Reseñas recientes de LadyOberon

I've been very impressed with the Steam Link overall. During the last few years, I've tried several different options for game and video streaming to my flatscreen T.V.s, including multiple apps, HDMI, android T.V.s, including the Amazon Fire T.V. and NVIDIA Shield T.V., and even a Gamefly subscription.


It's important to note that an ethernet connection is necessary for most setups in order to properly run most of the newer games and those requiring a high resolution and framerate. That being said, the Steam Link ended up doing even more than I'd hoped for.

The Steam Link allows me to use Big Picture and stream any Steam game to my T.V. without the use of an HDMI cable strung across the room between the two. It also allows me to stream from any computer in the home or office that's running Steam. This includes both games and software in my Steam account as well as anything else that's running on the chosen computer, including browsers, programs, websites, music, and video.


Between Amazon Prime, Netflix, and a variety of other online streaming sites and apps, we stream and bingewatch much more often than we watch live T.V. HDMI cables were a staple in my home until we started experimenting with Android T.V.s and the Steam Link, but now they're really not necessary, because the Steam Link is so small and portable.


The Steam Link goes with us when we travel, and it's very easy to move it from one room to another. It's smaller than any similar device I've ever owned, and it's very light. The Steam Link can set on a shelf in your entertainment center or even be bracketed to a wall or the back of your T.V.


I bought the Steam Controller + Steam Link combo pack this past Christmas, but a Steam Controller is not required to use the Steam Link. Any bluetooth controller or wireless controller with an adapter, including a wireless XBox 360, should work just fine.


This is definitely a product that relies on a strong network, so if you experience lag with AAA or FPS games via HDMI/Wireless HDMI, then you are likely to experience that with Steam Link as well. I've found that more casual games work perfectly over a wireless network, but the games requiring a lot of resources need that wired ethernet connection.


After researching and purchasing so many different apps, subscriptions, and devices, I am extremely pleased with the Steam Link. If your network is adequate, and you're looking for an easy, portable game or video streaming device without the tripping hazard of cords, then this device is definitely worth a try.

I'd been wanting the Steam controller ever since it was first introduced as a concept to the public, so I jumped on the Steam Controller + Steam Link combo pack Christmas special in December. I've had 9 months to "get to know" this marvel, and I can't recommend it highly enough.


Right out of the box, I could tell it was something special, but I didn't realize exactly how special it was until I really learned how to use it. I'd read some articles and reviews stating that the best thing to do with the Steam controller is to "toss out everything you think you know" about controllers, and start over. That's largely accurate with a caveat.

Let me begin by saying that there's absolutely nothing wrong with using this like an XBox 360 controller. If that's your aptitude level or gaming interest level, then that's perfectly fine. I myself am merely a casual gamer who wanted to be able to use a controller to play games that didn't include native controller support. I also wanted to be able to customize and rebind controls as was comfortable for me without relying on JoytoKey, Lilypad or XPadder. If you are open to expanding those horizons, and taking the technology even further, then you're in for a real treat.


In regard to functionality, the first thing I noticed was that it was bigger than my 360 controller. It looked like it should also be heavier, but it really didn't feel like it was. Being a lady with small hands, I struggled at first to hold it in a way that felt comfortable, but then I realized that the beauty of this thing begins with the fact that you can hold it any way you want. You can grip it in several different places and even turn it sideways or upside down if you have reason to do so. Very quickly I learned that adjusting my grip by sliding my hands higher up resolved the initial uncertainty for me.

The next thing I noticed were the interior "triggers" felt underneath the controller on the inside of both grips. This was astonishing to me, because I'd never seen it before, and I immediately started thinking about all the gaming functions that could be bound to these interior triggers.

After that, the two trackpads drew my attention, and I've only recently begun to fully understand and maximize these. Each section, including the outer rings, are bindable. They're fantastic for aiming/shooting, and driving games, but if you play RPGs with expansive menus and controls, then these will also come in handy for you as extra bindable areas.

Gyro functions work beautifully, and you can even use your Steam controller by tilting it for certain games/functions. As with any new technology, you're going to have to give yourself time to learn it and get used to it before you can maximize it. However, this controller comes with the ability to bind controls and also set the degree of sensitivity, so you can play with it until you find what works best for you.


The next feature that blew my everloving mind was the mode shifting. It's always been amazing to me that this thing has so many customizable, configurable, and bindable areas to it. There were already plenty for my general gaming needs. What I learned, though, was that mode shifting works very much like a shift key or function key on your computer. A key on your keyboard does one function, until you press shift, alt, ctrl, or fn, and then it does another, right? So imagine if you could bind a trigger, trackpad, d-pad, joystick, or button set to one particular set of functions, then "shift" into another set of functions. That's exactly what this feature accomplishes. It doubles the amount of bindable "workspace" that the Steam controller offers. In addition, the triggers themselves can have "soft pull" and "hard pull" designations which expand the use of triggers, such as a soft pull for targeting and hard pull for shooting.


All of these wonderful things being said, I do want to add that not all games will work with the Steam Controller. I have found a very few that just aren't compatible, but that's not due to limitations in the controller itself; this goes to the developers to change. However, if you are a gamer like me who is prone to shelving (or skipping altogether) certain games that don't come with at least partial controller support, you may want to give this a try. If you are disgusted at the large number of promising platformers and RPGs being released in today's market without this fundamental functionality, then again, this may be for you. My catalogue of playable games has increased exponentially.


This is an absolute marvel of gaming technology. If a casual gamer like myself can fully appreciate what this technology can do, then I'm truly envious of the hardcore gamers out there. I'll never use everything that this controller can do, but I'm truly in awe of it.

For an in-depth guide to your Steam controller: http://www.pcgamer.com/steam-controller-setup-guide/

I'm very disappointed with Dynamite Alex. I was so interested in this game that I bought five of the greenlight bundles it was in strictly for this game. Today when my keys arrived, I immediately installed the game and booted it up. In some ways I'm underwhelmed, and in others, I'm overwhelmed.

The first thing I noticed was a lack of native controller support. I thought to myself, "No problem. I'll just break out my trusty Steam controller and get down to business." My experience was that the Steam controller worked but only partially. I still had to use the keyboard for menus, and I never could make the joystick map to the WASD movement controls. For this, the upper left d-pad/trackpad was used. I decided this was a minor aggravation and kept playing.

Reading the updates on the store page and the few reviews that are there at this point, I can see that the developer has gone through two control schemes, one only slightly less strange than the first. The "R" for emergency restart of a level should have been a bigger red flag to me than it was, but I figured, "Hey, I love unique, and who am I to judge?" So again, I pressed onward.

I learned very early on why the emergency restart mechanism is in place; this game is still very buggy. As you can see in the following image, my character became "stuck" in midair. http://imgur.com/a/YoDIS I waited for a while, pushed every button and key I could find but to no avail. Emergency restart it is!

I play through the first level multiple times, and each time, the control response is different. Between button presses that didn't register at all and a delay between button presses and action, I really started to lose hope for the game.

I exited out of big picture and turned off the Steam controller, deciding to see what keyboard controls had to offer. I prefer to play with a controller, but when deciding to review a game, I like to be fair and evaluate a game for what it was actually designed to do as opposed to what I would like it to do. Right off the bat, though, I have another issue. I've already installed the game once, so I was confused when the "completing installation" box comes up again. Minutes later, it's still there, reading no percentage of completion, but the loading screen is running behind it. Nothing to do for it except to shut down and restart, so I did.

At this point, I was severely underwhelmed with the control scheme and overall gaming mechanics. Simplistic doesn't necessarily mean bad. I'm a fan of developers who don't overextend themselves or overpromise only to find that they can't deliver. Minimize if necessary to make the project manageable, but whatever you decide to ultimately undertake, do it well. I enjoy simplistic at times, but when it's that simplistic and still doesn't work, there's a big problem.

I then began to look around to determine if there was anything at all that I did like about the game, and this is where the "overwhelmed" part of my review comes into play.

The soundtrack is very annoying and "tinkling" which to me sounds like an ice cream truck. When I look around and see the odd color scheme, I again think "ice cream truck" or perhaps even circus. I just don't know what the developer was going for here, because there is a very odd mix of color schemes, from pastels and hot pinks to reds, blues and blacks, not to mention solid yellow buildings with another shade of yellow for outlining. It's a very odd mix of pastel and primary colors.

When you look at it overall, it's very "busy" and it's destracting. The strange level design doesn't help with this. As a player, it seems like buildings and coin traps are placed without an overall design concept, just "filling holes" so to speak. The character design is not impressive, either, so at this point, I decided to call it quits.

All in all, I simply can't recommend Dynamite Alex. I do hope, however, that the developer will address these issues. I would be happy to give it another try.

Today, I decided to play and review the game Shiny from Garage 227. I've got a lot of wonderful things to say about this game and its development team.

The main character is a robot, Shiny, and his goal is to save robots, collect batteries, and finish the level before running out of energy or taking too much damage from obstacles.

The soundtrack is fantastic, alternating between extremely realistic and appropriate sound effects to music that cues the gamer through tempo. When you hear erratic music, run like hell. Trust me on this one.

The controller responsiveness is very close to being perfect. The game currently has partial controller support, so it will be necessary to use your keyboard for some of the menus, but that didn't detract from my gameplay at all. All too often, I'm seeing promising platformers being released with absolutely no controller support, and that's a deterrent for me as well as many other gamers. I was very pleased to see that Garage 227 included this fundamental in Shiny. I did notice a bit of a controller issue when attempting to jump while using the right trigger, so that is one area that can indeed be tightened up.

In regard to graphics, my assessment is that a few minor tweaks are needed at this point. They're nearly perfect, and for the most part, crystal clear. The first couple levels are still a bit too dark even after adjusting gamma settings. I also noticed brief flickering that resulted in Shiny flashing forward a few steps on occasion. With my particular gaming laptop and G-Sync, I wouldn't expect any kind of stuttering or flickering, so that plus the fact that this was very occasional, causes me to lean toward a graphics issue as opposed to an equipment issue.

On one occasion, I noticed a duplicate superimposed "X" prompt at a checkpoint. One was offset, so this was very noticeable. http://imgur.com/g1xoyAF Additionally, I noticed rather long loading times for loading screens that caused me to try turning down the resolution to see if that made a difference. Unfortunately, it did not resolve the issue, but it did make me realize just how beautiful these graphics are on the higher resolutions (1920 x 1080 and 1920 x 1200.)

I also noticed a minor pass-through issue having to do with Shiny's antennas. As you can see in the following image, his antennas pass through a solid platform when jumping, causing the battery item to glow due to proximity. http://imgur.com/a/ceGGT

The level and character design are very well executed overall. I really enjoyed the diversity in level design. Elements like falling platforms, falling rocks, conveyer belts, fan blades, pistons, and fire are introduced then combined, meaning that no two levels are exactly alike. Being able to "look down" with the right joystick was also something that I greatly appreciated. I did notice a bit of a difference, both in length and difficulty, among the levels. A shorter easier level followed by a much longer and more difficult level is then followed by a much easier and/or shorter level. If this is not intentional, a rebalancing expedition might be in order.

In regard to game mechanics, again, I'm mostly pleased overall. I was unable to complete level 8 due to difficulty with the cooling mechanic, and I never reached the point in the game where the jet pack came into play. Up to the cooling mechanic, I was enjoying the game very much, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't overcome what feels like an element that is way too hard. I got through the first instance with the cooling mechanic on accident after dozens of tries but then died repeatedly on the next instance of it in the game. I had to start the level over but then couldn't get past the first instance with the pistons again.

I created a second game on easy mode and had to start all over, because it's not possible to change difficulty levels after a game has begun. This is something I'd like to see changed in the future. I noticed that while easy mode gives you more "lives" AKA battery charges, it's really not very different, if at all, from medium difficulty. I continued to have the same issues with the cooling mechanic, so after 3 hours, I decided that was it for me until this element is modified or some assistance from the developer is obtained. It's possible that I'm missing something, but that may just be wishful thinking, because I'd love to complete the game.

Another element that I appreciated was the checkpoint system. Most levels include more than one checkpoint, so a casual gamer like myself won't have to start all over when they run out of lives.

Overall, I definitely recommend Shiny, especially to those looking for a straightforward platformer that replaces combat with other gaming mechanics, such as the shield, cooling mechanic, and jet pack. It includes attainable achievements that unlock during the course of gameplay. At the time of this review, I've unlocked 45% of the achievements with 3 that are hidden. My guess is that the criteria for those last 3 would have become obvious to me had I been able to continue past level 8.

It's very obvious to me that the Garage 227 team loves Shiny and has put a great deal of effort into perfecting the game. I'm honored to have been included on the journey. I'm anxious to give it another try and invite the development team to notify me of the next major update so I can do so and revise my review at that point. In the meantime, if anyone else comes up with a way to overcome the cooling mechanic, feel free to reach out. I'll gladly give Shiny another go. It's a beautiful example of gaming design and execution.

What an odd game! I'm really on the fence about whether or not to recommend it, so I've decided to recommend it but with a huge caveat.

Firstly, this is the most mindless game I've ever played in my life, and I started playing video games in the 80s. Even mindless clickers involve the player more than this game does. There's literally nothing to do except for moving right and left and upgrading your stats. Combat and looting are automatic, and even your stats max out or become redundant at certain points, minimizing the value of upgrades.

I found no obvious benefit to a speed in excess of 100, and while your critical stat allows you to keep dumping gold into upgrades, it goes no higher than 100%. I wasted a lot of loot before figuring that out. I also found no benefit to an excessive attack stat. There came a point where I just started dumping all my loot into defense, because that was the only stat that made any difference to me after the critical stat was maxed.

This is not a game for someone who is looking for storyline or character development, because this game includes none of either. It's also not a game for someone looking for clear objectives or an endgame. At the time of this review, I've defeated the dragon 55 times, and the game hasn't finished. In fact, I don't think there is a finish line to this race. I've unlocked 100% of the achievements, and my stats at this point are: level 106; attk 180-359; crit 100; def 1376; and speed 126. I have no doubt that there is either no completion point to the game at all or that the ceiling is so ridiculously high as to call the sanity of anyone who would attempt it into question.

The graphics could be a lot more clear and defined, especially since you're dealing with increased speeds, and the soundtrack is just average. There's not a single element that would motivate me to continue the game at this point, and I see zero replay value.

That being said, the game does what it's meant to do very well. The controls are responsive, and no tutorial is necessary. It's an obvious choice for someone looking for an easy 100% game, but beyond that, there's not much else to say about this game. It offers no other challenge or benefit that I'm aware of. For me, it wasn't even entertaining. It was just something that I persevered through thinking that I was nearing the end.

So my caveat is this. I recommend the game but only for casual gamers looking for a mindless game requiring absolutely no skill, or achievement hunters possessing a great deal of patience.

I received a key for this game from Forthright Entertainment upon my offer for an objective review. I have to admit that I'm rather disappointed with the overall quality of the game. It's not at all what I expected.

To begin with, I realize that this game is currently in Early Access, and I've reviewed several EA games. My goal is always to evaluate what's there while keeping in mind the potential for the game as a whole. In this case, the developer does seem to be actively seeking feedback, and that I commend. However, the limited content, unbalanced gameplay, confusing or incomplete game mechanics, and bugs encountered during gameplay have caused me to not recommend the game in its current state.

For starters, F12 doesn't work for taking screenshots. This became relevant to me early on when my character got "stuck" in a cabbage patch in the first town. http://imgur.com/a/WCSxB I quit to title and continued the game to find that this bug can be recreated every time I talk to the character Yiza Sutan, regardless of whether I talk to her in the garden, out on the path, or by the buildings.

I also found some bugs related to surfaces not being solid. For example, my character was able to walk through this table from one side to the other, and after about the third time, he got stuck in it. http://imgur.com/a/TgmkP

Another example of that is this sign, which again, my character was able to walk through repeatedly. http://imgur.com/a/22knS The same was also true for beds, like this one http://imgur.com/a/TbpJ9 and this one http://imgur.com/a/3XQjb. You can't sleep in the beds, so being able to walk through them like this just feels sloppy to me.

I spent roughly 2 hours searching for new things to discover but was ultimately disappointed. What I found instead was a rather spread out RPG Maker product with repetitive images that I wouldn't be surprised to find were stock or public domain images. None of the items in the houses or towns can be interacted with. The food can't be eaten, and there are no books in the shelves to read. You can't sleep in the beds or sit in the chairs, and the signs can't be read.

I played for over an hour before my first "random" battle encounter, but then after that, I could only move 1-2 steps before another battle instance. This felt very unbalanced to me, and after about an hour of incessant and uneventful combat sequences, it became annoying. Combat is turn-based and rather simplistic. Combat should be much more interesting in my opinion.

The churches seem to be a healing mechanism, but at this time, they don't serve a function at all. My characters received no health or mana by visiting these churches, even though the character tells you to "sit down and be restored." You can't sit or interact with the altar, so if there's a function to these churches, I honestly don't know what it is at this point. It's more likely that this is an unfinished element.

Additionally, the food wasn't working to heal, either during or outside of battle. The number of items I had would decrease, but my characters' health/mana didn't change. Thinking this was related to the classes I chose, specifically not having a healer, I started another game. This made absolutely no difference. Again, the meat and cheese could be used on any character, but while the number of items decreased, no change was noted in health or mana. If there's another function for these items, I sure don't know what it would be.

I also discovered that it's impossible to skip the intro when creating a subsequent game. I'd like to see a quick-choice menu for choosing classes to avoid what is essentially another time waster.

There's one more thing that I want to address in this review, and that's my interaction with the developer, himself. My first interaction was very positive. I liked Ryan and thought that this would be a good opportunity to provide the feedback he so desperately needs while also providing some added exposure for his game through my review here on Steam as well as an online blog. I even went so far as to offer a developer interview, to give him the opportunity to respond to anything that I found during my evaluation of the game or to comment on the history and development of the game. He was very receptive to that and seemed pleased to receive my offer. Having had such a positive exchange with him, I was extremely surprised to receive a private message from him 2 days later asking if I intended to review the game or if I just wanted the cards. I found that offensive and very unprofessional. I'd already told him that I was in the middle of writing reviews and would boot up his game as soon as I was finished with those who were ahead of him. I don't feel that a few days is too much to ask to complete this process, especially since I'm a full-time business owner, and all review requests that I accept are at my discretion, including when, or if, reviews are written.

I receive requests from developers and publishers on a regular basis to review their games, and I've also been contacted by developers because of reviews I've written of their games. Sometimes they're pleased with the review, and sometimes they badger me to change it. My answer is always the same. I'm happy to re-evaluate any game I've reviewed after a major update has taken place, and if I feel it's warranted, my review will be revised with this additional information. I make this same offer to Forthright Entertainment. Please feel free to contact me after the next major update, and I'll be happy to take another look. Kudos for listening to your playerbase; I can't wait to see what you ultimately come up with.

9/9/16; 7:15 PM CST: Edit to add additional information.
I received a very sincere apology from the developer once he read my review. It seems that an erroneous assumption was made, and he took ownership of that mistake completely. He also had a lengthy discussion with me about some of the issues I encountered. Some they were aware of, and some they were not, so the heartfelt gratitude that I received for my time and objectivity was much appreciated. I must say, this is my favorite kind of development team, one that wants very badly to make a stellar product and values the feedback that an EA period can provide. I also found out that while I was correct that the images of houses, towns, and items came with the engine, the characters and enemies, with the exception of the archer, are the developer's own artwork. The team is currently creating artwork for the archer and intends to create custom tiles at a later date. The rebalancing, combat, confusing game mechanics, and pass-through issues I mentioned are also on the table to be fixed in an upcoming update. The dev is also going to create a quest log to aid players by providing a bit of direction for the completion of quests without fruitless wandering. The backstory and character developement are strong, so if we ultimately see more content built around these strengths, I will have no issue whatsoever with changing this to a recommended review. I look forward to the updates!

This is a disappointing review for me to write. I was enjoying the game very much during the first couple of levels, but then the oddities and bugs started stacking up and tipped the scale in the other direction.

On a positive note, the graphics were clear, and the controls were very responsive. I liked the appearance of the main character and the scenery. It seemed like a nice little fantasy world to dive into. I'm an avid fan of straightforward platformers, so I love to see a well-done platformer that hasn't been muddied up with puzzles. If I can find one that incorporates real-time combat, then it immediately goes to the top of my list.

Wicce is a side-scrolling platformer. The character is a witch, and the combat is limited to a melee attack with a broom with charged special attack. Throughout the game, you obtain gold and red gems as drops for breaking destructibles and defeating enemies. However, there doesn't seem to be a purpose to the gold, and the game doesn't provide nearly enough of the red gems for healing, considering that I've encountered no other healing mechanism in the game.

One of the oddities is encountering characters where you're directed to press the up arrow and "X" at the same time. The purpose of this is unknown to me. At first, I thought it would heal my character or provide some type of upgrade or item, but I've seen no evidence of that. My second thought was a save point, but that didn't prove to be the case, either, as the character always goes back to the beginning of a level upon death.

It's worth noting that sometimes I would restart a level after death with the same number of red gems I had upon death, and sometimes I started with much less. I could find no rhyme or reason to this, making me think it was either a development issue or very unclear game mechanics. There doesn't seem to be an upgrade mechanism anywhere in the game, and I've encountered no other items. Even so, I kept playing.

The third boss is where things got out of hand for me. I was beginning the level with very little health and no more than 2 red gems, which only heal partially. You can't go backwards to other levels, and I encountered no merchants of any kind to obtain these items. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't beat this boss, so I posted in the discussion forum for help, as well as the developer's profile, but haven't received any response yet from either the dev or the apparently minimal player base.

Out of options, I started a whole new game with the intent to save up every red gem I could find so I could beat the third boss. With 7 gems, I was able to just barely beat this boss, but my frustration didn't end at this point as another "oddity" comes into play after a boss is beaten.

Once a boss battle is won, a paper scroll comes up on the screen with arrows on it. It took me a bit to figure out what this was, but after repeatedly getting tossed right back into boss battles, I figured out that you're supposed to use the appropriate key, d-pad or joystick to correspond to the direction that the arrow is pointing. However, I found that the last arrow in the sequence, a down facing arrow, wasn't registering when I'd point my left joystick (xbox360) down. I tried multiple times but was tossed back into the boss battle anyway. Again, I beat the boss, this time with 6 health points remaining, only to have the same game-breaking bug prevent me from progressing.

I don't see how I can possibly recommend a game that can't be completed. It's for that reason that I'm choosing not to recommend the game. The lack of developer feedback and support is disappointing, and I was surprised that I couldn't find a single guide or walkthrough anywhere.

Overall, the game has definite potential. With some rebalancing, fixing of bugs, and introduction of more items and content, this game could be great. I sincerely hope that the developer will put the necessary effort into these changes. I would gladly give the game another go at that point.

Refunct is a calming, short gaming experience. The 3-D platforming and parkour elements are enjoyable, and there is a bit of strategy and puzzle solving to it, as you do need to think a little to make it from point A to point B. That being said, it's not at all difficult or overwhelming.

The graphics are lovely, with a soft color scheme, making it a welcome change from the neon, flashing, strobe effect in so many recent games. The soundtrack evolves with game progression and accompanies the scenery nicely.

Full controller support is offered, and the responsiveness of the controls is very good. The game itself is intuitive in the sense that it doesn't require a tutorial or complicated instruction to complete. The open world envirnonment includes being able to venture underwater, and the game can easily be completed in one sitting.

This is not a game with a high degree of replayability. However, I would recommend it to casual gamers looking for a relaxing or minimalistic game that can be completed in a short time. The game also offers easily attainable achievements, so this may very well be your next 100% game.

I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying Book of Demons, and I definitely recommend it. However, I do want to make sure that other buyers of the game understand what they're getting. I was looking for a new game with controller support in the dungeon crawling and hack and slash genres, and this game came up. That's not exactly accurate, though.

Book of Dungeons is understandably a dungeon crawler, because it takes place for the most part in dungeons that go deeper and deeper as the game progresses. However, it's also a CCG with turn-based combat. A variety of monsters are encountered and unlocked in the bestiary as you progress through the game, and cards of varying uses and rarity are obtained and utilized to build your deck. Players will be able to equip more cards as the game progresses and card slots are unlocked with gold and loot drops.

Combat is turn-based and automatic, so your only options as a player during combat are to move in a grid-like formation along a path to avoid and/or target enemies and projectiles, use consumable cards (like health and mana) click a button to disarm a shield or interrupt a spell to make an emeny vulnerable, or use an ability card, like a spell. No offensive combat happens while your character is in motion, so your choice is to be still and attack or maneuver around to avoid/engage enemies and obtain loot. That's not exactly, "Hack and slash" to me, and I have a hunch that this would be confusing to other players as well. Since I paid full price for my copy, and didn't get what I thought I was buying, I want to be very clear about what this game actually is.

In regard to controller support, the tag is accurate that this game currently provides partial controller support. You will still need a mouse and/or keyboard to access menus, such as those used to level up your character, switch out cards, and upgrade or identify cards. The controller support that is provided works very well. I didn't have any issues on that front, and I would bet that a Steam Controller or controller mapping program could be used for the remaining functions if a gamer was so inclined.

A positive aspect of the game is that it doesn't require a lengthy gaming session to enjoy. Games range from a few minutes to very long, and the player has the ability to set these parameters. Those with short attention spans and those who "bounce" between games will appreciate that the developers provided this feature. I know I certainly do.

Graphically, the game is beautiful. I love the angular features of the characters and scenery. It really does look like a world all its own, and it's fun to be a part of it. Overall, I'm having a lot of fun with it, and since I don't usually enjoy turn-based games of any kind, this is a testament to how very well this game has been developed.

It's a great combination of a lot of different elements, but it's really not categorized very well for browsing by tags. Of the dungeon crawling and hack and slash tags that have been attributed to this game, it's neither one nor the other. I'd classify it as a CCG with turn-based combat and dungeon crawling elements, with the dungeon environment and looting being fundamental to the game.

Most games have elements of other genres, like strategy, which is common and can be attributed to nearly any game, so I realize categorization isn't as simple as it once was. That's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, a lot of great gaming combinations are available now, like one of my favorites which is actually an RPG/Pinball mashup. So while I don't believe these genre fusions are a negative thing, I do think that more attention should be paid to categorization, tags, and descriptions. Games like this with a $20 price tag aren't so easy to dismiss when "unwrapping" a game that isn't quite what you thought you had at the checkout.

I'm having a ball with Shadow Complex Remastered. It's my opinion that they just don't make games like this very often anymore, and this has been a refreshing gaming experience for me. I love RPGs, ARPGs, Metroidvanias, and Platformers. This game as elements of all of these genres.

As a casual gamer, I do my best to avoid permadeath games and those that are unrealistically difficult just for the sake of being difficult. This game caters to both casual and hardcore gamers, because there are mechanisms for turning off the "blue line" showing the route to your next objective and Master Challenges for those looking for a greater degree of difficulty. The blue guide line can be turned off and on at anytime, so if you get stuck or can't figure out where to go, this guide is there for you. Gamers are rewarded for exploration off the beaten path with upgrades and items, but if you stray too far, it's easy to find your way back to where you were.

Another plus for me is full controller support, and this game has very responsive controls. Jumping, shooting, takedowns, it all works just as it should. The graphics are really good, and while it's technically a side-scroller, there's an open world feel to it, because the character can go in any direction, even under water. New areas open up as new weapon upgrades are discovered, and gamers will find value in revisiting new areas to obtain hidden items they couldn't access before.

I can't say enough about this game. I paid full price for my copy, and it's been worth every penny.