Jose, Author at Thumb Culture

Age of Wonders 4: Rise from Ruin DLC – PC Review

18Mar

By JoseNo Comments

Age of Wonders 4: Rise from Ruin DLC – PC Review

Age of Wonders 4 continues to grow with Rise from Ruin, a downloadable expansion developed by Triumph Studios and published by Paradox Interactive. The expansion released on March 9th for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox. Players who have already purchased the Expansion Pass 3 will be able to add this DLC to their game library for free as part of the season pass. Nomads of the Astral Barrens Age of Wonders 4: Rise from Ruin introduces players to a whole new world known as the Withered Worlds, where a cataclysmic magical disaster has twisted and turned the entire landscape into a sandy, inhospitable hell. From these sands of chaos, a new resilient tribe emerges known as the Harefolk, who have survived the catastrophe thanks to their keen instincts and adaptability. The expansion’s story ce...

26Feb

By JoseNo Comments

PC Reviews

Styx: Blades of Greed – PS5 Review

Styx: Blades of Greed is a third-person stealth-action RPG adventure developed by Cyanide Studio and published by Nacon. The game is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, starting February 19th. Weaponized Goblin Mode In this third entry of the franchise, players return as Styx, a cunning goblin thief with a particular set of skills, including silently infiltrating castles, eluding enemies' sight, and executing hushed assassinations in a smart mix of stealth and strategy. Styx first appeared as the smaller half of a smash-and-stealth duo in Of Orcs and Men (2012). He was obviously the stealth portion of that tag team. Since then, the little green gobbo has continued his mischievous adventures by himself in Styx: Master of Shadows (2014) and Styx: Shards of Darkness (2017). No...

20Feb

By JoseNo Comments

PC Reviews

Crimson Capes – PC Review

Crimson Capes is a pixel-art 2.5 D roguelike / roguelite developed and published by Poor Locke. The game is set in a dark-fantasy medieval Europe, where you can switch between four characters of the witch-hunting Crimson Capes guild. Retro Bloody Retro In recent years, the indie game industry has been flooded with roguelites, roguelikes, and metroidvania style games. Crimson Capes enters this crowded landscape with a realistic swordcombat "flow" that may be challenging at first but is highly satisfactory once mastered. This combat system relies strongly on the well-known formula of souls and soulslike games, patience, dodging, and precise timing. The story is centered around the adventures of Milon, also known as the Tempest, who has been ordered by the king to take down a conspir...

10 Premium MTG Commander Upgrades to Give This Christmas

23Dec

By JoseNo Comments

Features

10 Premium MTG Commander Upgrades to Give This Christmas

If you're looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for a friend or loved one who plays Magic: The Gathering, I've got a list for you. In the last piece, we talked about budget upgrades for Commander decks. Here, I'll be going over some not-so-budget upgrades for your Commander bestie. Let's dig right in! Flashy, Full-Art, Foils Commander players simply love to bling out their favorite decks. We know this to be true because of the secondary market on websites such as tcgplayer and cardmarket, where the price difference between foils and non-foils is substantial. The rarer the card, the prettier the art, the flashier the foiling shines, the more players and collectors are willing to pay for it. A prime example of this is the recent Final Fantasy set. Now, without further ado, I give you...

11Dec

By JoseNo Comments

PC Reviews

Marvel Cosmic Invasion – PC Review

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is a pixel-art beat'em up developed by Tribute Games Inc. and published by Dotemu. Playable solo or with up to four players in local or online co-op, the game delivers fun and fast-paced combat where players will visit some of the best-known locations of the Marvel Universe. Retro Pixel Arcade Action Galore After the success of 2022's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, game developers Tribute Games have come up with another excellent retro, pixel-art, arcade-style beat-'em-up game. Marvel Cosmic Invasion uses the same action-filled formula as its predecessor but enhances it with a larger hero roster and adds another layer of complexity through its swap mechanic. This game is a deep cut to 90s pop culture, when home PCs and consoles weren't as ...

10 Budget MTG Commander Upgrades to Give This Christmas

10Dec

By JoseNo Comments

Features

10 Budget MTG Commander Upgrades to Give This Christmas

In the last decade or so, the Commander format has completely taken over Magic: The Gathering. It has, without a doubt, become the most popular format among players, new and old. It is therefore safe to assume that your MTG-playing friend, whom you want to gift some Magic stuff this Christmas, plays Commander. Budget All-Stars Your MTG Friend Will Love This list is meant for those who want to buy Magic: The Gathering cards for their friend or loved one but haven't got a clue. You could always just ask them which format they play, but that would risk ruining the surprise. If you don't know where to buy singles from, look for trade card gaming shops or comic book shops near you. Chances are, they have some of this stuff. If you really can't shop locally, or it's too time-consuming, then...

5 Budget MTG Commander Precons To Give Away This Christmas

10Dec

By JoseNo Comments

Features

5 Budget MTG Commander Precons To Give Away This Christmas

Over the last decade or so, Magic: The Gathering has released a plethora of preconstructed commander decks. Once an occasional release, these fully constructed and ready-out-of-the-box decks have become expected by-products of every new set. These "precons", as they are known among MTG players, are a great Christmas gift for your trade card gaming addicted friend or for yourself. But which one should you choose from the hundreds of preconstructed commander decks that have come out over the years? Fear not, this short list is here to help. Let's delve in. Draw, Untap, Unleash Hell This list is intended for people who want to get their special one a great (and somewhat within budget) Christmas gift, but are completely clueless about Magic: The Gathering. Commander decks are made of 100 ...

8Dec

By JoseNo Comments

PC Reviews

Death Howl – PC Review

Death Howl invites players into a sorrow-soaked spirit realm where grief becomes both a weapon and a burden. Developed by The Outer Zone and published by 11 bit studios, this indie title blends three genres that have never been combined like this before. It plays like a soulslike with an integrated deck-building system and grid-based combat. You craft combat cards, collect totems, and face corrupted animal spirits as you guide a grieving mother on a desperate journey to challenge death itself and save her son. Enter the Pixelated Underworld I've never been the biggest fan of soulslike games, often preferring the more forgiving variant, soulslite. Death Howl reminds me of one of my favorite games, Blasphemous. Both games have the high difficulty of soulslikes, with a cryptic world to ...

4Dec

By JoseNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Comic Book Store Simulator – PC Preview

Comic Book Store Simulator is a small shop-management game where you step into the shoes of a comic shop owner trying to keep a niche business alive. Developed by Akhir Pekan Studio and published by PlayWay S.A., the game tasks you with organizing your store, dealing with thieves, and juggling the constant flow of sales and restocks. I played it on PC, and overall, the game runs rather smoothly with only a couple of minor wrinkles. Organizing the Chaos Running a comic book store might at first sound a bit dull, but as anyone who has spent some considerable amount of time in these nerd dungeons will tell you, it is anything but. As a comic book store crawler myself, I found it intriguing to see the store from the other side of the counter. Let's explore the magic behind running a geek lai...

21Nov

By JoseNo Comments

PC Reviews

Coffee Bar Simulator – PC Review

Coffee Bar Simulator is a cosy café-management game, developed by Digital Melody and published by Games Incubator and PlayWay S.A. The premise is simple enough. Open up your own coffee shop, serve customers, and try to keep your tiny business running smoothly as rush hour hits. I played it on PC, and the game runs well with stable performance and quick loading times. A Relaxing Cup of Boredom As a newcomer to simulation games and someone with actual experience working in coffee shops and restaurants in the past, I really looked forward to playing Coffee Bar Simulator. Unfortunately, the game quickly became a monotonous stream of mouse clicks that didn't demand much brain power. It is only after I reached level three and the prompts stopped telling me what to do that things got a littl...