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Dice People (Switch): COMPLETED!

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Dice People is a stand-out game in that Game Nacional bundle. It’s a bit better put together, but also, it seems to be a unique type of game. Unless there’s another similar one I’ve not heard of – you tell me.

You buy dice people, each of which are wizards or fighters or whatever and so attack in different ways. You then “roll” them into a playfield, which plays out a bit like a Tower Defence game as baddies swarm the screen. I think, but I’m not entirely sure, but the number on the dice determines your strength or HP or both or something. Kill baddies and they leave items and money.

You use the money to buy more dice people, and the items to unlock millions of things on the skill tree. Or rather, Massive Skill Grid. You can increase probabilities, strength, obtained item quantities, and so on here, making the next round a bit easier. Eventually you unlock enough and progress far enough to take on a boss, after which you’ve completed the game.

It’s surprisingly addictive, and more fun than I’ve made it out to appear, I assure you.

Cat Survivors (Switch): COMPLETED!

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There was a ridiculous bundle deal on the Switch eShop last week where you could get 21 games for 89p. Of course, they’re not going to be good games, are they? In fact, I already had several of them from a similar bundle last year so knew the quality I was going to be getting.

That said, they’re not all shovelware. So much of the eShop is full of terrible games that are clones of “real” games and have similar names in order to trick you like “Battlefields: Duty of Call” or “GTA: Car Theft Hero” or whatever. They are Bad Games and you Must Not Buy Them. No, these ones are from what I assume is a Spanish publisher called Game Nacional and the main reason they’re not great is because they’re just unpolished or a bit lacking rather than scams.

Turns out, then, that although it’s a bit wonky and generic, Cat Survivors is a playable enough Survivors-like. You’re a cat and automatically attack and, well, you already know how to play these games. Sure, other games do this better, but – apart from sometimes getting so overpowered it’s impossible to die – Cat Survivors is perfectly fine. And for 89/21p, you can’t complain too much.

The Crew Motorfest: on the horizon

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The new Crew game has joined Game Pass, so I thought I’d give it a go. At first it felt like I was playing Forza Horizon 2, but after a while it felt more like Forza Horizon 4. It’s just so familiar, but with a slightly worse driving model, and more unlikeable characters in longer cut scenes. I’ve still got a third of FH4 and most of FH5 to complete, but maybe I’ll get around to trying this some day – through probably they’ll turn the servers off before I do.

SteamWorld Heist II (Switch): COMPLETED!

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It may have taken a while for me to finally get round to playing SteamWorld Heist II, but when it – and all the other SteamWorld games – were reduced in a massive eShop sale I was reminded it was the only SW game I hadn’t completed. And now, it isn’t.

Like the first game, it’s a 2D, side-on, turn based strategy game. In that respect it’s more of the same as the original, and I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to figure out what that means in terms of gameplay as the internet surely can provide. What I will talk about instead, is just how good and well balanced it all is.

Each character in your party can have different classes, weapons and skills (and you can switch between missions as to what, if you like, and “borrow” skills from other classes with the right items as well) so your team is incredibly customisable. Sometimes, it’s good to have a few short-range but powerful weapons, other times sniping with accuracy from a distance. Or maybe being able to move further, or move twice, in a turn is helpful. There’s tradeoffs between sniping being great from a log way off but you waste a turn reloading, or big explody weapons dealing lots of damage to several clustered enemies, but it’s a bit hard to aim and can damage you, or your cover. There’s a lot to think about! As characters level up you get to choose more skills too.

It’s also really addictive. Most missions are probably only 15-20 minutes long, so the urge to do just one more mission is strong. Or, you missed out some (probably unnecessary) loot in a level, so you replay it just to make sure you’ve collected everything. Or, you boat around the overworld seeking things to destroy for other bonuses and see another thing to get, explore, or beat on the map somewhere. There’s always one more thing to do.

Oh yes, the boat. You see, you have a submarine to traverse the world, and as you progress you can upgrade it with better firepower or more oxygen for underwater boating. The seas are full of enemies that need to be run from, or defeated, for fun and profit.

There’s a lot to the game but the real pull isn’t the excellent gameplay, it’s the (as always) perfectly crafted SteamWorld, er, world. The humour, the silly robot characters, the puns, and the references to other games in the series. Plus the excellent gameplay, of course.

Playstation Wrap 2025

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Overall less hours played than in 2024 (884) with only 647 hours & 215 of that spent enjoying Cyberpunk 2077.

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I was more ruthless with quitting games I was not enjoying (although I did persist with Fantasy Life i) after a few hours like recent examples Pacific Drive & Thank Goodness Your'e Here.

Hoping to start on one of the big hitters from my physical backlog over xmas.