I’ve made a few posts diving into my experiences with Valheim and Final Fantasy XIV, so I thought I would round up a few games I’ve played recently.
Nioh: Complete Edition
I was surprised this one ran as well as it did on my toaster of a PC. Nioh is an action RPG with similar systems to the Dark Souls series but with a lot of its own ideas thrown in. For one, it has a more focused story with characters and cutscenes. Though it’s still very much focused on the gameplay—it’s a loosely-told story. The combat is also faster-paced, much closer to Bloodborne than the other Souls games.
You play as William, a pre-determined character based on a historical figure, an Englishman who found himself in Japan during the age of the samurai. The game’s main story follows the warring clans and Tokugawa Ieyasu’s push to win the war. The historical flavor and real-world-inspired characters gave Nioh a really unique feel, though I normally prefer some level of character customization or at least character selection. You can at least buy character disguises later on that make William look like NPCs.
Nioh also introduces a randomized and tiered loot system seen in hack-n-slash games and MMOs. So as you level, you’re replacing gear or leveling up the gear you have. And there are several weapon types to try out, each with different move sets. In addition to your weapons, there are ninjutsu abilities and onmyo magic you can learn that introduce all sorts of nuances to combat.
Thoughts
I absolutely loved Nioh and will definitely check out the sequel (which has character creation). The setting was great, the combat was great, and it definitely did enough of its own thing to make it stand out from the many Souls-like games out there. For me, Nioh stands toe-to-toe with the Souls series.
Ark: Survival Evolved
I enjoy survival crafting games, but I don’t actually own many. This is one I’ve had on Epic Game’s Store for a while after getting it for free, so I thought I’d try it out.
It barely runs on my computer, even with the graphics cranked way down. But it works. There’s nothing too special about most of its systems, though I did like that which tool you use on a gathering node affected what items you got from it (you might get extra thatch from a tree instead of wood when using the right tool, for example). The building system was kind of… bad, however. Very limited, a bit ugly, and basic. Maybe it gets better later on, but I was kind of surprised by the state of it for a “finished” game. And that goes doubly for the UI and lack of tutorials. Some of the systems in Ark are very obtuse with no explanation in how they work. And the UI is just bad.
Thoughts
Even after watching some video guides on Ark, it seemed like there wasn’t much to do if I wasn’t playing online with friends. Go tame dinosaurs and grind away at the progression system (and it’s very grindy). But the overall clunkiness of the game and the unavoidable feeling like it was still in early access killed it for me. Adding dinosaurs to a survival/crafting game is neat, but this one is all rough edges and no polish.
Frostpunk
A different sort of survival game. Frostpunk is a survival settlement-builder with a strong emphasis on story. Some of that story is scripted into the scenario you play, while some of it happens more organically based on laws you’ve passed, places you’ve sent your scouts to explore, and decisions you’ve made.
And it’s quite the challenging survival game, too. You can adjust various elements to make it easier or harder, but there’s a big focus on keeping necessary resources flowing and keeping people safe. Namely from the cold. As the name suggests, the cold weather plays a huge role in the game and is something you’re constantly fighting against. But you also get multiple ways to fight against it. That said, you can expect to lose your first game while learning the system, and you might lose your first game on future scenarios since each one changes up what challenges you’ll be facing.
Thoughts
I really enjoyed my time with the game, as it gives you a pretty unique experience. However, while there are decisions to make and a couple of different trees of laws to explore, the scenarios are the primary replayability. This isn’t quite the type of game that feels infinitely replayable (even considering the endless mode). It’s a bit narrow in scope with limited story. A few times through and you’ll be done exploring the system; you’re just left knocking out the different scenarios (which aren’t too numerous). I hope the coming sequel offers a bit more variety for more plays.
My Time at Portia
After tearing my hair out on the difficulty of Nioh, I guess I’ve been on a kick of more easy-going games. Though Frostpunk is probably more challenging and stressful than most settlement-builders, it was pretty relaxing compared to Nioh. Portia is definitely on the relaxing side. It’s a mix of Harvest Moon farming/life-sim and modern crafting games.
The art style in Portia is definitely not my thing, but I normally enjoy these types of games. That said, while nothing has struck me as being particularly bad, like Ark, MTaP is lacking a lot of polish. There are a lot of rough edges here from the uneven voicework, strange crafting recipes (such as items clearly made of wood that require no wood???), some wonky animations/controls, clunky systems, lengthy timers at many of the crafting stations, rather barren environments, and odd writing.
In regards to the writing, it’s like Portia is meant to be a wholesome post-apocalyptic setting where society has learned to do better and everyone is nice… except characters talk about getting bullied by the town on multiple occasions, some of the characters are oddly snappy or cartoonishly mean-spirited, and the town just feels… off. For example, one of the in-game holidays is like a Black Friday sale free-for-all with the townsfolk shoving each other to get at random presents dropped from the sky by airship. You, the player, also participate, and the best way to collect presents is to rush, shoving NPCs out of your way, and grabbing up random packages as quickly as possible. It’s surprisingly cynical and a rather bleak idea of a “holiday celebration.”
Thoughts
I’m continuing for now. There are a lot of little things to get distracted with in Portia. It just takes some getting used to the strange-looking characters and the off-putting writing and world-building. It’s not a bad game, it just hasn’t really done anything (so far) particularly good either. Stardew Valley, it isn’t.
Thomas P. King, author and game designer 