crafting systems Archives

AppWizard

March 3, 2025

Our favourite demos from Steam Next Fest Winter 2025

The latest Steam Next Fest showcased a variety of indie games, encouraging players to explore unique demos. - DoubleWe: A first-person roguelite game where players navigate a world filled with tension, facing their murderous clone among twitching NPCs. - 1950s Delivery Game: A top-down delivery game set in the 1950s, featuring chaotic streets and absurd jobs for an underachieving courier, with destructible environments. - Wanderstop: A game centered on a grouchy protagonist, Alta, where players help him unwind and enjoy mundane tasks. - The Horror At Highrook: A cosmic horror board game that invites players to explore haunted environments and uncover hidden malevolence through card-crafting systems. - Hotline Miami-inspired Game: A game that allows players to switch perspectives and link environmental elements for strategic gameplay and destruction.

AppWizard

November 22, 2024

Stalker 2’s survival systems haven’t changed since the last game 15 years ago, and I’m not sure if I’m happy or disappointed

In 2007, Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl introduced a survival game experience that emphasized vulnerability and realism, contrasting with the power fantasies of its time. Players faced dangers like bleeding, radiation, and hunger, with no fast travel, requiring careful planning for resource management. Stalker 2, set for release in 2024, appears to maintain a simpler approach to survival mechanics, offering familiar gameplay elements such as a straightforward food system and easy weapon maintenance through NPCs. While this simplicity is comforting for many players, some survival enthusiasts express a desire for more depth, such as crafting systems and enhanced resource management, which could enrich the gameplay experience.

AppWizard

October 4, 2024

Solo dev says he’s bucking against the survival ‘formula’ that makes them stale, and if you want to actually make an axe from scratch does he have the game for you

The author expresses a newfound appreciation for survival games despite initial hesitance due to their formulaic nature. Sergei Bezborodko, the developer of The Last Plague: Blight, aims to innovate within the genre by avoiding common tropes such as simplistic crafting systems and the presence of zombies. Instead, he incorporates a detailed crafting process that reflects real-life labor. The game draws inspiration from non-survival games, particularly in its mechanics. A demo of The Last Plague is available on Steam for players to experience.

AppWizard

September 23, 2024

Ara: History Untold review

Ara: History Untold is a grand strategy game developed by Oxide Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, set to launch on September 24, 2024, priced at £50 and available through Game Pass. The game features a visually detailed world where players can build cities and expand empires through strategic placement of buildings. Gameplay is structured across three acts and four eras, with a Prestige system that tracks achievements in military, scientific, and cultural domains. Players face elimination based on Prestige rankings, adding urgency to the game. Combat emphasizes numerical superiority, and a crafting system allows for item creation to enhance city attributes. The game aims to be more accessible for newcomers to the 4X genre, with potential for future expansions to improve gameplay and narrative depth.

AppWizard

August 4, 2024

Crafting in crafting games may suck, but it seems surprisingly decent in the updated rules for Dungeons & Dragons of all things

Crafting in tabletop gaming has often been seen as tedious, with players frustrated by resource gathering and complex systems. The 2024 Players Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons 5E introduces streamlined crafting rules that enhance gameplay and creativity. New origin feats allow players to create useful items overnight, and tool proficiencies now include guidelines for various actions, providing clarity and consistency. Proficiency in sleight of hand grants an advantage on thieves' tools checks for lockpicking. The new rules encourage players to embark on quests for rare materials instead of simply purchasing items, adding excitement to the crafting experience.

Winsage

May 11, 2024

How to level up FAST in Diablo 4

Diablo 4 Season 4 Loot Reborn will begin on May 14 at 1 p.m. EDT, 10 a.m. PDT, and 6 p.m. BST, with Patch 1.4.0 introducing extensive balance and itemization overhauls.

Winsage

May 10, 2024

Diablo 4: Everything you need to know about Masterworking

- Diablo 4 introduces two new endgame crafting systems: Tempering and Masterworking. - Masterworking enhances existing affixes of an item across 12 upgrade ranks. - Players can reset an item if they are not satisfied with the outcome of Masterworking. - Masterworking is only available for items of Ancestral rarity that have two Tempered affixes. - The Blacksmith in any town holds the key to unlocking the Masterworking ability. - Specific materials are required for Masterworking, with different tiers associated with different materials. - Tempering adds new affixes to gear, while Masterworking focuses on escalating the value of affixes, including those from Tempering.