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niet3sche77
Head Cat Cats Playing Games
I’m rad.

Summary

I’m a software engineer and avid game-player (for decades).

I have a cat; she’s pictured here and is quite elderly (but spry).

We’ve played games together for all of her life, typically she’ll sit on my knee if I’m at the computer.

Qualifications

If there are such involved here, the short version is that I have an academic, personal, and professional interest in humans interacting with technology, and I find gaming a curious subset. I have been playing video games for an awful long time–from before we knew how to best-present interactions, even!

I’m intrigued by the why of things, and seek to answer that piece of the [dis]satisfaction that goes into each game I play, then review.

See my posts and game reviews below!

Skautfold: Moonless Knight 👎🏻
Original Steam Review Text Given the experience with this whole franchise, it appears this dev has bought a game engine when it dropped down to the $12-$20 mark, and just rolled with it. Like Usurper, this game features: Poor control layout Sluggish game-loop In addition, you get the following bonus content: No fun-factor in killing enemies In short, this is a game that is tedious and just not a fun thing to play.
Sunday, February 21, 2021
3 min read
Reviews , Skautfold Series , Skautfold: Moonless Knight , Pugware , Games from 2020
Skautfold: Usurper 👎🏻
Summary Writeup This is a Metroidvania with a hub-and-spoke map layout that incorporates Lovecraftian imagery. You play as a knight possessed by a creature, and gain typical Metroidvania power-ups along the way. There is a sort of very limited and clumsy skill-system, which boils down to, how large do I want my guard pool, and what sort of weapon would I like to use? You progress through the game, collecting Yth stones to enable skill-wheel upgrades, and vitae, which stands in as currency after the fashion of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
Sunday, February 21, 2021
5 min read
Reviews , Skautfold Series , Skautfold: Usurper , Pugware , Games from 2018
Why Bother?
There are hundreds of game-review sites out there on the Internet; why yet another one? The reasons are quite straight-forward: I’m not sponsored nor do I conduct pay-for-play reviews. I buy all games with my own money and review them critically as a seasoned video game player. I view games through a lens possibly different than is commonplace. I am an advocate for players as well as understanding of the development effort it takes to build successful and reliable software.
Monday, February 15, 2021
1 min read
Philosophy
Spelunky (HD) 👍🏻
Original Steam Review Text Spelunky is the 2D platformer against which I measure all others. The game engine, controls, and physics are simply that good. It works as a 2D platformer and does all the things you would expect and rewards habits built up over thirty years of gaming (well, at least since, say, Super Mario Brothers 3). Wherever Mossmouth could have chosen between physics/gameplay that works, and physics/gameplay that works well, they have chosen the latter.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
1 min read
Reviews , Spelunky Series , Spelunky , Mossmouth , Games from 2013