henke on 25/7/2017 at 18:29
I've been clearing out my Steam backlog for the past 3 weeks, and now you can too! Just follow the patented H.E.N.K.E. SYSTEM!
Have a good look at your backlog and pick out 2 games to play this week.
Entertain yourself by playing each game for 1 hour! That should be enough time to get a good feel for what the game is like.
No compromises: Decide whether to uninstall the game FOREVER, or keep playing UNTIL COMPLETION, or just maybe don't do either but keep it around anyway. Whatever.
Kindly come back here and let us know what your thought about these games.
Eh, maybe don't take these rules too seriously. Go ahead and tweak them or do whatever you want to really.
henke on 25/7/2017 at 18:30
I already posted the last 3 weeks in the megathread, but I'll repost here, for posterity.
Zombie Army TrilogyInline Image:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/859475350336528468/837AB5ECA31D615A17374BA360983F758BB33A1E/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|1024:576&composite-to%3D%2A%2C%2A%7C1024%3A576&background-color=blackYeah it's pretty much just Sniper Elite but with zombies. Sniping is as pleasant as ever, but I dunno if I can be bothered continuing with this. I'd absolutely be up for co-opping it though. The structure is really just an imitation of L4D: level, safehouse, level, safehouse, but some of the situations, like when you have to defend a position against an onslaught of zombies might be more fun in co-op, with players coordinating to cover the different entrances.
FATE: Uninstall if I don't feel like playing it again in the next few days.
UPDATE: Ended up playing a couple co-op sessions with Jesh and Sulphur. It's good fun.
ClustertruckInline Image:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/859475350336891407/E479ED916B45A3FAA9048202C4E2F518DE796BBB/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|1024:576&composite-to%3D%2A%2C%2A%7C1024%3A576&background-color=blackThis game is DISRESPECTFUL TO TRUCKS.
FATE: Uninstall
<hr>
Moon HuntersInline Image:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/845965278428879505/1D49BDEB87DA4B8688AEB1DDC2F107E6CC596965/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|1024:576&composite-to%3D%2A%2C%2A%7C1024%3A576&background-color=blackI got icemann's spare Steam key of this back when it released(thanks again!), but only got around to giving it a proper go now. It's an action-RPG with gameplay that feels like a middle-ground to Hammerwatch and Hyper Light Drifter. The campaign plays out over 5 days, during which time you have to find out what has happened to the moon(it's missing). I did make it all the way through my first campaign, but apparently there's a whole bunch of different endings, and I'm pretty sure I got the "bad" one. Things you unlock in this playthrough can be used again in later campaigns though, so that's cool.
Overall, it's ok, but I'm not sure I can be bothered playing it again.
FATE: Probably uninstall
KonaInline Image:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/845965352746832938/D44E777E9AF74E4265E7059267ADE683CEEA9B4F/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|1024:576&composite-to%3D%2A%2C%2A%7C1024%3A576&background-color=blackI'd only poked at this a bit after the full release came out, but I'm glad I sat down for a longer session. It was a bit hard to get into at first, with the game throwing about a half-dozen different plot-strands at you, making it feel overwhelming and exhausting. But I'm 2 hours in now and it's got me hooked. I'm focusing one on plot-strand at a time and enjoying the progress. I'm reminded strongly of Firewatch, which I played last summer around this time. Kona is a broader game, gameplay-wise, not just adventure, but also survival game and horror/mystery. There's more fun hands-on gamey stuff, like being able to shoot guns and drive a truck. But it does share Firewatch's shape-shifting story. You never really know
what kind of story it is.
I also wanna give props to this game's cool style. I love the text displays on things. And I
love the narrator. When most games attempt humor, it's crap. Whenever Kona's narrator attempts humor, it's crap,
but it's crap in a very endearing "dad joke" kind of way. Instead of making you roll your eyes it makes you smile and shake your head.
I'm currently at the part where I have to open the electric-lock to get the keys for the snowmobile.
FATE: I'm finishing this for sure!
UPDATE: I finished it. The ending is a real mess, reeking of the development running out of funds or inspiration, and corners being cut. Even so, I enjoyed my time with Kona.
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Rogue StormersInline Image:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/845965654731250132/96390CE1F66A6D22D79D83AB79A4181F9847BA74/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|1024:576&composite-to%3D%2A%2C%2A%7C1024%3A576&background-color=blackPreviously titled DieselStörmers, this is by the Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams devs, and Jesh gifted it to me(thanks again!) back when it was in Early Access. It's a sidescrolling twin-stick shootey thing, where you controll a character through procedurally-generated levels and unlock upgrades and whatnot. The visual style is very busy and kinda ugly I gotta say, but it plays ok. Still, it's not gonna keep my interest.
FATE: Uninstall
The Beginner's GuideInline Image:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/845965912168744157/EAA03B5CF8B52339088A2C426632E086A50C14C9/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|1024:576&composite-to%3D%2A%2C%2A%7C1024%3A576&background-color=blackWalking sim from the Stanley Parable dev. A narrator guides your through the creations of a game developer friend of his, and a narrative emerges. I'd actually watched the Errant Signal vid on this before I started so I had it pretty much spoiled for me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I'd say it's even better than the Stanley Parable.
FATE: Uninstall, because I already finished it!
henke on 25/7/2017 at 18:31
Aaaaand this weeks games:
HeadlanderInline Image:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/845966499150263793/ED5C361BEAAB7CC3970905650E581DDB4B962D1F/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|1024:576&composite-to%3D%2A%2C%2A%7C1024%3A576&background-color=blackColorful and slick metroidvania from Double Fine where the twist is that you can knock the heads off of enemies/NPCs and put your own head there instead and thusly take control over that unit. It's got a bit of a 70's sci-fi flavour. It's got a bit of a comedy thing going on that's not really doing much for me. It's ok, y'know. I don't know if I can be bothered going on with this. Probably not.
FATE: Probably uninstall
SubnauticaInline Image:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/845966499150872692/17B9B53FC112A2D51F920573D01AA1B5604F320A/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside|1024:576&composite-to%3D%2A%2C%2A%7C1024%3A576&background-color=blackUnderwater survival-game. Really quite engrossing, at least early on. I liked diving around, exploring, trying not to die, trying to build things to help me not die, etc. Also has a quite barebones VR mode, which I suspect would have me feeling very queezy if I spent more than a few minutes with it. Didn't stick around to find out, switched back to monitor-o-vision. This is not bad, y'know. It's early acces tho, so I'm not feeling the compunction to keep playing because of that.
FATE: Uninstall. Reinstall when the full version is released.
Next week: Guts and Glory, Technobabylon
Sulphur on 2/8/2017 at 18:29
Technobabylon's pretty great if you like cyberpunk and good writing. I've played to about 3/4ths of the way in at which point some other shiny thing caught my eye, and then another thing, and so on until it was just shiny things all the way down. Dragon or magpie in my previous life, I don't know.
Anyway, getting back to the point, 95% of the puzzles are fair and logical, and nothing ever stumped me for long. This is in marked contrast to the moon logic in other games of this ilk I can't really stand (Full Throttle does this, for instance, even though it's a supposedly more grounded experience), so if I can do it - and we both finished Portal 2 together somehow - you should be fine.
Jason Moyer on 2/8/2017 at 19:36
FATE seemed pretty awesome when it came out, but it's kinda pointless when you can play either of the Torchlight games.
Did I miss this thread when it was made somehow or was it pulled out of the megathread? In any case, once I get through the 4 games I currently have in my queue (Ys VI, Spirits Of Xanadu, Crimzon Clover, and Tacoma) I'll join in.
henke on 2/8/2017 at 20:04
I made this thread last week, you haven't missed much.
Shadowcat on 4/8/2017 at 13:49
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
FATE seemed pretty awesome when it came out, but it's kinda pointless when you can play either of the Torchlight games.
henke just can't make up his mind about it, either -- it's constantly being uninstalled, reinstalled, completed, set aside until the game is finished. One thing is for sure, though -- henke can't spend more than a day or so with anything else before going back to this one. I think that speaks volumes...
henke on 4/8/2017 at 15:51
:I
icemann on 5/8/2017 at 13:19
I could not play games this way. Well not in this decade anyway. Majority of my backlog games are the huge time investment style stuff, so I'd end up with all these games that I'd barely got a taste of and not got to properly experience. Gah.