Recent reviews by Bumpy McSquigums

I've been a fan of both KEMCO and Rideon, Inc. for quite some time, so I was very eager to get my hands on and check out Cross Tails.

While I have yet to spend a tremendous amount of time with Cross Tails just yet, it has been a good time. You get a choice at the very beginning of who's tale you wish to follow and you will get to experience things from their point of view. It has solid tactical, turn-based combat, and an interest story thus far and I can't wait to play more.

So, if you are a fan of SRPGs and, like me, you are constantly looking for more to play and enjoy, Cross Tails is a fantastic edition.

***Public Service Announcement*** Always take a few minutes to recommend/review games you enjoy, it helps more than you know! Also, important and relevant...if you write a negative review and the developer immediately fixes your issue and responds as such, maybe fix your review? As much as positive reviews are incredibly important, negative reviews (especially silly ones or legit ones that have been addressed/fixed) are horribly damaging.

I've only spent a little bit of time with the game at this point, but from what I've experienced thus far, it has been enjoyable. The opening of the game with the foundation of the story is laid out fairly quickly and you get right into character creation for up to 5 party members. There are a surprising amount of classes to choose from to allow you to form a group that fits your play style best. It also gives you multiple options to try on subsequent playthroughs if you so wish.

After character creation you are essentially allowed to spend your meager starting funds and then head off to the "Core" or dungeon. Depending on how long you spend in character creation, you can get to the action within just a few minutes. There IS a tutorial section you can look at from the menu that gives you A LOT of info and can explain things in much more detail, but it doesn't force this upon you. I appreciate either way of doing things, but many folks hate forced tutorials and the developer opted to provide the info only if you want it. So, for the more impatient among us, you can get right into the action!

You have a mini-map that fills in as you explore, you are in a first person view, as you tend to be in most dungeon crawlers, and you have a "danger indicator" in the bottom right. The more you move and explore, the more you attract baddies. Combat is what you would expect as well with all very easy to understand mechanics and things working how you would expect. Again, basing this off the short time I've played, it's just a solid dungeon crawler all around.

There are a few small things that don't matter and (I assume are easy enough to fix) that I've run into. Letters being slightly misaligned when inputting a name, not being able to use the keyboard to just type in a name, my controller not being supported/working. Again, none of these things are a big deal and, short of the controller thing, they can probably be easily fixed if it's worth the effort. It literally might be JUST me that has these slight issues and, as I said, they are tiny and don't matter. The keyboard controls work very well, so the controller thing isn't much of an issue. Plus, I use a PS5 controller, which tends to be the problem child of controllers. :)

Steam tends to not count reviews when you have received a product for free, and often times people will also assume we will only say good things. The developer specifically said they would appreciate any feedback I could give and that I tell them "...what you honestly think." I do tend to be more positive than most, because I prefer to enjoy things and focus on what works and what is good with a game. At the end of the day, am I enjoying my time playing Core Crossing? Yes. Does it present itself properly and live up to that? So far, absolutely. Will I continue to play? Yes, if time permits.

So, if you're in the market for a dungeon crawler from a developer who is throwing their heart and soul into making dungeon crawlers, for the time being (who knows what the future holds), you definitely should give NANKADA and Core Crossing a chance. They already have one out, Advent Crossroad (which I was told will be getting a big update soon) and there's a third on the way. I also recommend you check out some gameplay of the game yourself. It doesn't have to be my channel, but it does tend to be one of the final steps I myself take before purchasing a game.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a team to lead through a core and some trials.

My plea is that, if you play the game and enjoy, take a few minutes to share what you enjoyed and thought of the game by leaving a review. It is SO much more important to developers on Steam than anyone realizes, so please take that extra time, not just for this game, but any game you enjoy!

While Steam won't count my reviews as "credible" due to having received games for free, *I* still count them credible. I totally DO understand why they have it implemented, but I wish there was a way of being able to sign up as a content creator and have our reviews actually count. Ahh well, I digress...

I was fortunate enough to have played the original Telepath Tactics and enjoyed it thoroughly. Now I am embarking on one of my favorite games with a new coat of paint, a new game engine, with new ideas, a lot of things added and tweaked, and I'm super excited.

The added difficulty settings at the very beginning is nice to see, making the game accessible to anyone who wants to play it is always a win IMHO.

It has been 6 or 7 years since I played the original, so I'm loving meeting the characters again, reliving the story and seeing how the tactical side of things begins to build up. There are so many different things you can do, choices you can make, skills you can utilize, in any situation. While many games may have Tactics in their title, Telepath Tactics Liberated exudes tactics from it's very core. Great story, awesome gameplay, tons of choices on how to proceed, it truly gives you agency to accomplish the goals set out before you in a way that fits your play style. This one gets a big ole thumbs up from me and I encourage ANY SRPG fan to give this a shot. Now...I need to play more, so...I'll leave you with this.

I played the original Telepath Tactics back in 2015 and I absolutely loved it. Being a, as I call it "Tactical, turn-based, strategy RPG fan or, SRPG fan, this called out to me immediately. I grew up loving the Shining Force series and Final Fantasy: Tactics, later on that expanded to things like Fire Emblem and Disgaea. I'm always on the look out for other incredible games in this genre that I love and Sinister Design is a developer I watch closely. I fell in love with TT and I'm loving TTL! Can't wait until Together In Battle!

I will always try to include a link to my first video on any of the titles I review, as it's usually my first hands on the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acbdfvB8nhQ

Keplerth intrigued me right away with it's presentation. The easiest way for me to describe what Keplerth is, would be a more simplistic version of Don't Starve with the look and feel of Rimworld. While I thoroughly enjoy both of those games mentioned, I do find Don't Starve to be overly brutal at times, as is Rimworld, but in a totally different way. This takes the charm and aesthetic from Rimworld and applies it to the "control one character, fight, scavenge, craft, and survive" mechanics of Don't Starve and it pulls it off quite well.

As I am writing this review, Keplerth is currently still in Early Access, but it has a TON on offer despite that. First off, it does have a story, though it's not a major factor that takes up a ton of your gameplay, it's there and gives you an overall goal and explains roughly what's going on and what's next. You are free to do what you want to do from the beginning, however the game does offer you "tips" or "goals" you can complete if you want to have something to strive for next. It's almost like a super non-intrusive type of tutorial, giving you goals you can choose to complete or not, and at least some direction as to things you CAN do. I've played a handful of hours at this point and I'm still seeing new things and I've honestly not accomplished that much by what I have gathered the game has to offer, even at this stage in development.

The combat is somewhat simplistic, but that's not really a bad thing. You have both ranged and melee weapons and at least some variety of each. I've seen a club, a sword, a spear, an axe, and more for melee weapons, and some cactus you can throw, bows, and guns for ranged. I've battled an extra dimensional chicken, a big mutated zombie plant boss, tons of wildlife, barbarians, and all sorts of things. Most of the battles consist of you trying to find your sweet spot of being able to hit the enemy while moving away and staying out of their range. Again, it's all fairly simple, but it works, and it feels good.

There are a ton of creatures to fight, as they spawn quite frequently. There is also a day/night cycle and the monsters definitely spawn more at night. In addition to the increased number, the decreased visibility is quite a problem as well. You have torches and things you can place, to have a very high chance to prevent creatures from spawning, but things can still wander in from outside of that range. Additionally, you can't have a torch in your hand AND fight at the same time, so you may have to flee and set up a light zone by placing torches and fight within that zone.

The game world thus far has been quite large. I still haven't full explored the world and level I start on. Even if I had, there are underground levels. The deeper you go underground, the more spookums it gets. The world as a whole has many different biomes both above ground and underground. Each of those biomes tends to attract more of certain types of enemies, or so it has seemed thus far. Did I mention there are NPC settlements and enemy settlements as well. You can get basic resource gathering quests in exchange for the in game version of money for completing them. You can tear down and loot enemy settlements as well. There is quite a bit to the worlds that I've experienced.

If all of that wasn't quite enough for you, there's also crafting. You can craft storage, weapons, armor, torches, walls, doors, floors, you name it. The crafting system has a familiar feel and hierarchy as you would expect. Basic crafting, a crafting table, a furnace to smelt, an anvil, furniture bench and so on and so forth. It's all quite well done and easy to get a handle on.

All in all, I had high hope for Keplerth when I found it and now that I've had a chance to get my hands on it and play it for several hours, it has far exceeded my expectations. Not just as an "Early Access" title, but also as just a title in general. I can't wait to see it when it's fully released!

I'll keep this simple for now. Outward has been an interesting and crazy adventure so far. I've been co-op playing this and it does seem to be designed in some ways for co-op. Combat seems significantly easier with two people and gathering and carrying stuff is much easier too. However, the quests and items you find are definitely a bit geared more toward the single player experience. Dying is always interesting as it's a shot in the dark as to what will happen. Will a benevolent soul save you, feed you, give you a place to rest, and free stuff? Will you be locked in a dungeon and stripped of all you own? Only time will tell. I'm really enjoying my time with Outward so far, definitely worth checking out!

I think it's worth noting that while I DID receive this game to do coverage of it, I have also bought all other titles from Spiderweb Software, whether on Steam or elsewhere. I'm a geniune fan of Spiderweb Software's work, and my review will reflect that. :)

I'll keep this short. Here is my over all thoughts on Avadon 3: The Warborn.

Avadon 3: The Warborn is a fantastic cRPG. The story is fantastic, you get immersed in it and are always wanting more. Character progression, combat, exquipment, and exploration are all done to perfection. Another big thing is the branching storylines, allowing your choices to dictate the ending. This is an amazing entry into the cRPG genre and definitely deserves some love.

A game that does so many things right, there is very little for me to knitpick. There are only 3 things I would have liked to see added that didn't make it into the game.

1. I love the option to play at different resolutions, but I would love a zoom feature too. That has been my only "gripe" from all of Spiderweb Software's games. I want just a little bit of zoom every now and then. At 1080p, it's a bit too far back. This is fixed by playing at 720p or other resolutions, still..I long for a zoom.

2. Keybindings. You can rebind almost all of the keys in Avadon 3, but you can't set your camera movement. (If you can, I'm blind and didn't see it). If I could rebind camera movement in addition the what is already offered, Happy Bumpy!

3. Sound control. Again, all of these "complaints" are super small unimportant things. I would like a little bit more control over the different sounds in the game. They did add a normal, off, and quiet mode for the music, but I'd prefer like a 0-10 scale or even 0-5 or something. Also Sound FX, ambient, or the like. Just a BIT more control would be nice.

All that being said, those things I mentioned are insignificant little nothings when you consider how flawed some games are. I 100% highly recommend Avadon 3: The Warborn, and all of Spiderweb Software's RPG library to any RPG fan. It's old school, it's amazingly well done, and it deserves praise.

I always enjoy finding games that have unique concepts and ideas implemented. The entirety of Duskers is unique and I love it. I can't think of another game that is anything like Duskers. :) I have just started to scratch the surface of Duskers and I plan to go much deeper. So, for those of you who wish to take the journey with me, feel free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81RCvwHOhA0

My impressions so far are very positive. The commands are easy enough to remember and the auto-fill feature is nice to speed things up a bit. Additionally, I liked the "tank controls" for the manual movement of the drones. It feels like it fits the game atmosphere well. I love the fact that the game is a roguelike, but I am dreading it as well. RNG is always a difficult thing to deal with. So, you have to have that love/hate relationship. :D I love the visual style, the sound effects, and the need for strategic thinking as you explore. We'll see how the next few weeks go, as I dive deeper into the game. :)

"I've heard it both ways." is one of my favorite lines from my favorite show of all time, Psych. As such, I shall give it to you BOTH ways. A written review and, for those of you who prefer it, a link to my First Look video on Starward Rogue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHmllzdhtp0

I'm not going to lie, I'm a really big Arcen Games fan. I will say that I've thoroughly enjoyed every game of theirs that I have played, with the exception of one. So, despite enjoying what Arcen does, I'm not a robot that likes everything. :)

A little bit of info before the meat and potatoes of the review. Tons of things about this game SCREAM Arcen and is a shoutout or pays homage to at least two of their other titles. Many folks would say this is a cross between The Last Federation's sound, look, feel, lore, and Bionic Dues roguelike, walking mech thinggie. :) The main thing that sets it apart from both of those games is the combat. So, where did the combat come from if it's inspired by turn based strategy games?

I was reading up on Starward Rogue while it was being developed and I learned that this game was actually the original concept for the battles in The Last Federation. They opted to go away from the real time, bullet hell, twin stick shooter combat for turn-based combat. Still, they really enjoyed what they had created and sat it aside for later use. Thus, Starward Rogue was born.

I am not very amazingly good at bullet hell games. I enjoy playing them and I have played several, but I usually do end up frustrated. I love the range of difficulties in Starward Rogue. Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, & Misery. It gives the hardcore bullet hell veterans plenty of challenge, while giving the average player a place to excel and enjoy, as well as newb scrubs like me a chance to shine (Or at least live longer than normal).

The gameplay mechanics are solid, the music (it's Arcen!) is great and very much reminds you of The Last Federation, and the controls work exactly as you would expect. I love how your Mech gets updated visually as you get new equipment, change weapons, and add drones. I will say many folks are turned off by Arcen's graphics, but I personally have never had any issue with them at all. I am probably one of the few who actually like the graphics a lot. :)

It has full controller support, which plays fantastically, and it also works well with a keyboard and mouse. Additionally, it was designed with Modding in mind and has over the top mod support. I think the Modding aspect is one of the things that will set Starward Rogue up for a fantastic future, beyond all the support, updates, and content I'm sure Arcen will bring, as they do with all their games.

If I had to say there was a con to this game it would be that the last boss owned the crap out of me! Okay, that's not really a con, but still....thing destroyed my soul. The only con I can think of is that there's no Steam Workshop for all the Modding posibilities....yet. :)

So, if you're a fan of tons of projectiles flying at you, while you dodge and commit gigantically huge amounts of murder on sentient robots (or maybe hive mind controlled robots....or just robots), then go grab Starward Rogue and PLAY IT NOW!

Oh, also...I love that this has 1 negative review....how ludicrous! Ahh well, some people! #Arcen4President Great job with another great game! What? I did warn you that I liked almost everything Arcen did!

As usual, I'll give you both a written review and a link to my First Look video, for those that want to see some of the gameplay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1G71oApAqM

There's two parts to this game, the map, where you move your barbarian, and the battles.



Let me explain how the map works. You start off with your Barbarian, and then slowly start to explore the map, gathering troops from nearby villages or castles. As you grow in power you will be able to take on enemy forts, and if you are able to defeat them, they switch to your side. Each time you move is a turn. The different towns and castles you control have a current number of troops and a maximum number of troops, they slowly replenish as you take your turns until capping out. In addition, you have gold you find during your exploration that allows you to up the maximum number of troops you can hold in your army, as well as, how many dragons you have. There's a balance you must find between exploring too far too fast and wasting turns doubling back to build up your army, and just building up without exploiting all of the map. You have a maximum number of turns (days) before the apocalypse. Your goal is to defeat all enemy forts and gather enough strength to slay the demons once the apocalypse takes place.

The battles are fairly simplistic in nature and you have little direct control at first. Later on into the game, you get a little bit more. First few battles will have you watching your crazy army of rabble (peasants) charge straight ahead and try to zerg the enemy. Then you'll add knights and archers to the mix, who tank better and fire arrows, respectively. Still, they all charge forward with no rhyme nor reason, just bloodlust and anger! (I have to admit, I love watching the fights, it just makes me grin) Eventually you'll defeat a dragon guarding a fort and then it will join your army. You can click on the battlefield where you want the dragon to attack and it will spit a fireball out to murder enemies (or friends if they are too close) in a small aoe. It's really nice to pick off clusters of archers hiding behind walls. The next tactical unit you get is the cavalry. You can position them anywhere on your side of the battlefield and resize their deployment box. Then you choose two waypoints for them to charge for, allowing you to bypass enemy troops or walls. They are quite tanky and do a great job of tearing archers apart. In some maps you get giant walking trees of doom. They are super tanky, do a very small aoe and are quite a problem for your normal troops, or the enemy's. You can also unlock a banner in a temple which allows you a bit more direct control over all of your army. It allows you to click and drag on your army, to redirect them to where you feel they'd be better suited.

Over all the combat is fairly simplistic, yet still quite fun. Finding the right balance of troops, the right amount of exploring to building up your army, and utilizing your money properly all add to the strategy side of the game. Is this the most advanced, complex, deep, or difficult strategy game ever made? Nope. The game is designed to play each map quickly and still offer strategy, fun, and a sense of accomplishment. Don't sell it short, it's still quite enjoyable and I'm looking forward to whatever comes next from Wolff Dobson & Studio Puffer.

I HIGHLY Recommend The Last Federation.

I try to do this with most of my reviews. I'll give you choice of checking out my Let's Play, or, further down, my written review. Something, for everybody! :)

Please be aware that I started this LP BLIND:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-pJ_N8ws5o

A quick word about Arcen Games in general.

I saw this game was being made while I was working on my Bionic Dues Let's Play. I was already a fan of the work Arcen Games does by this point and I followed the development. When I finally got my hands on The Last Federation I was super eager to jump in and just take over the galaxy. Something you'll learn over time, with Arcen, you never jump in and just take over anything. Arcen has a way of adding a million things to games that you have to absorb, learn, and take care of. I won't lie, it's a pretty daunting task. If you don't hunker down and commit to playing their games in full, you'll miss out on some fantastic games. My final word about Arcen is that they don't just make games and move on, they continue to work on them, add to them, and improve them. It may sound like I am drinking the Arcen Koolaid, but I feel GOOD developers don't get enough credit. My proof would be A.I. War: Fleet Command was made in 2009, even in 2014 they released yet another DLC/Update. :)

Now onto the actual review for the game!

I'm a sucker for Turn-based Strategy games, it's no secret. Having seen The Last Federation in development I was eager and excited to check it out. You are the last of your kind, the dominant species in the galaxy, the Hydral. Your race was a cruel one, the dictators of the galaxy. Unfortunately for them, they sort of got obliterated. You allowed yourself to be captured and bided your time. Finally, you decide it's time to break out and save the galaxy from itself. You steal a highly advanced prototype ship and, after your escape, you start to shape and mold the galaxy. The game isn't all about fighting, it's about strategizing, diplomacy, and alliances. There are 8 races of aliens in total, each with unique strengths, weakness, characteristics, and governments. Your ultimate goal is to create a federation, or alliance with all the races. Unfortunately, not everyone likes everyone else. To add fuel to the fire, the race you stole your ship and escaped from, don't like you very much. Make your Federation and all who refuse to join you must be eliminated. You have to convince your allies to take them down!

The turn-based combat is very well done. It's turn-based combat, but more like simultaneous turn-based combat. You choose where you wish to move, which weapon or "Special Attack/Operation" you want to use, and who you want to target. Many enemies have shields, or heavy armor, and you have to use the correct weapon for the job, changing as shields go down, or a swarm of small fighters are deployed. You have multiple targetting solutions as well. You can fire at anything in range, focus fire, fire at a direct point, or not shoot at all. Choosing the right weapon, in the right situation, while manuevering in the right place is the key to success. In addition you can choose to divert power more to your engines, guns, or shields to maximize their effect. Special Attacks or Operations play another big role in combat. Operations allow you deploy extra ships to fight for you. They range from tiny fighters, to lance weilding heavy ships. Your special attacks can be as simple as jettisoning garbage to blow up incoming projectiles, to hitting your afterburner to give you a few turns of extra movement and speed, to cloaking.

While you can't directly eliminate anyone, you still have all the power. The game's diplomacy system and how many different ways you can and NEED to influence is second to none. You can build up your relationship with a race by helping eliminate pirates, researching technology, assist in building a space station, building up their economy and tons of other ways. Additionally, you can cripple your enemies by more or less doing the reverse of those very things. Claiming a space station from an enemy and giving it to an ally to boost their production is one of my favorites. You can go beyond that, gaining voting proxies with their government, dueling a warlord to unseat him from rule, damaging the reputation with another race, even planting false evidence.

The Last Federation has a ton to do and it's quite challenging. Often times your best laid plans get waylaid and you must adapt and change how you wish to arrive at your ultimate goal. From beginning to end the game pulls you in, gives you more and more stuff to keep track of and will leave you scratching your head on more than one occasion. How do I get Aliens A to not want to murder Aliens B, but go to war with Aliens C? When you finally succeed you'll feel like you accomplished the impossible and you very well may have. There are plenty of different difficulty settings, including ironman mode and permadeath. If all of that hasn't convinced you, the comical writing and voice acting brings it all together.

The only thing I would have considered a con is a personal preference. One that, amazingly enough, was addressed in one of the DLCs of this game. I wanted to be able to be my own faction and take over the galaxy myself. Forget the federation of happy aliens living in harmony. I wanted to be in the Federation of ME! :D As I said, the DLC Betrayed Hope did exactly that and more!

Speaking of DLC, there are two out right now. Betrayed Hope and The Lost Technologies. Each DLC brings it's own share of updates, upgrades and unique things to the game. Not to mention their own game modes.

So, in summation: I highly recommend The Last Federation. It has fantastic writing, fun combat, amazing depth in how you can effect the galaxy, an outstanding, deep, and rich diplomacy system, and tons of choices on how you want to play. In addition, it is an Arcen Games product, so you know they are going to keep working on it, supporting it, and improving on it. YES! BUY! NOW!