Recent reviews by MellowTigger

There is no pause, and apparently there never will be. I already ran into this problem on the Soul Harvest version. Which hero is too stupid to automatically drink that health potion it needs? Oh, too late, he's already dead. Uninstalling.

There is no pause, and apparently there never will be. Which hero is too stupid to automatically drink that health potion it needs? Oh, too late, he's already dead. I tried over a dozen hours and dozens of unnecessary hero deaths. Uninstalling. That's a shame. It seemed well written, but there's no good way to avoid the limitations of the gui interface.

In its favor, this game runs well on Linux Mint with Proton. Kudos for not including weird program libraries that don't play well on a variety of systems. Thanks for that boon. :)

Beyond that, though, I find myself increasingly disliking the inventory system. It seems to be the perfect "problem requiring customers to pay for a solution". If you intend to craft (and I always do), then there is simply too much inventory to keep on your character and bank simultaneously. You have to buy the monthly subscription to make the whole issue magically "go away" entirely... which makes me want NOT to do that.

I'm still logging in to do some daily craft quests, but we'll see how long I can continue doing that while having to micromanage my combined inventory. That part is simply not fun.

Does not work in Proton on Linux Mint. Some kind of interference from Uplay.

edit: My original review was from March. In 2020 September, I tried it again with the (currently beta, "glorious eggroll") version 5.9 of Proton. It works. UPLay is no long a barrier to entry. After the first launch that fails because UPlay says you don't have the game, just exit both UPlay and Steam. Relaunch, and the key will finally transmit, and you can link your Steam/Uplay accounts to access the game. I'll reconsider my recommendation after I've played the game a bit.

This game is one of the city-building classics. Back before Stardew Valley, I clocked untold hours in this game. It requires some time to learn the limitations of each building and its walkers. Eventually, though, you can build "blocks" that are self-sufficient. It's just a matter of finding sufficient space to build a perfect block, or choosing which limitations you will accept if you have to leave out a building to fit it into a limited space. Don't forget to appease that pantheon of jealous gods. They need attention, or your city will suffer their wrath. While advancing through the campaign, you get some choices whether to pursue military or economic challenges. I wish someone would make an entirely graphics-updated version of this series again.

It runs well on Linux Mint with ProtonDB.

This game is cool. You build a post-cataclysm city in ever-colder temperatures. You get only a few weeks of game days to advance your city before the super-cold -120C temperatures (at least in Easy mode) arrive. At that point, you're basically just an observer since you can no longer explore the map. Some of your people will die during the storm that lasts for days, but you win the scenario if some of your people manage to survive it. It's a very different implementation of the city-building game concept, and I enjoyed it.

Also, it works great in the Proton linux-compatibility mode on Steam. It had issues at first (the auto-save at midnight each night would crash the game) which have now been solved in the latest beta version of Proton (as of 2018 Dec 19).

Runs great on my Linux Mint 19 machine. Like its predecessor, this version includes many environmental effects to use tactically in combat. I found it easier in this version to manage character skills. There are plenty of opportunities to specialize your characters in different ways, including buying your own companions to customize even farther, although you lose out on the backstory quests and romance options (both straight and gay). I still find the skill management in combat to be slightly more complicated than any game really needs to be, but the interesting world in which you play makes up for that misgiving.

I can't even get past the controls. Apparently it's another game written for console but provided on pc. I have arrow keys that don't help and a mouse that's useless. I corrected a few things by customizing the keyboard control, but I still couldn't just play the game. I simply don't spend time learning controls, so I give this game a solid NOT recommended rating.

Runs well on Linux Mint 19, though.

Existing players cannot convert their characters to Steam. I don't know why Valve prevents it, since I'd rather pay through my Steam wallet than through the KI website. KI needs to lobby hard for Valve to figure out this problem. I want to convert my game account from KI to Steam.

So I tried to create a new game account using the Steam method, as required. I click the button in the window... and nothing happens. Yes, I'm playing on Linux Mint through Proton, but Wizard 101 worked fine for me for years using CrossOver Linux instead. So, again Valve needs to figure this out. I'm clearly not spending any money on it if I can't reuse my old (well-liked) characters and I can't create new ones either.

I'd already be playing (and maybe spending money?) if my original Wizard 101 account login worked on Steam. Hey, KI, you should look up how much money I've spent over the years (same name as here) and whisper it in Valve's ears. They're missing out on a lucrative cut of the transactions.

There's plenty to like, but seemingly random game-ending events are the worst idea they put into this program.

Periodically, the game ends for no discernable reason. Time passes, then "Your kingdom has been destroyed!" I even switched to Story Mode, hoping the hidden timers would go away. No, they don't. In each case, I thought I was making progress. I had no sense of impending doom. In each case, I had to restore from long-distant save games to take a different direction in my explorations. Whatever tipping point is supposed to destroy my kingdom, it should just be a penalty instead of a game-ender. It should work like the characters when they fail to rest. They suffer important drawbacks, but they DON'T simply die of neglect. Do yourself a favor, players. Go to Options / Difficulty, then set "Invicible kingdom" to the checkmark. Even if you set Story Mode, you have to manually include this option too.

The kingdom interface needs serious and profound changes. No game-ending scenarios, ever, especially as hidden timer consequences. Also, that screen should never require unloading and reloading assets into memory. It's a flat 2D screen, but I spend much of my game time waiting to get into or out of that interface. It needs major work.

Many of the other major game-breaking bugs have already been patched, or they are otherwise being addressed by developers. I can't really give it a favorable recommendation, though, until these game-ending "features" stop interfering in my gameplay.

But, really, there's a lot to like. Just fix the game-ending problems, developers, then you're golden.