September/October game impression roundup

Hey, there are a few indie game/mid-tier game/B games from the past month or two that I thought looked interesting and might get a Quick Look. But then nothing materialized and we don't have UPF anymore for unofficial low-effort Quick Looks, so it seems like they're unlikely to get coverage on GB.

So calling all duders! Have you played any of the following games from recent memory, and what do you think about them?

• Crusader Kings III (I gather it's more Crusader Kings, but feel free to go off on how it is better or worse than the last one)
• Iron Harvest (looks neat, I'm certain Vinny mentioned playing this and wanting to get further into it before recording video, but that was like weeks and weeks ago)
• Spellbreak (this one the staff did play on the site, but sadly it didn't earn a Murder Island-esque series. How is this game doing? Good player numbers, or do you feel like lobbies take a while to fill up and/or are filled with bots? Is everybody that's still playing the game way too good at it?)
• BPM: Bullets Per Minute (I'm kinda shocked this didn't get any coverage on the site, the concept seems neat and I swear Jeff or somebody talked about playing it)
• Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (I'm kinda shocked this didn't get any coverage on the site, though I guess it was mentioned on some podcasts that I don't remember)
• Ikenfell (apparently someone talked about this on the Bombcast but I don't recall what was said at all, anyway looks like a cute little indie RPG thing)
• Torchlight III (got an Unfinished a while ago, but I guess no one is revisiting it for 1.0)
• Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3!? (got an Unfinished EX a while ago, but I guess no one is revisiting it for 1.0)
• Cloudpunk (cyberpunk game that I don't think anyone on staff has mentioned they're playing)
• Crown Trick (some kinda roguelite thing, the art looks cool)
• Amnesia: Rebirth (no coverage yet, but possibly the subject of an upcoming Six Crazy Frights?)

Those are the games that caught my eye in one way or another, but if there's any other cool stuff you've been playing recently, go ahead and tell us about it!

Torchlight III is in the running for the "Most 'Eh' Game of the Year." It's not terrible or anything, but if you've played Torchlight II then you've played Torchlight III. And the design of Torchlight II was already kind of showing its age even when it came out.

I picked up TL3 expecting to get really into it based on loving the previous games, but that didn't happen. I haven't even checked out the the 1.0 updates.

I played the demo for Iron Harvest during one of the big Steam demo events, its very Company of Heroes. The demo was only multiplayer, and I never really loved the Company of Heroes core gameplay and really don't like their multiplayer so I was really unhappy with it. But, it seemed like a well made one of those, reminded me a lot of the Dawn of War 2 multiplayer.

@bisonhero: I recall Alex talking about Cloudpunk back when it originally released on PC but I don't remember what his opinion on it was; in my mind, I had it conflated with Neo Cab.

@nodima: Oh yeah, that's why it sounded familiar. Maybe I'll have to jump back to that Beastcast and see what Alex had to say about it. I know it's the pandemic and they're mid-RV-acquisition and all, but I feel like there are a lot of games lately that might warrant a brief 20-30 minute Quick Look but few of them are getting one :(

I have Cloudpunk - I liked it, just something about the on-foot stuff. Made me wish I had a button to make it just the driving parts switching to full-screen menus when docked. Driving bits are really kind of soothing and occasionally finding myself realising I'm about to curse someone out for cutting me off made me realise how much I was into it.

Might check in on it soon, heard it changed a bit. Might check in on some of the Gamepass entrants too.

Some personal issues stopped me from playing recently but as of a couple weeks after launch in Spellbreak I was starting to notice it was filling more and more spots with bots on PC which was not a good sign. I too am curious how it held up after that.

Been playing Cook? Serve. Delicious!!! 3 on PS4. It streamlines a few elements from 2 (mainly: no chores, and you can flick the right stick to serve all dishes that are ready and don't require further prep), and it allows for more choice on every level. Each level has a theme that limits the foods you can pick, and sometimes forces a minimum point total, where more complex dishes are higher points, but at least in the early game the themes allow you to pick a dish "liadout" you're comfortable with to get the gold fairly easily or try some new things to improve your skills.

Also there's a lot of game here. Almost 400 levels going by the medal count. It will take a long time to complete.

Just recently picked up CSD3 as well. From what I've played of it so far this is the actual sequel the first game needed. It's grown in smart ways which leads to a more engaging gameplay, with stuff like food prep and an assortment of different styles of food recipes. The only issue I have with it so far is that it has some performance hick-ups, which can be frustrating in such a hectic game.

Things I have been playing the most through September and October (bear in mind my brain and sense of time/space have definitely been affected by "the pandemic"):

Hades - amazing run based game, possibly my game of the year (played on God mode and it was amazingly fun)

Spelunky 2 - I am absolutely terrible at this game, including multiple 6-8 secodnd runs...

Risk of Rain 2 - loving this game, though I have yet to see credits and the online could be a bit better;

Genshin Impact - fun Breath of the Wild clone, combat could be a bit better but definitely fun and free;

Carrion - fun "metroidvania";

Bloodstained - only played through as its on Gamepass, but the Vinnyvania streams really got me interested;

Old Republic - not sure why but decided to jump into the MMO; to this day I can't play with WASD and a mouse so its taking some getting used to.