Author: Kyra

Kyle Kyra (they/them) writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They live in a sleepy Nebraska town. Yes, corn lives outside their back door. They hold a BFA in creative writing from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and their work has appeared in Menacing Hedge, Spank the Carp, Danse Macabre, The Door is a Jar, The Collidescope, and other journals and anthologies.

Geekly News: December 7, 2025, Netflix Buys Warner Bros.

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Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here! I haven’t done a Geekly News article in a week or two, so we may have a handful of new releases (board games and video games) to cover. But before we get to new releases, we just received big news. Netflix buys Warner Bros. What? I was surprised by Warner Bros. putting itself up for sale a couple of months ago, and the twist of the streaming giant Netflix purchasing Warner Bros. is shocking.

Netflix Buys Warner Bros.

The Warner Bros. sale escalated quickly. In October 2025, Paramount had offered a large deal (rumored to be around $100 billion) for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery. Quick question. How many banks/investors would be needed to raise $100 billion? Anyway, the deal fell through, and Warner Bros. Discovery suggested splitting its various business pieces. This allowed Netflix to enter the bidding.

Netflix was only ever interested in Warner Bros.’ streaming business and studios, and (according to a Hollywood Reporter article) early Friday (December 5, 2025) Netflix purchased Warner Bros.’ streaming business and studios for $82.7 billion, financing $59 billion through banks and investors. After Warner Bros. suggested splitting its assets, the Netflix purchase was less of a surprise. While Netflix hides its viewing numbers from the public, it has shared that Warner Bros.’ titles have dominated Netflix viewing numbers in recent months. Why not buy the studio? It makes great sense from a business perspective. But this merger raises concerns.

The first concern is that mid-sized, legacy studios–like Warner Bros.–cannot survive in the current media landscape. The second is that Netflix never releases films in movie theaters, and if it continues this trend with Warner Bros.’ properties, this could be the death knell for movie theaters. And currently, the European Union questions whether this merger works within its anti-monopoly statutes. There’s a lot to discuss. I’ll try and be brief.

First, it doesn’t look good for mid-sized studios. The media landscape has been mirroring the United States’ wealth gap for well over a decade. You’re either a massive studio or you’re an indie filmmaker. Sorry, Fox. There is no middle class. Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. furthers this trend.

Second, I’ve always enjoyed going to movie theaters. It’s a vibe. But I’ve gone to fewer movies at the theater in the last several years. Call it a COVID hangover. Major cities will most likely have a movie theater or two, but smaller cities may lose theirs. Again, this was already happening. Disney demands more profits than other studios, especially for Star Wars and Marvel movies (making these films less profitable for theaters), while Netflix refuses to release films in theaters at all. We’ll have to wait and see if Netflix will extend its policy to Warner Bros. releases. I’ll be sad if the next Wonder Woman movie never makes it to a theater near me, but at least the DCU will continue. More on that later.

Third, monopolies are on the rise. Okay. Some folks may correct me and say that these are oligopolies (a market structure with few competitors controlling most of the market), not monopolies. True, but semantics. Fewer competitors mean that these companies have more power during negotiations. You know, like Disney demanding more profits from theaters. These negotiations also extend to consumers. While Netflix insists it will not raise its subscription price (yet), I imagine a $59 billion loan might tempt it to raise prices in the not-so-distant future.

What does this mean for the future? Nothing much will change in the next year or two. Famous last words. The DCU’s slate of shows and movies remains the same, as far as we know. I can’t wait for Lanterns in early 2026. I can’t imagine Netflix firing James Gunn or Peter Safran. They’ll stay onboard for the DCU’s next chapter. And there have been some hints that the Snyderverse could return. What?

Netflix has stated that some of its newly acquired intellectual properties (including DC Comics and DC Studios) will allow other creatives to release content for those IPs on Netflix. Fans of the Snyderverse interpreted this statement as the Snyderverse returning. And it makes sense if it does. James Gunn has already okayed a second The Batman movie, despite actively casting a new Batman for the DCU. No. We still don’t know if Gunn has cast anyone as Batman. We’ll keep you posted. Gunn fully embraces the Elseworlds framework. So, multiple interpretations of the same characters can exist. Bring on the Snyderverse.

Ultimately, I can see why Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. has people on edge. I’m concerned, too. We lost one more mid-sized, legacy film studio. That sucks. Thanks for the memories, Fox and Warner Bros.. Netflix insists it won’t stop releasing Warner Bros. films in theaters. Perhaps. Fingers crossed. Netflix also says it won’t raise its monthly subscription cost. But $59 billion is a lot of money to repay. We’ll wait and see.

The Great Library Launches on KickStarter

The dynamic duo of game designer Vital Lacerda and artist Ian O’Toole reunite with The Great Library. I have yet to play a Lacerda original, and The Great Library looks as if it’s right up my alley. Players attempt to reconstruct the fabled Great Library of Alexandria. I adore this theme.

Lacerda is known for his strategic board games, and O’Toole is one of my favorite board game artists. The biggest reason why I’ve hesitated to pick up a Lacerda/O’Toole collaboration is that I fear I may make a wrong move on turn one that’ll come back and bite me. But I may make an exception for The Great Library. Look at the detail in this game. There’s a reason O’Toole is one of my favorite board game artists.

With a little context, one could make out what they can do during a turn. O’Toole is one of the best at graphic interpretations of game rules. The Great Library offers a couple of pledge levels. The base pledge of $118 offers a few add-ons. It’ll ship around September of next year, but gamers could back the advanced copy pledge at $225 and receive The Great Library a month earlier. If you’re interested in The Great Library, check out its KickStarter page.

Queen of Spies Launches on GameFound

I love historical board games. Queen of Spies is based–loosely–on Louise de Bettigries, who is known as the Queen of Spies. The Queen of Spies board game has players organize a network of spies to turn the tide of World War I in Belgium. Bettigries did exactly that during World War I. I love it! A solo game steeped in history should surprise no one with a Salt and Pepper game. This board game publisher has produced some of the best historical games in recent memory: The Voynich Puzzle, Witchcraft!, and Resist!.

Ah! I know little about Queen of Spies’ gameplay, but I can’t wait to get my hands on this game. Gamefound campaigns are notorious for showing little of the game before launch. We also know little–if anything–about Queen of Spies’ pledge levels before its release. If you’re interested in Queen of Spies, check out its Gamefound page.

Byzantion: The Justinian Era Launches on Gamefound

Truth time. I hate Take That as a mechanism, especially when used in a longer game. So, when I saw the following image on Byzantion: The Justinian Era, I cooled on the project.

Everything else looks amazing with Byzantion: The Justinian Era. I’d like more board game companies to include graphics like the one above. This gives players an idea of what kind of game to expect. While I may dislike strong Take That in an hour-plus game, other games may enjoy it. And to be honest, everything else on this graphic looks like it’d be something I’d play, so I could overlook the strong Take That. And why not? While publisher Meeple Pug is new to the gaming space, they’ve had some interesting releases over the past year with Mesopotamia and Dark Blood. Meeple Pug games include stellar miniatures, and Byzantion: The Justinian Era is no exception.

While the image above is most likely from a digital tabletop engine like Tabletop Simulator, one can’t generate files like this without files from the core game. I love the upstart Greek board game publisher Meeple Pug. They stick to their roots, and I can’t wait to see what they release next. If you’re interested in Byzantion: The Justinian Era, check out its GameFound page.

Dragon Eclipse: The Grand Quest Ventures onto GameFound

Dragon Eclipse returns with its first full sequel, Dragon Eclipse: The Grand Quest. Honestly, I haven’t considered too many Awakened Realms games, because they tend to get pricey. Like hundreds of dollars pricey. If that doesn’t give a frame of reference for how expensive Awakened Realms games can get, Awakened Realms is the board game publisher attached to GameFound, the crowdfunding site that thinks board games should be so expensive that games should be able to pay for them in monthly installments. But Dragon Eclipse’s standalone sequel, Dragon Eclipse: The Grand Quest, is affordable. About $70 for the standard edition and $139 for the deluxe.

At $70, I may pick up a copy of Dragon Eclipse: The Grand Quest. From what I hear, Dragon Eclipse plays like a fusion between Gloomhaven and Pokémon. And I dig the storybook feel. Ah! My heart skipped a beat. My biggest issue with Gloomhaven is its setup, and two flipbooks should limit the amount of setup. And I love Pokémon. I may not have grown up with Pokémon–like my children–but I have a soft spot for cute mythical creatures, and Dragon Eclipse: The Grand Quest has plenty of cute mythical creatures. If you’re interested in Dragon Eclipse: The Grand Quest, check out its GameFound page.

Marvel: Cosmic Invasion Releases

Classic video game arcade players, rejoice. Marvel: Cosmic Invasion captures the feel of classic arcade games like The X-Men, The Simpsons, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Side-scroll fight your way through the levels and defeat denizens of the Negative Zone. Not gonna lie. Annihilus (ruler of the Negative Zone) is one of my favorite Marvel villains, and I’m stoked for this game. I didn’t know Marvel: Cosmic Invasion existed before writing this post, but I’m so in.

Let me at those bad guys. As I write this entry, I have no idea what the reviewers will say about this game. Does it matter? If classic side-scroll combat interests you, Marvel: Cosmic Invasion may interest you. Depending on the version you purchase, the cost varies from $40 to $60. Marvel: Cosmic Invasion is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series S/X.

Sleep Awake Releases

I didn’t know Blumhouse made video games. Surprise! Undoubtedly, as a result of Blumhouse’s involvement, Sleep Awake was included in the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. How many video games are included in a prestigious film festival? Not many. I don’t know much about Sleep Awake other than people disappear in their sleep, and it’s up to you to save the last remaining people on Earth. From the designer of the stellar Spec Ops: The Line, Cory Davis, and featuring the music of Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails, Sleep Awake blurs the lines between dream and reality.

Like Marvel: Cosmic Invasion, I knew little about this game, but the more I learn, the more I want to see more of Sleep Awake. Sleep Awake is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series S/X.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Releases

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond needs no introduction. The Metroid series is one of Nintendo’s greatest, and we haven’t seen a new entry in this series in over a decade. No. I don’t count Metroid Prime: Federation Force, released for the Nintendo 3DS. Handhelds are a separate animal. The last main console release for a Metroid game came in 2007, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for the Wii. The Wii!

And I’m grateful that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be available for the Nintendo Switch as well as the Nintendo Switch 2. I can hold off upgrading my Switch. I picked up my Switch late in its cycle. I deserve to have the occasional high-profile game. And Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is certainly a high-profile Nintendo release. Let’s hope it lives up to the hype.

Octopath Traveler 0 Releases

Okay. Another truth time. I picked up Octopath Traveler for the Nintendo Switch several years ago and have yet to play it. Eek! The series looks amazing. Sure, Octopath Traveler features pixel art, and even though I have written for a website called The Pixels (they tended to give every pixel art game a baseline 8 out of 10 for graphics that I’d call 4 out of 10), I don’t automatically say a game is gorgeous because it uses pixel art. But look at Octopath Traveler’s pixel art. It’s stunning. Look at that detail. It’s delicious.

I love the graphics, and from what I hear, Octopath Traveler has an amazing story to match these graphics. Yes! Octopath Traveler 0 is a prequel to the original game. While I’m not a fan of prequels, I can enjoy them, given the proper context. I don’t yet know what the context is for Octopath Traveler 0, but we’ll keep you informed. What I do know is that Octopath Traveler 0 features town-building gameplay. What? Players may construct 500 buildings on the Nintendo Switch 2 and 250 buildings on the original Nintendo Switch. This is yet another title I love that gets an original Nintendo Switch release, despite the older system’s limitations. But players may also pick up a copy of Octopath Traveler 0 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Tabletop Game Review: Little Devils

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Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another board game review. Today’s game is Michael Feldkötter’s Little Devils, a quick trick-taking game with a twist. Little Devils has no suits. Instead, players must follow the first card (in a series of 54 numbered cards) that’s played per round. The second card dictates which direction every other player must follow (up or down from the original number). The player who either plays in the wrong direction (up instead of down) or plays the furthest number from the original card wins the trick; you’re trying to win as few tricks as possible. Little Devils takes a simple concept and bakes in some interesting choices.

Before we get any further, we’ll get devilish with Little Devils’ details.

The Fiddly Bits

Designer: Michael Feldkötter
Publisher: Arclight Games, Stronghold Games, White Goblin Games
Date Released: 2012
Number of Players: 3-6
Age Range: 8 and up
Setup Time: Less than a minute
Play Time: About 15 minutes

Game Mechanisms

Card Game
Trick-Taking

Game Setup

Little Devils consists of a 54-card deck. Depending on the number of players, remove a number of cards numbered between 28-54 from the game. The rulebook will state which specific cards need to be removed at each player count. Ultimately, players will be dealt 9 cards each, which should be the entire deck.

After you’ve prepared the deck, deal out all the cards.

Game Flow

For the first round, the player to the left of the dealer begins the trick; for every round after the first, whoever “won” the previous trick, begins the next trick. The first player starts the trick by playing any card from their hand that doesn’t have five little devils beneath the number. Quick note: most cards in Little Devils will have at least one little devil underneath its number. Players cannot lead a trick with a card with five little devils, unless they have no other card in their hand.

The player to the left of the starting player will play a card from their hand. If the second player plays a higher card, all other players must play cards valued higher than the first card if possible. Whoever played the highest card gets the trick, unless a player is unable to play a higher card. This player will get the trick unless more players are unable to play higher cards. If a player (or players) plays a card in the opposite direction of the second player, the player with the furthest valued card from the original card wins the trick.

After all cards have been played, a round ends. Players score the number of little devils from their tricks. As soon as someone scores 200 points, play ends, and whoever has the fewest points wins.

Review

Little Devils has a built-in catch-up mechanism: the player who wins a trick can’t possibly win the next one; they begin the next trick. I love that. It’s simple and offers plenty of strategic choices. I could play a card closer to the low or high end, thinking the players in front of me (on the scoreboard) might get stuck with a trick or two. There are even cards that have no little devils on them. Often, when I know I’m going to get stuck with a trick, I’ll play one of the one devil or no devils cards to net the fewest little devils I can.

While you could card count during Little Devils, it doesn’t matter that much. Little Devils plays quickly. It’s more fun to play a second game. Even when I’ve finished last (triggered the end game), I feel like I did something if I stiffed someone else with a bunch of points during one round. Little Devils is a great filler game. It may get overshadowed by Cat in the Box (we still need to review that game), but it requires less setup, is an easier teach, and I’ve found more gamers catch on to Little Devils a lot faster.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

Quick to pick up and easy to teach, Little Devils is an excellent trick-taking game that offers plenty of strategic choices, a brilliant built-in catch-up mechanism, and fun gotcha moments.

Writing Brain Dump: December 5, 2025

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Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. I haven’t done a writing brain dump in a few weeks. I’m still going through the slog of editing the Rustbucket novel on a macro level, but I’ve hit a wall.

Truthfully, I’ve struggled to make much headway with the project. There are multiple reasons why. I distracted myself with holiday cleaning. I may not have made much progress with the Rustbucket novel, but my house looks and smells amazing. I may not have completed a single task I wanted to in November, but my study is so organized.

I feel stuck in Monty Python’s “Cheese Sketch.” My cheese shop is the best in the region. Why do you say that? It’s so clean. It’s certainly unsullied by cheese.

Distractions aside, I can’t get out of my own head, and that’s the real cause for writer’s block. So, I’m recommitting myself to my writing schedule. I may put the Rustbucket novel on hold for a short time and begin a new project. Who knows? Something I write during this project could provide the fuel I need for Rustbucket.

I’m not going to include any writing tips or tricks I’ve been using, because I hit a wall. Maybe I’ll dirty up my organized study with some writing, and I’ll have something more to share in a couple of weeks, when hopefully, I’ll post another writing brain dump.

I hope you all had a great Novel November. Thank you for reading, and keep writing.

Whatcha Playing, Geekly? December 2025

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Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here! Today, our writers share the games (video games and board games) they’ve been playing over the past month. Feel free to share which games you’ve been playing this past month, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll start off this post with what I’ve been playing this past month.

Kyra’s Video Games

I received Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles two weeks ago. Thank you, Season. And it didn’t take me long to finish the game and earn the platinum PlayStation trophy. Oh, yeah!

I’ve played most–if not every–rendition of Final Fantasy Tactics. It’s one of my favorite video games of all time, and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles does a fantastic job of updating this classic. Let’s begin with some of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles’ best new additions.

It’s easier than ever to see turn order during combat. Character portraits line the left-hand side. Numbers show whose turn is coming next. When you choose an action that requires any charge time, like a spell or jumping as a Dragoon or aiming as an Archer, you’ll see where your action would fall in turn order, should you choose to pick it. I love this update. In an instant, I can see if I want to commit to an action or not. While many of the charge times have been reduced (making some classes like Dragoon and its jump viable and borderline overpowered), the Archer’s aim ability still takes too long. Better luck next time, Archers.

I went into Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles knowing I would enjoy the game’s combat (and mix-matching job abilities, like dual-wielding monks), but I didn’t anticipate how this version would step up the game’s story. I always liked Final Fantasy Tactics’ story, but with The Ivalice Chronicles’ “State of the Realm” interactive map, I can better follow the story. If you’ve ever struggled to keep Final Fantasy Tactics’ political intrigue clear, The Ivalice Chronicles may be the perfect edition. Throw in some great voice acting–by whom my spouse dubs as out-of-work Shakespearean actors–and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles elevates a story that may resonate more today than when the original was first released in 1997.

Even with all the great additions Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles brings to the table, I do have some gripes. I loved the War of the Lions’ cutscenes. The art is unique and has an ethereal quality. These cutscenes are available in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, but gamers need to surf submenus to find them. I don’t think many gamers will do this. I would prefer an option to insert these cutscenes during my playthrough. This could be included in a simple update. Speaking of simple updates, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles brings back all original unlockable characters and jobs. I’d like the game to include all the unlockable characters and jobs from every version, making Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles a definitive version.

I could go on with other nitpicks. I love the fast-forward option, but I’d like it as a toggle button, not as something I need to press and hold down, and there are a handful more, but Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles does more things right than things wrong. If you’ve been holding off playing this classic, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is the closest to a definitive version of the game. And I’ve heard that Square Enix may release a sequel if Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles does well. Fingers crossed!

Auto Chess just had a major update (November 30, 2025, literally a few days ago). When this update posts, I’ll still be trying to understand all the balance changes. In short, I’m not enjoying this new update. Egersis is eliminated from the normal unit pool, but you can still gain Egersis units through a relic. That’s kind of good. Unfortunately, a couple of unit types have gained similar abilities to Egersis, so effectively, Auto Chess has quadrupled down on the game mechanism I hate. Great!

Certain units (like the Hill Clan Swordsman or the God of War) would dominate Auto Chess lobbies in the early to mid-game before this patch. After the patch, these units may have gained more power. Again, I haven’t had much time to play this new major patch, but there are far too many match-ups where I don’t know why I lost. That’s bad. I should at least know why I’m losing. Maybe I have inferior units or poor synergies or fewer units in general. But during the early stages of this latest patch, I’ve lost to opponents who had no synergies (poor or not), cheaper units, and fewer units. Evidently, my seven great units with six good synergies can’t defeat a team of four weenies with no synergies. I’m left scratching my head with Auto Chess.

Maybe I didn’t add the correct weenie.

Kyra’s Board Games

This past month, I’ve played board/card games I forgot I enjoyed. I rediscovered some favorites. The first of these favorites is Rüdiger Dorn’s Las Vegas. I remembered shockingly little about Las Vegas’s scoring rules. Lol! Players roll standard six-sided dice, take turns placing all the dice of one number on one of six casinos (numbered 1-6, corresponding to the numbers players can roll). Whoever has the most dice in a casino wins the pot. The player with the most money after four rounds wins.

And that’s how to play–for the most part. Las Vegas has simple to learn rules but offers plenty of strategy. After playing Las Vegas for the first time in years, I remembered why I love it so much. It’s a game I love bringing on road trips. In fact, I believe I brought Las Vegas to my Vegas trip almost ten years ago. Who needs to gamble when you can play Las Vegas?

Wolfgang Kramer’s 6 nimmt! is another classic I played this past month. I’m going to take this moment to thank one of our game night regulars (Kenneth) for remembering how to play Las Vegas and 6 nimmt!. 6 nimmt! was another game where I could remember how the game was played but forgot to explain specific rules or edge cases. In 6 nimmt!, points are bad. You want the fewest points. Small bullheads (shown in the middle of the top and bottom of each card) score players points at the end of each round. Every round, players are dealt 10 cards. You will be playing all cards. Players simultaneously pick one card to play and then, in number order, play those cards to rows. If a row gets filled (has five cards and you would then play a sixth card), you claim all five cards in that row and start a new row with the sixth card you played.

6 nimmt! is another easy to learn game with plenty of strategy. Who am I kidding? 6 nimmt! is pure chaos. You may attempt to play a card, squeezing it into a tight window of numbers, only to find someone else played a card that torpedoed your plans. And that’s the fun.

There are equal parts strategy and luck with 6 nimmt!. Are you the least bullheaded?

Those are the games I played this past month. Let’s see what Season has been playing.

Season’s Video Games

I’ve been getting into Fallout lore lately, so I decided to try the first Fallout game. I know Wasteland came before Fallout, but I’ve yet to check it out.

Fallout was a different experience from other games of the franchise after Bethesda took over. I like the isometric movement. It’s definitely reminiscent of earlier computer games. I get distracted easily in video games, so side questing and taking my time to explore the world is what I’m used to. I wasn’t anticipating being put on a timer to find the water chip. I think this adds to Fallout’s replayability. If I don’t get to everything, I’ll definitely play again.

What have you been playing, Skye?

Skye’s Video Games

Mass Effect is my newest video game obsession. “Obsession” is the right term. Mass Effect suddenly fell into my lap. I’m lucky enough to have a copy of the Legendary Edition, which contains the three games from the original Mass Effect trilogy. I’m fully submerged in the Mass Effect rabbit hole, and I don’t expect to be out until mid-2026. Especially since, if I really like a game, I’ll grind until I get all three Platinum Trophies. Wish me luck!

Skye’s Board Games

I played Castle Panic during this week’s game night, and it was a fun and engaging experience. I enjoyed the amount of planning and collaboration involved, which made each of our team members feel important. A lot of what happens in Castle Panic is discussion about which threats are the most pressing and how to deal with them. In a way, Castle Panic felt like we were all military commanders deliberating in the war room. Despite the good experience I had with Castle Panic, I can see how the game can turn sour. Castle Panic could suffer from Alpha Gamer Syndrome (one player making decisions for everyone). Remember to stay calm, work together, and get rid of those monsters. The kingdom is at stake!

And I’m hungry now. Pizza Roles is a party game that leans hard into its premise. The game is quick and entertaining. While I don’t see myself regularly playing Pizza Roles, I’d be happy to argue with a large group of friends about which toppings do and don’t belong on pizza. In a lighthearted way, of course. Since Pizza Roles can be played competitively or cooperatively, one can tailor the game to almost any friend group. Just make sure you order pizza.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again! Those are the games (video games and board games) our writers have played over the past month. Let us know what you’ve been playing in the comments, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Cozy Video Game Review: Dorfromantik

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Inspired by tile-laying board games, Dorfromantik offers the relaxing gameplay of creating a pastoral landscape of trees, villages, water, railroads, and fields. Designed by four German and Swiss students (Timo Falcke, Sandro Heuberger, Luca Langenberg, and Zwi Zausch) in a game design master’s program at HTW Berlin, Dorfromantik is a peaceful, minimalist game that lives up to the title, cozy. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re back with another cozy video game review. Even though Dorfromantik has crossed over into an award-winning board game, we’ll be discussing the equally stellar indie video game by Toukana Interactive. Get ready to build a gorgeous landscape with Dorfromantik.

Mechanisms

Game Mechanisms: 7/10

Dorfromantik takes a simple concept of tile laying and does it exceptionally well. I’d wager the idea of Dorfromantik stemmed from playing board games like Carcassonne. Dorfromantik’s game mechanisms lend themselves well to board games, so there is an excellent, cooperative board game by the same name. Sometimes, you don’t need an elaborate set of mechanisms to make a game sing. Sometimes, you just need to do a simple concept well, and Dorfromantik does just that.

Chain similar land types with each other to gain points and finish goals (that the game presents) to score even more points and to increase the number of tiles you have to draw from. Dorfromantik can be played competitively–there is a leaderboard–or you could watch the countryside bloom as you place tiles. Dorfromantik‘s ability to make me invested in a landscape reminds me of another cozy video game we covered, Terra Nil.

Gameplay Loop: 9/10

Whether you play Dorfromantik to get the highest score possible or casually place tiles and find your Zen, you can’t deny Dorfromantik’s gameplay loop. Once you get started, you won’t build just one pastoral scene. You’ll want to go farther with your next run, reveal new tiles like the windmill (pictured above), or watch your boats and trains traverse the landscape. And yes, the scene above is animated. It’s so neat watching your creation come to life.

Because the tiles can come out in different orders, no two scenes in Dorfromantik are exactly the same. This adds spice to the simplistic gameplay. Dorfromantik is an easy game to get into, but a difficult one to master if you want to climb that leaderboard. Or you could be like me. I just want to discover new tiles and watch my landscape get bigger and more diverse. I’m so glad Dorfromantik has been ported over to the Switch. It’s the perfect game to play on the go.

Story or Narrative

Narrative/Storytelling: 1/10

I should’ve excluded this element, but I didn’t with other video games that had little to no story, so narrative/storytelling is staying in the lineup. Let us know what you’d replace this element with for games that have little to no story. Dorfromantik has no story to speak of, so it receives a low mark in this category.

User Interface: 10/10

Dorfromantik has a stripped-down but effective user interface. The tiles feel great to manipulate. They almost feel like placing a board game’s tiles. The picture above shows how Dorfromantik will highlight the spaces where a tile can be placed. Gamers can only place the tile on top of the draw pile. Dorfromantik does an excellent job of not only showing where a tile can be placed, the callouts show where you can gain extra points, and whenever you hover a tile over a space and begin rotating it, Dorfromantik will make the matching tiles shimmer.

Dorfromantik’s elegant and minimalistic user interface makes it accessible. Like I said, Dorfromantik may use a familiar board game mechanism in tile placement, but every element Dorfromantik adds is handled with care and purpose. I had to give Dorfromantik top marks for user interface.

Graphics: 8/10

Dorfromantik has excellent graphics for a top-down isometric video game. The art style works well, and I appreciate the small details. Look at the clock towers, cottages, and windmills in the image above. Like I mentioned before, Dorfromantik uses small animations to denote movement. The boats (if you’ve unlocked the boats) move along the waterways. Smoke puffs from chimneys. While all of this is great, Dorfromantik does venture into cartoony graphics.

These cartoony graphics work well when one zooms out and sees more of the landscape, so I understand why Dorfromantik chose a minimalistic, cartoon-like art style. Players are meant to take a macro view of their village. But I dock Dorfromantik a point or two for graphics because the game doesn’t quite hold up on closer inspection.

Audio: 7/10

Dorfromantik’s music exudes the concept of a cozy game. I’ve listened to Dorfromantik’s soundtrack to fall asleep. It’s that soothing. Unfortunately, the game’s sound effects detract from this calm. The clacking and clicking of the tiles often takes me out of the game’s vibe. I would’ve preferred more pastoral sound effects accompanying the mechanical sounds of turning and placing tiles on the board. Yes, I could reduce the sound effects’ volume or turn them off altogether, but that would eliminate half of Dorfromantik’s audio. We’re grading the game’s entire audio. If we were only grading Dorfromantik’s soundtrack, its audio would score much higher.

Replay Factor: 10/10

Dorfromantik has an addictive gameplay loop, so the replay factor is through the roof. I can see myself playing Dorfromantik on my Switch while waiting in line. Heck, I’m surprised Dorfromantik hasn’t yet made it to the mobile game space. I could see plenty of people playing Dorfromantik on their phones. It may be an even better game for smartphones. The Switch tends to be a game’s first foray into mobile gaming. Fingers crossed that this cozy game classic makes it onto more mobile devices.

Aggregated Score: 8.6

Sure, I gave Dorfromantik a story/narrative score, but I’m not including that score with its aggregated score. Sometimes you need a cozy video game to find your Zen. Dorfromantik is a great game for that. I’m hoping more gamers will have the opportunity to play Dorfromantik on other platforms soon.

Video Game Review: The Survivalists

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Team 17 produced The Survivalists as a cooperative adventure game set in the Escapists universe. The player wakes up marooned on a mysterious island. You must adapt to your new surroundings. Prepare your defenses against island threats. Explore, hunt, build, craft, and train monkeys with up to three friends as you do your best to survive.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Today’s post is a follow-up of sorts. Months ago, I mentioned during one of our Whatcha Playing segments that I’ve been playing The Survivalists. I finished the game and figured I’d share my thoughts. I played The Survivalists on PlayStation (so most of my comments will reflect that), but The Survivalists is also available for Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. Typically, it retails for about $25, but The Survivalists tends to go on sale for as low as $5. I snagged a copy when it was this cheap. Let’s see how The Survivalists measures up in our review criteria.

Mechanisms

Mechanisms: 8/10

Full disclosure: I’m not the biggest survival game fan; that’s more Skye’s video game genre. Survival games often frustrate me. It takes a while to make progress (I’m impatient), and your progress can be foiled with a single false move, which causes the game to devolve into a frustration simulator. I usually like to chill whenever I play video games. Most survival games have no chill. That’s where The Survivalists is different.

The Survivalists takes a laid-back approach to the survival game genre. Sure. You can–and most likely will–die in the game, and after respawning, you’ll have to travel back to where you lost your belongings, but The Survivalists is more forgiving. Upgrades don’t take as long, eliminating one of the barriers for me. If you train monkeys, these upgrades take a fraction of the time. Monkeys are The Survivalists’ single best addition. It took me a while to figure out how to train a monkey (the controls are a little wonky), but once you get the knack, you’re no longer alone on this island. Even if you play The Survivalists solo, you have allies.

The Survivalists’ monkeys element is enough to give it an above-average score in mechanisms, but the game doesn’t add too much to the survival video game genre, so I couldn’t give it higher than an eight out of ten. Still, I enjoyed my time with The Survivalists, and the game’s mechanisms kept me engaged.

Gameplay Loop

Above Image from GameDesigning.Org

Gameplay Loop: 8/10

The Survivalists has the same addictive gameplay loop as most survival games. While I love the addition of monkeys, you can get stuck waiting for your monkeys to finish constructing key materials. That holds back this score a bit. The missions can also get too specific; one also doesn’t receive credit for a task unless they have the mission in their questline. The Beast Master is notorious for this. Kill 10 Bats. I already have; I guess I must hunt for 10 more. And the Beast Master’s questlines (in particular) don’t appear to have a linear progression. You can go from slaying a mid-level boss to hunting wolves, and then to taming animals, which transitions to killing warthogs (an equivalent animal to wolves). These mission progressions tend to be head-scratching.

Still, The Survivalists has a satisfying gameplay loop. The world resets after every few days (after a blood moon). So, if you must hunt wolves for their pelts (or to finish a quest), you may need to wait for them to respawn after a blood moon. The morning after a blood moon, you’ll be attacked by natives. Perishing during one of these raids isn’t too big of a deal, provided you’re at or near one of your camps. You’ll lose the items in your inventory, but your attackers will vanish, and you’ll respawn at your nearest camp. Easy.

Sailing can be tricky to master. I was fifteen hours into the game before I could navigate the waters well. Once you get the hang of sailing, exploring becomes a blast. I couldn’t wait to discover a new island or the materials I could find on the island. This is a hallmark of survival games. Perhaps I should give more of them a try.

At first, obtaining a new monkey can be exciting, but you’ll end up with well over 15 monkeys. That’s a lot of monkeys. The number of monkey companions will become unruly, and monkeys have a range limit. The Survivalists doesn’t do a good job of marking this range. I lost count of the times I’d task a monkey to do something like chop down trees, only to see the monkey skip a tree to knock one farther away. Make the monkey’s range make sense. I’ll also get a monkey falling me a little too long, and then they’ll randomly swim on the beach on a foreign island. It’s a good thing monkeys can’t die.

Story or Narrative

Narrative: 6/10

The Survivalists has a basic premise with little story beyond that, but it doesn’t need a lot of story beyond a person marooned on a distant island. I do enjoy the ending. It’s not a true ending, because you can continue playing after this moment, and the credits roll. I won’t spoil what happens here, but The Survivalists has an adorable cutscene after the player rebuilds the Galleon and sets off for home.

Storytelling

Storytelling: 7/10

Even though The Survivalists has little story, the story it has is done well. Flavor snippets from the labyrinths and vaults sprinkled through the various islands do a lot to build The Survivalists’ world. My favorite parts of The Survivalists’ story are piecing together a story from the random objects I encountered. This game allows players to fill in certain blanks in its story. As of writing this post, I have yet to play The Escapists. I’ve heard that there are references from the previous games set in this universe. If so, that’s fun.

User Interface: 9/10

The Survivalists’ user interface works well. With few exceptions (I mentioned a lack of showing the player their monkey’s range), the game provides ample information in a digestible manner. The volume of information a survival game needs to convey is staggering. Players can get lost in menus and submenus. While that can happen occasionally with The Survivalists, it doesn’t happen as often as other survival video games. This contributes to The Survivalists‘ ease of play.

The well-laid-out GUI gives players the information they need. Yes. I could locate my missing monkeys if I wanted; I just didn’t want to retrieve them. The map allows for customized markers, which makes remembering where things are easy enough. Furthermore, you don’t really need too many personalized markers because the taskmasters have unique markers, and they spawn on the game’s five islands: Mysterious Strange at the player’s island, Beast Master at the Badlands, Survival Gourmand in the Swamp, The Collector at the Volcano, and The Salesman at the final island shaped like a skull and is a combination of all the biomes. The Survivalists also labels all the labyrinths and vaults, so the randomized map is clearly marked.

One can also mark a recipe and know when they’ve collected the necessary materials. I only have a few gripes, like the lack of a monkey range display. The Survivalists did their homework and included enough features from other survival video games to make playing this game enjoyable.

Graphics: 9/10

In keeping with The Escapists’ universe, The Survivalists uses a cute pixel art style. I don’t tend to like pixel art because the art style sacrifices detail for the sake of the designer not wanting to include detail (it tends to be cheaper), and it taps into nostalgia. A stripped-down look is a key feature of pixel art; it makes the art more abstract, which can allow players to see themselves in the graphics. Somehow, The Survivalists’ graphics maintain a level of detail despite using pixel art. That’s impressive.

As you can see in the image above, The Survivalists uses a mock 16-bit art style, but the shadows from the trees have detail, the water ripples, and the grass shifts. The Survivalists has enough detail to make its world breathe, but it has enough abstraction for players to see themselves in their protagonist. This is pixel art done right.

Audio: 8/10

Truth time. I predominantly played The Survivalists muted. The times when I had the sound on, the effects sounded natural. The music is solid and suitable, except for the sailing tune. That song alone raises the audio score a full two or three points. I would sail from island to island just to hear this tune. The Survivalists’ sailing music feels like an adventure, and that’s what I wanted from this game. Don’t believe me? Check out the audio on YouTube. The track is titled “Adventure Awaits.” That’s so fitting. I can almost smell the salt from the ocean.

Replay Factor: 8/10

The Survivalists’ ability to be played cooperatively raises this score a lot. I don’t know how often I’d play it as a solo experience. If you have no desire to play The Survivalists in co-op mode, I could see you dropping this score a point or two, but I do like playing this game as a co-op experience. Since the game randomly generates the islands each time, The Survivalists becomes a different puzzle. During my solo play, I had plenty of rocks for masonry but not enough trees for lumber at the game’s start. The inverse was true during my co-op playthrough. Plenty of other game elements, like the labyrinths and vaults, change too, so each play of The Survivalists is different.

I enjoyed my time on the island and wouldn’t mind returning after several months. If you need me, I’ll be listening to “Adventure Awaits” while heading out on a road trip.

Aggregated Score: 7