PRIME GAMING 4 October 2024

Am I too late with this one? I'm trying to keep to the schedule of
twice per month, but it's not easy; there's just SO MANY free games
being given away these days (and we're not even in the holiday frenzy
yet!) that I sometimes can't keep up. Let's hurry through this list
before even more games pile up.

   [And I mean that quite literally; four new games were added to
    the list between the time I started writing this article and
    by the time I got to the end]



* Tomb Raider: Legend (via GOG)
    The _first_ reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise. It wasn't
    a bad game for its time, but it definitely hasn't aged well,
    neither in visuals nor gameplay. Just the character model looks
    so freakily over-proportioned that I've a hard time playing the
    game


* Hive Jump 2: Survivors (via GOG)
    A bullet-hell shooter with retro-graphics. I'm not really in
    a position to judge -I'm no expert on these sort of games-
    but it doesn't really seem all that exceptional to me; it
    lacks spectacle and the gameplay looks quite ordinary for
    its type.


* Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (via GOG)
    Part adventure game, part card game, all Witcher. It's
    not a bad game, but it feels very much what it is:
    CD ProjectRed's attempt to milk the Witcher license for
    every dollar they can. If you really need more Witcher
    in your life, this one is fine. But overall it feels
    very unnecessary to me.


* Kerbal Space Program (via GOG)
    I think we're all at least _familiar_ with this game,
    even if we've never played it. Take your kerbals to the
    moon (and beyond!) with this surprisingly accurate
    orbital-physics simulator. Its learning curve is not
    the easiest, and it's more 'software toy' than game, but
    if you put the effort into it, it's surprisingly fun.


* LEGO The Hobbit (via GOG)
    Again, you know what this is: it's a Traveller's Tale's
    LEGO game based on the Hobbit. There's no surprises here;
    no innovation. It's not a bad game, but if you've played
    _any_ of the other LEGO games by this developer, there's
    no reason to play this one. It's essentially a skin-swap
    on the characters and levels. You'll not find anything
    new here that you haven't seen in LEGO Indiana Jones
    or LEGO Batman, or LEGO Star Wars or LEGO whatever. It's
    a good game, but really hard to get excited about unless
    for some reason you really liked The Hobbit movie.


* Falconeer, The (via GOG)
    An arcade flight-sim, with the twist being that your
    vehicle of choice is a giant bird. Colorful and fun combat,
    but unfortunately saddled with an unnecessary open-world
    mechanic that dilutes the experience. A solid B-tier
    game.


* Ghost Song (via GOG)
    A Metroidvania-style side-view action/platformer. Fun,
    if not especially novel. Again, solid B-tier gaming (which
    isn't meant as an insult; I've a particular fondness for
    games made by smaller developers).


* Spirit of the North (via Epic)
    A third-person adventure game; take on the role of a fox
    and wander the Icelandic wilds. Very low on challenge; with
    its simplistic puzzles, its only a few steps above a walking
    sim. The games biggest attraction is its fuzzy protagonist
    and its gorgeous visuals.


* No Straight Roads (via Epic)
    A third-person punch-kick-n-jump action game, nominally about
    a rock band, where the combat is reliant on matching your
    attacks to the rhythm. I can't really say I care for the visuals,
    the setting or the gameplay.


* The Eternal Cylinder (via Epic)
    Lead some very strange-looking creatures across an alien
    landscape. The gameplay seems vaguely Pikmin-like; it's hard
    to say. Interesting visuals, but I'm not sure how the gameplay
    holds up.


* Ynglet (via AMAZ)
    The game describes itself as a platformer that did away
    with the platforms, which is as good an explanation as any.
    It's a game focused on the movement through the level but
    instead of jumping you're sort of floating and bouncing
    off obstacles. It's... very experimental.


* Mystery Case Files: Black Crown CE (via AMAZ)
    Another hidden-object adventure game.


* I Love Finding Cats & Pups (via Legacy)
    _Another_ another hidden object adventure game.


* Black Desert (via itself)
    An MMORPG; very grindy if the reviews are to be believed.



A very mixed bag this month; a few welcome titles, a couple
uninteresting games, and a bunch of filler. Well, not every month can
be a winner. We'll see what shows up in a couple of weeks before we
give final judgment.