If you didn’t like Shadowhand’s gameplay, you probably wouldn’t like Ancient Enemy. It’s slightly deeper, but it’s still the same core. And if you don’t like match-3, you probably won’t like SpelunKing, but if you’re like me and you just get bored of playing it the same way all the time, then this provides a similar kind of progressional wrapper that Puzzle Quest did that makes it interesting long-term.
You misunderstand. The original PQ is my favorite game of all time. I’ve played other match-3 games where you move around like that and it isn’t my favorite style. I’ve not played one with PQs rpg depth, though. You are telling me it has that much going on the RPG side (vs something more like 7 Wonders or Labors of Hercules)?
Shadowhand was OK, I guess. I didn’t get that far with it. I recall the pacing feeling quite slow. I’ve enjoyed stuff like Fairway Solitaire. Now that I think about it, I may have been unfairly comparing it to (unconsciously) Solitairica (which is in the top 3 puzzle rpgs ever made, imo, with PQ and M&M:Clash of Heroes).
Mark_L
3335
Well, I will say this: Ancient Enemy does start feeding you abilities and items quickly, making for a fast start in terms of getting new stuff.
Hm. SpelunKing is definitely not PQ. You do collect resources to upgrade your town, but there’s otherwise not a lot of RPG-stuff in it. Instead, it replaces that RPG stuff with exploration. Essentially, instead of individual levels, there are big sprawling maps filled with the match-3 icons. As you match stuff, you move in the direction of the match (and also collect resources). Then there are blocks to break through to get money and sometimes also keys to get past different barriers in the map. And there are doors that lead to one-off match-3 puzzles, like the ones you do in Puzzle Quest to capture monsters.
I played Shadowhand more as a variant of Fairway Solitaire than as a super-deep RPG. I think Ancient Enemy is a step further in the RPG direction–mechanically it’s very similar to Shadowhand, but I think they put more attention on the gameplay balance and variety of weapons/spells/etc.
Thanks, that’s what I thought.
Thanks for calling out Stellar Monarch. And thanks to @BrianRubin for first covering it. Like you, I wasn’t too impressed a few years ago when I first played it. And while I’m not as far into my current game as you are, I’m really impressed how elegantly this game plays. This is really the game that makes you feel like a Stellar Monarch.
I’m still very much in the explore and expand stages, and have only begun exploitation. So, I’ll be interested in seeing how the game manages the extermination portion of 4X. First off, it won’t really be necessary, because the point is to achieve victory goals. However, I’m guessing a few neighborly wars will be helpful. It also looks like there will be some endgame wars with existential threats.
Do you play with automated fleets? I think I’ll prefer leaving them under my control.
David2
3339
No i like to control my fleets as well. I dont want to spoil anything but there are several story events that throw some serious curveballs at you.
took me a while to find i could influence where my budget gets spent, but setting that has a big impact.
I just finished a game, and one of the events is a crazy! Took a lot to recover from. Enjoy, but let me know if you have questions. :)
Enjoying Ancient Enemy so far. The narrative isn’t any better than Shadowhand, which is just what used to be called a bodice-ripper, but the additional depth of play makes it worthwhile.
geewhiz
3341
I stopped playing Shadowhand rather quickly, I am enjoying Ancient Enemy more.
This is out now, anyone playing?
I’ve played the iOS version, but this one is heavily modified to remove the iap stuff. What I played of that version was neat.
LordGek
3345
It’s really nearly identical in all ways EXCEPT they’ve cleverly removed all IAP and metagame gold. Everything is just unlocked via Reputation (and in a few cases via quests or achievement rewards) which is gained simply by making runs (the further you make it on the run, the more you earn). That 1 purchase price grants you access to ALL content, even further characters or cards added post release.
In the mobile version, most of the content could be grinded for at a painfully slow pace but some contnet was ONLY possible via IAP.
As I was discussing with Mysterio, while it clearly takes its core mechanics from Slay the Spire but then goes off in bold and original directions.
I really love how unique all of the characters are in the game. Not only do they all have completely unique thematic passive abilities, but their starter decks are also made from unique cards no other class has access to. Other than these starter cards being unique to each class, unlike almost all other deckbuilders out there, most of these starter deck cards are pretty cool, not the crap you desperately try to scrap from your deck ASAP. I also like that other than each character’s unique starter deck, all other cards and relics the players accrue throughout the game come from a common pool, not separate sets for each character.
I didn’t play that far. Had a decent run going and ran out of ship stamina. It’s that still a thing in this version?
No mention of controller support on the store page. Can you use one?
LordGek
3347
No controller support, it’s almost entirely mouse driven with a few rebindable keyboard shortcuts.
Ship stamina is still a factor but easily refilled at Taverns for 100 coin (or via health if a Carpenter).
Song of Syx - medieval city builder than simulates 10k peasants. You start with a dozen and go from there.
I’ve spent around 3 hours with the prototype, and liked it enough to Kickstart - I only do that once every couple years. Early Access with some of the bigger features is slated for this fall.
It reminds me a lot of Distant Worlds, but medieval. It is still far from complete, but what is there in the prototype is very promising, and already worth a fair chunk of time to tinker with.
I don’t think the story elements are built in yet, or the opposing grand strategy between kingdoms, so I guess that’s the main things to look forward to. Now it’s more like a city builder with some tower defense attacks out of the ether.
Highly recommend. It’s free for another three weeks or so.
That’s a bummer. Thought maybe I could stream the pc version to my ipad
That looks fine and all, but could they not have gone with a different name? A cursory glance at the title suggests it’s a bard-themed dating simulator. Was there no room in the budget for a brief marketing consultation?
