Jordan Rooker, Author at Thumb Culture

16Nov

By Jordan Rooker3 Comments

Moonglow Bay Review

Moonglow Bay is out now! This casual voxel fishing adventure game is the debut game by Bunnyhug with publishing by Coatsink (Kingdom Two Crowns, Gang Beasts). It is available now via Steam, Epic (as of Nov. 11th), and Xbox. It is also included as a part of Xbox Game Pass. If you're looking for something new to kick back and relax with, be sure to check it out! Fishing is the Way in Moonglow Bay Moonglow Bay looks like some kind of Stardew Valley crossover with Trove at first glance. Instead, you'll find it to be a quaint little gem that focuses on fishing without making your life difficult. No big deadlines or making sure to get home by a certain time - just simple, casual fun. For anyone that has read some of my previous reviews, you'll know that I'm a strictly keyboard and mouse ki...

9Nov

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Despot’s Game Early Access Preview

If you're looking for a game that let's you play battles between puny humans and all sorts of strange denizens, Despot's Game may be the one for you. In development by Konfa Games (Despotism 3k) with publishing by tinyBuild (Graveyard Keeper, Hello Neighbor), Despot's Game became available for Early Access on Steam on October 14th. Though it's currently only available on Steam, it is possible that the game may eventually release on mobile and Switch as well similar to Despotism 3k. Despot's Game of Puny Human Carnage If you enjoy this review, be sure to check out my other reviews here. I haven't played Konfa Games' previous game, Despotism 3k, but just comparing screenshots to Despot's Game I'd take a wild guess that the two are related. Both seem to relate to the spurn toward hum...

22Oct

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

PC Reviews

Killsquad Review

Killsquad, a co-op action hack and slash, is boiling to a full release on October 21, 2021. The genre-blending game developed and published by Novarama has been in Early Access on Steam since July of 2019. Over the course of these two years and change, the developers have been listening closely to feedback from the community. At this point there have been 16 major updates and they don't intend on stopping anytime soon. Killsquad will initially only be available on Steam but Novarama is planning for a PS4 and PS5 release as well. Gun, Run And Carve Your Way Through The Galaxy In Killsquad I recall seeing Killsquad when it initially hit Early Access on Steam in the summer of 2019. I don't recall why I put off playing it until recently though. Perhaps it was due to the unpleasant taste that...

19Oct

By Jordan Rooker1 Comment

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Undying Early Access Preview

Undying isn't your typical survival/crafting/zombie game. Developed by Vanimals and published by Skystone Games Inc (The Last Friend), Undying enters Early Access on Steam on October 19th, 2021. It has been in development over the past three years. Vanimals is hopeful for it to be in Early Access no longer than six months. The Early Access version of Undying consists of roughly the first half of the game. Vanimals is also planning for an eventual release to consoles as well. Undying - Complete a Mother's Undying Wish When I first heard about Undying, I wasn't certain I was ready to add yet another zombie apocalypse game to my library. There are just so many available out there with varying degrees of success. This becomes especially true when you add the "crafting" and "survival" tags to...

14Oct

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

PC Reviews

Grim Earth Review

Grim Earth is a 2D platformer created by George Allan and published by Clockwork Pixels Ltd (also George Allan). It has been in early access for about two and a half years now and was originally slated for launch at the end of September. Allan wanted to make sure he launched his best product possible though so the current release date is September "44th" (or rather October 14th). Look for its full release on Steam. Explore A Grim Earth In... Grim Earth! I seem to be getting myself into all sorts of less-than-familiar genres here at Thumb Culture. This time I waded into the waters of the platformer genre with Grim Earth. As far as I can remember I've only played a handful or so platformers over the years. The most notable being of course Super Mario Bros 1 and 3. Ah... those were such sim...

29Sep

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

PC Reviews

Encased Review

Encased has officially broken out of Early Access as of September 7th, 2021. It can be found on Steam and Epic as well as GOG. The game is a single-player tactical sci-fi RPG that is set in an alternative timeline of the 1970's, after the Cold War. Encased began as a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2017 for developer Dark Crystal Games and is published by Prime Matter (Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Outward, Kingdom Come: Deliverance). Explore the Dome in Encased I wasn't entirely certain what to expect from Encased when I first took a look at it. I don't have a whole lot of experience with turn-based combat or tactical games such as XCOM or Gears Tactics. What I do love is games that make your choices matter and offer alternative endings and gameplay based on those choices. So I was pleasant...

10Sep

By Jordan Rooker1 Comment

PC Reviews

Dice Legacy Review

Dice Legacy takes tabletop games in digital form to a whole new level. It uses dice-based mechanics to gather resources, defend your settlement, and expand into the unknown while also being a challenging survival city builder. It is developed by DESTINYbit (Empires Apart) and published by Ravenscourt (Redeemer, Road 96, Kona). Dice Legacy was released on September 9th, 2021 on PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic as well on Nintendo Switch. Dice Legacy is a Challenge in Strategy and Luck One of the biggest problems I find with tabletop games is that reading through the instructions for most of them seems to take forever. Even after reading them, I usually still have no idea what I'm doing and learn best by playing. Dice Legacy does just that; gives you the tips and info you need for gameplay ...

6Sep

By Jordan Rooker1 Comment

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Rogue Spirit Early Access Review

Rogue Spirit is a 3D rogue-lite action game now available for Early Access on Steam. The developers, Kids With Sticks, have partnered up with publisher 505 Games to bring this third-person adventure to the masses. Kids With Sticks already spent about 19 months developing the game and plan to have it be in Early Access for 7 months. Of course, this is an estimate and not set in stone. If you're a fan of roguelites such as Hades, Dead Cells, Risk of Rain 2, and the like, then Rogue Spirit will be one to add to your collection. Bounce between bodies in Rogue Spirit The aspect of possessing bodies to switch up abilities is what made Rogue Spirit catch my eye. I did not prepare myself for the challenge of playing another roguelite though. Needless to say I will be playing through my frust...

29Aug

By Jordan Rooker1 Comment

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Mosaic Chronicles Early Access Review

I recently took a look at Mosaic Chronicles, developed and published by Error300 for PC. The game entered early access on Steam on August 25th and appears to be one of two games currently in development by the small indie studio. Error300's website shows the game displayed on a phone, but I haven't been able to confirm if this will be an available platform. As the game title states, Mosaic Chronicles couples beautiful mosaic pieces of art together with a tale to follow along. Mosaic Chronicles definitely takes a different path to the puzzle game genre than that of my previous review of Seed of Life. Chill and Puzzle in Mosaic Chronicles The timing of my review for Mosaic Chronicles couldn't have been better. I just got home from a week-long vacation with my family and another family. On ...

15Aug

By Jordan Rooker1 Comment

PC Reviews

Seed of Life Review

Seed of Life, developed by MadLight studio and published by Leonardo Interactive, became available for purchase through Steam on Wednesday, August 11th, 2021. Though Wednesday releases aren't common, this game is fairly unique as well. Seed of Life is an action-adventure puzzle game that will have you asking how much it takes to save a planet. MadLight studio, a small indie developer from Spain, sets up Seed of Life to be a visually pleasing and emotional journey. Sometimes the Hardest Puzzles to Solve are the Easiest in Seed of Life Over my thirty-some years of gaming, I can't say puzzle games fall high up in my library. The two main ones that stand out in my mind are Portal and Portal 2. Both felt mostly like puzzle games with a bit of story. However, Seed of Life is much more of a...