I don’t often write reviews on Steam (or other Storefronts for that matter). But on rare occasions I do, so here’s a collection of the ones I’ve done so far in reverse order of publishing. Just to also have them here on the site.

Luck be a Landlord (28.11.2024) – Recommended

On the surface this seems like a simple and boring slot machine game. But once you try it, you’ll notice that there’s a ton of depth and variation here. To make it through each month, you need to strategize and be methotical and face the chaotic and random nature of the core game head-on.

Sven – Completely Screwed (06.20.2024) – Recommended

100%ed it in co-op with my wife (a fan of the original) and we definitely had a fun time from beginning to end. Not much actual inspiration here for our own bed adventures ;) but despite the cartoony look and the silly idea, its actually a worthwhile and (on higher difficulty levels) surprisingly challenging action/puzzle game. It also stays true to the originals even if it doesn‘t feature everything the later titles offered.

Latte Stand Tycoon+ (Herstellerbild)

Latte Stand Tycoon+ (25.07.2023) – Recommended

Since I left a negative review on the original, it’s only fair that I take a look at the new version.

And what can I say? After reaching day 21 (around 3 1/2 hours of playtime) I can confidently say it’s a definite improvement all around. My (and many others) biggest complain for the original was the missing challenge once you found all the recipes. This is no longer an issue since you design the latte for each individual customer which also minimizes the downtime. The challenge now becomes “which ingredients do I have” and “how can I make the priciest coffee out of them while still satisfying the customer” – and of course doing it under a bit of time pressure. Outside the café the question is all about managing your money and your available time (you physically walk everywhere). There are ton of upgrades to get, many ingredients to buy and even non-permanent upgrades (e.g. a couple of heaters to keep customers happy on a snowy day) to consider.

I of course won’t hide that there are still a couple of issues. For example, the game doesn’t explain that much. But the devs are listening and are actively fixing all the issues and improve the experience. Its already way better than on release. So I’m confident that the few remaining open points will also be resolved soon.

Another positive I wanted to mention was the overall look and sound of Latte Stand Tycoon+. The original was heavily pixelated and you couldn’t tell your coffee from your latte. The pixels are still there but its way more refined and at the same time the world feels more alive. Birds are chirping, butterflies roam around, people are walking about and cars are driving by all while a soothing soundtrack is playing in the background. Very nice.

So if you want to channel your inner barista and brew coffee in a chilled but still challenging setting: Latte Stand Tycoon+ does finally hit the spot.

Broken Reality (18.04.2021) – Recommended

Did I just have a drug-fueled trip through Second Life circa 1995? Could be but it didn’t exist yet back then. Was the trip fun? Perhaps but I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to. Is this „game“ a higher artform I can’t possibly understand? Maybe. Am I just plain crazy? Or are the developers? Who knows? Do you? Do they? I don’t. Maybe it’s better that way.

Would never play again…or am I playing it right now?! Help!

Latte Stand Tycoon (18.03.2021) – Not Recommended

Neat idea but the execution is severly lacking. As others already pointed out: You spend the first ingame week finetuning the recipies which is somewhat fun. After that it’s all downhill. It takes until around day 30 or at max 40 to unlock everything, then you adjust the recipies again a bit and that’s it. The story is flimsy at best (the mayor visits a few times) and doesn’t even have an actual payoff at day 90. It’s even worse: It teases you with a new location but you never get to see it as far as I can tell (stopped playing at day 100). Instead your only option is to continue the mundane task of adjusting the coffee each day and then sit there mindlessly watching your money pool rising since you can’t spend it on anything but milk, spice and coffee.

The Executioner (Herstellerbild)

The Executioner (05.08.2020) – Not Recommended

I really, really wanted to recommend this game even if only Chapter 1 is currently available. The setting is utterly unique (and severly depressing), the writing is gripping, the mood set thanks to sound, music and graphics is excellent (and again: very depressing) and the choices you have to make are hard and really matter in terms of what comes next driving the replayability through the roof. But the english version is a jumbled mess to put it lightly:

• Savegames disappear until you start a new game
• After loading a savegame the text is in Russian (fixed by going in the Settings and changing it to Russian and back to English again)
• There are pages of text completely missing (including one that prevents you continuing on a critical path)
• Broken or wrong links behind the choices (leading to the same page again; living people being suddenly dead, and such)
• Visible code on the pages because of broken stuff
• Font issues (especially when special characters are involved)

and many more technical shortcomings.

In the end it makes it not only hard to play the game but also very hard to follow the story – and for a text adventure that is not tolerable. So for now the only thing I can actually recommend about this game is the soundtrack.

I hope the devs will be able to find the help they need not only to finish the story but to get the quality up. The potential is there for a real gem of a game.

Devolverland Expo (12.07.2020) – Recommended

Devolver Digitals style of violent humor is not for everyone. Heck, even the games they publish aren’t for everyone. But at least they always try to do something different. Like this playable showcase of their upcoming games. It’s so simple, yet genius you are left wondering why no one has done it before. It’s not much but it’s unique and I hope others will follow suit. Take the ~30min (plus the time to download 8 GB) and check it out!

Suggestion for next year: Not just trailers but playable demos of the games shown!

Thomas Was Alone (24.08.2014) – Recommended

At first glance the game seems like a very simplistic and not extremely challenging (although there are a few brain-teasers in the last levels) platform-puzzle-game with a low art-budget. But this impression is very misleading. Once you start playing you begin to realize that you actually start to care for lonely Thomas, pessimistic Chris, agile John, insecure Claire, ashamed Laura, gravity-defying James and smart Sarah thanks to Danny Wallace’s soothing narration of their feelings, thoughts and actions. In the end you don’t just want to solve the puzzles to get to the next level – you actually want to help these self-aware AIs escape their 2D-prison inside the network of Artificial Life.

Dishonored (Herstellerbild)

Dishonored (07.10.2013) – Recommended

Times have sadly changed since the glorious days of Thief: The Dark Project, System Shock 2 or Deus Ex and of course even Dishonored can’t hide it’s a game for a modern, more fast-paced audience. But still: The city of Dunwall is an impressively beautiful and very deep character hiding a huge amount of lore behind its walls which hints at a world even bigger and stories even more interesting than Corvo’s Journey of Revenge. Yes, you can go in guns blazing, sprinting through the levels and assassinating your targets in record time. But that’s not the way Arkane Studios intended the game to be played. Its strength which allows it to be even mentioned in one sentence with those games mention above, is the silent approach. Taking your time, exploring your surroundings, strinking at the right time — that’s what it’s all about and it’s here where Dishonored truely shines. A must-play for gamers that want to think before they strike.

Uplink (30.09.2012) – Recommended

There’s no other game out there that captures the feeling of being a (Hollywood-inspired) hacker. It may look simplistic, it may be more than twelve years old but once you’ve completed your first successful hack and experienced the adrenaline rush of constantly having to look over your back, doing everything right and hoping that you won’t get caught, you want more — much more. To the point you risk everything just to get into even the most secure systems.

Spec Ops: The Line (19.09.2012) – Recommended

The most thought-provoking and most intelligent 3rd-Person-Shooter I’ve ever played. What it lacks gameplay-wise (perhaps on purpose?) it more than makes up for through story, imagery and it’s way of playing with the players expectations and turning them completely upside down. Think of how Metal Gear Solid removed the 4th wall back in the day, but way less playful and more serious in tone (and with shorter cutscenes).