VIDEO GAME: Vampire Survivors (2022)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Vampire Survivors Year: 2022 Rating: T Time Played: 30+ hours For the few months I had Apple Arcade on my phone, I got to try out some games that I had occasionally heard about but never had the time to sit down and play. Vampire Survivors felt like a game inspired by the Castlevania aesthetic but with roguelike and shoot-em-up (or shmup) elements that had me regularly coming back to play it. And since it was on my phone, I could easily get a round of Vampire Survivors in when just waiting around for something. Be careful: this is addictive. As with most roguelikes, Vampire Survivors progression depends on gathering a specific currency that is used to upgrade various stats. From health and armor to speed and attack, slowly unlocking the full potential of these characters helped to give me the edge to progress to each successive stage. Then I unlocked the "garlic" weapon. Having found the best weapon for my play style (i.e., where...
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VIDEO GAME: Loop Hero (2021)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Loop HeroYear: 2021Rating: TTime Played: 2,842 minutes / 47.37 hours While it seems like every third game these days is a Roguelike, I have occasionally come across a few like Loop Hero, which successfully makes the iterative gameplay loop fun. As a metanarrative on the larger Role Playing Game structure, Loop Hero is strangely fun for a game that automatically fights every battle for you. After all, everyone knows the best part of an RPG is finding better gear and trying to determine which one provides better stats for their character. This is Loop Hero in a nutshell. Perhaps it's the combination of Roguelike, Deck Builder, and RPG genres that makes this game stand out. With each round, the player character walks around a randomly generated path. By playing cards obtained through battle, the landscape can change to help (or hinder) the hero. If the hero can survive long enough, a challenging boss appears. It's sometimes a gamble to obtain more materials...
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