Whether you spent yesterday in a tryptophan coma, ladling out mashed potatoes for the homeless, getting hypothermia at Standing Rock, or somewhere outside the United States wondering what on earth I'm talking about, I hope you had a good 24th of November. "Gunpowder, treason, and plot," and all that... no, wait, that's a different national holiday. It's been a slow week for new releases, probably because few devs want to go head-to-head with Black Friday sales, even though games are not a commodity.
So, what do we have this week? A Scandinavian retro adventure game, a Hearthstone clone, Microsoft Solitaire, and a Dungelot-alike that I skipped over last week.
Yeah, I suppose you do have to explain what a phonebook does nowadays.
Kathy Rain
Kathy Rain is an adventure __game in the late-VGA style about a slacker college student who starts unearthing her hometown's dark secrets after the death of her grandfather draws her out of the party life. If you're looking for a retro-adventure or a mystery game, Kathy Rain will hit the spot, but it didn't hook me. Kathy's punk attitude and effortlessly perfect makeup feel cliche to me, and while the writing's not bad, it also felt predictable. Perhaps the true measure of the __game is that it left me wanting to replay The Shivah, or maybe Blackwell Legacy.
You can bring Kathy in out of the rain on iOS or Android.
After I clear this dungeon, I'm taking my haul to the mall to buy a better sports bra and an actual shirt!
Dungeon Journey: Source of Evil
I came across Dungeon Journey when I'd nearly finished writing last week's post, and, after a glance, threw it back. My first reaction may have been correct. Dungeon Journey is very similar to Dungelot, but lacks that game's charm. The style is "grittier" but not terribly coherent, and the most significant mechanical difference is that when you attack enemies, they shoot a fireball back at you and you have to tap your character's portrait at just the right time to block for half damage. I'll admit I have a bias: I hate it when twitchy challenges are wedged into basically turn-based games, and the blocking mechanic in Dungeon Journey felt entirely gratuitous to me.
If you're dying for more Dungelot, you can give Dungeon Journey a try on iOS or Android.
Aaaaargh! It's a Monty Python reference! Run away!
Drakenlords
It might be unfair to call Drakenlords a Hearthstone clone, but if you've played Hearthstone you'll know exactly what to expect here. The art style is less flashy, heroes are customizable and gain new options (but not "base stats") as they level up, there's a lot of emphasis on tap-to-activate card abilities (one of those M:TG details Hearthstone simplified out of the game), and there's a substantial, free, single player campaign... but pretty much everything else is like Blizzard's CCG. This does mean that Drakenlords has straightforward per-pack pricing without any timers, multipliers, or other shenanigans. There one additional option: selected individual cards (that support each other) are offered on a daily basis, and they're surprisingly expensive: wanna pay $10 for the "Epic" card du jour? It combos well with the $4 "Rare" and $20 "Legendary" cards also available today!
A Hearthstone by another name might be more AD&D: Drakenlords is available on iOS and Android.
Umm... yay?
Microsoft Solitaire Collection
Yes, that Microsoft. Yes, that solitaire. Yes, it's pretty much exactly you remember it, though we didn't have five game modes and daily challenges back in 1998. Even the monetization won't surprise you if you've played Solitaire on Windows 10: the game is add-supported, but a subscription removes the adds and allows you to start games with cheat-y bonuses. You get a free month of "Premium Edition" when you install the game, after that it's $2/month. I think there's also a $10/year subscription but I haven't been able to confirm that.
If your memories of Microsoft Solitaire are more "fuzzy slippers" than "hair shirt," you can Klondike it up on iOS or Android.
I also took a look at World of Dungeons this week, but that game goes all-in on FTP monetization, so I decided to spare us all and give it a pass.
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