October / November 2020 report

Awesome game! I haven't played the original so I can't compare them, but I have enjoyed this one so much! It's made by Arkane studios and you can recognize their work pretty well. I love Dishonored and you can feel its touch in Prey. In the way you move, use your abilities, in the fight… this nostalgic feeling was great and enjoyable for me.

Not sure what all I can tell to not spoil much from the plot as I didn't know anything before playing, which was a rather good thing for me. Story is very good, although you can predict some of the development, it's immersive and the outcome still surprised me. I have enjoyed the possibilities you have to resolve any kind of situation. There is never only one right solution or a way you have to take, it all just depends on your skills and the power of your imagination.

Atmosphere of the game is perfect, beautiful graphics and captivating soundtrack do their parts in it. Gameplay is smooth, quick and there is always something going on. It crashed on me twice, I think, but on its defense I was then playing all day in one session… so he was just tired. ;) There was a little problem with graphics settings, which is a common problem apparently (highest resolution resulted in lowest in game) and I have solved it in a moment. Can only recommend it.

This was a pretty good game. I didn't expect anything, I just really liked the pixel graphic design as it reminded me a little of Count Lucanor… I didn't even know what kind of game it's going to be exactly, but I loved it!

It starts simply. You are pulled from your grave to stop the Fog from spreading. To achieve that you have to defeat the one who beckoned it. The path won't be as simple though. You need to navigate a large mansion and its grounds filled with twisted servants to find Beckoners Knights, who hold the keys to him. Among the enemies you can meet NPCs who will shed a bit of a light on the situation and events that lead to the spreading of the Fog. But beware as every step brings you closer towards insanity and you can see the world twisting. Can you fulfill your quest and overcome these horrors?

So, the graphic is perfect. Twisted (this word really suits this game), bloody, gory… the deeper you go down the rabbit hole, the nastier it gets. Pretty. <3 Soundtrack is setting a great feeling to the spreading insanity. Story is very interesting, to fully comprehend it you have to search every crook to find more and more of the lore (there are a lot of things to click at). The game is full of Lovecraftian symbols, hints and it creates a pretty creepy atmosphere! Although there is not a lot of space for some deep character development I find them nicely written, they are interesting, enjoyable and likeable (even hate-able - good thing)! Luckily it has sequels so here I hope for some new information on my favorite ones. ;)

Controls are… well strange and it took me some time to grow accustomed to them, but after that it was fine. Fight is challenging, very much. Just getting through the tutorial level cost me more than 5 deaths. But even though you will often die, it's not frustrating… well, for me at least. I haven't rage quit as with some other similar games (if we consider the fact that some are describing it as "Souls-like" then it's a miracle as I have quit the Dark Souls after, eh, 6 hours). In total there are four different endings, you also have New game+ which gets the difficult level in crazy highs and it's a little slap on your face as you get better and really strong and then you start anew and again you die in a tutorial. XD There are also two challenge levels after you beat the game, insanely hard. I have done it after getting the four endings and playing through it two more times.

I have enjoyed Skautfold very much and can't wait to start the next game! There is only one thing I didn't like and although I maybe understand why it wasn't available (as it has a continuous purpose), I still think it should have been an option. SPOILER I want to kill that jerk Waltham so much! The inability to do so made me rather disappointed. If you like pixel graphics, horror settings and novels from H.P.Lovecraft, I can only recommend it to you!

Your daughter run away from home. Again. You, her father, are following her trails. Firmly decided that you will find and take her back home. With the help of modern technology you know where she is hiding. As you step in the old Moravian forest you begin to doubt your sanity. Memories resurfaces, dreams turns into nightmares and the reality you thought you knew turns upside down.

Someday You'll return is an interesting game, it managed to confuse me a little as I have felt few contradicting emotions towards it. I think that it's a game that was made with a lot of passion, you can feel it. The graphic is beautiful and the soundtrack has some very nice Czech folk songs. The few problems that you can possibly experience don't prevent you from enjoying it to the end. You can notice that it's a combination of different genres - a walking simulator, an action adventure, horror with survival and stealth elements… some of those elements are done better than the others.

So, you are searching for your daughter in this large Czech forest. You will be mostly wandering around all alone, although you will meet some people there, for better or for worse. Exploring the forest is very relaxing. I love forest, autumn forest, its colors and sounds. The design is very beautiful, it's a joy to just stand there and look at the scenery. The forest as it is, is not real, but the individual places are. Through QR codes you can find and learn more about them.
As you explore you will find interactive items. For this you have your inventory with crafty tools. I think this was done nicely. You can inspect the items from every side and then work with them further. There could have been more items you'd need to use it for though. Another part of your inventory belongs to the Herbalist section where you will make potions. With the help of your herbal book you have to collect herbs and prepare them accordingly. There are usually enough herbs for you to gather (they replenish over time too), but you have limited space for them, so it's best to make a reserve of them or your potions as you can't be sure when you will need one.
Horror part shows itself in the beginning after dusk, later in the game you won't be safe even during the day. In these stealth (or runaway) missions you will meet dangerous beings. You can't fight them, you have to outsmart them and get by. These sections are not really hard, although it can take you some time to realize what you are supposed to do exactly. Death isn't any problem, you wouldn't lose anything and there are a lot of autosave spots. Also I can't say that I was afraid exactly, there were moments of uneasiness, discomfort or stress (when I was being hunted by the enemy for example), but I was pretty calm overall. This part can be for some players a bit lacking.

Whole forest is filled with a lot of collectable items and it's a challenge to find them all, even more as one of the items you have to collect in one gameplay. Also you need to be vigilant as there are sections you can skip or completely miss. In the last big update chapter saves were added so you can go back to find the missing thing, but as I said, this won't work for that particular item. I have enjoyed looking for those little collectibles, although it's pretty hard to keep track of where you have already been in the forest and where you need to go next. In addition to that there are few moments when you need your logical thinking, for example when you need to crack a cipher!

Story is told through pages of your daughter's diary, your memories and occasional visions. Later you are not sure what is reality and what is just your imagination, so it can be somewhat confusing from time to time. It's unfolding slowly and it's not like what it seemed to be at the beginning. Some say that the story is predictable… I wouldn't describe it like that. There are parts in the story that are clear without any doubts, but other aspects of the story are developing throughout the game… the biggest role in this have Daniel, you. He is the most unsympathetic obnoxious main hero I have probably ever seen. I wanted to kick him most of the time. But as the story developed, I have changed my opinion towards him and the events that shaped his relationships within his family. Don't get me wrong, he is still an unbelievable jerk… but I felt sympathy for him in the end.

I don't want to spoil much and it's probably better if you won't find anything to the story beforehand. Maybe you will see through it right from the beginning or you will slowly uncover the secrets step by step, but I still think it's worth a try. The game is made with love and none of the shortages prevents you from enjoying it. The end moved me.

As you can see, I have two different scores for it. On one hand, it's a great game and we had a lot of fun with it. The premise is great and it reminded me of Groundhog Day for example. On the other hand, it's a terribly optimized game that kept crashing on us and it could have offered more actual replayability.

Reynardo, fox ex-pirate, gets tangled up in events that are bigger than him and the future of his homeworld depends on his fighting skills, brave soul and witty mind. The Emperor has gone mad and everyone trembles in fear as his soldiers hunt for his next sacrifice to the Old gods. The rebellion needs help in order to stop him, so Reynardo becomes an involuntary hero. How many tries will he need to save the world?

The story is told through pages of a mysterious book, which lets you choose your path and after your failure, to start over again. This time, with the information you have learned before and it's really fun to see how the story develops differently. As you know more and more you'd definitely find the right solution. In total there are 24 stories you can open. Once you find truth about all of the four elements, you can open the true ending. After that, if you want to see it all and open all achievements, you have to play the remaining stories. This proved to be a little tedious as you already know everything and you are only awarded with a different ending - not that they are not nice and funny though! It just lacks any motivation to keep going as you have gathered all orbs, maxed your swords… there is nothing new to open.

Reynardo is a great fighter and in the end he has four hero swords which you can freely use. They have different abilities and they open secret paths. With them you can take a slightly different route or find secret stash. Enemies are not much varied, but fights with them are fast-paced and fun. You can grab them and throw them away or use them as a shield, you can build up your combo and activate some special abilities. Better combo means more experiences.

The graphics are very pretty, so nicely colorful. Soundtrack is also perfect, and compels the story very well. But the best on it is the narrator. He had extremely hard work to do and he nailed it. See, the narrator voices all of the characters and for each of them he changes the voice accordingly! As we are in a magical world there are frogs, cats, rabbits, mysterious stones… he brings it all to life with his voice. Perfect work.
Also the narrator comments on the random things that Reynardo does, so it's fun to try out what will trigger another comment. :)

The crashing. Apparently it has some kind of problem with itself. Every time we have started it, it would crash, after that it would play normally if we were lucky… and as there are few checkpoints you have to do the level from the beginning… it's not a real problem as they are not that long, but it can become boring if you see it five times in a row. Best for the end, two stories before completion it crashed to the blue screen of death and we had to fall back to the point of reversal. So yeah, that wasn't nice.

Overall, if you forget the technical issues, it's a great funny game. It could have offered more of the hidden content or more things to collect from the treasures, but it's still very much enjoyable. If you don't play it all in one session you won't get fed up with it, because the stories are certainly worth it. If you decide to try it, beware of the crashes, but you might be lucky and skip on them. ;)