Recent reviews by baldurk

I've been a fan of previous 8BitSkull games, and Bore Blasters doesn't disappoint. It has everything I expect - an engaging core gameplay loop, upgrades and powerups, twitchy gameplay without feeling too punishing, and a pick-up and put-down type bite sized pacing that means I can play a little bit here and there when I need to kill a bit of time on my steamdeck or just feel eager to grab some more gemstones. You can forge your way ahead into the more treacherous levels if you want a more challenging time, or you can take your time upgrading to have a more sedate difficulty curve.

So far I've unlocked the second character which has been a lot of fun and gotten partway through the story. It's been a blast (ha ha!) seeing my ship get more powerful and feeling that satisfying curve of getting into ever more crazy situations. I'm probably going to pace myself as it's not the kind of game you'd spend 12 hours in a row devouring - it's the kind of game you look back a year later and realise you have 50 hours in it somehow :).

I spent a fair bit of time with the demo of this game, so this review is informed by that as well as having tried out the new features available in the full version for a couple of hours.

I've not played many others in this (sub)genre - vampire survivors being the most notable I imagine - but I definitely enjoy the core loop of upgrading my ship and experimenting with different builds. The demo was already pretty fun to replay and e.g. get different ultimate weapons or use some strategies, and the full game expands on that. The way you unlock upgrades, weapons and characters pretty much guarantees you'll be getting new options every time you play that encourage you to play again. On top of that being able to buy permanent upgrades let you tweak the gameplay to your style.

The second to second gameplay itself might seem quite twitchy at first, but I found once I got the hang of it then I'd have an easier time once I was planning for how I wanted to shepherd the enemies rather than reacting in panic.

FWIW I played this on my steamdeck and the experience was flawless, so if you're wanting a game that you can quickly drop in and out of on the go this is a great choice. A run only takes 20 minutes or so if you go all the way, so it's low commitment, and there are plenty of easy points to pause and resume as needed.

I think Fates of Ort appeals in different ways to different people. I don't have any nostalgia for SNES era RPGs, so the retro nature didn't draw me in. I was really more interested in the unique action mechanics, and those mechanics are more than enough for me to get hooked.

Allowing the player to always be in control by time only passing when you are moving means that you can freely control the pace of the game. If you want a more frenetic style, you can run-and-gun in an almost bullet hell type experience. If you want to plan out your moves and take out an army in one brilliant burst you can do that.

The game can be a bit challenging especially at first, but it doesn't really punish you for experimenting and learning. Upon death you're sent back to the last checkpoint without losing any experience or item progression you might have made, so even though you still want to avoid dying you're rarely cursing the loss.

It took me a while to really get into the mindset of how best to play the game. When you first start out you have very limited abilities in combat and losing health to cast spells feels strange. You realise that it's worth spending 5 HP to kill an enemy before they have a chance to hit you for 100 HP, but it still requires a shift in approaches. However once you unlock 4-5 different spells then the mechanics all really click together and you're in for a fun ride playing with the combinations presented.

While the story can be a bit corny, it's all in good fun and it strikes a good balance of not being too lacklustre while also never getting in the way. The visuals, writing and music all blend together to form exactly the kind of believable world that perfectly suits the style of open-ended RPG questing exploration that Fates of Ort does well, without overshadowing it.

The world is so large and open that it can be daunting when you're first thrown out into it. This quickly turns to wonder though as you find your feet and realise that there's so much out there for you to see. Having done most of my first 'dungeon' type area Castle Mortifax (which as a tip I recommend visiting first since that's a good way to open up your combat options) I'm excited by how little of the map I've seen and how much left there is for me to explore. It seems like you can explore in basically any order and direction you like right from the start of the game.

I do have some minor quibbles. The map while large is a little abstracted from the screens you walk through, which can make it a little harder than it could be to navigate the overworld, and the lack of minimap on each screen is sorely missed. Likewise with the world as large as it is I wish there were more small interactions to gain more flavour and feel. Even just getting descriptions on unique objects would be a nice way to make the world feel more vibrant. These issues are minor though and understandable for a tiny indie team, they don't much affect my enjoyment.

All in all I'm very happy with what I've seen so far and I'm looking forward to the rest of the game. In terms of value for money this game is very well priced, so really the only question is if the game is for you. I'd say if you are fine with a little bit of a ramp up in the early game before its true potential is unlocked, and are looking for a game that blends RPG questing with a wicked real-time/strategic blend of action, Fates of Ort is for you.