Steam Deck Early Review

The Steam Deck came at a perfect time for me, because I have been thinking of getting a gaming laptop for a good while, but due to circumstances, bad decisions, and other factors, I just haven't been able to really commit to any type of computer other than a phone. There was always this ratio of cost to how much I would actually use it that always came out not worth it for me. With the form factor of the Deck, it completely changed that ratio to something I think I would use a lot, and for the past 3 days, that has certainly been the case. While the controls and quirks of the system take some getting used to, I can now say that the money and time waiting for it have been worth it so far. Being able to play something like Sable on the go has been great, and getting access to my 300+ game library has got my hands full. That being said, with that many games, I have ran into some odd issues. Even games rated "Great for Deck" like Venineth are two accidental button presses away from being unplayable without either deleting your save, or doing some involved troubleshooting because the resolution only allows you to see a fourth of the screen. On the other side of the coin, games labeled as not usable on Deck range from seemingly fine, to runs at half speed, to not being able to boot at all. It is a PC through and through, but figuring it out hasn't been bad so far. Other than having issues running some games, the thing that really screams that this is a first generation device in the battery power length. The Steam Deck isn't something anyone should expect to even last a relatively short airplane ride. There are settings you can play with to extend it, but even with that, getting 3 hours out of the Deck is the max I can have it alive for before I have to recharge. Even with that restriction though, I noticed that my longest played game on Steam is 35 hours, but with the Deck, I can see this changing rather soon.

Minoria Review

Minoria is a metroidvania search action game that feels like it got lost in the shuffle, and to be honest, it is hard not to think that perhaps that is what it sort of deserves. Not to say it is bad, no, in fact I had fun with it, but with the competition in the genre, especially Bombservice's own Momodora IV, it is hard to really recommend unless you have already played the better games in the genre. Talking about Momodora, Minoria feels like it is a game between Momodora 3 and 4, which is to say it is more linear like 3, but has more offensive options like 4. The big switch here is while the Momodora games are 2D sprites, Minoria is still a 2D game, but uses all 3D models. This switch to 3D makes the player character bigger than in most of their games, and while the attack and defend options still feel instant and good to use (especially when rapid-firing spells), it just doesn't feel as precise to me. It is probably also worth saying I played this on Switch, which did have hitches here and there. The characters feel like they have less personality then they would if they were 2D sprites, and other than some areas at the end, the entire game sort of feels dark and samey. I enjoyed the story and the bosses, but actually going through the map doesn't feel as good as it does in other search action games because going out of the way usually just ends up going to a place you can't access yet, and going too far ahead of an area just means you have to backtrack if you missed any items. Not enabling fast travel until you beat the game as far as I can tell was also an odd choice. It is telling that Bombservice seemingly canceled their 3D game, and their next game is back to their 2D sprite style. I think a Minoria sequel with what they learned from the first go around could be really good, but as is, I would only recommend playing this if you already played Momodora 3 & 4 first, and just want more of that Bombservice style.