Underrated soundtrack.
Robert Kreese manages to do wonders with chiptune limitations, making the game way more fun than it deserves.
This OST is even better than the bland one Alwa's Legacy got, which is crazy.
Stone Cellar and The Beholder are the best tracks, so good...

Can't say I really played this one. I spent more time modding it than actually playing it.

I prefer the greenish Fallout 3, but this one is a must play for the freedom of choice alone. You know, that thing no modern game is able to offer nowadays ?

Get it on sale on in one of the numerous bundles it's been in, for the hilarious voice acting alone (especially in French !) .
Genuine open world fun with the junkiest janky combat ever made. Loads of quests, exploration and combat to drive you through the game's completion. I wish they could remaster it to solve the most outrageous bugs and add achievements.

It's been a while since I played this, and I just noticed that I never wrote a review for it. I had a lot of fun and spent many hours enjoying it.
I know that mods can help make things easier, but the grind and randomness of the game made me hesitant to finish it. Plus, the DLC prices are a bit questionable...so no 100% on this one before long I guess.

Still. Darkest Dungeon is of the greatest turn-based games ever created. The artistic style, the characters along with their abilities, the town and its upgrades, the enemies... each aspect is incredibly unique and impressive. Furthermore, the standout feature of this game is undoubtedly the narrator. Among all the voice acting I have encountered, his voice is simply unparalleled.

Get the game on sale and invest some time understanding its mechanics, you won't regret it.

In my view, the most enjoyable aspect of the game is enhancing your party's efficiency to advance through the maximum number of floors to collect gold, mythics, and essence. I also found the challenge of optimizing boss rushes to be engaging.
The option to customize specific actions for each party member offers a level of personalization that is seldom found in idle games.

All in all a good sequel with notable improvements, but still grindy and repetitive. It's an idle game so you know it's part of the package. Many paid ones pale in comparison to Soda Dungeon however.

An excellent illustration of how a straightforward gameplay loop can turn out to be unexpectedly captivating.
The nice pixel art and simple design provide the game with a lot of character. Also, it is entirely free!

Overall, I found the game decent. Although it can be somewhat clunky at times, it is significantly better than what some negative reviews suggest. I am eager to explore more of Spiders' other titles.

Note that it is not good enough for me to put other playthrough efforts into 100%'ing the game. Music and characters/story are not memorable unfortunately.

So yeah, game is not without its flaws, but possesses a certain charm (which is uncommon in today's market). I would recommend giving it a chance; it is certainly worth the price.

Rarely do I resort to leaving a negative review considering the obvious efforts and care put into the game. But man, this one hurts.

Metroidvania is plentiful on Steam, especially if you’re into purple hair female girlboss nowadays. Purple mania is not outrageous in this case with Zoe (our protagonist in Alwa’s franchise) as she’s mute + the 8bit aesthetic makes everything work fine when it comes to immersion and lore.

There’s a lot to like in Alwa’s Awakening: the music is fantastic, the controls are responsive, the story progression makes sense (you’re never confused as to where you’re supposed to go next), locations each have a distinct feeling despite the 8bit limitation, and there’s a simplicity charm overall.

I have about 7 hours of slowly exploring on the GoG version of the game (Steam hours count is cards farming). I had a blast until I reached the Stone Passage milestone. What should have been a secret passage (falling into spikes) turns into expected progression, same for fake walls/ceiling. You find yourself jumping towards everything like an idiot to locate a missed route, and over analyze your poor man’s Castlevania map, which ends up useless given that drawn walls are no longer “walls”.

Again, that’s lovely when you get a few for rewarding secrets/loot, not when it is the expected progression route. That’s frustratingly dumb. Especially when you got respawning or unkillable (in-wall spammy statues) enemies to hinder the thorough exploration.
The game also commits a Metroidvania sin: there’s no incentive for killing enemies. No currency, no loot, VERY rare heart drops at best. They’re there to extend game time, like in any annoying Metroid game. Not a Metroivania where character progression is expected.

If you’re a Metroid fan then this game is for you. But if you complete the Void Tower and come back to me saying you had a blast backtracking to the next location cause the devs forgot to put a warp there (for some reason), then you’re lying to yourself. Also, keep in mind this came out the same year as Shovel Knight....

I will not complete the game. Fcku the Stone Passage (despite that location having the best music I swear) and onto Alwa’s Legacy we jump. I hope it improves on this first iteration.

Love at first sight !
Easy to get into, simple and straightforward goodness. Fast and exhilarating gameplay, you're in the casino of grim with a dash of saloon ambiance. Beautiful design overall: the sound effects are crisp and boost the gameplay loop dynamic, and you control everything via the mouse smoothly. Love the demo including French.....fantastic.
Minor annoyance is the font readability and some weird icon choices (the magic attack symbol is not intuitive in my opinion). The overall art style would benefit from a basic graphic filter palette customization we could pick and choose from, and the menus could be a bit more detailed. One can expect that kind of polish in the full game.

I am eager to play the full game, this is a promising gem.

Un excellent TPS tactique que je regrette de ne pas avoir évalué plus tôt.
Il fait partie de ces pépites de mon époque Xbox360, que je peine à retrouver dans les jeux actuels. Une ambiance sixties brillamment reproduite, un jeu d'acteur excellent qui ajoute à l'immersion et à l'attachement aux personnages, ainsi qu'une trame historique cohérente qui nous aspire à mesure que l'on progresse dans l'acquisition des nouvelles capacités en jeu.

Pour ce petit prix n'hésitez pas. Comptez environ 30 heures pour le 100%, qui se fera sans trop transpirer si vous êtes un habitué des jeux tactiques à la manette.

N'écoutez pas les abrutis fanatiques de la franchis Xcom, ils ressemblent (sans s'en rendre compte) à ces fandoms débiles qui pensent connaître les jeux mieux que leurs créateurs.

The Bureau est un très bon standalone qui vous surprendra par son sound design minutieux, ses musiques immersives et sa galerie de personnages d'époque unique.