E T E R N A L T H R E A D S

10/10 (100%), 13.3 hours

I played this game for Pay or Play 2nd Cycle of 2024 and it was picked for me by La Volpe.

As an operative tasked with fixing corruption in the timeline, you have been sent to the North of England in May 2015, where six people died in a house fire. Prohibited from simply stopping the fire, you must instead manipulate the choices made by the housemates in the week leading up to it so that they all survive the event.

Eternal Threads is a single-player, first-person story-driven puzzle game of time manipulation, choice and consequence. You watch through scenarios to unravel the personal stories of the six people you are tasked to save, while changing their choices along the way to make sure they survive the night of the fire. You can also work through their personal issues while you are at it, which leads to a "perfect ending".

It's definitely an awesome storytelling game that is well written and it combines the ordinary together with the futuristic mundane. It was really hard to just stop playing and I felt like I could have played it from start to finish in one setting if I had the time. The stories of the different characters were very good and really had me hooked. The burned down house was at times creepy and gave a little bit of suspense to the whole game while playing.

The game wasnt too difficult to 100% and I really had a blast while playing it. It's definitely a good game to play if you enjoy choices, time manipulation and a good, well written story. Highly recommended!

S T R A Y

24/24 (100%), 12.5 hours

I played this game for Pay or Play 2nd Cycle of 2024 and it was picked for me by Escollo.

Stray is a third-person cat adventure game set amidst the detailed, neon-lit alleys of a decaying cybercity and the murky environments of its seedy underbelly. You get to play as a cute orange cat who gets separated from it's family and the goal is to find your way back home to the outside world. Time to solve the mysteries of this unwelcoming place inhabited by curious droids and dangerous creatures and make new friends along the way!

It's an absolutely fantastic story with fun gameplay and lovely characters. The main character, the stray cat, is adorable and has very realistic cat movement and mannerisms. Your companion droid, B-12, that you meet along the way, is very adorable little robot with an interesting backstory that unravels as you go forward and collect it's memories along the way.

I felt like this game combined some of my favorite things about games; cats, exploration, collectibles, emotional turmoil and impressive scenery. It really was one of the more enjoyable gaming experiences I have had the pleasure of playing. The soundtrack was also super good and I can't wait to give it a listen later and add it to my spotify list.

I think this is one of those games everyone should play! So I highly recommend this to anyone who is atleast a little bit interested, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

A U T U M N S P I R I T

no achievements, 2 hours

A melancholic love story between a woman, named Clarisse (main character name can be changed), escaping her busy life as a surgeon and the spirit of a deceased young man, named Nathan. On a fateful day, they are led together by the spirit of Nathan's dog, Ulysses, the most goodest boy.

Autumn Spirit is a lovely, yet surprisingly emotional visual novel styled game with an amazing story and characters. The game left me in tears and the emotion that the characters had was felt by me through the screen very strongly. The dog was also a great addition to the game and it made me sad at times.

I highly recommend this game, definitely worth your time!

M E T A L : H E L L S I N G E R

28/28 (100%), 6.5 hours

I won this game through SteamGifts.
I played it for Pay or Play 2nd Cycle of 2024 and it was picked for me by Escollo.

Metal: Hellsinger is a rhythm based FPS game where you need to fire, reload, dodge, murder and mayhem to the beat of the soundtrack. It is really a lovely game, with amazing gameplay and smooth experience even for those of us who suck at rhythm based games.

In the game you play as The Unknown, who has lost her voice to The Judge, and her journey is narrated by this skull, who you can also use as a weapon on your journey. She wants her voice back, and she's going to get it by force. The story was pretty good, I do think there was some things that could have been better, and I feel like the game doesn't shine in this aspect, but it was not bad at all.

Many reviews on steam say that it's basically a really awesome album that comes with a free game attached. That's a pretty accurate statement in my opinion. The soundtrack is absolutely a banger and I really, really, really, REALLY need it to come to spotify. I am still hopeful, even after all this time since release.

I played the game on the easiest difficulty and with the "always on beat" setting, because I remembered playing the demo when it was about to release and having rage quitted it, because I just couldn't do it. It's not you, it's me situation lmao. I can't do rhythm games, but this was absolutely one of those games that I had to experience myself.

Now, I know i've talked about the game already a lot, but let me just say, the final battle with my favorite song from the soundtrack, No Tomorrow (featuring Serj Tankian), was SO GOOD! Like, the song makes it 100x times more amazing and cool. It's just so beautiful. I loved every second of this.

It's definitely a game I'd recommend for anyone who enjoys rhythm based games, and FPS games similar to DOOM. It is absolutely worth every penny it costs.

T A S K P A L S

no achievements, 10.1 hours

I have played a couple of different types of desktop pet games and applications recently, and I have to say, this one has really great artstyle and looks very cute, but lacks in literally anything else. There is good amount of settings, but you cant raise the pets to be on top of your taskbar, as the application only allows you to raise them just a specific amount.

You can select whichever pet you want, which is really nice, but there is no actual mechanics to the pets, on keeping them happy or fed, or to be able to play with them. I believe the developers plan on updating the app some more in the future, so I hope these updates will include some actual mechanics to the application.

Sadly I cannot recommend it at this time of its life, and will instead towards you to some other desktop pet application, as there are a lot of them out there. My opinion on this might change eventually, if more content is added.