Recent reviews by tuxdelux

Real fun 3-D platformer where you collect all the items. The level layout, characters, and world-building are all high-quality design. Even with the cutsie-kids vibe, there are still a few jumping and puzzle challenges. I appreciate the tinykin game mechanic and the no-violence idealism. Most important is that you get your money's worth even at full price. Played for hours and only finished the first of the expansive levels. And, there are even some content features to do after finishing the game campaign.

Played this through Steam's Proton compatibility software, with a gamepad controller and the Steam Deck. I had no technical issues.

A simple puzzle game with a lot of simple, unskippable dialogue and odd puzzle solutions. Most people will get Carto as part of a Humble Bundle, and so they will ignore this equally simple review.

This game has got some bugs that stop it from being as fun as it could be for a little indie game. For example, selling the ore does not always work and requires finding just the right spot to activate the button. Little problems like that compile to make the experience feel cheap and incomplete. I think there is potential for a fun couch co-op roguelite here, but it still needs some work.

This is a really fun, approachable couch co-op twin-stick shooter. It has a fun theme and lots of collectable items, upgradable skills, and unlockable characters, that encourages replaying earlier levels. It has rock-paper-scissor game mechanics that encourages the team to work together when fighting monsters, and it is fairly forgiving when players screw up. We have had a lot of laughs with this one, and it feels like we accomplished something, even when we only managed to unlock a hat of stun-resistance.

The gameplay surprised me and keeps drawing me back. Got it in a bundle, since I am not normally into zombie games. The rogue-lite way that the player is put on a suicide-mission to collect supplies and knowledge fits the game's theme so nicely. It feels really good building up the base depot through hard-fought battles or sneaking past a shambling horde. The designer did some really nice level design and enemy movement, so each moment feels fun and satisfying. I like the press-your-luck mechanism of deciding how much time to spend searching for loot locations.

Another game "Highway to Canada" is similar, but this one has better graphics, tighter controls, and no random "Oregon Trail" rando questions between levels. The full price of this game is expensive but I think it is worth it. There is a no-cost demo to try before you buy.

Played on an Ubuntu Linux computer and the Steam Deck, with gamepad controllers. I had no technical issues with the game or the Proton compatibiility software.

Just finished this game and I would not recommend playing it

We are really having fun with this co-op base builder. It's got all the fun of building out an X-COM style base with light platforming ( and heavy humor ) instead of turn-based tactics. Just got started on it, but it seems well worth the money, as there seems to be a lot of content to yet unlock.

The developer has an extensive Itch.io page, with a lot of prototypes of their other ideas. Well worth checking it out. I enjoy seeing an indie developer who "throws a lot of spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks", before they put up something on the steam store for purchases.

Played with Steam's Proton compatibility software on the Steam Deck and Dock with two xbox-style gamepad controllers. Did not have any technical issues.

Like the Dome Keeper game with more puzzle aspects. What I did not like about the experience is that the puzzle objective can be easily obtained after getting enough upgrades, which are obtained through a slow search and recovery process. Any time during that process, the player might be killed by a monster or running out of oxygen. Then, the player is expected to restart the whole slow process again.

After playing Feed the Deep for eight hours, I got a chance to play Dome Keeper. Then, I said to myself, "okay, that's what Feed the Deep was trying to do..." Because even without playing the games that inspired this one, there felt to be something missing in Feed the Deep. It lacks a hook. Maybe the message-in-a-bottle writing was supposed to carry the weight of the gameplay, but it did not work for me.

I have a couple criticism of the gameplay: One is the key and treasure chest idea does not work very well, with the key needing to be placed too particularly and the items exploding out that causes them to fall downward, away off the screen. The second thing is that the terrain would too often disconnect the tow-line, causing the dragged object to fall - again downward, away off the screen. These two things were just some of the reasons that the gameplay mechanics did not feel satisfying nor made me want to revisit the levels, after I figured out the puzzle objective.

The Steam Store really pushed this game for the Deck compatibility. The developer made a big news item about it also. While game controls work great, the Deck's screen is too small for reading the game's lore messages (which play a big part) and the game-within-a-game console games are not well suited for the deck's screen either. While I appreciate the developer trying to get it working with the Steam Deck, it would have been a lot more appreciated if they had also made a SteamOS/Linux build available at the same time, to ensure best compatibility.

The only interesting part of this game is wondering why Square Enix acquired the publishing rights

Hope they have better success with their second attempt