Yearly Archives: 2018

Niffelheim Review

In Norse mythology, Niffelheim is the land of mist and darkness, and is one of the 9 realms that exist on the World-tree Yggdrasil. In fact, translated it means roughly ‘mist home’ or ‘dark home’ depending upon regions and dialects. It is the place where Odin banished Loki’s daughter, Hel (not to be confused with Cate Blanchett’s character Hela in Thor Ragnarok.) Odin then gave Hel dominion over all souls of those who died of old age or disease, for only those who died in battle were taken unto Asgard, another of the 9 worlds, to sit with Odin in the halls of Valhalla until the coming of the last battle, Ragnarok.

Along comes your character. You get to select from one of four fearsome Norse warriors: the Viking, the Valkyrie, the Berserker, or the Shaman. Each of them fell in battle, and yet instead of arriving in style with the Valkyrie of Odin’s court (sort of like angels on chariots, and whom the female warrior vikings were named after) to Asgard, you wash up on the mist shrouded shores of Niffelheim, for Hel has robbed Odin, and you, of your dues.

Each of the four warriors has particular attributes. Metabolism is how fast your satiety (hunger) meter goes down, and thus how frequently you need to eat. Health is how much punishment you can take, and defense is how much punishment a given blow does to you. Finally is the damage stat, which is how much punishment you can dish out. The Viking is a nice middle of the road character. The Valkyrie needs less food, but does less damage, and has resistances to some damage types. Berserkers do lots of damage, but have poor defense and high metabolisms (meaning they eat voraciously) and shamans have the best defense, but the worst damage and the second worst metabolism. This means that each will have a slightly different playstyle, as well. Berserkers are going to need to spend more time harvesting food because of their metabolism, but are also going to hit harder in combat so might want to spend more time hunting animals than gathering plants. I’ll add here that this game can be played multiplayer, with each of the four heroes and four lands being selectable. You can also choose to play alone with 1-3 bots.

Big Bear Mound Niffelheim Review

After selecting your hero, you arrive in the land you’ve selected before. Each land is based on a spirit totem type animal: bear, wolf, eagle, and dragon. This totem will be reflected in the structures and landscape, but otherwise each region is the same as the others, with the same randomly spawned resources. Surface resources include trees, herbs, vegetables, and animals, all of which will have a use. I do not believe I’ve come across anything in the game that couldn’t be used for something. Also in each surface region is a totem craft station. At these stations you can make miniature animal charms that give various buffs or healing. These are the only craft stations that I have noticed that can’t also be built in your castle’s underground. It’s worth noting that you can find low level alchemy and cooking stations out in the wilderness, so these aren’t necessarily immediately necessary to craft for yourself, though making sure you’ve got a good stockpile of food is going to be something that you work on throughout the game.

Speaking of crafting for yourself, you’ve got a keep! If you want to turn it into a castle, it’s going to take some work. Within the keep you have an underground burrow. Here are your storage chests, your workbenches, etc. As with many games of the survival genre, you must essentially level up each bench in a rough sequence. Doing so allows you to make better gear, which allows you to go to more dangerous areas and face harder enemies, which allows you to make better gear, etc. This is basically called tiered progression. To unlock a Tier 4 furnace, you need items from a Tier 3 alchemy lab, and so on.

Beneath your castle are your mines. The mines are randomly generated and have all the mineral type resources you’d expect to find. Copper and iron ore (as well as more rare metals later). Clay and saltpeter. All sorts of goodies. The deeper you go in the mines, the higher the quality of minerals. You’ll also find mushrooms in the mines, which also get more rare the deeper you go. Basically it’s a standard risk = reward type system. One neat thing is that the mines are randomly generated at the beginning of the game, replenish periodically through underground earthquakes. Essentially meaning you can’t ever completely run out of a mined resource. Considering you use these for consumables like arrows and traps, this was glad news for me indeed!


Oooh, I know someone that wants this mushroom!

Not everything in the mines is your friend. There are clouds of poison, spiders, skeletons, rats, trolls and worse. There are also dark rogue priests that will give you quests, claiming to wish to help you, though they keep their motives close to their chests. If you get too beat up, you can stand near a cluster of fireflies to help replenish your health more quickly.

Now, I mention trolls. I’m not talking your standard basement dwelling internet prowling troglodyte, but rather nasty creatures with large clubs, dubious complexion, and horrendous halitosis. These creatures are some of the first bosses of the game, and they are tough. You’ll want to have plenty of potions, matched armor, and the best weapon you can acquire when you first encounter one, and even then, be ready to spam healing potions as you run away. I will say, this is one of my lesser disappointments with Niffelheim as a game: The combat just isn’t that engrossing. It amounts to repeatedly left clicking (or hitting the F key) until you or your enemy dies. You’re supposed to be able to block with your shield, but I haven’t seen it having a whole lot of effect, and even if it did, it’s still not much. Really though, the rest of the game makes it interesting enough that I don’t really care that much.

Any fight you can limp away from…

So you’ve defeated your first boss. If you’re lucky, it has dropped a portal stone. Chances are, if this is the first troll you’ve encountered, it probably won’t. I get the distinct impression that the harder the bosses, the more likely they are to drop the valuable portal stones.

Twenty-two Portal stones, in all, are what is required to finish Niffelheim, and make your way from Hel’s clutches into your promised reward in Odin’s feast hall. Mind, not every boss will drop a portal stone the first time, and after they do drop one, they no longer will, but instead will be more challenging and will have better loot.

All in all, I had a great time with Niffelheim.  It sort of has a Terraria like feel in the most vague of ways, but crossed with some good ol’ fashion Norse mythology, which I greatly appreciate. The game has a variety of quests to keep you going, including many with good rewards offered by a strange raven who visits your castle (in fact, if you do a quest for him, then enter your castle and come back out, he’ll be right there again).

During my play of the game, I didn’t actually encounter any bugs, which, in this day and age, frankly amazed me. There were some minor translation issues (your gear when it breaks informs you that it has “Weared out”), but that can be overlooked. The animations and combat leave a little to be desired, but the overall art itself is pretty high quality. There is a Horde that attacks your base every 7 days, and once one of the NPC bots that I had turned on came with them to try to attack my castle. My defenses and my blade made short work of the interloper, however. The Hordes keep you motivated to progress, though, as they will also get stronger as time passes, meaning you’ll need to upgrade your base to survive.


So wait, every 7 days I get attacked by a bunch of undead… why is that familiar?

All in all, I give Niffelheim 4.5/5. If you’ve read my reviews you’ll know I don’t give marks that high very often, and there’s a reason I do so with Niffelheim. The game is just fun. The graphics are good, if not great, and the gameplay is engrossing. It’s seemingly mostly bug free, which is glorious. It’s definitely one of those “One more turn” type games that make you profane against the Aesir when you realize you stayed up playing 3 hours longer than you’d meant to. And worth every minute of lost sleep.

Star Control: Origins Free Multiverse DLC & v1.1 Updates Go Live

Stardock Entertainment released their free Multiverse DLC today alongside update 1.1, for their open-universe space adventure, Star Control: Origins. The Multiverse DLC includes access to the Multiverse option on the main menu of Star Control: Origins, which is where players will be able to download mods from others in the Steam community and apply them to their game. This is also where players are able to share their mods with others. Using their modding guide will let players access the Adventure Builder. This lets players create a quest that spans the galaxy, complete with custom characters, dialogue options and more. The ship and building editors let players create the assets for these quests and make them as unique as they desire.

Along with the Multiverse DLC comes Star Control: Origins v1.1. This update includes improvements to gameplay, graphics, and game balancing. Several other enhancements, including a new quest line, new voices for Free Trandals, and improved rover physics, have also been included.

GTarcade Desktop’s 1st Anniversary Giveaway

We’ve partnered with GTarcade to celebrate the first anniversary of the GTarcade Desktop client with a double code giveaway for League of Angels III and Era of Celestials!

GTarcade Desktop is specially designed destop client that ensures players can always enjoy a smooth gaming experience playing their favorite GTarcade browser games and now, mobile games as well. GTarcade has it’s own reward program through the 2 available currencies: G Points and G Coins. Playing through the client can also bring additional rewards to players in the form of one of the currencies. The client currently supports a total of 14 languages in over 230 different countries and regions where players can play a range of games from the browser series League of Angels to the mobile game Era of Celestials.


League of Angels III is the third and newest turn-based MMORPG from GTarcade’s LoA series. This game is designed to push the limits of next-generation browser games. This game combines state-of-the-art 3D graphics and special effects, as well as an epic story to create a unique fantasy world.

Immerse yourself in the mesmerizing storyline following the Dragon’s invasion of the Grace continent. From Everlast to Tempest to Glandal, each angel has her own complex and fascinating background for you to get immersed in. League of Angels III brings intense combat to keep players on the edge of their seats.


Era of Celestials is one of Yoozoo’s latest mobile MMORPG where players choose on of three classes and unseal different celestial transformations in their bid to save humanity.

Enemies have rampaged all the way to the gates of Celestial City, and defeat is looming on the horizon for the last bastion of humanity. As darkness closes in, the Celestials look to their greatest champions for salvation. Answer the call and embark on the Path of the Vanquisher! Fight for glory!


Your Codes Include:

  • For League of Angels III:
    • Mount Adv. Stone*20
    • Wing Adv. Stone*20
  • For Era of Celestials:
    • Ruby* 300
    • Grade S Merc Vouchers*4
    • Gold*1000000

PLEASE NOTE:

  • Codes must be redeemed by December 31, 2018.
  • You will be given two codes by our system, separated by a comma. The first code (longer) is for LOAIII; the second (shorter) is for EOC.

How to Redeem Your Codes:

LOAIII:

  1. Sign up to play on GTarcade (https://loa3.gtarcade.com/) and either play through the browser, or play through the dedicated desktop app (https://www.gtarcade.com/en/micro/download).
  2. In-game click on Reward Hall in the top right corner of the main interface, then go to Gift Code to enter your code and receive your items.

EOC:

  1. Download the game on Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gtarcade.eoa) or the App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/app/era-of-celestials/id1346453683?l=zh&ls=1&mt=8), or play through the dedicated desktop app (https://www.gtarcade.com/micro/download).
  2. In-game click on Bonus in the top right corner of the main interface, then go to Other Rewards and then Redeem to enter your code and receive your items.

Note: Unfortunately ad blockers may interfere with our site. If you have any issues claiming a key, please disable them and try again.

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Announces Next DLC Update

Ni no Kuni 2 Review - Scenic

I had such a hard time narrowing screens down: Either they are embargoed, or there was something else that fit too.

Bandai Namco has released new information regarding Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdoms next DLC. Entitled “The Lair of the Lost Lord”, it will be available this winter for fans of the game, if they purchased the Season Pass, or available as a separate purchase. The Lair of the Lost Lord DLC will include a new labyrinth dungeon in the Rubby Ruins, a new Material Method system that introduces a new fighting style to the game’s combat, as well as new weapons and quests that provide additional backstories of the main characters.

Labyrinth

This new dungeon in the Rubby Ruins is ruled by the Prince of Wraiths who plans on destroying Evermore, Evan’s newly created kingdom. Evan and his friends must step into this mysterious dungeon and stop the Prince of Wraiths before his kingdom is destroyed.

 Material Method system

The new Material Method system enhances the player’s battle style. It seems to be obtained from memories of people Evan meets through his journey. What sorts of changes can the Material Method include? Stay tuned for more information.

 New quests and items

More than 80 new weapons and armor will be added into the game while new quests will help provide back stories to Evan’s friends.

 

Human: Fall Flat Has New Free PC Update

Human Fall Flat Halloween

Curve Digital is proud to announce that No Brakes Games’ physics-based puzzler, Human: Fall Flat is receiving a free update for PC/Mac. With it, eight more languages were added to the game: Turkish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Thai, and Indonesian. A fun Halloween treat is also coming thanks to No Brakes Games and their partner, Sumo Digital.

This free update also includes five new hair-raising customisation options. Players will be able to deck Bob out with the Mummy and Skeleton Models, the Pumpkin Head, the Witch Hat and hairstyle, or the Hockey Mask. Don these ghoulish costumes either alone or with your friends in up to eight-player multiplayer.

“It’s awesome that we’ve continued to support Human: Fall Flat and these Halloween customisations are something I’ve wanted to do for a while. They’ve turned out great!” said developer Tomas Sakalauskas. “Most importantly, as Human: Fall Flat continues to grow and find a global audience, it’s great that we can continue to add new languages to the game making it as accessible as possible for players worldwide.”

Blockpost

Blockpost is a free-to-play first person shooter produced and developed by Skullcap Studios. It ‘borrows’ traits from several other games, including loot boxes. You can totally customize your character.

Features:

Much map: 7 familiar game modes to play across 20 different maps.

So Guns: More than 100 types of firearms to obtain from the cash shop.