Recent reviews by Sleepy

Redout goes meta with the introduction of the Virtual Environment for Redout Training EXperience (V.E.R.T.E.X.) featuring the (now standard) five tracks, two songs and ten career events. This second paid DLC brings the number of worlds to 7, which coincidentally is also how many racing teams are currently in the game. The base game gets a version bump to 1.3.0, which further refines the visuals and brings numerous stability, bug and track fixes.

The focus of the update is (unsurprisingly) the V.E.R.T.E.X. The five tracks in this simulated environment are deceptively simple; mastering them will require some creative approaches. Clean racing is emphasised here, which is a welcome change from the technical tracks of previous worlds. The music also brings back the high-energy beats, which together with the simpler track design gives off a somewhat F-Zero vibe. I also highly appreciate the developers for including most of the content in the early stages of the Career (eight of the ten events are Class II), as pilots have reached Alaska at this point and may be overwhelmed by the difficulty spike. However, the fact that this DLC is paid is a bit of a missed opportunity, as players might be discouraged from picking it up if they’re already frustrated by the base content. The psychedelic colour scheme is also personally rather distracting, which together with the lack of reference points will occasionally cause me to lose direction.

There’s also the less shiny stuff which are NOT part of the DLC, the most visible of which should be the online lobby changes. The number of laps and game mode can finally be changed without re-hosting, though more variety is still needed (Boss mode!). Europa gets a new song, so every world now has two (except Cairo which has three). The visuals are further refined and Neptune gets some track fixes regarding spinning space stations and aggressive asteroids.

Overall, this is a bit of a lesser DLC when compared to Neptune, but that in no way means it’s bad as the latter has set a very high standard (space and orchestral music is always a win to me). V.E.R.T.E.X. eschews the grand set pieces of Europa and Neptune, and returns to the simpler roots of Cairo, yet is distinct enough to stand on its own. It does not have as much content, but the price is also lower to match. More Redout is always welcome, and this content pack nicely delivers on that front.

The eponymous DLC introduces the Neptune racing complex, with five tracks and ten career events. A new team is also added (Buran) with its own distinctive racing style, together with a few liveries for all teams (of which some are already unlocked). More importantly, the update also brings many long-awaited and much-needed fixes, balancing and features.

The most prominent and shiny content would be the Neptune environment. It's a little misleading as the tracks are actually in space (with the planet in the background), which opens up the possibility of some very amazing skips and track design, featuring some of the lowest track-to-empty-space ratios yet. It also means that ships no longer crash into a killplane immediately when they veer off a jump, allowing pilots to sightsee at their leisure or unlock a new game mode . The orchestral music is also a welcome change from the intense beats of the previous tracks, and gives the feeling that an epic space battle is happening somewhere off-camera. However, two of the tracks (Escape Velocity and Red Giant) feature rotating objects that intersect the track at regular intervals, which means you are very likely to crash into them if they happen to be blocking your racing line. This introduces an element of chance that I personally dislike, as a lap can be very easily ruined if you don't manoeuvre around them in time.

The second shiny piece of content would be the Russian-Chinese team, Buran. It boasts a high top speed, decent boost and actual durability, but sacrifices some acceleration and recharge speed. In practice, this means that going Faster Than Ever is more difficult as the ships cannot maintain as much speed through corners. While the team is not top-tier competitive-wise, it has found limited success on a handful of tracks.

What isn't as shiny, but is arguably the most important part of the update, are the bug fixes and optimisations. The most well-known example is the timer, which is absolutely a critical part of any racing game. It ran slower as framerates got higher, which resulted in some impossibly low lap times (either by throwing all the eye-candy away for maximum FPS, or having a high-end machine). Now the timer is accurate and with the leaderboard wipe, lap records are legitimate again. The code has also been optimised (startup is near-instant, performance has increased) and the AI has two additional difficulty levels, Rookie and Veteran. The visual overhaul is a net positive as well, although it may take some getting used to. The long-promised two-player local splitscreen is also finally supported. Note that bug fixes and optimisations are NOT part of the DLC, everyone who has the base game will get these.

This update has been a long time coming, but it shows that the developers are still committed to the game (and the upcoming DLC further illustrates the point). They are also very receptive to user feedback, especially on the Discord channel. The additional content is well worth the price, and improves on an already amazing and well-made AG racing game.

The third instalment of the Zup! franchise takes what is loved about the previous two games, and turns it up to 11, or 1708 in the case of the number of achievements. Nothing noteworthy has been added; the overall difficulty is slightly increased, and in a few of the later levels there are two blue blocks instead of one, but the gameplay is essentially unchanged.

The main attraction is once again the achievements, with over seven times the amount found in Zup! 2. Each level gives at least 14 (seven from opening, and another seven for beating it), and there are a few hidden ones along the way. Some levels require somewhat precise timing to clear, but the game can still be completed in under an hour. There is also no reason to replay a level unless you want to figure out an alternative way of clearing.

The game can probably stand on its own merits, but is clearly targeted at achievement hunters. Concerns about devaluing achievements aside, this has started a trend of cheap games with a massive number of achievements to make a sale. I'm unsure what kind of problems this will lead to in the near future.

Ultimately, Zup! 3 is at least still a game, and should still be worth a look if you know what the game is about.

I admit to initially getting Slash It for its achievements, and it was super cheap (either alone or part of the Just1337 Christmas Purchase Together bundle) so I figured why not. However, it quickly proved to be a fun little game that is more than just another count in the game collector badge.

There are six modes in the game, which are gradually unlocked with level progression. Classic makes use of the sense of rhythm and reaction time, while the other five will test your touch typing proficiency. As the score increases, the game raises the difficulty to match, forcing the player to react faster.

The game is effectively a typing simulator since the player is trained to memorise key locations in order to type faster. It also trains hand-eye coordination because only one key is correct at any time (shown in white; the rest are in black).

The soundtrack is also a pleasant surprise (not that I had any expectations in the first place). It may not be to everyone's taste, and I feel it's slightly out of place in a game like this, but I found it to be pretty good. Each mode has its own track, and my games are short enough that looping has not been a problem.

The interface is rather basic and the relevant information is presented clearly on the screen. However, the background can be blinding at times which can be annoying in Classic, and may be a concern for some people.

Ultimately, most people will get this for the same reasons they got Zup! (and its sequel, Zup! 2): it's cheap, and there are a lot of achievements that are easy to get. If you happen to like the soundtrack, that is just the cherry on top.

The developers of Zup! are back with another installment of their physics puzzler (appropriately titled Zup! 2), with pretty much everything cranked up another notch: the levels are more elaborate and there are even more achievements. The objective is the same as before: get the blue block to the green zone, except now the blue block is round, which opens up more level designs thanks to the extra movement made possible by the new shape.

The amount of achievements (229) is even more absurd, nearly doubling the number in Zup!. As before, this is geared towards achievement hunters and profile decorators as there is a wider variety of symbols, with some Mandarin possible as well if so inclined.

Besides the fundamental change in the shape of the blue block, gameplay is essentially unchanged. Some levels are slightly more challenging, but the game is on par with its predecessor in terms of difficulty, and should take the same amount of time to complete. There is also no replayability as there is little reason to revisit a level after clearing it.

Overall Zup! 2 feels like an extension (or DLC) of Zup!, and like before, a big part of the game is getting the achievements to decorate profiles with. If that is worth something to you, then this game is worth considering. Zup! 3 is also in the works, and I hope something unique will be introduced this time because the novelty is wearing off.

Zup! is a physics-based puzzle where the objective in each level is to get the blue block on to the green zone. The only points of interaction are clicking on the red explosive blocks (and grey squares in the DLC) so not much time is needed to figure out the solution.

The game is amusing for its large number of achievements (118) that are unlocked for trivial actions; for example, starting a level grants an achievement, while clearing it gives another. This can be an incentive for achievement hunters looking to boost their achievement count and game completion rate, and the designs (letters, numbers and basic punctuation) are useful for decorating profiles while keeping a homogenoeus theme.

Gameplay, however, is minimal; some coloured blocks are introduced in the later levels with new mechanics, but they do not affect the level much, and the objective remains the same. The game can also be completed in under 30 minutes which may be a deterrent for those looking to maximise their gaming dollars, but at least the low price means it is accessible to almost anyone.

Ultimately, (a big) part of the value lies in the achievements, so if that is what you are looking for, pick this game up, set aside a few minutes and enjoy some demolitions along the way.

Redout is an anti-gravity racing game that claims to be a tribute to F-Zero and WipeOut, and it has largely delivered.

The game communicates the thrill of racing very well; you don't really need big numbers on the HUD to know you are going fast when you can feel the speed by the vibrations of the ship and the scenery blurring into the background. Controls are tight but can be a challenge to handle on more complex corners (pitching and strafing). Soundtrack adds to the atmosphere and apparently adapts to the speed (haven't noticed this yet).

The AI in Career Mode is challenging to say the least. They are very aggresive and rarely commit mistakes. They also think every race is a demolition derby as they crash into each other and me frequently. This often causes me to suffer a speed penalty and drop to last. I'm not sure if this is the intended behaviour but I believe it could be toned down a bit.

The control scheme supports both keyboard and gamepad, but none of them are rebindable which is unfortunate. I use the keyboard and the WASD keys are used for accelerating and turning while the arrow keys are used for pitching and strafing. The boost button is bound to Left Shift which can get quite painful if using the pinky. I am also used to steering with the arrow keys so getting used to the Redout controls was a challenge in itself as well.

Overall Redout is a great game that deserves more attention, even disregarding its niche. The mechanics are well designed and the gameplay really conveys the sense of speed, which is important in a racing game. I am hopeful the developers will address the issues in a timely manner (especially the rebinding) as they do appear in the forums fairly often.

Mandagon is a platformer where a face totem needs to collect 6 tablets to open a gate to achieve enlightenment (or something).

The aesthetics and background music give the game a calm and meditative atmosphere, and the level design is reminiscent of a mountainous range. Exploration and storytelling are the focus, not speedrunning.

The keyboard controls are not the best (WASD + space) but the platforms are forgiving enough that pixel precision is not needed to land a jump. There are also no "deaths" by falling or traps so the face totem can freely explore the map without penalty. However, if the totem falls from a high platform, getting back up can be slightly tedious (depending on the mechanics available).

Littered around the world are wisdom totems that display a poetic quote when the face totem visits them. They appear disconnected to me but may have a deeper story behind them. Collect them all anyway to get the associated achievement.

Overall it was a short but relaxing experience (even though I do not understand the story) and the price should make the game accessible to a wider audience. The production value and quality makes Mandagon rather impressive.

Lamia's Game Room is a card game with a somewhat dark atmosphere. Technically it runs fine (no crashes), but the misspellings and grammatical errors can become annoying.

The player attempts to escape the eponymous creature by battling two opponents in each chapter to progress to the next. The game is basically Old Maid with a modified card design: the paired cards are the seven deadly sins with the "Old Maid" being the Lamia. When a card is selected but not yet taken, the holder may have certain expressions that can clue the player in to whether the card is the Lamia or otherwise. In practice I found this system to be unreliable; the bluffs are often inaccurate and only get worse with each subsequent chapter. This can make the end games tedious as the player's low win rate will require more than a few retries to progress.

However the game is still worth a recommend as the ending shows some potential story expansions. There is also the possibility that more game types could be added in a sequel. Overall the game is worth its price and the achievements are easy to get (one for completing each chapter) as long as the substandard writing is overlooked.

One Thousand Lies is a free kinetic novel, so I thought I would pick it up for the (easy-to-get) achievement. However that eventually became secondary, as the story gave a very lasting impression on its own merits.

It starts off slow, and sometimes launches into large amounts of exposition when the characters were discussing their perspectives. The extensive vocabulary used was sometimes difficult to follow, and I was tempted to skip them and advance the plot, but fortunately did not as they provide insight into each characters' personalities and allow the reader to be emotionally invested in them, setting the context for the later parts of the story. Puns, hidden meanings and references also kept the dialogue entertaining and helped offset the pace somewhat. The music helped to set the tone for the scenes in the prologue but I turned them off afterwards and therefore cannot comment any further.

Actually reading the text will clue the reader in to hints throughout the novel that there is something else behind the narrated events. The overarching story is an adaptation of Greek mythology (Pygmalion), and the protagonist also did a bit of "foreshadowing" (quotes needed), which was explored towards the end.

The conclusion was not satisfying as it still left several loose ends unresolved and raised a few questions, so be sure to read the extra chapter that is unlocked afterwards (which is required for the achievement anyway). However, I had to head to the discussions for the final "truth" behind the story and to fill in certain gaps I had while reading (I did not complete the novel in one sitting).

One Thousand Lies is a well-written story that is almost certain to give some "feels" upon completion. Not requiring any monetary sacrifice makes the novel much more accessible, so you should read it if you like plot twists, humour and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, and have a few hours to properly give the attention it deserves.