Prime Gaming 14 February 2025

Has it really been two weeks already since our last update to the
Prime Gaming give-aways?  It seems like just yesterday. Surely that's
not been enough time to add many games. This will probably be a short
post.


* Talos Principle: Gold Ed. (via GOG)
     The classic puzzle game makes its return; wander the
     world and solve a variety of logic puzzles, a la "The
     Witness" or "The Turing Test". It's fine, if you like
     that sort of game, but not very original otherwise.


* Bioshock Infinite Complete Ed (via GOG)
     No surprise here, since Amazon (and GOG) have been
     working their way through the series for a couple
     months. I've mixed feelings about this one; it's probably
     got the best gameplay of the trilogy, but its writing is
     hamfisted and it lacks the novelty of the earlier titles.
     It was a sequel made because a sequel had to be made, not
     because it had anything new to offer.


* Dark Sky (via GOG)
     I... don't know this game, which surprises me more than
     it probably should. Its store page describes it as a
     'narrative RPG' but then follows it up with the word I love
     to hate: deckbuilder, so I don't really care after that. Is
     it good? Is it bad? What's it all about? I don't know and I
     doubt I'll ever find out.


* The Smurfs 2: Prisoner of the Green Stone (via GOG)
     Yeah, no. Just... no. Didn't like the Smurfs when they were
     a comic, didn't care for them as a cartoon and I've no
     interest in them as a video game. Pass.


* Hardspace: Shipbreaker (via EPIC)
     Broken down to its core, "Hardspace" is another in a long
     line of survival-crafting games, albeit one that takes place
     in space and is more focused on the disassembly aspect of
     crafting than the constructive bits. The gameplay itself isn't
     particularly interesting; it's tedious and repetitive. What
     makes the game is the complex and surprisingly detailed design
     of the wrecks you have to tear apart. If you've ever look at
     the GNDN pipes in Star Trek and wished you could follow them
     to figure out what they did, this is the game for you.


* Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior (via EPIC)
     It looks like an top-down action/adventure game --a hack-
     n-slash brawler where you run about slicin' and dicin'
     enemies-- but in practice it's more of a puzzle game where
     you have to figure the best method to use your abilities
     to get past the bad-guys in the limited time available.
     Its combat does get a bit repetitive and there's no real
     sense of progression thanks to weak weapons and spells; it
     almost feels experimental more than a polished game. It's
     different, and that's welcome, but it could have used more
     time in the oven.


* AK-xolotl: Together (via EPIC)
     A rogue-like shooter with cutesy animal mascots and retro
     graphics. Sorry, not my thing. Or, given the reviews, not
     the thing for a lot of others either. Frequent issues
     mentioned are overlong boss fights, repetitive combat and
     just a general lack of polish. Diehard fans of the genre
     might find some value in this game; for others, there are
     better games.


* Sands of Aura (via EPIC)
     Another top-down action/adventure. I think this game WANTS
     to be Souls-like, but its simplistic combat robs it of this
     ideal. It has some nice visuals and the setting is
     interesting, but otherwise it's fairly average in gameplay.
     An acceptable B-tier game that you play as a palette
     cleanser between bigger and better titles.


* Stunt Kite Party (via Amazon)
     Meh. It looks too cutsey for me. I don't even care to
     learn more about it; there's nothing on the store page
     that makes me want to play it.


* Surf World Series (via Amazon)
     I'm a sucker for good water effects, and this game... well,
     it has water effects, anyway. I'm not sure they're GOOD but
     what it has is enough to make me want to give the game a
     try anyway. Gameplay wise, it reminds me of those old Epyx
     summer-games collections, just with revamped visuals. It's
     not the sort of game that would occupy me for long, but as
     I'd be happy to splash around in the shallow end of the wave-
     pool for a while.



Huh. This post went on for longer than I expected. This time we got
some good games, some average, and some not-worth-the-time (still no
greats, though)... but that's better than last time. The Number goes
up.

We'll see what happens in two weeks.