Reviews - MrMakeveli

Cardinal Quest is the perfect, simplified roguelike. If you enjoy roguelikes but don't necessarily want to deal with all the details of item management this game will send you to heaven. For its simplicity, it is surprisingly fun and addictive. I loved it so much I bought it on my android device and now its my go-to time killer game when I'm out and about because of its simple and easy controls yet fun gameplay. Don't let it fool you though, there is still strategy involved. What a wonderful little game.

Running with Rifles is a fun, quick shooter. As enjoyable as it is, it loses steam fairly quickly because of the simple, repeatitive nature of the game. There isn't quite enough depth to keep me wanting to come back often. I find myself enjoying this game while I play but regularly need time away to hop back on. It's also a great quick time-killer if you only need to kill 10 or 15 minutes and need some fast commitment-free entertainment.

Gnomoria has to be one of the most pleasing item/player/resource management type games. I'm sure everyone is tired of the Dwarf Fortress comparisons so I'll try to leave those out. However, I've been a DF fan and player for years and enjoy these games in an obviously similar way.

Gnomoria has surprising depth in a tight, refined little package. It makes it easy to get started and get addicted quicker. The UI is mostly a pleasure to use. I'd love some hotkeys right out the gate, but that's not a huge deal and is accessible via the options. Click-selecting is extremely useful for some things, but I find it easiest to use a few keypresses once you are familiar with the game. Apart from that, there are some inherent difficulties in selecting because of the isometric view. This isn't a fault of Gnomoria, it is just something that has to be dealt with in all games that use it. Fortunately, we can rotate our view which often helps.

The textures and music are all well-done and have a nice charming quality to them. There is a lot of variety already in the visual distinctions between using different wood and stone, etc. The subtle changes are a welcome addition.

As an alpha game I am looking forward to some new mechanics to be added. I'm sure the content will be expanded on later. As it stands, it already has a good amount. In a perfect world I'd love to see Gnomoria get really into the details of the items in its world so that everything has multiple uses and players are constantly surprised with what they are able to do. It helps break down some of those game barriers that try to impose a one item, one use mentality that is all too prevalent. If I have a yak, I want to have the option to use its meat, organs, or bones for food, I want the hide for clothes or crafts, I want its milk, I want to train it or breed it, I want to be able to attempt to ride it, etc. Laying a framework for such things would make future additions a breeze. Well, maybe just considerably easier