Building Up ASKA with Creative Director Cristian Diaconescu
Back in June, ASKA entered Early Access. Sand Sailor Studio’s Viking crafting and survival game premiered in the thick of Summer Games Fest on the heels of many games vying for players’ attention. While the survival genre is certainly a busy one, ASKA‘s hook of building a thriving community of villagers who actually complete tasks for the player immediately sold me. The ability t...[Read More]
SteamWorld Heist II Review (PS5)
Having played games for over 40 years, I have been very much in touch with how I feel about a title in the first two hours of gameplay. For example, I knew that Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion would consume me after the first hour of gameplay, even though I hadn’t played any Elder Scrolls games prior, thus having no expectations. Seeing the complexity of the gameplay, the background skills t...[Read More]
ASKA Early Access Preview
ASKA made the tedious act of survival a strange thrill, evolving into a surprising game of city management and viking raids. My time with ASKA‘s Early Access build came on the fringes of Summer Games Fest 2024. The deluge of games is always a bit frightening for someone like me who wishes to have their thumb on as many zeitgeist-worthy games and attractive indies as possible. But one thing I...[Read More]
SteamWorld Build Review
Whether it be theme park or simulated city, there is an allure to micro-managing hundreds if not hundreds of thousands of virtual people. For all intents and purposes, the player is a god. The capability of directly plucking a villager or a farmer out of thin air with a virtual hand or creating vast metropolises with a single sweeping motion has long been a gaming pastime. Yet SteamWorld Build is ...[Read More]