up. Give it a try, if you don’t like it get a refund from steam (with their guidelines and rules of course) but I know I’ll be sticking with it and continuing to play. Every so often a gem wanders into my little ring of static games, and this is most definitely one.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Steam Sale Results

stargrace June 27, 2017 2 Comments

I ended up buying 8 new games during the steam sale (so far) this year. Since I’ve been pretty good at holding off during the previous sales there were quite a few games that I actually wanted. Plus, I don’t have a lot of time to game lately so my current selection of games was a bit outdated for my lifestyle changes (ie: I have a kid and no time, but still want to game).

My Lady was a gift from a friend, it’s a cute (short) little Otome, perfect for a few minutes of play here and there. The winners that I ended up buying were Shoppe Keep, Tabletop Simulator, and Cosmochoria. I also ended up returning one game, Junk Jack. The game felt clunky and was more suited to a tablet than it was a PC (which makes sense, because it was an import). Shoppe Keep is hilarious even though there’s not a lot to it (and it looks like the developer is calling it done even though there are some.. issues.. with it). It’s not a game I would suggest paying full price for, but on sale it’s a winner (at least to me).

Cosmochoria is adorable, and I can’t wait to dive into the other little games I bought. I was pleased that I came in around my budget for the sale (remember I said $20 total) and walked away with so many games. Not everything I buy has to be a triple A title, there’s tons of little gems out there.

Anyone else walk away from the steam sale with some gems? Let me know in comments!

The Family That Games Together..

stargrace June 23, 2017 1 Comment

Ah, steam sales. I’ve seen Tabletop Simulator in a few humble bundles, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t really know what it was. I never went to the store page and never checked it out.

I regret that.

During the Steam Summer Sale one of my goals was to find an easy game or two that me and my other half could play together. See, right now my little one doesn’t sleep very well when alone. So I’m often parked in the bedroom watching over him (well, providing a warm body really) so if / when he wakes up he doesn’t freak out and he’ll just drift back to sleep. Otherwise he’ll scream and I have to go rescue him. Anyway. Both husband and I are gamers, but I’m restricted to my laptop and whatever runs on it. I love games like chess and wanted some easy games we could play together but that I could also easily step away from should the need arise.

Tabletop Simulator is all of that, and so much more.

I remembered a game from my childhood called Pass The Pigs, and I wondered if there was a version on tabletop. Turns out, there is. So I passed my free hour or so of gaming time before bed playing. It was glorious. There are a LOT of other things / games you can do with Tabletop Simulator too. People use it for D&D, they use it for RPG, they use it for games. You name it, someone is using it for something. There’s a bunch of fancy paid DLC but there’s also a workshop of 15,000+ other things to check out. There’s the default games, and just so much content. You can play alone but where it really shines is with friends. After one evening playing I just can’t stop raving about this little gem. I can’t wait to see what we play next.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself (and if you have any tabletop simulator suggestions, please drop them in comments below!)

ABZU

stargrace June 17, 2017 1 Comment

One thing I can say about streaming – it really gets me into games I haven’t played in a while (or ever). Since my streams are only an hour long (for now) I’ve been looking through my steam library to find old gems to stream. One game I forgot I even owned was ABZU.

This game is completely filled with beautiful art. There’s no combat, it’s calm (if you can handle the controls at least) and the music is amazing. You swim around discovering collectables and doing basic exploration puzzles in a world so vibrant and creative that it makes you gasp. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the stream live, you can check out the recap over on my YouTube channel, or watch it over on my twitch highlights. You’ll have to forgive my lack of knowledge about the controls, it’s been forever since I played anything with a controller and I had no idea what I was doing.

It’s amazing to be able to get lost in worlds like this one. I hope we continue to see fantastic gems like these as the gaming industry moves forward.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!