Steam Library A-Z Challenge

The challenge: To play through each of the games on my Steam library. The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order. This is another game we somehow managed to buy when we got the 'Paradox Entertainment Pack'. I really can't remember why we bought that pack, as I (in general) absolutely hate simulation games. So, Cities in Motion is a simulation game. I was expecting it to be a SimCity clone, and in a way it is - if you stripped out all of the city design, that is. This game doesn't allow you to build cities, no, it literally just allows you to build a city's transport infrastructure. The entire game is drawing lines for routes from one place to another. To give the game its due, it goes pretty in depth in it's field. You have to consider routes for workers travelling to their place of employment, tourists to entertainment spots, etc, and there's a good amount of economical management which is a staple of these type...

The challenge: To play through each of the games on my Steam library. The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare was released in October 2012, and is based on a mod for Half Life 2 called Age of Chivalry. I think the main reason we bought it at the time was because Mount and Blade was a big part of our lives, and we wanted more of the same. It plays very differently though, as (apart from the tutorial) it's multiplayer online matches only. In this game there are two factions within an army's camp - the Knights, who are loyal to the king (blue team) and the Order, who are loyal to the army's General (blue team). The gameplay is fairly simple - it's a first person medieval combat sim, where you can pick one of four classes, each with their own specialty. There's a bit more too it with customisable characters, but I found I really liked the spear wielder so I ended up playing him the whole game. Th...

The challenge: To play through each of the games on my Steam library. The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order. Car Mechanic Simulator 2014 is a first person game where you take cars apart and put them back together again, with fixes as appropriate. I won't lie, I remember buying this game many years ago in a Steam sale. I've got a feeling I bought it at the same time I bought the Paradox Entertainment Pack, which has given (and is going to give) me hours of fun/pain during the course of this challenge. When you first load this game you're met with super loud electronic music, and an angry sounding revving engine - the kind of noises that make you cringe when you hear them blasting past you in the street. Also an ad for Car Mechanic Simulator 2015, which made me smile a bit. I wonder what improvements there are between versions? The music in this game is OK, but seemed to be the sort of music that was bad at helping you concen...

The challenge: To play through each of the games on my Steam library. The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order. After having a break over Christmas and New Year (Who am I kidding, I've been playing Overwatch and The Witcher 3), I've made a resolution to try and blog at least once a week. So here we are again, and today's game is Call of Juarez. Call of Juarez is a fairly famous cowboy-themed first person shooter, perfect for people who's favorite time period is the old West instead of the future (Why??). The plot, or at least as much of it as I got from the hour I played, is that there's some possibly cursed gold in them thar' hills, and the lust for this gold is called, yep, 'The Call of Juarez'. The story alternates between two characters who are at odds with each other, a gimmick that I really liked. The first is Billy, a young man returning to his village after seeking (and failing to find) the gold, an...

The challenge: To play through each of the games on my Steam library. The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order. I've no idea where this game came from. It's on my Steam library, and it looks like a friend or two has played it, but I do not remember buying it. Presumably it was in a Humble Bundle or similar I bought at some point in the past. So, I didn't know what kind of game The Bridge would be. My guess was an endless runner. Turns out it's another puzzler - strikingly similar to Braid. It's not really a clone, but definitely of the same ilk - soothing music, a distinct yet simple art style, and a kind of off-looking protagonist. You play as Sketchy McMathsman, a drawing who lives in a world of optical illusions, angry balls, and vortexes of doom. OK, I made the protag's name up as the game doesn't really give you much in the way of story - in fact it gives you even less than Braid. I managed to beat the fir...

The challenge: To play through each of the games on my Steam library. The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order. Braid is one of those games that I remember causing a stir amongst those who, like me, love thoughtful indie games. Games like The Beginner's Guide & Undertale have, for me at least, gone a long way towards proving that games can be art. Pro-tip though - don't look up these types of games' fandoms... The game itself is a puzzle-platformer, where the main gimmick is rewinding time to change your surroundings. The puzzles are devious, and as far as I can see you have to solve all of them to get to the end. Finishing a level is normally as easy as holding right, but you can (and must) replay each level to try and grab the puzzle pieces scattered throughout, like you're playing some kind of melodious Groundhog Day. Controls-wise, the game doesn't feel great to me - the jumps just aren't high enough to fee...

The challenge: To play through each of the games on my Steam library. The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order. I was quite excited to play Before the Echo. I knew it was a rhythm RPG, and really that pushes a lot of buttons for me. The game begins as the protag (Ky) wakes up in a mysterious tower. He's told by a voice over an intercom (a lady called Naia) that he has to ascend all seven floors if he wants to escape. That's as much plot as I got in the hour I played. The game itself is your standard rhythm game ala Dance Dance Revolution, with arrows that scroll down and make your vision wonky. The main difference is that the play is set across three boards.The Defensive board lets you block incoming attacks by matching arrows, the Mana board lets you gain mana by matching arrows, and the Spell board lets you cast a spell of your choice at the enemy you're fighting (by matching arrows). Before the Echo also has an RPG system...