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You Have To Be prettysmart To Survive The Spirit Lift In A Haunted Hotel

A retro horror deckbuilder inspired by 90s games and haunted theme park rides, The Spirit Lift blends card-based strategy with paranormal investigation inside a cursed hotel where survival is never guaranteed.

The Spirit Lift Box Welcome back to the 90s. Drawing on the aesthetics of Atari’s Haunted House and Disney’s Tower of Terror ride, The Spirit Lift aims to deliver Ghostbusters-style thrills through a retro horror deckbuilder roguelike. Set in a haunted hotel, players investigate strange goings-on by choosing action cards that come to life on PC via Steam. prettysmart games invites players to control a trio of teenage paranormal investigators, uncover the truth behind the haunting, and hopefully survive the night.

From the Press Release:

Build a starting deck by selecting a plucky team of three teen paranormal investigators from a pool of eight characters, then venture forth into a spooky, abandoned hotel. Each character alters the starting deck, affecting battle strategies and offering distinct story revelations depending on who joins the fray. Scour rooms across 13 floors for secrets, new gear and upgrades, then head to the elevator to ascend to the next ghastly level.

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With Blockbuster Inc., You’re Making Movies Faster Than Building a Studio to Rent

Everything you want to know about how movies are made are revealed here in this videogame simulation simply known as Blockbuster Inc. But do you have what it takes to make the next hit? Hint: patience is required to understand how this game works.

blockbuster inc. title card — **Now availble to purchase on Steam (PC)**

Managing a movie studio isn’t easy, and for Blockbuster Inc. to emulate this in a sim city style video game, the production team at Super Sly Fox dived deep! In addition to getting an education about how movies are made, what’s offered in this product has a nostalgic charm. In fact, in my playtest, I started during the Golden Age of Hollywood. It’s a shame that due to copyright, that municipality’s name can’t be used.

Back then, everything followed a systematic approach to film production. In this virtual world, players have the power to manipulate everything. Here, I have an empty film lot to build onto. Although I find it odd that the movie sets are open air rather than warehouse, but to say all the world’s a stage is an understatement here. On the harder side of this game is all that micromanagement. That’s the role of a producer–to acquire the funds to expand the studio, hire additional staff and find the right actor for that movie.

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When Racing Through the Worlds of Wizordum Gets Fast, Is There An End in Sight?

You gotta be fast and quick to respond in all the danger coming at you in Emberheart Games’s Wizordrum!

Emberheart Games

Gamers who love to post speed runs on Twitch will find Wizordum to be the type of perfect shoot ’em up style game to parley with. While I prefer a dungeon crawl at a slow pace, this fantasy shooter is designed to be played fast and furious! That’s how most adventure games should be played. Sometimes, players spend too much time being methodical or are pouring through the books to insure encounters follow the rules, and while that’s okay in a pen and paper game, that’s not how it works in real life!

The fact players have to be on the ball in this videogame, that means being able to solve puzzles on the fly! There’s also being like Indiana Jones and escaping a room with the treasure without missing the beat of those arrows shooting at him! In this game, players better have that itchy trigger finger and nimble reflexes when blasting through a dungeon!

When there were times I wished I could pause the game to quickly sketch out a dungeon map, I suspect that would slow the game down. Thankfully, there is one provided in the game to show where the secrets lay, but it’s not as detailed as one I would make.

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Freedom Games is Making Dark Deity Free this Weekend!

Dark Deity and it’s free for newcomers to download and play this weekend!

Dark Deity, the turn-based tactical RPG inspired by the genre’s classics from developer Sword and Axe and publisher Freedom Games, celebrates bringing its army count to more than 100,000 units sold across Nintendo Switch and PC versions. To commemorate the occasion, new recruits can join in by claiming a copy for free on Epic Game Store throughout this weekend. For a review of the game, please check out our review here.

As Shawn Trommeshauser wrote, “Despite its faults, I enjoyed the time I spent playing Dark Deity, and I saw a lot of potential in the game. It’s clear that the developers put some effort into sprucing up the presentation for the Switch, but for every step forward, there was an awkward step back. Given the choice, I would go back to the Steam version for the superior version for the cleaner visuals and mouse control. otherwise they’re completely on par. But if you’re looking for a light Fire Emblem style experience, especially on the go, Dark Deity on Switch might just scratch that itch.”

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Pokémon TCG Live Expands to New Testing Territories and the Latest App Update Impressions

Pokémon TCG Live isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. The previous version, Online, still looks far more polished than this open world testing.

Review platforms: MSI Katana GF66 and iPad 6.

Pokémon TCG Live has opened up to more countries for beta testing, and my advice to tablet gamers is to make sure you are connected to a power outlet for more than an hour of play. It was limited to Canada during the past year for working out the kinks, and with half the problems dealt with, I recommend the desktop version for the Mac and PC. I would not play on any mobile device (laptops not plugged into the wall included) because it drains the power fast. Players may be able to get three or four long games in before recharging. Hopefully, this issue can be addressed by offering a battery saver option in the next update.

Otherwise, this game is almost like the previous iteration, Pokémon TCG Online. The main difference is in the changes to the layout and more 3D models. For testing, only the last five or so expansions are being put through the paces. In the card construction front, players can get credit for extra cards beyond the needed four in a deck to buy missing cards. In both versions, players can buy real world product to exchange the QR code for extra cards. With the old version, there’s more value by getting ten randomized digital cards over the five; because of that, I love the older version more. Its visual aesthetic is not as garish. Also, I should’ve stayed with the older app.

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The Force is Still Strong with the X-Wing Series

By Shawn Trommeshauser
(Dreaming in Digital)

X-Wing — the word alone brings back a flood of memories and nostalgia. It’s also the name of a series of four games developed by Totally Games and published by LucasArts that, despite their age, are still the best Starfighter games set in the Star Wars universe. Putting you in the pilot’s seat of ships from both the Rebel Alliance and The Galactic Empire, the X-Wing series has you flying missions during the Galactic Civil War and are my favourite Star Wars games ever made.

I’m certain many people will agree that Star Wars was one of the defining entertainment experiences in our lives. The exotic worlds, the aliens, the lightsabers, any one of a hundred reasons George Lucas’ world latched on to our imaginations. For me, it was the starships. The X-Wing Starfighter is only a small step below The Millennium Falcon itself in fictional vehicles I’d love to have parked outside my home (slightly above a Light Cycle).

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