McGayboy

Released in 2011, AC: Revelations was the last installment in Ezio's story, where we see our hero( now in his 50-s ) take on the Byzantine templars, and Ottoman Turks. This game was the one to tie up both Ezio and Altaïr's stories, and to set the stage for entering a new era in history.

Will you follow me in this adventure filled with beautiful landmarks, interesting people and mysteries of Istanbul, the city with many names, describing the many peoples and traditions in it. If so, let's talk about AC: Revelations.

The gist of the game


In this game, Ezio is trying to enter Altaïr's library in the castle of Masyaf. He expected it to be guarded in some way or form( which it definitely is ) but he is surprised when he finds the place crawling with templars!

After getting captured by the gang, and naturally, escaping, Ezio learns that they were after the same thing, but there are 5 keys to the library, which Ezio has to obtain. With this knowledge, Ezio travels to their current location, the city of Istanbul.

Arriving at the city, Ezio is greeted by the leader of the local assassin den, Yusuf Tazim, who tells him about the situation in the city, and tells him where to begin his search. Knowing where to start, Ezio's( and yours ) adventure begins.

Ezio finding one of the Masyaf keys


Reasons to play the game...


The hookblade

Considered one of the best additions to the franchise, this blade is( sadly ) only available in Revelations. Being able to greatly increase your parkour speed, this baby was THE thing to have.

Adding the "hook" part to the hidden blade, you also gained a nifty little ability called "Hook and run", which as the name implies, allows you to hit a guard while running. It also gives you the ability to pull down scaffolding, killing all guards that were behind you.

You also got the ability to use ziplines. Placed on various rooftops around the city, these allowed you to ride them ,and perform assassinations off of them. All while looking like a badass

"Let the Hookblade do the work. Iste boyle! (There you go!) Throw yourself into it."
Yusuf describing the method of using the Hookblade

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Image showing the hookblade and the ziplines

Bomb crafting

"It seems like the bomb-crafting mechanic will let players somewhat customize the experience to their own play style, focusing on either stealth or combat depending on their preference."
Quote from Arstechnica

Speaking for personal sexperience, I can say this is true. In the game, you can craft many, many bombs. You just need a shell, some gunpowder and the main ingridient, and you're good to go.

Divided into 3 main categories( tactical, diversion and lethal bombs ) these gave you a variety of options to choose from while exploring the city. Maybe you just wanted to sneak, you could do that. Maybe you wanted to be thorough and kill ALL of the guards, you could do that aswell. You could beat a mission many times and find new ways every try.

"We have many different kinds of bombs here. Some are used tactically to stop chasing guards or manipulate a crowd. Others are used to create diversions, a good way to handle guards before they attack."
Yusuf Tazim, introducing Ezio to bombs in Constantinople.

Image showing some of the craftable bombs



... and not to play it

The missions and the targets you kill

Most of the people you kill will have very, limited goals( seen in a lot of today's AC games ).

AC 1 might be the worst game of the franchise, but at least your tragets revealed a bigger plot, something deeper than what it seems. The tragets had goals different than power and control, or money. With every kill, you would be thinking about what you found out, eventually leading you to find out your mentor was the traitor.

Unlike that, most of your assassinations in this game will be pretty stale. A lot of them will just be motivated by the things i said before, emphasis on power this time though, and that is one of the things that fans dislike about this game.


Should you play the game?

Despite the game being one of the worse ones on the list, this game can still be very enjoyable.

Your allies and friends are all memorable characters. You will be watching every cutscene with a certain, feeling. Is it joy? Not really, but it's close. It's just their personalities, like Yusuf's that make the missions interesting whenever someone like him's around.

"Hoshgeldin kardeshim! Unless the legend is a lie, you are the man I long to meet. Renowned master and mentor, Ezio Auditore de la la la!
Prego?
Forgive me. I have a hard time remembering that Italian gibberish."

One of the things I enjoy in the game, is its beautiful soundtrack, and I highly reccomend it if you're looking for some music to relax, with some of the melodies making you feel like you were really there.

After giving you those reasons, I hope you will go and pick up a copy of the game, or at least add it to your wish list.


See you in Konstantiniyye, assassins

Greetings, fellow crusaders!
Don't you just hate it when you are unable to kill skeletons and other creatures of the night, all while screaming ''Deus vult!''? Yes, I am afraid I also know that feeling, this pandemic has put us all into a bad situation. Well, worry no more! Are you ready to slay some demons for a higher cause? If your answer is ''yes'', then follow me into an adventure!

Now all the crusader jokes aside, let's talk about Dark Devotion

Some basic info/ Game's story



Released in April of 2019. by Hibernian Workshop, this 2D RPG has recieved much praise, and with good reason. Its challenging gameplay fits perfectly with the game's story: You are a templar exploring the secrets of a mysterious fallen temple. You must go deeper and deeper, revealing the truth about the history of the temple, and its residents. While revealing the truth, you also learn about its downfall, and its descent into darkness. What were before farmers and animal tamers, now are only shells of their former selves, becoming prisoners of the temple's cursed corridors. The only way you are getting out of this wretched place, is by putting your faith into your god and raising your blade against all evils that dwell here.

The "Challenging gameplay" part

Now I didn't write that for nothing. The best way I could describe the game is: "2D Dark Souls". This isn't just my opinion, other think that way aswell:

“A great soulslike”
Quote from Techraptor

All enemies, from normal ones to bosses, will put your skills to the test. The game is just hard in the beggining, the most common sentences you will be saying are: "C'mon!", or: "Are you kidding me?!", and a classic: "How did that even hit me?!. But after you start learning attack patterns and the map layout, you're gonna start having fun. You're gonna be rolling around dodging arrows and other annoying projectiles, every successfull block with your shield is going to make you more determined, every sword slash will make you more inspired, and in no time: you will start feeling like a proper templar.


One of the many bossfights in the gameplay

How religious symbolism affects the gameplay


Now usually, videogames are their own thing. Adding other elements to them most often ends in producing something worse than imagined. Take for instance educative games, made for teaching children math or something. Those are usually not the "Game of the year" award winners. Some games succeed in using those elements of learning with their own twist and you get something really cool, like Baldi's Basics. Same thing with religion: if the theme of the game doesn't fit, that symbolism will just make it worse.

Now Dark Devotion is a different case. Since the game has you playing as a knight Templar, member of an order dedicated to God, it fits perfectly. The way you use your faith in the games is really interesting and unique: you literally start playing near an altar, and BOOM!. There are several rewards you can get using that method: some altars give you buffs, some heal you and some just give you items. There is even a whole boss that you have beat by praying, and trust me, it's one of the most interesting bossfights I've ever seen.


One of the altars I mentioned, this one requires 20 faith to fill up, you obtain it by killing enemies

Some things worth mentioning

The story
I'm usually not the story type guy, but this game's story was presented in such an interesting way, it was impossible to resist reading the little hints of lore scattered throughout the game. You mostly learn what happened through character dialogue, but you can read letter and item descriptions, which all slowly add up to the bigger story.

Item diversity/ Character upgrading
As you progress further into the game, you will start permanently unlocking stronger and stronger equipment. There are several types of weapons, all with their unique description. As you beat bosses, you can use points you obtain to get some permanent buffs. There are 5 regions with one major boss in each. As you progress, you unlock portals that lead you straight to a certain region, so you don't have to go from the start all over again.

Why you should play Dark Devotion

The main reason I'm writing this article is to share this game to other people. Its beautifully made pixel graphics will deliver you a great story, filled with different enemies, allies, and even some choices you can make that affect your gameplay, like helping a fellow templar with some bandages( for which he rewards you ). It's a shame that many people never heard of this game, because I think it's a really unique and interesting one. And the most fun part: you now have a proper reason to wear a knight's helmet inside your house and scream in Latin.
See you in the temple, crusader.

Know that feeling, when you just get a sudden urge to play a game, but you don't know which one? Well today I'm bringing you a suggestion: Shattered Pixel Dungeon. This roguelike RPG is sure to kill sime time and keep you entertained for many hours.

About the Game


Shattered Pixel Dungeon( SPD for short ) is actually a very popular mod of the game "Pixel Dungeon" by Watabou. The Reason I am talking about the mod and not the original is because the mod offers a lot more content and is the one most people play.
SPD is a reguelike dungeon crawler. It is turn-based and filled to the brim with different enemies, loot and all sorts of different things. Originally meant to just fix the original's quirks, the game eventually became what it is today.

Gameplay

The first thing i'm going to mention is that the game is available on desktop and android for free( sorry iOS users, you have to pay to play on those devices ). Now if you search for it on desktop, you might find it on steam for 4.99$. Don't let that discourage you. If you go to the r/pixeldungeon subreddit, the people there will gladly give you a download link for free.

Now, back to the topic.

Classes

First you choose the class you're going to use. Currently, there are 4 main classes, each with its 2 subclasses: Warrior, Huntress, Rogue and Mage. Each of them has its own pros and cons, but they can all be played in many different ways, allowing for a lot of replayability.


Your character selection screen

Items

So, there are, a lot, of items in SPD. So I am just going to tell you about a few of them.

Potions

Now, potions are a must-have in dungeon themed games, right? They are mostly health potions and mana potions, but in here, you get to become a truel alchemist. There are 12 potions, all with different effects We can change that, you'll see in about few paragraphs . Healing, Strength and Toxic gas are only some of them.


A list of potions from the SPD Wiki

Weapons/ Ranged weapons

All weapons are divided into 5 tiers, with tier 5 being the strongest. You get one from the start, and gradually get stronger ones through enemies' loot, chests and shops.
To use stronger weapons, you need a higher strength stat, which you raise through the use of strength potions Pretty logical, right?
The weapons have a variety of effects that can affect your gameplay: longer range, special effect, bonus damage when something is done etc.


Some weapons you can obtain in the game

Finding and learning about the other types, I will leave to you. To talk and know about all of the items is impressive, and it means that you truly understand and know how to play the game. This diversity allows players to create a numerous amount of combinations, and fun builds to play with.

SPD is all about trial and error. You will be in that class selection screen many, many times before beating the game for the first time, but don't let that discourage you! Trying over and over again will only make you better. You will be learning from every mistake AND outplay you make. Practice makes perfect, right?

After countless numbers of unsuccessful runs, you will eventually hit the final boss. Now i will let you find about him for yourself, but beating him awards you the goal of the game: the Amulet of Yendor!


Moments of pure hapiness after beating the final boss

Out of all possible games, why SPD?

The main reason I would recommend SPD to people is that, it's just fun! The game offers you countless plans, item combinations and secrets to solve in its dungeon halls. The developer often takes ideas from the game's players and is glad to help with any question you have. And hey, if you don't like this one in particular, you can always try other Pixel Dungeon mods, and there are many to choose from so you will not be left bored.

As my final message, the classic gretting of PD players: Happy dungeoneering!