Recent reviews by Angry Owl

More of the Necrodancer!
Same deal as always: if you enjoyed the base game, get this one.
The price feels right considering you get more of everything (campaign, chars, items and an OC remixes OST).

However this DLC is by no means an expansion sized thing, it does enhance the experience but is not a 100% must own (e.g. XCOM or Civ5 expansions).

There is something highly addictive to this game, I can't put my finger on it.
At first I really struggled with the controls and tempo requirement to the point where I thought this is not my cup of tea.
But I kept getting back to it again and again. Maybe it's the simple mechanics, random rogue-like elements or explosive soundtrack (or maybe all at once).

So yeah, this game is super fun once you get used to it.

Note: oh the DLC is also great

I used to play a 'less-licensed' version of this game long time ago (did not finish it) and enjoyed it immensely! So I almost felt obliged to buy this one at least on sale.
In short: recommended to all match-3 players BUT you have to have extra patience (read below)

.. few things to note:

• this game is even more random-luck based than XCOM. Rage quitting is totally ok ;)
  
• some game mechanics are rather questionable: I can live with '4/5-match - free turn' rule, but random '3-match - free turn' thing is simply annoying; another example is no-cooldown spam spells
  
• AI feels sketchy and often gets super crazy chains unlike the player

.. and few hints to share:

• Don't be afraid to make the wrong turn! If your only valid move grants enemy a skull match, pass this turn to an AI by doing invalid move: -5HP is usually better than to take skull damage (and effects from enemy weapon) with potential chain follow ups
  
• Train your mount! If your mount's level is higher than enemy's, you can skip the fight (I stopped at Griffon's Lv20)
  
• Cheese! At some point enemies would start getting super cheap and cheesy spell loudouts. So should you! Plan your build by picking and learning spell chains, auto-healing items or simply grind and buy stats

On my run:

PS: also sequel is actually worse

*Why Steam does not have Average rating..*
Because this game is just that - average as far as fun video games go; around 6.5/10

What FC2 game does well is showing the life of a mercenary in war thorn country: it's not fun, it's dull and repetitive, it hardly ever ends well for anyone. So if you manage to get into this vibe you might enjoy the game, otherwise you're probably end up abandoning it on 15%.

Pros:
- atmosphere: African country egnulfed in civil war feels unique and map is quite diverse
- graphics: OK especially for a 9 year old game
- game mechanics: fire spreading, gun jamming and exploding, malaria, manual map (no Esc menu map). Gunplay is fine OK

Cons:
- you're doomed to spend long times getting anywhere. Game loves to send you to opposite side of map (barely any fast travel options)
- mission design: no diversity here, get to the blue marker - kill everyone, get to the red marker - kill everyone
- characters: are plain and lack any development(including protagonist). Main villain at least is somewhat better
- voices and music (sounds are OK): everyone mumbles; few music tracks get repetitive fast (not helps considering long travels)
- AI: dudes respawn often swarming you

Have few tips too:
- picked it up on sale for ~3$; would not recommend buying it at full price (8$)
- play this in short sessions (1-1.5h)
- if you're hesitant on this one, consider getting Far Cry 3 instead - it certainly is better

Totally agree with the 90%+ rating of this game.
Fun and engaging platformer!

I've just completed main story (no 100% or anything) and had\having a blast.
Few things to note:
+ vibrant and colorful game world (really loving the character art and sprites)
+ simple yet engaging story backed by quirky characters and funny dialogs
+ solid game mechanics and pacing
+ awesome music\sound (in fact I bought this after Shovel Knight which also has an amazing score written by the same guy - Jake Kaufman)
+ challenging! [Though sometimes it's too forgiving: pitfalls\spikes - IMO most frequent death-dealers - only cost you quarter of heart; it felt they should take more, like a whole heart. I ended up with ton of healing items unused]
+ bug-free


My only issues are quite miniscule:
- controls mapping. Because this is a port, it has some awkward control gimmicks: separate inventory pages buttons, shoot\talk single button, Hat button instead of 'hold jump', scimitar instead of 'down while in air'. In case you own a controller just use that!
- level collectibles are only listed on stage select scene and not while playing the stage itself. Annoying in case you're a completionist


Overall, great game for 2D-platformer folks

Just a short little game about life of bugs. Has some lovely art, animation though is lackluster.
Basically you get regular hidden object gameplay and few puzzles for 2 bucks.
Kinda average, but potenital is there.

I got XCOM EU for free from some random site promotion and was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.
That's why I pre-paid this one.

XCOM 2 is a great game, it's not that mind blowing as EU+EW combo (partially because it's a sequel and we haven't had an expansion for this one). It still is a very solid game, fun and challenging with better graphics, more difficulty and procedural maps.
I'm also OK with timers (at least on non-Legendary) and was lucky enough not to encounter any game breaking bugs. Have to mention huge highlights of this game - modding avaliability, thanks Firaxis and HUGE thanks to all the people who spend their time and energy designing mods and sharing them with other - you guys are awesome!

All in all this game scores around 85 out of 100 for me. You should definitely consider getting this (especially on sales).

This game is a unique experience! I do not regret buying it.
Its story, writing and music outweigh simple, 8-bit like graphics and short game length*

!!! try avoiding any sorts of information regarding this game, just try it !!!

I did not expect this.
This game is incredibly good: gameplay is stellar, soundtrack is awesome, characters are funny and memorable AND devs are so awesome they're actually adding new campaigns for free! Yup these guys add entire DLCs without charging a dollar!
A 100% buy, definitely worth it's price.
Oh, have you spent your childhood playing 8-bit, 16-bit platformers? Then it's 200% buy for you!

[EDIT1: To address "game is too hard" reviews]
Come on guys, game gives you infinite lives, most stages have 4+ checkpoints, you have quite a few tools which help you tackle any situation (even invincibility-on-demand item). Old 8-bit games were way less forgiving than that and we still managed to beat and enjoy them.

[EDIT2: Friendly advice on Plague of Shadows]
To my brethren alchemists: a good chemists takes his time to brew a perfect potion! Tweak your bombs and choose your skills in accordance to the situation at hand! And don't rush in like some blue headed fool with a garden tool!

[EDIT3: On Specter of Torment]
YCG once again outdid themselves!
The DLC is on par with original. The story, gameplay mechanics and music are all stellar. I also found it more difficult (especially the NG+) which is a plus in my book.

[EDIT4: King of Cards]
King Knight is a jerk.. goofy, with fun move set, but jerk nonetheless..
I really like the decisions devs made with this campaign:
- shorter levels with focus on a single mechanic
- less hit points (challenge!), but compensated by enemies dropping hearts on 3rd hit
- bosses getting extra phases once reaching certain health thresholds
- more great music from virt
- the card game feels like a nice distraction (also totally optional if not your thing)
.. and a great story\char cast is still here

On Showdown:
Probably a single thing I'm not a fan of.. I do like the moves and animations of the characters, yet this mode feels designed exlusively for coop, playing single on hard is a misery.

Quality puzzler, short, challenging and fair, but the atmosphere... let's just say this game is not going to cheer you up (not by a long shot).