Comprehensive Game Reviews

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Review: Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator Is a Stonks Delight A made $5,000 betting on a baby because a dog/consultant named Chad Shakespeare gave me a tip that his future had about a 79% chance of being positive. Which was good, as the day before I decided to “short” another infant at the wrong time. That’s what life is like in Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator , a stock market game about betting on the value of a newborn so you can do stuff like buy a kickass boat. It’s pretty great! There are three campaigns in Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator , each a different length and with a different monetary goal. In every situation, you visit between one and seven different planets to invest in the lives of virtual alien newborns. So in the case of the tutorial campaign, which makes you a success if you manage to make a few thousand dollars, you’re trying to help someone named Pixem buy a boat in four days betting on children from one planet. Each one has multiple “tiers” of money that result in a certain degree of success, and you get a different ending based on how much you earn betting on babies. While Pixem’s campaign is the shortest and easiest, due to limitations and tutorial elements, the second with Mr. Zip It’s is the medium, week-long campaign and a longer one like Wengrave Shup’s 21-day campaign is the most intense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJnsQeeLoDY Each day in Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator starts the same. You’ll see the planets available to you and what the amount to trade there that day will be. (If you don’t have enough money available, you can also visit the loan shark at this point.) There might also be notices on the planet alerting you to certain conditions, like the values on the kiddos being higher than usual, static occasionally interrupting your view of the board, or maybe consultants charging half of their usual fee. Once you pick a planet, you are presented with a handful of babies. If you don’t hire any consultants for a percentage of your overall “take” for the day, you are going based information like a character portrait, rendering, name, species, and planet. You pick one baby and have the option of also placing side bets. Now, Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator is fun for many reasons, but the consultant element is when it starts to get interesting. Each individual has a focus and a known degree of accuracy, requires a certain percentage cut for their services, and you can only choose up to three of the four options. Some of these are not only incredibly helpful, but necessary. For example, one gives you an idea of when a baby will die, which is I think the most critical. You know exactly when you need to divest and get out and can tell when things will crash out due to, well, death. Chad Shakespeare, who looks like a Golden Retriever, is another favorite of mine since he’s always right and lets you know how positive a baby’s life will be. Other options can give you an idea of the lowest possible price the baby will hit or about how high it could go. They’re always worth it, in short, and going for at least one feels necessary. Images via Strange Scaffold Once you select your baby for the day, you watch that newborn’s life play out from birth to death. Different events can drive the stock price up or down. For example, protesting a major corporation and perhaps getting roughed up by its guards? That’s going to make the value drop. Get married? price goes up. Family cut them off? Big drop. Helped neighbors out with a donation? Up again. Your goal is to buy and sell as fast as possible, making as much money as possible in the process, while also keeping an eye on the baby’s age and health status in the upper right corner. Sound exciting watching a line up up and down on a graph? It’s more fascinating than you’d expect. Especially since the actual events can occasionally be hilarious and everything is so fast-paced that two of the campaigns can be finished in a hour or two. It demands your attention, then presents information in a clear way that isn’t at all distracting or imprecise. (Unless, you know, static occasionally is in effect and temporarily keeps you from watching as a status effect.) The inclusion of being able to “short that baby” by choosing to short and buy during a spike, then sell at a lower time at a lower price, also keeps someone focused. Especially since an additional indicator will pop up clearly telling you how much you’ll gain or lose by going through with the short at that very moment. (And reward you with a message when successful.) Images via Strange Scaffold Since Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator is randomized and does have varying tiers of success as “goals” in each campaign, that also helps with replay values. You will see events repeat for the children, of course. And some conditions and effects will come up repeatedly. But this never makes it feel stale. Rather, it helps you learn to adjust for those situations in the future and hopefully capitalize on them. As long as you’re okay with a game where you watch a stock market board with rises and falls repeatedly for a few hours straight, it’ll be entertaining and pique your interest. Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator is an unusual one, but is also a hilarious simulator with a lot of replay value. The campaigns offer situations where you could play for probably under an hour or a few hours betting babies will be huge successes or colossal failures. Everything’s clearly represented and explained. As long as looking at tons of data for hours and dark humor is your thing, you’ll have a good time with Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator. Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator is available for the PC. The post Review: Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator Is a Stonks Delight appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraJan 29

Cairn ReviewA mountain climbing game that's both challenging and rewarding.

IGN PC ReviewsJan 29

Cairn Review - An Uphill Battle Worth Taking OnA few hours into my climb, I hit the first of Cairn's seemingly insurmountable walls. The cave formation I'd descended into housed surfaces denser than anything I'd encountered on the face of the mountain. It was impossible to sink a piton into, meaning I'd have to effectively do a free solo climb to overcome it and progress. At least, that's what I told myself. And so I threw myself at the jagged and uneven edges of that crystalline cavern. I tried and failed to find decent handholds and steady footing in the cracks of the walls. I slipped and fell a lot. Aava, Cairn's protagonist, slipped and fell a lot too, and as she did she scraped the bandaging off her digits, bloodied her feet, and screamed in frustration and contempt. Contempt at the choice I had made to stick her in this cave, and maybe even the choice that she'd made to climb Mt. Kami in the first place. I think Aava and I are made of the same stuff, though, because we both bullishly pushed on. Eventually, we cleared that cave. We climbed its walls and came out on top. And you know what we were greeted by? An alternate path. One that appeared a whole hell of a lot easier than the path I'd made Aava take up. And you know? Deep down , I had known there must've been some other way up. I had known that Cairn threw down this gauntlet as an option and--perhaps because the game's development team understands the kind of masochistic, self-flagellating person who would play a game this demanding--they knew I'd pick it up and run with it rather than look for a way around. Continue Reading at GameSpot

GameSpot - Game ReviewsJan 29

Cairn Review - The Price Of Persistence Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, PC Publisher: The Game Bakers Developer: The Game Bakers Rating: Teen There’s a popular trope in media that the lone hero who persists against all odds should be celebrated without limits, and that any amount of endurance and sacrifice is worth it to surpass and succeed, no matter the cost to self or others. Cairn is the rare narrative that says something more nuanced, simultaneously celebrating the triumph against seemingly impossible odds, while also painting the painful picture of obsession and selfishness that are often left unspoken. That would be noteworthy enough on its own, but with its mountain-climbing adventure, The Game Bakers team has also crafted a deeply engaging open world to explore, accompanied by breathtaking visuals and music, and featuring my favorite new control mechanic in years. As we join pro climber Aava, she’s on the cusp of tackling her greatest challenge: solo climbing the seemingly insurmountable Mount Kami, an imposing beast of a peak. With little preamble or guidance, the player is forced to learn on the job about strong handholds, judicious piton placement, and foraging of resources to survive, even while Aava inexorably pushes her way higher. The bulk of playtime is spent on the wall, inching Aava up one scrambling grab at a time. Nerve-wracking and tense, you control the specific placement of each foot and hand as you select tiny crevices, hard-to-spot outcroppings, and brief moments of respite to recover stamina, even as wind and rain batter against the cliff face. The freeform and slow-paced traversal is intensely rewarding, and I was still striving to master it a dozen hours into my journey. Cairn manages that rare feat, making me feel truly immersed in an experience I would never dare to attempt, and giving a glimpse into the tiny triumphs a real climber must feel every time they pull themselves up those last desperate inches to a plateau. Mount Kami is like one massive puzzle to solve, or a single, improbably long boss fight, with many strategies for success. You choose your climbing line. Maybe you inch slowly along a treacherous ledge to reach an inviting angled scramble of loose rock. Or dare that seemingly sheer straight line, trusting to well-chalked hands to manage the shortcut. While there are boundaries to the world, I still found significant freedom in charting my own course. Cairn also offers ample opportunities for emergent moments of beauty – shooting off a handful of found fireworks from camp, seeing the stars reflected in a secluded lake, or witnessing an animal who has never seen a human before – take a different turn, and those moments might never transpire. In between climbs, frequent stops along the way reveal hidden secrets. Some are forgotten caves, remnants left behind by failed Kami climbers, or caches of food or drugs that might give you the edge to continue. But the more interesting secrets come through intermittent injections of character cinematics and dialogue, both from those Aava meets on the mountain and from audio messages sent from those on the ground. For both Aava and those whose lives she learns about, the narrative explores themes of loss, the hard words we leave unspoken, and the way that people run away from the things they love – sometimes to the literal ends of the Earth. As the plot thickens, it’s easy to question if everything we’re witnessing is still real, or perhaps some existential hallucination accompanying impending death on a lonely defile. Cairn is not a casual narrative game. The climb is hard, and survival is difficult. Food and water are sometimes scarce. Aava’s fingers bleed, and you must manually wrap them with climber’s tape at the weather-battered bivouac sites you might find along the way. No matter the difficulty (for which there are thankfully many ways to customize), the final hours are a brutal stretch that left me exhausted and excited in equal measure. The return on that investment and challenge makes the climb worth it, up to and including one of the most affecting and vulnerable endings I’ve seen a game pull off. Like Aava on the wall, Cairn has occasional stumbles that hold it back. Frame glitches and pauses sometimes break the immersion. The usually immaculate climbing mechanic sometimes breaks and creates weird interactions or falls – especially frustrating on greater difficulties. Checkpoints can be too far apart in that frustrating-but-not-fun way. The free-rotating camera can have brief moments that lead to frustration. Even with some minor missteps, Cairn is a stunning and surprising masterpiece. I’ve rarely encountered a game with such a slow overall pace that nonetheless kept me on the edge of my seat. Gameplay is buoyed by a subtle, emotionally powerful musical score and a uniquely textured art style that enhances both the game’s beauty and one’s ability to read its many pockmarked walls. When all its merits were added together, I was constantly drawn back to the climb to see the next vista. Cairn is challenging as a game and as a story; because, and not despite its many differences from other games you’ll play this year, it deserves your time and attention. Score: 9.25 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsJan 29

Review: TR-49 Makes Data Analysis Enjoyable We’re in an era of crunchy, meticulous games. I feel like the success of titles such as The Roottrees are Dead and Return of the Obra Dinn showed how many of us get excited about the idea of really poring over elements in an attempt to solve mysteries. Inkle’s been pretty good at offering these types of experiences before, what with Heaven’s Vault making us consider our choices and deciphering texts, and TR-49 offers the same kind of delightfully difficult experience. TR-49 is designed to be immersive and, even though we’re largely spending our time looking at an ancient textual reassociator computer of the same name and data, it’s quite successful at it. We happen upon an unusual, perhaps even eerie, computer made by Beatrice Dooler and Cecil Caulderly for Bletchley Park. By we, I mean Abbi, a woman who wakes up in a church basement in front of this odd machine. She’s told by Liam, a man she can only hear over an intercom, that she must sort through the records within by finding the correct codes. Said codes consist of the first two letters featuring the author’s initials, then the second two numbers noting the year. By looking up data, deciphering text, checking notes, and seeing which other texts and input data that leads to, you can find out what’s going on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEIyvjVQCAE The thing about TR-49 is that it is a game that could look incredibly confusing, perhaps even daunting, if you watch a trailer or look at screenshots. The text of the books that were fed into the machine can be scrambled and encoded, so you can’t really get accustomed to the nuances unless you’re immersed in it. The idea that you’re working out what the author and year codes might be can be a lot to take in, until you really start finding the texts you need and noting the patterns. It’s a thoughtful detective game for sure, but it also feels like a visual novel that would appeal to people who enjoy doing intense research to find answers that might not even exist. Basically, you're constantly reading entries, checking notes, and seeing where each text (real or created for this game) takes you. The ambiance surrounding all of this happens to be great, which I found helps with staying on-point. Inkle ensured there’s fantastic voice acting present, so even though there is a lot of reading, it feels like there’s a deeper connection to actual people. The best way I can describe it is that it discourages detachment. Especially since we can also have Abbi check in with Liam about the situation as we explore. However, I will say there is a downside. This is a fascinating game and the texts and codes we decipher in TR-49 is interesting. I also appreciated the twists and finding out what’s happening. However, it does involve falling into a very repetitive routine. I love these types of titles and simulations that can involve constantly plugging in data to uncover more data or track things. I also play, well, a lot of visual novels. Also, while it does feature puzzles, there is sometimes too much input guiding me instead of letting me work things out and possibly make mistakes on my own. Images via Inkle As a plus, there are some quality of life elements here that make it easy to play even as you’re doing the same actions over and over. One is that controller support is great. It also isn’t finicky about accepting correct answers, so you won’t find Inkle being persnickety about not being exactly perfect as long as you found the right bit of data in the machine. You can also get multiple endings in a single save file, which is helpful if you want to see other options without replaying the whole game. TR-49 is a perfect type of puzzle for people who love reading through tons of data to complete intricate investigations. While the perspective seems simple, it’s well executed and features immersive voice acting and interesting texts. It can get repetitive, given the nature of its gameplay, but people who get caught up in the mystery might not even notice. TR-49 is available for PCs. The post Review: TR-49 Makes Data Analysis Enjoyable appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraJan 27

Code Vein 2 ReviewA soulslike sequel that has trouble stepping up and standing out.

IGN PC ReviewsJan 27

Highguard Review So FarSo far this FPS genuinely stands out with a compelling new game mode and snappy gunplay.

IGN PC ReviewsJan 26

Code Vein II Review – Bloodsucking The Fun Away Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Bandai Namco Developer: Bandai Namco Rating: Mature It’s fitting that Code Vein II is set in a world of vampires. As I hunted down these bloodsucking creatures in the present and 100 years in the past to prevent the collapse of the world, I felt trapped within its clutches, like a castle guest desperate to escape but unable to do so. Across 42 hours of monotonous game, I found little warmth here. Its skin, a distractingly garish and ugly visual style, is as cold as its blood, a combat system that struggles to fuse original ideas onto a skeleton sculpted better elsewhere in the genre. Even its narrative fangs, which begin in earnest with unique ideas, lose their bite as repetitive storytelling devices and overextended arcs drag on. As I plunged my hunter’s stake into the game’s final boss, the biggest smile yet stretched across my face – finally, I could lay Code Vein II to rest. After creating a custom Revenant Hunter in Code Vein II’s excellent character creator, I was quickly thrown into a world-ending story filled with proper nouns and jargon that immediately bounced off me. It didn’t help that this world is wrapped in clashing visual styles that make it an eyesore to view, and forgettable performances struggle to sell the ambitious stakes. A rock-infused Baroque soundtrack helps the game’s lackluster soundscape, but I was otherwise uninterested in most everything I saw and heard on screen. Jumping between the apocalyptic present and 100 years in the past was interesting at first, as Code Vein II uses inspiring stories of what once was to explain how the world became what it is today. I enjoyed learning why once-allies became monstrous creatures I had to defeat in the present, and jumping back and forth to complete objectives is a nice change-up from the genre’s typical exploration. But before long, it became tedious with objectives that led to loading screens, followed by quick cutscenes, followed by more loading screens. Ghostly hallways where memories play out appeared as exposition dumps far too often, and I sprinted to the exit door each time. My favorite arc of four within the wider narrative is in-depth and full of surprises, but it's the outlier, as the others are poorly paced, filled with boring dungeons and predictable characters, and struggled to find a hook – had I not been reviewing this game, there are moments a plenty when I would have ended my time with Code Vein II long before the credits. The overworld is dull, with confusing map markers that must be destroyed to unobscure its features, and tedious pathing that makes traveling on foot or by motorcycle a chore. Code Vein II’s bespoke dungeons are largely just as uninteresting, filled with enemies that quickly grow stale, unimaginative set dressing that ranges from underground power plant to underground laboratory to underground prison, and boss fights either too easy to be exciting or too annoying to be fun. Fortunately, checkpointing is fair throughout, with dungeon pathing that makes collecting resources that drop after you die a welcome reprieve. Code Vein II’s combat, which follows in the footsteps of its 2019 predecessor with Soulslike action, has some compelling flair but is trapped in a world of dungeons and enemies that did little to entice me to experiment more with its mechanics. It’s doing a lot to let you craft a unique playstyle – there are primary weapons, secondary weapons, Jail weaponry with Ichor-sucking abilities, special attacks that use Ichor, equippable Blood Codes that drastically change your character’s stats, plenty of consumable and throwable items, and an AI partner that can bestow buffs or help you fight outright, but little inspired me to utilize this expansive suite in combat. I mostly fought the same types of enemies in Code Vein II’s final act as I did in its opening hours, and though I tried forcing myself to experiment and play with the many tools at my disposal, it was simply easier (and faster) to swing a big sword over and over. The few times I did struggle in combat were against frustrating bosses marred by poor camera positioning, annoying hitboxes, and unfair attacks that don’t seem to follow the same rules of physics my moves do. Some bosses, like the final adversaries of each arc in the game, buck this trend with engaging movesets that were fun to learn and counter, but overall, boss fights, like the other enemy encounters in the game, were flat and aggressively mediocre. Even its menus and UI, which are reminiscent of a player’s screen hundreds of hours into an MMO, struggle to find harmony in this game’s overall messy presentation. I want to say there’s something enjoyable, interesting even, buried beneath the flawed execution of Code Vein II, but that something is the corpse of other games in the genre this vampiric creation is feeding on for inspiration. Remove it, and what remains is an unremarkable and forgettable experience. Score: 5.5 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsJan 26

Asus ZenBook Duo (2026) ReviewThe Asus Zenbook Duo is a dual-screen laptop that's perfect for productivity, but surprisingly it's pretty decent at gaming, too.

IGN PC ReviewsJan 26

Hytale Early Access ReviewThere really isn't a better way to describe it other than it's basically Minecraft 2.

IGN PC ReviewsJan 23