Reviews

Reviews of the games I play, aiming to quickly encapsulate the game’s essence and quirks. Most games have an audience; my goal is for the review to make it clear to you whether you are part of a game’s audience (whether or not I am).

Capsule Review: Galactic Arms Race

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A 2D space sim featuring procedurally generated weapons. It’s a neat idea, but it doesn’t really deliver - most guns have very pretty effects but are not actually useful in combat. Dodging enemy fire and leading targets in frenetic space battles is always fun, but here it’s wrapped in a generic quest system of the “Kill ten space pirates” variety and an overly complicated yet still shallow upgrade system. I’d rather play either a pure spacefighting game or a space sim where the rest of the experience has more depth and polish.

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Capsule Review: 10,000,000

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A match-3 game with endless runner and RPG elements - obstacles and enemies must be overcome by matching the right kinds of tiles, and other tiles grant resources that can be used to purchase upgrades between runs. The game’s best moments are when everything flows smoothly - you’re chaining tile matches, blasting through obstacles, and racking up huge point bonuses. But even when things stop flowing, it’s not frustrating - that’s your chance to spend those resources and make the next run that much better. Notably, 10,000,000 has an actual ending - rather than trying to hook the player for as long as possible until the gameplay becomes dull and the player drifts off, as other games of this sort often do, 10,000,000 lasts just the right length of time to be satisfying throughout.

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