Before you dive into The Gauntlet, you should get ready for what’s to come.
If you need a strategy for completing the Gauntlet boss fight, then you’ll want to prepare yourself for battle. You might be parting ways with your OSRS gold to get to where you need to be, but before you go looking for OSRS gold for sale, there are other preparations that you can make. We’ll be checking out the recommended skill levels, getting to the boss, and what to expect from it during the fight itself.
For starters, it isn’t just going to buy OSRS gold then speeding our way to the skill levels we need to be at. A requirement for taking on this challenge is having to finish Song of the Elves, which is the last quest in the Elf quest series.
As for your combat stats, you should make sure that the majority of them are at level 85 or higher. So get your attack, strength, defense, range, magic, and hitpoints up to at least 85. As for your prayer, it’s recommended that you have it up to at least 77. On the subject of prayer, it would be useful to you to have the Augury and Rigour prayers available. There’s also the Piety prayer that’s handy, which you need to have completed both King’s Ransom and Knight Waves Training Grounds. Rather than finding OSRS items for sale, you can get your cooking, fishing, mining, woodcutting, and farming skills high enough to gather resources really quickly.
We now need to get to the location of the fight. To start off with, use the eternal teleport crystal that will take you to Prifddinas. From here, go to the northwest to get to where the Gauntlet Portal is. Alternatively, you can travel to Prifddinas by charter ship, then head to the east and north to reach the portal that you need. There’s a Prifddinas teleport that will take you just south of the portal as well, or you can use a Spirit Tree to travel to the location.
In the fight itself, you’ll find that the boss is located in the middle of the room. This is divided into a 7×7 grid and is next to the room that you start in. The boss is known as the Crystalline Hunllef, which is a level 674 creature that has 600 hit points with it. You will need to beat this boss if you’re going to complete The Gauntlet in its entirety. After you do, you will find yourself in a location where you can claim your reward.
A popular method for completing this task is called the 5:1 technique. This is where you essentially get the boss’ protection prayer to switch so that you can make more of your time with DPS with the aid of tier 3 perfected crystal bow equipped. Use this for the first five attacks before switching to melee and magic. This will prevent the boss from using Protect from Missiles, meaning it is worth pursuing. To ensure that this works, you’ll need a bow and a staff with the attack styles all ready to use.
Another method alongside 5:1 is known as the redemption method. This will help to cut down any tick loss that you get from the boss battle courtesy of the Redemption prayer. To make sure that you can use this method, you need to use the relevant protection prayer to get the attack that is cast, then turn to Redemption prayer as the projectile is in flight. When it’s active, take a quick gulp of your potion then get your prayer ready. Keep in mind also that you’ll need up to eight paddlefish since you can’t rely on Redemption prayer in high-risk situations. When you do find yourself fishing for the raw paddlefish, take vials and get water from the fishing spots. Doing so will save you a few ticks towards the end, meaning that you can complete it faster.
It will be worth your time having enough OSRS GP to help prepare for this run. There are plenty of OSRS items for sale that can be used to good effect, especially when getting those levels up. If you are going to purchase gold, then there’s an element of precaution that you need to be taking.
It isn’t just a case of finding a source that can help you to get cheap OSRS gold. You will want to find the most trusted OSRS gold website as well. Keep an eye on their performance as a site seller, by taking a look at whether or not they offer customer service chat around the clock. This is usually a good indicator of legitimacy.
Have you completed The Gauntlet? Let us know in the comments below!
Elder Scrolls Online is a worthy game with unique features. With 18 million lifetime players, It’s gaining popularity as a multi-platform MMORPG worldwide. Elder Scrolls Online has updated its content for the players. They also added quests and new provinces to explore since its launch in 2014. According to the sources, In the year 2020, 3 million new users registered. New players will participate in this magnificent game in the coming times.
It’s not the newest MMORPG available, but it’s one of the most exciting games you can play in 2021. It has a unique yearly chapter system. It enables the players to explore a large portion of Tamriel. The arrival of blackwood enhanced the new user experience and brought value to the content for solo players. Besides, it’s exclusively a one-time investment and presents its user admittance to dozens of new content. You can buy new cosmetics and accessories in the game using its currency.
ESO Market has a thriving economy. Just like in the real world, you need money to make the world go round, and it’s vital to learn how to earn Eso Gold in the game. You can’t follow any shortcuts. Only proven methods can help you get money in your pockets that’ll help you in the game. There are various means of earning money in Elder Scrolls Online. Some of the relatively accessible and easy ways are given below:
Being a freshman player, it is not extremely hard to make money in the game. It solely needs persistence and perseverance. No one starts the game being rich, but you can become wealthy. Crafting is an astounding feature available in Elder Scrolls Online. It empowers the players to earn money conveniently and quickly. A craftsman makes a lot of wealth because he is always in demand. Other players are always searching for crafters in zone chat to make armor, glyphs, and much more every hour. A master craftsman is given a bonus. Thus, he can afford to earn a nice living and even become wealthy. So, If you’re engrossed in crafting, spend your time polishing this skill, and it will help you collect ESO gold.
Like any other way, stealing is also a proven method to earn gold in Elder Scrolls Online. With the release of the Justice System, it becomes a more suitable way to sell or fence stolen items for a reasonable and handsome amount of gold. At the start, you cannot get enough money from quests. Stealing is a good way for you if you’re desperate about money. You’re allowed to steal everything you see. It may seem illegal and immoral, but everything is fair in battle. So, if you want to start a thrilling life of crime, there are tons of articles available for you to provide guidance.
Each quest is unique and has heaps of benefits. Fighter guild, Mages Guild, Dark Brotherhood, a Thieves Guild, and the undaunted guild are five powerful guilds. It is advisable to join all of these guilds. It will render you valuable skills. It also brings opportunities to enter regular guild quests. Undaunted guild requests you to defeat the boss by entering a delve or dungeon, whereas the fighter guild sends you to defeat three dolmens in specific regions of Tamriel. After this task, you will receive a key to unlock a chest. It contains a random amount of food, gold, or weapons. When you finish this quest regularly, you’ll become wealthy.
Joining Dungeons is another means of gaining money in Elder Scrolls Online. It is vital to reach level 10 in this game to join. A solo player can only perform in the public Dungeons. There always needed four players at least for exploring party dungeons. There are numerous quests in the game. You can only get the reward when you kill the main threat. Whenever you complete a Dungeon, it earns you money and loot. The repetition of dungeons is daunting and can earn extra money and points. It will give you all the expensive and worthy items that you missed in the first battle. When you live in the same area where you defeated your enemies, you can earn more loot, coins, experience, and gold because you’re already well aware of the past battle and will have no problem finding them.
It is possible to play elder scrolls Online solo, but playing with friends or in a group that’s just starting up can benefit you. When you gain exposure to other players, it will become easy to participate and win group Dungeons. You can also use the ESO’s group finder feature, but it’s not an excellent way to take much time. Fighting battles and quests with friends help you become rich quickly as your dungeon’s scale is pushed up to the group leader’s level. It will enable you to fight group Dungeons even if you’re within level 5, and you can pick loot and gold. It’s also a fun way to help your friends get rich.
You can choose the appropriate one for yourself out of several ways of making money in the game. You need to be patient and consistent to get rich and make money in Elder Scrolls Online!
GTA 5’s online popularity is the cause why Microsoft and Sony have assured the fans to release a new version of it on the Xbox. It is one of the most anticipated releases of 2021. It is the only game millions of GTA fans crave due to its brilliant features, continuous updates, and dramatic role-playing scenes. GTA modded accounts provide different and interesting mods. After gaining so much popularity and attention from all gamers, it is still taking place in the heart and devices of three console generations. This game is the combination of GTA all the previous titles and addressed fab complaints.
Beyond the fun and adventure, there are plenty of ways to make money in the game. To make GTA Money in the game, the players must buy vehicles, weapons, clothes, and other things. The cost and amount of all these things have increased substantially since its release. Here is the list of things you should buy to make millions in GTA 5 online. It will make you better at playing the game and add more fun to it.
The Cayo Perico heist performs a pivotal part in making money in GTA 5 online. So all the players who’re beginners are required to collect the $2.2 million to buy a Kosatka submarine.
At the casino, players need to rush into the Music Locker and meet Miguel Madrazo. Then you’re allowed to purchase the Kosatka submarine. Then, from the SecuroServ option in the interaction menu, start an organization as a VIP or CEO. By going into your Kosatka, start the heist from the panning board. Gather Intel on the island. Complete prep missions and finally do the theft. The time of completion from starting the Intel to finishing the heist is about 45 minutes to one hour after a few times trying it. The potential profit for this is $1.5 million per hour.
It is profitable to do it solo while there is both the option of solo and private lobby. You can go through different videos and written guides online that can assist you in focusing on factors that are required for success. Make sure to start your heist 48 minutes after the previous one to get a 10% bonus and set on hard mode.
Stealing supplies and buying supplies can make you millions in GTA 5, but it is only possible with using a bunker. The cost of this bunker is $1.2 million. But this purchase can be the best one for some players. It is more valuable than owning an Orbital Cannon. Because it is passive money-making and has excellent Research unlockables, you can operate this bunker by using a laptop that is placed inside it. Then you can go underground by going to the Disruption Logistics, refill supplies and sell stolen weapons. It can earn you the potential profit of $80K per hour while doing other stuff. You can buy and steal supplies by using bunkers. Still, it is preferable to purchase supplies because it is more time-effective. It can increase your passive income while making the active income from other methods. For selling missions, you require friends in case there are multiple vehicles.
Purchasing an arcade in GTA 5 online is not complicated. Hence, it is quite profitable as it can make you earn millions in the game. You need to do a meeting with Lester Crest in Mirror Park. Rush to the Fore Closures Mazebank to purchase an arcade. It will give you access to the plan’s details to rob Diamond casino as a VIP, CEO, or MC president. It’s a time-consuming activity, but once you own all the arcade machinery, it offers the best rewards as you can generate $400k per hour. After buying the arcade, completing mandatory missions, there are also prep missions you need to complete with your friends. Always try to achieve the mission with a fewer number of people. While attempting to escape, it is advisable to go into nearby tunnels to evade cops more efficiently.
Hanger is unquestionably the best one to own in GTA 5 online. The purpose of buying it is to store aircraft and allow you to get rich by smuggling. Even if the plane is not robust and valuable, it is still the best place to keep them safe. The minimum cost is $1.2 million, and it can be as expensive as $3.0 million. The hangers are pretty costly. So you need to be wise while buying one for yourself because it is not advisable to spend all your money purchasing the hanger. The potential profit of buying it is $150K per hour. There are types of cargo you can source. Still, it is advisable to stick to only one kind of cargo and make it medical, chemicals, or narcotics supplies. By executing so, you can take a 35% reward for selling the 25 crates and 75% on selling all 50 containers.
Being the second fastest car, it has 135 miles per hour speed and excellent acceleration of 0 to 60 in two seconds. That is insanely amazing. You can get this car for $3.4 million. You can get this money on motorsports. It’s a bonus point that you can unlock its trading price by doing the moody man missions; you can get this for 2.6 million. It is a vehicle you should own, even if you only do drag races. It can beat the fastest cars like Ocelot Pariah in GTA 5 online. Owning high-speed vehicles allows the player to survive and outrun angry cops. It would be best if you were wise while choosing a car because these will help you when the stakes are too high.
GTA 5 online has been the most popular game since its release. To make millions in GTA 5, you can purchase various kinds of vehicles, apartments, and warehouses, etc., and other things. All these entities will help you to escape from the cops and start up new businesses to make gta money.
One of my favorite activities in Minecraft is going deep inside the caves and just exploring them. A few years ago, the developers behind Cave Digger reached out to me and asked me to review their game. Not too long after, the sequel got released and looked like it would be a VR exclusive. Until I noticed that it appeared on the Nintendo Switch eShop. So, I thought, maybe it also released on Steam, since after playing the Switch version, I felt like this game was better played with keyboard and mouse. Now, a non VR version is on Steam now… But is it worth it? Well, after playing the first sections of this game, I want to talk about it. The latest update was on May 28th, 2024 when writing this article. Now, before we dive right into it, I want to invite to you leave a comment in the comment section with your thoughts and/or opinions on this game and/or the content of this article.
Risk of Staleness
In this game, we play as an unnamed miner who is throwing into the deep end, when his digger broke. You arrive at a mysterious valley. In this valley, a hardy explorer once did his research. But why? Which secrets are in these valleys and the accompanying mines? That’s for our miner to figure out. Now, the story is being told by various comic book pages you can uncover and, according to the Steam store page, has multiple endings. I’m quite curious where it’s going to go.
So far, I haven’t gotten too deep into the story. But, from what I can read on the Steam store page, I think it has potential. I have my doubts on how the multiple endings will work. Since comic books mostly have one ending, right? Unless, it all depends on which page(s) you find or in which order or where. That’s something I’ll discover when I’m deeper into the game.
If this game is like the original game, the story overall will take a backseat for the gameplay. And after 5 hours in, that’s the case. The original game didn’t have a lot of story to begin with, but more story in a game like this can be interesting.
There is one voice actor in this game. He does a pretty fine job and brings some life to the atmosphere. I replayed a bit of the first game and I have to be honest, I appreciate the small voice lines during the exploration. Even when you quickly hear every different line, it’s a nice break since they aren’t spammed and don’t appear that often.
One of the biggest changes in this game is that the cave this time around is randomly generated each time you enter. So, this game becomes a rouge like to a degree. But, you can always exit via the lifts to safety. Since, dying in the caves means that at least half of your obtained loot is dropped. The atmosphere this time around is very cohesive. This game presents itself as a sci-fi western game, and it really feels like that. Something I really like in this game is that it doesn’t go overboard in the sci-fi genre and stays grounded. The technology could realistically exist today, apart from the unique enemies in the cave, that is.
With the story taking more of a backseat, it’s quite important that the gameplay loop is enjoyable. The gameplay loop is simple, you have to explore the caves with 4 chosen tools. The three slots above the entrance give you a hint on which tools you will need to bring to gather the most loot. You take the lift down and gather loot, while fighting enemies and avoiding pitfalls to survive. The goal is also to find the other elevator that takes you down to the next level to gather even more valuable ores to bring to the top. You have to fill in the ores you gathered into the grinder to buy upgrades to your tools and environment to progress.
The big risk with this kind of gameplay loop is that this is just a different numbers game. What I mean by that is that, apart from maybe the visuals changing, the core concept is always the same. This risks that the game becomes stale and repetitive. It’s possible that it is just a “me thing”, but I enjoy games like this more when there are some variations on the gameplay or some different puzzles. Thankfully, this game has that. There are a lot of things you can upgrade and improve to make each run feel rewarding, and each type of cave you can visit has different enemies types and unique lay-outs to keep you on your toes. In a way, I dare to compare the idea a bit to Cult of the Lamb in a degree.
The music in this game is also a blast. It fits the atmosphere of each area like a glove. My favorite track is the track that plays in the lake caves. It sounds like you image a typical track like that to sound. And it gets more intense while you are fighting enemies down there. Now, the silent moments when the music doesn’t play feel a bit long, but I always know that there is more music coming and that it fits the atmosphere perfectly and draws me more into the game. Sadly enough, this isn’t the only problem with this game, and I’d like to talk about them.
No feedback
This game has an addictive gameplay loop, and I’m really curious how the multiplayer works. I haven’t tested the multiplayer in this game, but it looks like fun. Now, this game can be played solo perfectly fine.
Now, I don’t know if VRKiwi took the VR version as a base for the non VR version, since I have the impression, that is the case. I especially notice that with the controls in this game. It feels a bit floaty, like you aren’t really connected to the ground. It also feels a bit stiff, like you have to move your mouse like you would a VR headset. You really have to play with the settings until you hit that sweetspot that feels right for you. For me, I had to lower the sensitivity to 80, amongst other things. I highly recommend that you tweak the settings to your liking, since on the Nintendo Switch version, I had to lower the sensitivity to 40 before it felt right.
Still, the character control doesn’t feel right. At first, I thought it was because the controls felt floaty… But, after some testing, I think I found a few other problems with the character control that might cause it to not feel quite right. First, the jump in this game is just silly. You can’t really rely on it, since it doesn’t always trigger when you hit the spacebar, and it’s just a pathetic jump. You can’t even jump out of ankle high water sometimes.
Secondly, there are no sound effects for walking on most floors. You feel like you are floating, and it’s jarring when you suddenly hear a sound effect when you walk over a table or a railway. Thirdly, climbing on ropes amongst other things is just insanely picky. There is also no real feedback or sound to show you grabbed the rope. Fourthly, the scroll order between tools is extremely weird. You get numbers on the wheel counter clock wise. But you go down, right, left, up. Which still confuses me after 6 hours of playing this game.
And finally, some things are extremely picky. For example, there are safe riddles you can solve down in the caves. But to rotate the letter wheels to make pick the right letter is more difficult to do. All of these things give you a feeling that you aren’t always in control of your character and that you don’t get the feedback as a player on what’s happening. Making you unsure what’s happening and doubt if you are doing the right thing.
Prompts like “Use W/S to use the crank” should be “Hold W/S to use the crank”. Since, you need to hold the key instead of pressing it. Small things like that could also improve this game and it’s controls quite a lot. Overall, the controls are good, but they lack feedback to the player sometimes. Either with sound effects or with some visual effects. Like with the hammer, you barely have any sound effects when you use it, and it has some wind up animation, making you unsure if you are using it or not.
That is one of the biggest flaws in this game. The lack of feedback on your actions. Things like not knowing how many bullets are still left in your revolver or a sound effect when you hit an actual enemy. I think if there is one thing I’d use the built-in feedback tool is to report various cases/moments when I expect feedback from the game, like a sound effect or visual effect. Maybe they appear in the form of rumble effects… But, I’m not playing this game with a controller.
When you read this section of the article, I wouldn’t blame you if you think that this game isn’t good. Small bugs like the text of “Press R to reload” when your gun isn’t equipped or the bullets not leaving from the gun but from the player model don’t improve things either. Yet, I find myself looking past these problems since the core gameplay still works. I find myself getting used to the jank in this game and finding a very rough diamond. If the developers keep up with their promise of improving this game, I think that more action feedback will bring a lot to the game and maybe fixing the small bugs like in this paragraph as well.
Things like the animation of the shovel looking weird sometimes. The animation looks like the arms go through each other after a dig. Speaking of the shovel, the last dig is annoying since you have to move a pixel or two for it to count and give you your goodies. But the bug I’d love to see fixed most is the freeze for several seconds when you pick up something new or get a new codec entry. The game locks up like it’s about the crash, but it doesn’t.
What’s next for us?
Usually, I’m not really picky when it comes to the visuals of a game. As long as a game looks consistent, I’m quite happy. It needs to have a certain style so that you can quickly identify what’s what and enjoy the game.
Yet, for this game, I do have some things that I not really like in terms of the visuals. Firstly, the contrast of some ores and the floor isn’t clear enough. Sometimes I was passing up on ores since I wasn’t able to notice them on the ground.
There are also a lot of objects to give more details to the cave, but you can barely interact with them. I’d love to see lilly pads in lakes to move a bit when you walk past them or something more than just being able to clip through them. As well, a sound effect when you hit a wall you can’t mine. You get shouted at when you use the wrong or a too weak tool on something, so when not for the rest?
I think the biggest mistake that the visuals make is that it has an identity crisis. What I mean by that is that it isn’t a cohesive style. There is a lot of shell shading going on, but there is also a lot of details that give off a more realistic vibe. Some textures aren’t detailed enough and strechted too wide giving wrong impression the rest of the visuals that look more modern. The floor textures sometimes suffer most from this issue.
Looking back at this article, I think I’m being very critical for this game. I have played a lot worse and broken games for 15€. But, in this game you even have customisation options for your character and thee developers are extremely open for feedback. This game has a lot going for it. Fun achievements to hunt for, bosses at the end of runs and an amazing auto save system.
Apart from improving the character controls and adding some feedback on actions, I think this game is pretty decent. Yes, there is some polish missing like not having a tooltip with the lever at the cave entrance on what that lever does. I personally feel less conflicted about this game compared to the original. The growth in this title is immense and brings me a lot of hope for either some amazing updates, DLC or a new entry in the series.
The basis of for an amazing title is here and if you look past it’s short comings, this game is a blast to play. Maybe it’s a bit too repetitive for some and can be more fun in short bursts. But, when this game sinks it’s hooks into you, it really clicks. There is some polishing left to do and for a rather new VR focused developer, this is amazing. It’s their second non VR game and it shows a lot of promise.
The game is a perfect relaxing game to wind down, since it isn’t too difficult. The game is rather forgiving. I wouldn’t be surprised that I play this game after work to wind down and try and finish it slowly. Then again, while I’m writing this, I have summer holidays and I wouldn’t be surprised that I finish most of this game during my summer break.
Like I said earlier, I feel less conflicted about this game compared to the previous title. This game has a lot more going for it compared to the original. It’s less repetitive and it has a lot more going for it. It has it’s problems, yes. But, if you enjoy games like Minecraft, Steamworld Dig or Cave Digger, give the demo of this game a chance. The demo gives a very good idea on what you can expect from this game and if you enjoy it, buy the game. I’m enjoying myself quite a lot with this game and I’m happy that I have chosen the PC version over the Switch version since I feel like it just plays better. But maybe, if I get used to the Switch controls, I might enjoy it on Switch as well.
With that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about this game for now. Maybe when I finish this game, I might write a full review with the final thoughts and opinions on this game. But for now, I think the best conclusion for this game is that it’s an amazing step up from the original and besides some unpolished things… It’s a great game and comes recommend from me.
So, it’s time to wrap up this article with my usual outro. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then have a great rest of your day and take care.
I think I like the idea of the text parser-based adventure game more than I like the actual games themselves. You know, the kind where you need to type in all your actions. I’m not just talking about the old text adventures from the '70s and '80s, I’m also talking about new text adventures that you might find at IF Comp that push one of the oldest game genres to its limit.
I like games that are carried mostly by their writing and–well, if there aren’t any images the writing needs to be solid. But text parser-based games never seem to click with me. I think it’s similar to the point-and-click adventure game, in terms of my frustrations with the puzzle elements. Occasionally, I think to myself, “Lucas, why aren’t you really into point-and-click adventure games? It’s a genre full of funny games, and those are your favourite kinds.” Then I play some of them, butt up against that classic adventure game puzzle logic, and remember why I have not become an authority on all things point-and-click adventure.
This goes double for the text-only variety, where there aren’t visual clues, just a text parser with set boundaries that always get in my way. It’s more of a personal thing than anything else. With all this said, I’ve recently played Cryptmaster, a dungeon crawler that plays with the idea of the text parser in some funny and delightful ways.
Cryptmaster, from developers Paul Hart and Lee Williams and published by Akupara Games, is a monochrome, first-person dungeon crawler that sees four legendary heroes pulled out of the afterlife (sans memories) by a necromancer known as the Cryptmaster. The foursome is tasked with ascending through layers of underground cities to reach the surface while they recover their memories of past exploits along the way. All the standard features of a dungeon crawler are here — exploration, combat, puzzles, and loot – and basically everything other than moving around the world is done by typing single words.
The best example of how this works is what happens when you open a chest. The Cryptmaster will appear in all his camp glory (and with great VO work by Williams) with some blank spaces for letters. You will then have to guess what item is in the chest, which could be anything from a sword to a jockstrap to a loose eyeball. How you guess is by asking for a memory the Cryptmaster has of the object and using the five senses: look, touch, hear, smell, and the less useful and often amusing taste. If you’re successful, you get some loot. That loot, like everything else, is letters.
Combat is done by typing in your characters’ moves to whittle away their health bar (which for party members and foes is their name). Your four characters basically conform to standard fantasy classes: leader Joro is a hard-hitting warrior type, then there’s Syn the rogue, Maz the healer/support, and Nix the mage (who has many marine-life-based spells). There’s a nice synergy between the characters, especially as one of the big challenges is managing the cooldowns after each party member uses a move. In a nice accessibility touch, since you can choose between having the combat play out in real-time or be turn-based if your fingers can’t accurately type fast enough or you require the use of a controller.
Like the chests, the reward for downing a foe is letters, which are used for the leveling system. Each character has one blank word to fill out at a time, which can be filled out with the letters you collect. These words, which either unlock a move or a memory from the hero’s past, can be found early if you can correctly guess the missing letters.
All of this would be novel, if not particularly thrilling, if not for a couple of things, which truly elevate this game to something great. Firstly, it seems the developers have thought through many of the things that players might put into the parser. And by that, I don’t just mean they have put in synonyms for common actions, though I do appreciate that. I mean that they have provided amusing, fully voiced interactions for many of the ways a player might want to dick around.
A great example of this involves the save system, which you have to do manually at Agda’s healing Altar of Life. Being undead, Agda has no time for you, so the Cryptmaster asks you to desecrate every altar you find so that you can use it. You can smash the altar, you can kick it, and you can do something that sounds a lot like desecrate. Juvenile, yes, but the encouragement to experiment with each altar, combined with Agda’s increased exasperation at your constant vandalism, never ceased to be funny.
Cryptmaster’s myriad of interactions, both with the parser and with the eclectic cast of characters, wouldn’t be as constantly delightful without the strong writing and voice acting on display throughout. This is a genuinely funny game, carried by the ever-present Cryptmaster and his constant droll commentary. But there are jokes all around, from the memories you unlock to the bigger quest beats, such as when you need to help a bard write a diss track.
There are so many fun ways to mess about with the game that you are unlikely to find all the gags in a playthrough. After I completed the game, I saw patch notes from the (in character) Cryptmaster Twitter/X account that mentioned “more flirt responses” and “I now respond to animal noises.” I did not think to do either of those things, but keep those in mind when you play. And you should play it, because it’s an inventive and welcome evolution of a niche genre.
It's been a brutal summer - the perfect time to stay in and try out a few new games. While coverage of indie games has been dominated by the flood of quick-flip cash-baiting clickers, there were some more substantial titles on offer in July. That includes a nontraditional RPG, a nontraditional platformer, and a really traditional adventure game. Even if you overbought in the last Steam sale, you should at least give these a closer look.
If you'd like to see these games in action, check out the Find the Fabulist YouTube channel.
The world is full of creatures called schims, strange entities unnoticed by most that dwell in the shadows cast by people and objects. You are one such schim, living in a young man's shadow. One day, a fluke results in you becoming unmoored from that familiar shadow and launched into the world at large. Your goal is to navigate a world of light and shadow as you attempt to find your way back home.
SCHiM is a puzzle platformer seen from an isometric perspective, an unusual setup for a game like this. The player leaps from shadow to shadow while heading toward set objectives. A schim can last for short periods in direct light, but only enough time for one additional short jump. If the shadows are too far apart to reach by jumping alone, the player will need to hitch a ride with a moving object, find an alternate route, or solve a simple puzzle to create or move shadows.
The moment-to-moment gameplay in SCHiM is very simple. You might occasionally get stuck, but a minute of exploration is usually enough to get unstuck and keep the game moving forward. Similarly, the jumping mechanics are extremely forgiving, letting a typical player move between shadows quickly and with few errors. It is, overall, a very easygoing experience.
The main selling point for SCHiM might be its style. The high-contrast monochrome world is striking, with a remarkable amount of detail in the environments and animations. Many screens are also built around a wordless narrative - a simple story told through people's actions, vehicles, and even the weather. While a skillful player can hop through SCHiM in short order, it's worth taking the occasional moment to soak in the little details.
SCHiM is available for PC via Steam, PlayStation consoles, and Nintendo Switch. A copy was provided for this review.
Galactic Glitch is a twin-stick shooter with a physics-based twist. In addition to the genre-standard armaments, the player's ship comes equipped with a gravity beam that can be used to grab debris, missiles, and even small enemies and fling them as projectiles. Using the gravity beam is strictly optional, one of several offensive choices offered to the player, but it's certainly a satisfying tool to use.
The objective is to reach a boss area at the end of a procedurally generated maze of rooms. Those rooms can contain enemies, shops, or teleporters that can be used for quick travel across the maze. A few rooms are also guaranteed to contain optional challenges yielding items that can be used to upgrade the player's ship later on. There is an emphasis on exploration, but a speed-minded player can also make a beeline for the boss and earn a separate bonus for being quick.
While there is a bit of a play-it-as-you-want vibe to Galactic Glitch, it's a pretty typical twin-stick shooter at heart. It is an above average shooter, one with solid controls and interesting visuals, but there's nothing revolutionary here. If you're a fan of arcade shooters and want something with some replay value, Galactic Glitch is a good choice, but it's going to offer less to those who are cold to the action roguelike boom.
Galactic Glitch is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.
The remote Mondoton Island is home to a facility that exists for only one purpose - MonCon, the world's most celebrated convention. A young man named Joey has just arrived on Mondoton Island in hopes of getting an autograph from the island's reclusive owner, the game developer Mr. Miyashiro. There's one big problem: Joey is painfully introverted and can't bring himself to speak to anyone. With the help of some new friends - the excitable, somewhat delusional geek Karl and Marnie, a podcaster with anger issues - he'll have to figure out how to navigate the con, deal with celebrities, uncover a conspiracy, and finally meet the legend.
MonCon is an RPG built around rhythm mechanics. The framing of the combat is very unusual - no actual fighting takes place, as the combat is symbolic of the protagonist navigating stressful conversations. Both offense and defense are conducted through a DDR-style rhythm minigame, which is fairly generous with the timing and isn't usually too hard. Enemies have weaknesses to certain attacks but there's no clear RPS system here - the player needs to figure out whether flattery, insults, empathy, or geek chat are the best options against any foe.
While there are specific objectives, MonCon involves a lot of wandering. New floors of the convention center and hotel open up after key story moments, introducing new characters and mechanics. There are a lot of sidequests, including minigames that spoof popular video games, trading, collecting, and a cosplay contest. Most of these are optional but expect to get pulled into several of them over the course of the story.
Since it's a rhythm game, it's worth mentioning the music. While the overworld BGM is pretty standard, the combat music is quite distinctive. Standard music is bass-heavy, while attacks from both PCs and enemies have their own distinctive musical character, drawing from many different genres and styles.
MonCon is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.
Dodger, a dishwasher on a space station, is about to become an unwitting hero. The station's computer has detected a temporal anomaly and with no one else available to deal with it, the computer drafts Dodger into the time engineering service. Armed with a time travel remote, Dodger will need to move across time periods and repair the damage to the time stream, all the while piecing together clues pointing to an undiscovered history.
Tachyon Dreams Anthology is a series of three short adventure games built around 1980s design principles. Visually, the game goes to great lengths to recreate the graphical style of a computer game released on a mid-80s system such as the Amiga or Atari ST. This carries over to the keyboard-only control scheme, with the player using the direction keys to move and a text parser to issue commands.
The games themselves are about what you'd expect. The player moves across different rooms scattered across space and time, collecting objects that are used to solve puzzles elsewhere. There are certainly some obtuse puzzles here and there, but most are fair and an experienced adventure game enthusiast should be able to finish the anthology in a reasonable amount of time.
Tachyon Dreams Anthology is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.
That wraps up our look at the games that caught our attention during July, be sure to come back each month for more indie games you want to look out for!
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