High Stakes Celestial Ballin' in Pyre

Pyre tells the story of a band of exiles competing in a celestial competition.

The 2018 Steam Summer Sale has been going on for about a week and I've been joyfully ticking some boxes off of my wishlist.  I am notoriously tight-fisted when it comes to games and refuse to pay full price unless it's some kind of masterpiece (The Witcher 3!  I am pretty sure that's the last one I bought for all the dinero) and I'm usually hesitant if the game has reviews that don't skew into the "very positive" or "overwhelmingly positive" categories.  When Pyre initially came out, I read some very mixed reviews--some people really enjoyed it and some people did not.  (I know, I know...reviews should undoubtedly be taken with a grain of salt)  As a result, I wishlisted it and it sat on my wishlist till just now.  I am glad that I bought it on sale, but I did thoroughly enjoy it.

Pyre is an engrossing amalgam of a visual novel, RPG, and an oddly sports-like type of ball game.  Let me attempt to explain the basic premise of the game....

The story follows a group of exiles who have been cast out of their home for a variety of different (and, at the beginning of the game, hidden) offenses against the powers that be.  Your character is known as "the reader," and you are rescued by a group of three masked and oddly attired individuals.  The crime that resulted in your exile was your ability to read--something that is against the law in the Commonwealth, and is a skill desperately needed by this group, who hope that you can read a secret book of rites that will aid them in their quest--freedom from exile and the ability to return to their homeland.

The exiles inform you that in order to win their (and your) freedom that you must help them compete in a series of rituals known as "rites."  These rites consist of two teams of three who must attempt to extinguish the pyres of the opposing team.  A round, ball-like object called the "celestial orb" must be thrown or carried into a pyre in order to extinguish it.  Each pyre has a certain number of points and the goal is to be the first to reduce the points to 0 and extinguish the pyre.

The story follows the exiles as they travel throughout the Downside competing against the many different triumvirates who are also completing the rites.  Along the way you pick up a diverse sampling of other exiles who wish to be part of your group.  The ultimate goal is to make it to the top of a sacred mountain where you will compete for your freedom.

Unfortunately, once you get to the top of the mountain, you learn that gaining your freedom is more complicated than what you thought and that there is actually much more at stake (I won't spoil it!  You have to make some difficult choices.  It's the reasons for making the choices that are thought provoking).

SPOILERS AHEAD.  BEWARE!

Pros:
--Great story.  In my book, Supergiant does a fabulous job coming up with unique and intriguing stories.  Pyre is another strong example and I enjoyed the concept of competing and then having to choose which of your group would earn their freedom (or not...it's totally up to you).  The story gets even more complicated when you learn that there's a revolution brewing and that the exiles who you choose to release could play a major part in the success of the uprising.  Which leads me to my second point...

--Choices.  Playing the role of the reader means that you are responsible for basically every choice that is made.  You decide where the Blackwagon will roll to next.  You decide who will compete in each rite.  You decide what to buy from the slugmarket.  You decide who earns their freedom at the end of the sacred rite....and that's a big decision.  The choices you make have an impact on the story and have an impact on your progress in the game.  You absolutely want to make sure that your squad will be able to compete and be successful in rites but you will find yourself thinking about the characters themselves.  Do you free someone who you feel deserves to be free?  Do you free someone who you think will help the revolution the most?  Or are you merciful and do you allow your team to lose for the sake of a competing character who has their own reasons for wanting freedom?

I found myself thinking rather deeply about why I was choosing who I was and I think that every player can also make the same analysis.  I freed characters based on who I felt deserved it the most--the characters who seemed to have the purest motives.  Hedwyn wanted to make it back in order to find the Harp who he fell in love with; Sir Gilman was an honorable Wyrm and was willing to make sacrifices for the good of others....I chose along those lines.  Did I choose right?  Does it really matter?  The choices you make do have an impact on the story and the outcome at the end of the game.

--Amazing cast of characters.  The world in Pyre is populated by eight different ethnicities that vary widely--hulking, horned demons; winged, flying women called Harps; quick-talking, speedy dog-like creatures known as Curs; humans; tree-like Saps; imps; slithering, bog crones; and nimble Wyrms.  You start off your journey with just three companions, but as you progress your ranks grow.  You get many opportunities to interact with your companions and learn more about them and their reasons for exile.  As you compete against other teams, you might learn more about a certain character--an old grudge might be brought up.  You grow to like some characters and dislike others.

There's are also multiple opportunities to learn more about the characters that make up the other teams that you face.  Each team seems to have its own reasons for wanting to participate in the rites--some are doing it for positive reasons and others are in it merely for their own selfish needs.  When you do finally face off in the liberation rite, you can always opt to be merciful and to let the opposing team win and have the right to free a member.

--The should-be-patented, beautiful Supergiant soundtrack.  It goes without saying that the music is phenomenal.  Like Bastion  and Transistor before, Pyre features a set of delightful acoustic (and not acoustic) tracks to accompany you on your journey.  Each team has their own theme music that is very fitting--the Dissidents have a sort of punk rock feel while there's some wicked harpsichord plunking that accompanies the Chastity (led by the snobbish H. Manley Tinderstauf).  At specific junctures there's also the haunting vocals provided by Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett.  If you've ever played any of Supergiant's games, you know that the music is usually one of the best parts (here's a link to the soundtrack:  Pyre OST) 

--A fascinating game world.  The early part of the game sees your team, the Nightwings, travel across the broad expanses of the Downside.  Each area that you travel through is different and represents a specific Scribe and ethnicity.  There are boggy areas, forests, mountains, tempestuous seas and many other biomes.  Each area is stunningly illustrated and has a certain feel that represents each team that you face off against--the bog dwellers have a strange obsession with a dead god called Yslach and the bogs have a creepy, cult-like feel.  The way that you travel through the world reminded me of the travel aspect of The Banner Saga--gorgeously rendered landscapes roll by as you move around the map.

--The rites.  There's something competitive about the rites, but they're also a part of the story.  I enjoyed the rites, each had its own challenge, and there is something exciting about the ball game.  There's a strategic aspect to picking your squad and to figuring out how to exploit the weaknesses of the other team.  At first, the rites are really fun.

One of the other intriguing aspects of the rites is the fact that it doesn't really seem to matter if you win or lose (*I don't know how true this is--I only lost two matches).  The game doesn't end if you lose and your squad will still gain experience.  It is important to win because the teams with the most favor are the ones who face off in the liberation rites.  The game seems to be set up to always keep you at the top of the list, but losing can turn out to be a good thing.

--RPG-like aspects.  Each character gains experience from participating in the rites and can gain levels.  At certain levels, you are given the option to pick talents from one of two talent trees (or from both--it's up to you).  Characters also have a talisman slot that allows them to equip an item that will enhance their abilities in the rite.  Talismans can provide many different types of buffs--damage buffs, defensive buffs, etc. and it's totally up to you to decide how to utilize them.

--Different gameplay modes.  Within the story itself there is an option for each character to complete a set of trials.  These trials emphasize the strengths of each specific character and the reward for completing them is a powerful talisman.  The talismans that are rewarded draw on each character's specific abilities and enhances them.

If you're looking for something more competitive, there's also a versus mode where you can face off against real or AI opponents.

--Replayability.  There are so many choices to be made and they have a massive impact on how the game ends.  As a result, there is much room for going back and making different choices to see how differently the story will end.

Cons:
--The rites can get repetitive.  The entire game is centered around the concept of competing in the celestial ball game.  Meeting all the competing teams at the beginning of the game is entertaining, but later on, it starts to feel like a slog to get to the liberation rites.  You end up seeing many of the same teams multiple times.

--Control within the rites is weird.  You control a team of three but can only control one character at a time.  Positioning your characters requires switching rapidly back and forth while also making sure to keep the opposing team under tabs.  Passing the orb effectively is difficult.  Most of the time you will find yourself playing one character (usually a speedy one) and using their abilities to attack the opposing pyre.  The AI has an advantage because it can more effectively control its squad.  I played on normal difficulty and found almost all of the matches to be fairly easy.  On the few matches where it was more difficult, the computer was very good at moving its characters around and banishing my team.

--This is not a con for me, but it's worth mentioning that there is a large amount of reading.  Visual novel is one of the descriptors used on Steam.  If you're not a fan of having to read dialogue, you probably want to skip this one.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Pyre.  Most of the reviews I had read prior to playing it were fairly ambivalent and I was worried that I was wasting my money.  The story and characters are fantastic while the actual gameplay itself can get a little tiring.  I would definitely recommend Pyre. 

Cookin' Up Monster Bits

Every once in awhile someone decides that mashing together a bunch of random game genres is a good idea.  Crypt of the Necrodancer managed to bring together a unique combination of rhythm game, dungeon crawler, and roguelike into a fun (but freakin' hard) game.  It was with this in mind that I decided to take a gamble on another game with a seemingly strange blend of genres.  Battle Chef Brigade is an engaging blend of fighting game, match three puzzle game, and cooking game.  It sounds bizarre...but it works.

The story of the game involves a young woman named Mina who works in her family restaurant.  Mina is a young adult who is ready to strike out on her own but feels a strong sense of loyalty to her family.  Her dream is to compete in a countrywide cooking contest for a chance to join an elite group of warrior cooks known as the Battle Chef Brigade.  She decides to run away and finds herself in the middle of a fierce competition full of amusing characters.

There's a pattern to the days that Mina spends at the tournament.  Each day she can complete a set of three jobs to earn some gold.  Gold can be used to purchase new items that fall into three categories--combat, ingredients, and cooking implements.  Mina is also expected to challenge a different character every day.  The competition involves killing monsters, preparing the parts, and then presenting them to a judge to receive a score.

To prepare a dish, Mina must first kill a bunch of monsters and take their parts back to the cooking area.  Each monster part has its own gem pattern and is dropped into a pan (or oven) and then the gems are part of a match three game.   When gems are matched up they will upgrade--there are three different levels of gems and points are awarded according to the total level of gems in your dish at the end of the competition.  It's very important to try to upgrade as many gems as you can.  Doing so is no small task though as each challenge is timed--you really have to pay attention to how much time you have left.  Every challenge is judged by either an individual judge or a panel of judges.  The judges all have their own preference for ingredients--fiery, watery, or earthy.  Each match also has a theme ingredient.  In order to get the most out of your dish, it's very important to keep the preferences of the judge in mind and to make sure that you include the theme ingredient.  At the end of the match the dishes are scored and the character with the highest score is declared the winner.

I'm sure it doesn't sound very complicated, but matching gems gets harder as different, more demanding components are added.  Ingredients with bones, poisoned items that explode, fragile gems that will break if they're moved too much...matching gets complicated toward the end of the game.  Challengers also get more talented and dishes require more thought and careful planning.

Altogether, I found Battle Chef Brigade to be a fun adventure with a unique style.  I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something that is distinctive from other games.  There's a bit of so many different genres that there's bound to be something enjoyable for everyone.

Pros:

--Cute, positive story.  It's largely based around the competition, but there are other events that occur and you're given a nice backstory for the main characters.  It's largely about working together to overcome a threat.  (I don't want to spoil it)

--Anime style.  All the characters have their own vibe and the art style in the game is definitely anime inspired.  I enjoyed the animated cutscenes and the dialogue that was part of the story.

--Diverse cast of characters.  The cooking competition is filled with some very unique characters.  Thrash is an orc with bulging muscles--he looks very intimidating, but he's actually a really nice orc.  Ziggy is a lanky guy who is always accompanied by a strange floating blob of goo...who he claims is a ghost (there's more to Ziggy than meets the eye).  Cezar is a grumpy dwarf who hates it when you try to make small talk with him.  The townspeople who provide Mina's daily jobs for gold are also delightful characters--Belchior is an eccentric inventor with a house full of cute cats; Thorn is a crabby, elfish woman who grudgingly helps with hunting skills; and Pontida is a dwarven woman who runs a restaurant where speed is key.

--Equippable items let you personalize your playstyle.  Each challenge allows you to pick the items that you want to use as part of the competition.  There are special cooking pans to help you with a certain type of gem, combat upgrades like daggers that will ignite monsters and do damage over time, and ingredients which will appear in your pantry at the beginning of the match (or expertise books which offer a bonus for making sure a dish meets certain requirements).

--Cooking is challenging without being completely overwhelming.  It's a little bit like Bejeweled Twist and you will need some puzzle solving skills to cook truly amazing dishes.  As the competition winds on, the competitors are increasingly difficult to defeat.

--Daily challenges with leaderboards.  If competition is your thing, the daily challenge allows you to compete for a score and a place on the Steam leaderboards.

--Challenge modes.  Speed mode challenges you to match as many patterns as you can within a time limit.  Hunting mode is combat oriented and challenges you to enter an area use your skills to break as many plates as you can within a time limit.

Cons:

--Short.  I finished the entire story mode in eleven hours.  It was a lot of fun...I was wishing for more.

--A tad repetitive.  The competition is basically the same with a few variables thrown in like the preferences of the judges or the theme item.  I wish there was more interaction with the character that you are competing against--maybe each character has a special ability?

Battle Chef Brigade is currently featured in the Steam summer sale and can be yours for $11.99.  Give it a whirl.

Prelude to a Masterpiece--The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The Witcher 3:  Wild Hunt is an amazing RPG--one of my favorites, but I've always felt like the second game in the Witcher series--Assassins of Kings--deserves a lot of praise too.  I've been continuing my summer journey that I've dubbed "Witcherfest 2018" and just finished playing through Assassin of Kings.  It had been several years since I played the second game and now I remember all the reasons why I've always enjoyed it.

Assassins of Kings picks up directly after the events that take place in the final cinematic of the first game--a masked assassin makes an attempt on the life of Foltest of Temeria, but is foiled by Geralt.  After the pitched battle, Geralt unmasks the assassin and reveals that he is also a witcher.  Why would a witcher want to kill a king?

As Geralt attempts to get to the bottom of all the regicide occurring in the Northern Kingdoms, he finds himself mired firmly in the middle of a major political upheaval--namely the ongoing conflict between humans and non-humans (in the Witcherverse this means dwarves and elves).  Plus, there's always Witchers work to be done--contracts to fill and monsters to slay--and unruly sorceresses to romance.  There's also the ongoing issue of Geralt trying to recover his memory.

Pros:

--Branching quest design.  Many, many times I've thought "wouldn't it be amazing if the choices you made in a game actually resulted in different stories and outcomes?"  Immediately after this thought I usually realize what a design nightmare that would actually be--there would need to be multiple storylines with different characters, differing environments...it would definitely make an already complicated task infinitely more complicated.

In its own semi-small way Assassins of Kings takes on this task.  It doesn't span for the entire game, but happens after players make a major decision during the Flotsam chapter.  You either choose to assist Vernon Roche and take down the corrupt commander of the backwater outpost or you opt to help Iorveth and the elves flee to Vergen.  Whichever outcome you choose determines which storyline you end up with in chapter two of the game--you are either in a camp full of soldiers with Roche and the Blue Stripes or you are in the non-human town of Vergen.  In the end, you're either attacking the city of Vergen or defending it.

This is one of the few games where your choice does clearly make an impact on at least a small part of the story.  The main outcome of the chapter is essentially the same, but getting to choose from two different perspectives is still a great design choice.

Geralt in the Kayran Carapace armor.

--Armor that looks functional and has an amazing amount of detail.  Witchers wear specially designed armors that are lightweight and accommodate their unique fighting style.  Each piece of armor that Geralt dons is fascinating to analyze.  You can see how and why something connects to another piece and it makes sense.  Each "boss" type of monster that Geralt slays offers the chance for players to craft a new, unique piece.  Even NPC's feature armor that is clearly inspired by medieval styles.

--Fun and challenging "boss" monsters that play into the story.  These monsters each have their own strengths and involve some strategizing to kill.  Whether you're dodging the flailing tentacles of the kayran or trying not to get gobbled up by a dragon, each boss offers a novel conflict.

--Lifting the blood curse in chapter two is epic.  Watching the pitched spectral battle take place and then getting to be a part of it is probably one of my favorite moments from the entire series.  All throughout the chapter you learn the story of the battle and then you get to play it out in different parts.  It all wraps up with the boss fight against the draug (not the best boss fight, but the draug itself is an interesting design).

--Beautiful environments.  From the forested backwater of Flotsam to the ruins of the magical city of Loc Muinne, there's tons of variety and each has its own special kind of charm.  Even for a game that is now 6-7 years old, it's still beautiful to behold.

--Improved side diversions.  The first game introduced some diversionary activities--dice poker and fistfighting--and that trend is continued and improved.  The fistfighting is a QTE affair that involves mashing the correct button sequence that pops up on screen and is relatively simple.  Dice poker is largely the same from the first game with the main difference being that the games are no longer a best of three match and only requires winning once.  Arm wrestling is a bit odd--a moving slider appears on the bottom of the screen and the goal is to make sure that the indicator stays in that slider.  As the match progresses the slider gets smaller and smaller.  Very small mouse movements are required to keep the indicator in the slider.  As opponents get tougher, the slider moves more erratically or gets even smaller.

--Combat that is improved from the first game.  There are no more fighting styles to choose from and the biggest choice that players have to make is whether to use a quick attack or a strong attack (left or right click).  As a result, combat flows nicely but is more difficult than in the first game.  There's no group attack (though there is a talent in the sword tree that allows for attacks to hit multiple opponents) so you have to tackle foes one-on-one.  The ability to craft monster lures and traps allows you to choose the best approach to take down groups of enemies.

--Soundtrack is great.  Each different environment and moment has its own music and it fits so well into the general feeling of the area.  My favorite is "Vergen by Night."

The troll couple in chapter three makes me laugh.

--Trolls are hilarious.  I can't actually bring myself to kill them because they aren't scary at all and have their own set of problems.  I particularly love the trolls in the third chapter because they are having the troll equivalent of a marital spat about Triss Merigold.  I was disappointed when they changed the trolls in the third game.

Cons:

--Save system is still a hot mess.  Each time you save--a manual save, quicksave, or autosave--it will make a new save file.  This means that by the time you've finished the entire game that you could end up with hundreds of save files.  It's not game breaking, but it's annoying.  I made it a point to go back and delete older saves every time that I loaded up--this helped me avoid the logjam of having to delete a ton of saves at the end of the game.  Just be careful that you don't delete your current save.

--Minor crashing issues/black screen issues.  Two or three times I would go through a door, the black loading screen would pop up and then it would basically get stuck.  I could hear the sounds of the environment going on but it would stay on a black screen.  I had to alt-tab out, close the game (when I could...when I couldn't I had to restart my computer), and accept my losses--which fortunately weren't anything too serious.

Other than those two minor hiccups, I think Assassins of Kings is another great story in the life of Geralt of Rivia.  There are several very memorable moments within the game--fighting the kayran, the elven baths with Triss, the siege of Vergen, and Philippas punishment by Radovid.  Even though Wild Hunt is seen as the high mark for The Witcher, Assassins of Kings was the benchmark that set the bar extremely high.

The Steam Summer sale is currently happening and now is the perfect time to snatch up the entire series for just $24.47.  You won't regret it!

Before Geralt was Famous

The Witcher 3:  Wild Hunt is one of my absolute favorite RPG's and I've had to stop myself from continuously replaying it.  The good news is that there are two other witcher adventures to enjoy--and they're both pretty good.  Something I enjoy doing in the summer when I have time off is replaying through some of my favorite series in chronological order.  I decided to start off "Witcherfest 2018" with the first game in the series The Witcher.

The Witcher is the first adventure featuring our hero(ish?) Geralt of Rivia and his band of sorceresses, dwarves, and pie-eyed minstrels.  It was originally released in 2008, but I don't think I picked it up until several years later.  For a game that's ten years old, it still has a lot to offer.  Maybe you're one of the people who picked it up for free during a GOG offer earlier this year and you're debating giving it a try.  It does show its age and its not perfect, but fans of the third game will find enough connecting details to make it worth booting up.

Geralt patrols the streets of the Viziman trade quarter.

The story in the first game follows Geralt as he pursues a band of thieves who have attacked Kaer Mohren and stolen the witchers valuable mutagens.  Geralt is having some issues himself because he has a bad case of amnesia and can't remember anything about the people around him.  As Geralt pursues the thieves he learns that there is much more going on than some stolen mutagens--political intrigue, monsters, and racism.  Even though he desperately wants to stay neutral and not get involved in the major plots, Geralt finds himself right in the middle.

Pros:

--Choices, choices.  The game offers many choices and makes it a point to explain exactly how these choices pan out--this was a precedent set in the first game.  Each time you make a major choice there is a cutscene with some cool artwork and narration that gives life to your decisions.  You can choose exactly the type of person you want Geralt to be--a ruthless monster slayer who wants to eliminate any monsters or someone who knows that not all monsters are actually monsters...there are monsters in human form too.  I've always felt CD Projekt Red has done a good job or making choices seem important and that they have a clear tie into the story.

One of the cutscenes that shows how a choice played out.

--Not everything is shiny rainbows.  There aren't necessarily good choices and bad choices...there are just choices.  The lesser of two evils can be the choice between two evils.  This is another story based/choice based option that I think CD Projekt does particularly well.  

--Talents that change the way Geralt fights. As you invest more points into different combat abilities you add more complicated moves into Geralt's fighting style.  Some of the moves are a little ridiculous--like the backflipping attack--but it does reinforce the fact that Geralt is a mutated killer with unnaturally fast reflexes.  It's fun to chain together combos and see how his fighting style changes.

--Nice soundtrack.  The music in the different areas fits well with the environments and is pleasant to listen to as you play.  I've always enjoyed the music from the first game.

--More than just slaying.   The first game introduces some non-combat enjoyment in the form of dice poker and fistfighting.  It's a nice respite to sit down and gamble or to pound some poor townsperson clueless.  The later games continued this trend of offering some entertaining side missions.

--Variety of environments.  Geralt adventures in many places including the city of Vizima, some horrible swamps, and a beautiful (and monster infested) rural area.

Nightwraith and noonwraith....and Dandelion.

--Day/night cycle.  This might not be particularly novel today, but The Witcher is one of the first RPG's I remember playing that had NPC's that acted differently depending on the time.  The time of day also influences the behavior of monsters--some only appear at certain times.  Along with this, NPC's also react to the weather--they will run and find shelter when it's raining.  I was very impressed by this when I first played.

--Trophy hunt.  The game is peppered with unique enemies who provide trophies that can be turned in for mucho dinero.  It's fun to track down and kill these interesting specimens.

Cons:

--The inventory system sucks.  Geralt is granted a pathetically small inventory for both items and alchemical ingredients.   The "enhanced edition" remedied this when it added in storage at inns, but even with the storage it is still a balancing act to keep enough room in the inventory.

--Combat is a hot mess.  Geralt carries two swords and switching between those weapons is a pain.  Besides switching weapons, you also have to be conscious of what "combat style" is the most effective against a certain enemy.  There's just a lot of switching going on and it makes things weird.  The worst part of all the switching is that there is a small delay and Geralt usually continues to get smacked around.  The entire system is centered around chaining together combinations of timed clicks--you watch a small cursor and click it when the sword is flaming.

--Combat delay when coming out of cutscenes.  Geralt stands around and gets popped for a few seconds while the game switches over.  It bugs the bejeezus out of me.

--Meditation is necessary to craft potions or distribute talent points.  It's just not convenient and requires players to stop in order to utilize either.

--No fast travel.  Yeah, it's a good thing that Geralt is  mutant, because all that running is ridiculous.  Maybe this is something that's more of a modern gaming type of irritation, but it gets really annoying when you're running through the same areas over and over.

--There's not one or a few save slots for quicksaves--the game creates a new save file every time you quicksave.  You're going to want to delete those suckers or else you will end up with a bajillion save files.

--Finding NPC's can be a pain.  The weather related behavior can sometimes cause NPC's to end up in weird places which makes turning in quests difficult.  Sometimes NPC's just aren't where they are supposed to be and there's not a lot of tracking.

The Witcher isn't perfect, but seeing the first steps in the series can be quite enlightening.  As a fan of the series I think it's worthwhile to play the first game to get an introduction to the characters and the style that has been the hallmark of all three games.  For a game that is ten years old, I think The Witcher is still fun to play and has something to offer.  

A Friendly Place

Of all the games that I've played in the past few years, one of the biggest surprises was Stardew Valley.  It was a complete shock when I found myself engulfed in a pixelated game about growing crops, making friends, being part of a community, and trying to build something from the ground up.  Where was the shooting?  Where was the violence that seems to be one of the mainstays of modern video gaming?  How could I possibly be enjoying a game where I'm trying to figure out which gifts to give to the friendly citizens of Pelican Town!  Stardew Valley was a bit of a ground breaker for me and it seems like it started a trend of games that are less centered around the violent staples of gaming and are more focused on the gentler, more positive aspects.  It's with my enjoyment of Stardew Valley in mind that I found myself eyeballing another game that seems to be of a similar mindset--My Time at Portia.

My character Linda chillin' with a collection of weird relics.

If you took many of the same premises from Stardew Valley and injected them into a 3D world that is inspired by Studio Ghibli films, you would have My Time at Portia.  The story is oddly similar to that of my beloved Stardew--you've inherited a rundown workshop from a recently deceased family member and you have decided to settle down and build it into the kind of place that the whole town can be proud of.  The major difference is that you are running a workshop rather than a farm--crafting items is at the center of your world.

Crafting requires you to spend much of your time gathering materials to turn into finished items.  Chopping down trees, mining in ruins, and slaying various wildlife will help you find all raw materials needed.  When first starting, much of these materials will go toward crafting the many different machines that you will need to turn these raw materials into more complex items--a cutter is needed to turn wood into finished planks, a furnace will turn lumps of minerals into bars, a skiver will turn pieces of fur into finished leather, and a grinder will turn metal bars into different machine parts.  Building each machine requires raw materials to be gathered, time to turn them into finished parts, and then finally, to be constructed.

Linda got a hat and a house upgrade.

Figuring out how to spend your time is one of the big challenges.  While your items are being created on your machines (which takes varying amounts of in-game time) you have to decide exactly what you want to accomplish.  You're definitely going to need more Gols (the in-game currency) so taking commissions from the trade office is a great way to make money.  Commissions require you to create a certain number of items for specific citizens in the community.  They are on a deadline, so you have a set amount of time in which to finish.  Besides just getting money for completing commissions, you are also rewarded with relationship points (commissions are one of the best ways to build relationship points) and town reputation.

Another good way to spend time is to explore the ruins located in town.  Ruins offer the ability to gather stone, minerals, sand, soil as well as relics which, when all the pieces are completed, can be turned into unique pieces of furniture that can be placed in your home and which will give you buffs.  Finding relics involves using a scanner that will identify glowy places and then digging toward them.  Completing relics isn't straightforward and you will often find yourself with many, many pieces, but never the right pieces to actually finish a relic.  Storing all the different relic pieces requires a large quantity to chests--I would recommend building multiple just for relics!  You can also find data discs which can be turned in to the research center and used to unlock new construction plans.

Photo mode lets you snap images of the world.  This is my workshop.

When you're not busy exploring ruins, you will often find yourself being asked to complete jobs for the city (the main storyline) or for specific individuals around town.  Like commissions, these jobs are a great way to build relationships with specific citizens.  Unlike commissions, individual jobs aren't on a hard timeline and can be completed at your leisure.  Some of these jobs are quite large and can require the construction of several very large or very complicated items.

My Time at Portia also features a system of levels and talent points.  The talent tree can be divided up into three distinct areas--combat, crafting, and social.  Putting points into combat will help you do more damage (which doesn't seem particularly useful early in the game as you will be mostly slaying low level creatures for crafting materials, but it does factor in later) or dodge more effectively.  Points invested in the crafting tree will help you make the most of the time you spend gathering materials--some talents will increase the amount of stamina you have (which allows you to perform more mining, lumbering before you run out) or reduce the amount that is required to perform gathering abilities.  Social points can help you build relationships faster or offer you better prices when buying or selling.  The talent trees could definitely use some work as the combat tree doesn't seem very worthwhile early on and the crafting tree features some talents that seem either oddly phrased or completely useless--for example, one talent "increases the amount of damage" that the ax does.  I think this means that chopping down trees is easier, but it makes it sound like you are attacking things using the ax (which, you're not.).  The social points can also seem a little iffy--especially since I've spent very little time on the social aspect of the game.

The relationship with Pinky the cat is one I want to cultivate.

For an early access game there is a surprising amount of content--I've been playing for 55 hours now and I haven't completed the main storyline.  Prior to the big "harbor" update that was introduced this week, I was having some terrible bouts of poor performance--extremely laggy spurts that saw the game stagger into a slow-motion-esque stuttery mess.  The most recent update has completely fixed the performance issues that I was having and it's running great now.  The normal early access ups and downs are to be expected, but the devs seem like they are listening to feedback and fixing bugs and issues fairly quickly.

Portia has had a strange pull on me since I bought it.  I sometimes find myself thinking about what I'm really doing in the game, but I still want to play!  There's always another upgrade to work toward or a major project that isn't completed.  The story could use some work (supposedly they are introducing character specific missions in the next big patch) and the dialogue is a work in progress, but there is plenty to enjoy in Portia.

If you're a fan of Stardew Valley who is looking for a similar experience (and, I'm just going to say it, Portia is eerily similar in many aspects) you should think about grabbing a copy of My Time at Portia.  It has the promise of being another fun crafting/farming game that isn't centered around tons of violence (you will need to kill a plethora of cute llamas for their fur...sorry).

ADDITION (6/18/18):
The later stages of the game are increasingly grind-y.  I've had two different jobs that require an obscene amount of fiber cloth (75 and 100).  That means taking to the fields to slay a massive number of llamas.  It's frustrating that I'm sitting on almost 500 colorful fur (which is used for like 2 items) and almost 300 regular fur...and those giant piles of materials are basically completely useless.  There needs to be some rebalancing or efforts made to come up with a more diverse pool of materials that can be used to craft items.  I crafted the advance skiver quite awhile back and have used it exactly 0 times--what if you could use it to break down the different kinds of furs into the worn fur you need to craft fiber cloth?  Or if you could use it to make more cloth, but with high quality materials...something like that.

Sneaking Around in Burial at Sea--Episode 2

I've been continuing my journey under the briny seas in the crumbling utopia of Rapture.  BioShock:  Infinite's two part DLC takes the story of Booker and Elizabeth and plunks them far, far away from the floating magnificence of Columbia.  Part one of the DLC introduces a very film noir version of Rapture with Elizabeth playing the role of the mysterious woman who is seeking out the assistance of the washed up, struggling private eye who just happens to be Booker DeWitt.  Elizabeth and Booker are trying to locate a missing girl, Sally, who both of them have some sort of connection to.  There are some twists in the story and in the end we learn that Elizabeth is out for blood.  But, as it turns out, things aren't as simple as they appear, and Elizabeth's quest for vengeance is about to get infinitely more complicated.  (Possible spoilers ahead.)

Pros:
--A completely different playstyle.  The second part of the story sees you taking on the role of Elizabeth.  Unlike Booker, Elizabeth isn't some combat hardened warrior--she's an intelligent woman who knows that facing enemies head-on is a good way to die.  Rather than continuing the game spitting lead and throwing plasmids around, the game switches to a stealth game.  Elizabeth must sneak through the shadows and utilize her small frame to navigate the complex system of heating vents that run through the splicer-infested halls of Fontaine's Department Store.  Players have to make choices about how to deal with groups of splicers--do you try to pick them off one by one or do you use distraction to sneak by them?  Elizabeth still possesses some of her unique abilities--namely breaking codes and picking locks.  One ability she no longer possesses is opening tears.

Elizabeth can utilize the crossbow for quick, silent takedowns.

--New weapons and plasmids for a stealthier playstyle.  Elizabeth needs to be stealthy so she doesn't get overwhelmed by splicers, so traditional weapons won't do the trick.  Early on, players gain access to the crossbow.  The crossbow can be equipped with several different kinds of bolts--tranquilizer bolts will knock enemies out, gas bolts release a cloud of gas that can be used to incapacitate groups of enemies, and noise makers (which can be salvaged from success in the lockpicking minigame) are useful for distracting groups of splicers.  Since Elizabeth needs to remain in the shadows, several new types of plasmids are introduced.  Peeping Tom allows players to see through walls and track the movements of enemies or to briefly turn invisible to sneak past them.  In order to see through walls, players must remain motionless, which can be a little tricky.  The other new plasmid is called Ironsides and it allows players to activate it as a sort of defensive bonus.  While active it will shield Elizabeth and, if you find the right modification upgrades, it can also be used to catch ammunition and restore some health and Eve.

--Another mind bending story.  The base game revealed that Elizabeth possesses the unique ability to navigate through time and space--in her words she can see "all the doors" and everything that is behind them.  Every possibility, every outcome--the past, the future....it's completely mind-boggling.  At the beginning of episode two, we learn that there are some rules about her insanely powerful ability--if she has died in the current world, she cannot linger there or she will be stuck.  No powers, no ability to see...well, basically everything.  Elizabeth decides that rescuing Sally is worth giving up her powers and sets out to find her.  The path isn't a simple one though--she has to deal with Atlas to find Sally and she will run into many citizens of Rapture who we've heard about before--Dr. Yi Suchong, Sander Cohen, Andrew Ryan--and even a few from Columbia--Daisy Fitzroy, the Lutece's, and Jeremiah Fink.  As Elizabeth investigates, we learn that there is a clear link between Columbia and Rapture.  Constants and variables....

Cons:
--I greatly enjoyed the change to playing as Elizabeth, but I could definitely see some people not enjoying the stealthier playstyle.  It's a big switch from running and gunning to patiently waiting in the shadows for the right opportunity to strike.

--Like the first episode, it's also fairly short in length.  Maybe 3-4 hours or additional content.

--If you're a fan of Elizabeth (which, I am...even though she took awhile to grow on me) you will probably be disappointed by the ending.  It's not some horrible cliffhanger or some more weird meta-physical mumbo-jumbo, but it definitively ends the story and completes the link between Rapture and Columbia.

Of the two parts of Burial At Sea, episode two is definitely the highlight.  The change to playing as Elizabeth combined with the interesting story are enough for me to recommend buying and playing the DLC.  I really enjoyed the way that the story and connection of Columbia and Rapture are linked together--it's something that I would not have predicted.

The BioShock series is frequently featured in sales on Steam and the whole thing can typically be grabbed for a song.  Be sure to grab the DLC for Infinite if you want to see how the story of Booker and Elizabeth is resolved.  (Also, avoid the remastered version of BioShock 2--it tends to crash often.  The regular version doesn't look as pretty, but it runs like a charm).

Rapture Rewound--BioShock: Infinite--Burial at Sea Part 1

One of the difficult questions that I often ask myself is "do I buy the DLC?"  In general, DLC is usually overpriced for the amount of content you receive and sometimes can turn out to be quite disappointing.  I enjoyed BioShock:  Infinite, but felt wary about investing in the season pass.  So I waited for all the content to be released, read the reviews, and then snagged it the next time it went on sale (FYI--it goes on sale very frequently, so keep your eyes peeled).  I can happily report that investing in the DLC was worthwhile.

Burial at Sea offers players a new storyline that features some old familiar places (and faces).  The story opens in Booker's office--or, it at least seems like Booker's office--but immediately things seem slightly different.  You're not floating up among the clouds in Columbia anymore, but are at the bottom of the ocean in the beautiful city of Rapture.  There's a knock on the door and a mysterious woman is there, wanting Booker to take on a job.  She's nothing but a darkened silhouette, but her voice is very familiar.  She asks for a light....and then you see her.  It's Elizabeth!  She's not the girl that you remember though--she's all grown up and there's a certain kind of haunting maturity behind her eyes, like she's seen some things.  She wants Booker to help her look for a little girl who has gone missing--one little girl in a string of mysterious disappearances...all little girls.

A more mature Elizabeth seeks out Booker's help.

Pros:

--The absolute highlight of Burial at Sea is the very brief glimpse that players are given into the world of Rapture.  Rather than navigating creepy, splicer infested ruins, you get to see what the city of Rapture looked like in its heyday...and it's quite beautiful.  Streets are filled with shiny, happy people living in Andre Ryan's utopia.  Sea life floats serenely by giant windows as diners sit at a cafe and sip coffees.  It's nothing like the Rapture that you experience in BioShock.  You also get the unique opportunity to see how the chaos all started--in an apartment store that was filled with spliced up undesirables and sunk to the bottom of a trench.  Then you get to see the Rapture of BioShock.

--New/old plasmids.  A large part of the storyline is trying to locate the "old man winter" plasmid that gives you the ability to freeze enemies and allows you to freeze flowing water to create bridges to different areas.  The freezing plasmid was featured in BioShock, but didn't make it into Infinite.  There's something really fun about freezing and shattering enemies.

--New weapon.  The radar range gives players the chance to fry up a splicer and then explode them into little meaty chunks.  Also, oddly fun.

--Story ends with a twist.  I won't spoil it, but yeah, probably should've seen it coming.

Cons:

The story is fairly short--you might be able to stretch it to 3-4 hours if you really try to explore every place that you can.

There's a good chance that you'll feel slightly let down by the way that the first episode resolves itself.  It ends in a way that doesn't seem to have the ability to tie into a second part.  Oh, but it does!  So, even if you're feeling a little frustrated with the first part, it's definitely worth it to keep playing.

I would recommend Burial at Sea:  Part One even with its short length.  The story isn't especially great, but the ability to catch a glimpse of Rapture at its best is definitely worth it.  The second part of the story is much better...and it would be weird not to play the first part.