The backlog 7: Guns, Cards and Dance
So many games… so little time…Â
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger play time: 3hours.Â
One of, if not the only, good games in the “Call of Juarez” series. I am a sucker for westerns. Especially old west weaponry. There is something about old fashioned manual weapons like revolvers, lever action rifles and break action shotguns that make me feel good. Maybe its the tactility, or the possibilities for getting weird with them… but i digress. Gunslinger is about bounty hunter Silas Greaves as he recounts his tales of glory to a bar full of enraptured listeners. Silas’s stories are all about how he interacted with every single important figure in the wild west popular canon in some way or another. These stories take the form of a first person shooter. As you play, you will hear Silas’s narration, and sometimes the narration of some of the other bar patrons who chip in. the game takes full advantage of the fact that its a story being told. Occasionally the action will back up as Silas makes corrections or remembers new tidbits of information. All the while you are engaging in some damn satisfying gunplay. There are only about 5 or 6 weapons in the game, two types of revolvers, double barrel shotgun in both standard and sawn off variety, and a lever action rifle for long range play. Despite the limited weapon pool, each gun feels great to use and master. There is a reason that this game has an arcade game mode. If you are also a sucker for spaghetti westerns, this is a game to check outÂ
Card City Nights Playtime: 3 hours
I admit bias on this one. I am a fan of ludosity games. I am an active member of several discord servers devoted to their games. I love these games and the community around them. Card city nights is a card game, obviously. You go around the titular card city interacting with characters from other ludosity games, and play card games at them in pursuit of legendary cards. The meat of the game is in the card game. Each player has a 3x3 grid on which they can play cards. Each card has a set of arrows that point to another box in the grid. You have to connect three cards with these arrows to activate the card’s effect. That could be hurting the enemy, healing yourself, or activating one of your cards if it was deactivated. Its a simple game that is made complex by the cards and deck building. I will admit, I am bad at building decks. Which isn't great as i am a big fan of card games. One last thing, I'm pretty sure Yugioh stole the link mechanic from CCN.Â
The Consuming Shadow playtime: 40 min
This is an odd duck. It is a 2d Lovecraftian rougelike. You play as an investigator, armed with only a pistol and a vague knowledge of arcane spell casting. You have 60 hours to drive all across the UK to kill eldritch horrors and piece together which of three gods is trying to invade our world. The game combines traditional rougelike elements like randomly generated dungeons, with logic puzzles where you have to piece together how to stop the approaching god, and even which one is even trying to invade in the first place. All the while you have to juggle keeping three resources up. Your health, your sanity, and you ammo. It's a clever little game. Although I feel as though I have only scratched the surface of this game.Â
Counter Strike: Source playtime: 5 hours.Â
This is counterstrike at its simplest. While CS:GO is probably the best counter strike game, it is also weighed down by the numerous microtransactions and lootboxes it has amassed over the years since its release. Source is CS at its simplest. Two teams in a map, one bomb, a bunch of weapons, go kill each other. It is as simple as that. I was only able to play with bots, due to there not being any populated servers. But that's fine. I'm terrible at CS, so bots can't be disappointed in me when i am the first one to die in a round.Â
Crypt of the NecroDancer: play time (PC only) 4 hours.Â
This is the funkiest roguelite on the market. Its a traditional rogue- like game with a twist. There is a beat you have to keep as you bounce through the game. This game has a lot of charm to it, from the funny looking monsters to the superb soundtrack that you will be dance fighting through a dungeon to. Every enemy has a specific pattern to their movements and attacks. Recognizing these patterns is the key to your survival in this game. I picked up this game on switch a while ago as preparation for the zelda spin off game made by the same devs. It is just as fun on the go as it is on pc. Although it might be a little harder in handheld mode, because you may or may not be able to hear the music.














