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Wargroove (Steam Deck): COMPLETED!

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One of those games from ages ago that I was really looking forward to, but it took forever to come out and when it did, I’d sort of stopped caring. At least, enough to pay for it anyway. But for free, on my Steam Deck? Ah, gwan then.

Yes, it’s Advance Wars. Graphically and mechanically, anyway. In fact, in those respects, it’s so close to Advance Wars that I’m amazed the normally trigger-happy Nintendo Fun Lawyers didn’t set upon it like they do with all the Mario and Metroid fan games. Of course, it’s not exactly the same. It’s a fantasy setting a bit closer to Fire Emblem, with horses and caravans and archers (and tree people and giants and mer-folk and turtles?!) rather than soldier and tanks and bigger tanks and huge tanks – but most Wargroove units are effectively Advance Wars unit analogues. They’re just a bit unusual.

A big set of thumbs up for being like Advance Wars are that it plays as well as Advance Wars, is as addictive as Advance Wars, and fills a big old hole where Advance Wars hasn’t been for what, a decade or something now? Sure, there’s the remake of the first two games on the way, but who knows when that will actually land.

Wargroove is a perfect fit for a handheld, and really I should have bought it for my Switch long ago as I really enjoyed it. Even if the last few levels were clearly impossible and I had to knock the difficulty down a notch – whereupon I found that Hard is the default! Madness.

Anarcute (Steam Deck): COMPLETED!

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Another random game from my previously inaccessible PC game library, liberated thanks to the Steam Deck! And I’m glad I took a punt on this one, because even though I had no idea what it was like (I was sold purely on the aesthetic) it turns out it’s wonderful.

Imagine a cross between Cannon Fodder and Pikmin, where all your little people are various animals that want to Smash The System. The more you enlist, the more powerful the group is, so they can take down the police more easily, run faster, or even topple buildings. You can pick up street furniture to lob at cops, have to find batteries to open doors, and even run round with massive lasers dealing fat damage. Plus bosses! And very catchy music.

There are a number of types of level, from the main “collect people and take down cops and towers” to “sneak about in the dark” to “as just one animal, get to the goal without dying”. Simple puzzles – usually involving deciding which order to tackle obstacles – also mix up the gameplay a bit, and there are loads of types of baddie (with different weapons and weaknesses) to dispatch.

It’s cute, has a similar vibe and look as The Wonderful 101, and is varied and very much worth playing.

Pony Island (Steam Deck): COMPLETED!

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I aborted an attempt to play Pony Island on my Mac a few years ago, as you have to press the left and right mouse buttons at the same time at some point, and with a Mac mouse you can’t do that. I had a PC mouse I could have plugged in instead, but I also had eleventybillion other games that didn’t require that sort of effort, so it got shelved.

Until now!

Sure, the Steam Deck actually has no mouse buttons, but it does have a frankly overwhelming array of other inputs and a very good control remapper, so I very easily found something that worked for me and was able to restart – and complete – Pony Island.

It begins like a retro auto-runner where your horse jumps over things. Think of the Chrome Broken Internet Dinosaur Game and you’re there. But, it soon becomes apparent that this game is possessed by Satan himself, and it soon becomes something a bit different, including some programming sections, boss fights, and it actually literally crashing intentionally.

I found it a bit repetitive and although it’s short, it could have done with being a bit shorter. Even with all the “extras” Satan throws at you, it’s still mostly a not particularly interesting auto-runner, but the stuff around it kept me playing to the end.

Pile Up! Box by Box (PS5): COMPLETED!

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No, I have no idea why I downloaded this, but then I discovered it was multiplayer co-op so played through it with my family.

It’s a cute, relatively simple, platform puzzle game. Most of the puzzles relate to the height or distance you can jump, and manoeuvring or stacking objects (or your co-op partners) to reach buttons and switches and so on. There are springy things and floaty things, fans, fences you can burn, other characters you need to help, and a number of themed worlds to find items in.

I’m sure there are a hundred games not unlike this, and it reminded me a bit of the mechanics in games like Disney Universe or maybe even Skylanders, albeit in a more cubic and simple form, but it was fun in co-op. I suspect it’d be annoying in single player as there’s a lot more to-and-fro without any helpers, but we enjoyed it.

My Brother Ate My Pudding! (Switch): COMPLETED!

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You know those silly “Mon Hid My Game!” games I played a while back? This is one of them, only with a slight difference.

Each level, you have to hide from your sister. The first few are easy – behind a curtain, or in a cupboard – but they soon get more complicated. The gameplay, such that it is, is almost exactly like the other games and it has some similar 4th wall breaking “surprises” later on, but it’s a bit of silly fun for a low price, so why not, eh?