Recent reviews by Sicsided

I've been playing since the alpha now, and while I don't get to play games too often these days, this is the one I hop onto when I boot up my computer. In alpha and now in early access beta, there are some hiccups performance wise, but ever update going forward has continued to improve performance.
Gameplay wise it is one of the most intense experiences I've had in a game. While I haven't gotten into any of the battle royale games, Hunt breaks down into two simple elements for me that make it amazing. 1) The unknowning of players, where the boss may be (is it all the way across the map or is it literally right next to the first clue I gather?), and what waits beyond the next hill/structure/water way/etc. 2) What I do know of the slower rate firearms, one of the best soundscapes and environment I have ever heard in a game (and how they integrate that witht he dangling chains, birds, and so many other things), and how this lets me go at the pace I want. Even if other players get to the boss first, a new avenue opens up gameplay wise. Do I ambush? Do I kill some more grunts and armors then extract? Do I try to swoop in and grab the bounty?
The intensity and choices under pressure you make are what boost this game ahead of others for me. Even with the hiccups of an early access game, I can't wait to log on and see what was added or fixed before going on the next Hunt.

I was a very big fan of Space Chem (previous game from this designer) coming into this, with hopes of a similar brain-xploding idea of complexity condensed down into pure fun. While this has some great deck building elements and interesting play mechanic, it seems to just boil down to spamming cards. And sometimes the only way to learn a level is play it and lose 20 times with different deck builds each time before finally one clicks. Now this same process can be said for many games like Super Meat Boy or others of the same ilk, but while those are quick to reset and get you back into the meat of it, this game takes time and turn order. It builds up and leaves you very twitchy and pissed when the next deck combo doesn't work. Interesting premise and great presenation, but just hampered down by mechanics that seem to wear down before their final destination.

Starting note; As someone aware and has been in the game development process, I'm not sure how much of this will be hit or miss with those outside that eco system.

Stanely reads a review for The Stanely Parable. A noticable grown escapes him as he continues on reading despite his dislike of what he assumes is comedy so far. Stanely continues on reading though in hopes that things will change, yet I can assure him they will not. There is no diversion of course here, there is.... Stanely does NOT look away but continues- Stanely, are you sure you want to do this? You came down here for insight into this experience, into yourself, and you are just going to let it go because someone like me is ruining it for you? That's right Stanely, you are going to continue reading. And then Stanely clicks the button to buy The Stanely Parable.

I didn't expect I'd become so engrossed in this when I first started it up. The narrative and how it unfolds while creepy in retrospect, is very interesting and makes sense giving the nature of what has happened. There is a message here and somewhat forced but it makes sense for the story. Sucks to be vague about this but if you are looking for an story with meat to it and presented in an interactive way, this is it.

2013 has seen games come back to their roots of simple but fun and effective gameplay. Samurai Gunn thrives off of a great idea with precision feedback that's all done with a great style. While this may be local multiplayer only it is hard to see playing it without screaming in anguish or victory to the swordsman (swordpeople?) next to you as the blood spatters across the snow and stays there as a show of your honor defeated. Much like Super Smash Brothers, it is just that much better in person.
The relatively low footprint in computing power makes this something I can throw on my netbook, hook-up xbox 360 controllers to, and have a quick match with friends at a party without worry of it boggying down or needed to lug around a tower PC. And when I can't make it to said events, the survival mode has decent AI that still has me screaming at the screen.
If you got a buddy, and sometimes a grudge, this is a great game.

Many games tout having choices that effect the story line and even you the player in a profound way. Rarely do they have it so well integrated into the actual gameplay itself; as many have it thrown in a dialogue tree (usually after killing a small country's worth of populace). Papers, Please has raised the bar on how to combine story and gameplay in a simple to learn manner, while cranking up the tasks and making even the toughest border patrol agent slip-up here and there. First it is just ID card and country, then those plus work pass. After a big event, now you have to have armed guards. It's hard to talk about the mechanics without giving away the story, that is how intertwined they are.
There are many endings as well but I really feel this game shows what games really do well: creating the story through gameplay. If you would have told me in my teenage years that I would fall in love with a game about playing a checkpoint agent at the border of a somewhat Eastern European country where my family depended on my job performance but so did the possible outcome of my country, I wouldn't believe you.
There has never been (and probably won't be again) a game where I have felt some much power and joy pressing a stamp.

Vlambeer has struck a perfect design again, following that of the well designed and insanely fun game Ridiculous Fishing. This arcade style game brings back memories of pumping in quarters to see how far you could get, how bonkers things could go, and having a great story to walk away with. All the current playable characters have unique abilities that add to the gameplay and hardly overlap each other. My current favorites are Melt and Chicken. This mixed with the generated levels, the clever enemy types, hidden bits, and upgrades have kept me playing. Sure, if I die I'll rage quit out of the game, but then I find myself not 5 minutes later booting it back up again and giving another run a go. Recommend this game for those that love Spelunky, Risk of Rain, Rogue Legacy, Binding of Issac, and even a little Geometry Wars.
At a consumer standpoint: the dev team really takes comments to consideration as well as conversing back about the future of the game. I can't wait to see where it ends up, as it is already solid gold.

Quick note: I have been playing this game since the free version like 3 years ago, so some of my memories may be mixed with the that version and this one. /End note
There is a reason this game has blown up into one of the biggest sensations on youtube and across the gaming community. Through constant iteration and feedback all the way from the free version to this beautifully update version, a pinnacle of game design has been met. You truly feel like an explorer; with the procedurally generated levels feeling almost hand crafted and the sense of wonderment as you come across all the different treasure, enemies, and traps. That tense moment heading towards the door out when you are mid air and remember, "I forgot to look before jumping" and praying for the best. Why did you do that? Because you previously pissed off a giant spider when you were trying to throw a bomb at a shop keep and now they are both after you. And by chance, that bomb may have opened up a secret doorway to some place you only thought was a friend's fake rambling. Sort of like the old classmate's uncle who worked at Nintendo with secret codes.
On top of the superb design of gaming, is a ingenius mode called a Daily Challenge. Everyone in the world playing will get the same random world and it is a gauntlet of tense knowing you only get one shot to get the most and get the furthest. And you need not be a twitch gamer to "speedrun" this to get far. Nah, you need to use your wits to the fullest and find that pug because damn you need another sloppy kiss to survive the jungle area after the mines.
Buy it.

Let me take a different approach to this recommendation in the form of a poem.
I've got 7 months. Baby yetis chewing power cords, ejected. Toucans on an abandon ship show me the way. Deer government not happy. Baby yetis grew up, they filled out, and they pissed off. Savior of the enslaved pandas, my life finds solace once my 7 months are up.
This mixed with the beautiful space opera of ships shooting, exploding, and floating are there in Flotilla. See you in somewhere in the Universe, Bojo.

First thing, how do you not own this already from some Humble Bundle? Alright, past that, this game is a great look into the mind of Edmund McMillen. Your weapons are tears, your environment is the discards of family life and fecal matter, and your enemies are horros of those that came before. Take temples from the older top-down Zelda games, mixed with power changing items like a coat hanger through your head (if you get it, you get it), and you have a fantastic game that will have you tense as you manuever between horrors and taking your next step into the never ending basement of hell.