Have You Played?

Have You Played? is a Substack focused on video game reviews, gameplay analysis, and industry trends. It covers a wide range of genres, including action, strategy, VR, adventure, RPGs, and simulation. The newsletter examines game mechanics, storytelling, graphics, and player experience, offering critical insights on both popular and niche games.

Game Reviews Gameplay Analysis Industry Trends Video Game Genres Storytelling in Games Game Mechanics Player Experience

The hottest Substack posts of Have You Played?

And their main takeaways

Against the Storm

98 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
  1. Against the Storm is a real-time strategy game focused on environmental factors rather than combat.
  2. The game features a logistic-heavy gameplay with resource management and production chain.
  3. Players navigate a world map, repairing Seals and managing settlements in a challenging yet chill gameplay environment.

Mother of Frankenstein: Volume One

78 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Puzzle Storytelling Design Strategy
  1. Mother of Frankenstein: Volume One is a tabletop puzzle game that feels weightier due to its subject and length.
  2. The game features puzzles that are well-designed and include elements of wordplay and narrative storytelling.
  3. There is a lack of urgency in the story's pacing and the game's marketing does not effectively explain why players should care about the secret being unearthed.

VR Agent

98 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
🕹 Technology VR Gaming Entertainment Virtual reality
  1. VR Agent is an attendant-free arcade VR game where players shoot enemies and dodge using a VR headset attached to a toy gun.
  2. Despite its unique hardware design, VR Agent provides a comfortable and natural VR experience with new control mechanisms.
  3. VR arcade experiences like VR Agent and Ultra Moto VR showcase the potential for immersive, convenient, and attendant-free gaming, paving the way for the future of arcade entertainment.

Episode XOXO

58 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Mobile Gaming Monetization
  1. Episode XOXO is a game with interactive stories centered on romance and with different story conventions.
  2. The game's choices may have little impact on the plot, but its approachability and ease make it popular and profitable.
  3. The stories in Episode XOXO are designed for quick engagement, but may reflect traditional stereotypes and are influenced by monetization.

DoDonPachi Resurrection HD+

39 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Gaming Mobile Gameplay
  1. DoDonPachi Resurrection HD+ is a mesmerizing shoot 'em up game with intense visuals and challenging gameplay mechanics.
  2. The game offers various modes, weapons, and ships, along with scoring systems that encourage risky piloting for high scores.
  3. Despite its punishing difficulty and traditional arcade design, the game adapts to modern gaming preferences by providing multiple ways to play and incorporating popular gameplay elements.
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Super Hexagon

117 implied HN points • 27 Jun 23
  1. Super Hexagon is a challenging action game with a simple concept of rotating a pointer through shrinking shapes.
  2. The game features a good balance of randomness and patterns in the shapes, allowing players to recognize and react without overthinking.
  3. The retro-futuristic style of Super Hexagon enhances gameplay by making it simultaneously harder and easier, with a spinning game field.

Cyberpunk 2077

117 implied HN points • 25 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Gaming Graphics Storytelling RPGs Immersion
  1. Cyberpunk 2077 has an overly long and linear prologue, which takes away from the player's freedom in the game.
  2. The game struggles with editing in terms of dialogue and storytelling, making it feel verbose and lacking in immersion.
  3. Despite impressive graphics and familiar cyberpunk aesthetics, Cyberpunk 2077 falls short in delivering unique gameplay, compelling story, and engaging world interactions.

What's Next?

98 implied HN points • 30 May 23
🕹 Technology Gaming Reviews Gaming Industry Content creation
  1. The author reflected on their least-read and most-read posts, highlighting the importance of diverse content for their audience.
  2. The author discussed their experience playing long games and the belief that shorter entertainment options are generally better.
  3. The author emphasized the importance of clear, descriptive writing in discussing games to broaden understanding beyond familiar genres.

Forward: Escape the Fold

58 implied HN points • 02 May 23
🕹 Technology Gaming Mobile Strategy
  1. In "Forward: Escape the Fold", you advance through a dungeon by moving onto cards with power-ups.
  2. The game is a roguelite, meaning no save points, randomization, and replaying for new strategies.
  3. Balancing short-term gains and long-term risks is key in playing and succeeding in Forward.

Star Trek: Resurgence

39 implied HN points • 06 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Video Games Graphics Storytelling Dialogue
  1. Star Trek: Resurgence is a dialogue-driven adventure game focusing on preventing an interplanetary war.
  2. The game mimics the style of Star Trek: The Next Generation with dialogue choices that affect crew opinions.
  3. The inclusion of unnecessary minigames like stealth and tricorder scanning detract from the core storytelling experience.

Killer Frequency

19 implied HN points • 04 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Gaming VR Immersive experiences
  1. The game Killer Frequency is a first-person horror adventure where you play a DJ helping people escape a serial killer.
  2. The puzzles in the game vary in difficulty from easy to ambiguous solutions, impacting the gameplay experience.
  3. VR can enhance immersion in games like Killer Frequency but may also have drawbacks like discomfort and scariness.

Cityscapes: Sim Builder

19 implied HN points • 20 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Gaming Mobile Game design
  1. Cityscapes: Sim Builder is a real-time simulation game where you build a city by placing blueprints for different types of buildings.
  2. The game lacks challenge due to easy money-making opportunities and simplified mechanics like no running costs for buildings.
  3. Cityscapes was initially designed as a free-to-play game monetized by selling in-game currency, but converted to Apple Arcade with a focus on time-based gameplay.

Eye of the Temple

19 implied HN points • 16 May 23
🕹 Technology VR Game design
  1. Eye of the Temple is a VR adventure game with innovative movement mechanics, keeping players within a limited physical space while exploring virtually.
  2. The game lacks fun due to limited story and gameplay elements, such as repetitive puzzles and lack of engaging characters.
  3. VR game design challenges include balancing immersion, comfort, and gameplay mechanics to create an enjoyable experience for players.

Golden Idol Mysteries: The Spider of Lanka

19 implied HN points • 09 May 23
  1. Golden Idol Mysteries: The Spider of Lanka is a detective game with a colorful, murderous conspiracy set in a fictional South Asian location.
  2. In the game, players collect name/object/verb words to solve murders by filling in blanks in a series of questions or statements.
  3. The game shows how innovation in storytelling and puzzle perspective can be just as important as technological advancements in game development.

Honkai: Star Rail

2 HN points • 23 May 23
🕹 Technology Gaming Mobile Monetization Storytelling Design
  1. Honkai: Star Rail is a sci-fi turn-based RPG with rich 3D worlds and an abundance of content.
  2. The game follows JRPG characteristics like linear story, turn-based battles, and specific character backstories.
  3. Despite some confusing battles and monetization tactics, the game impresses with its polished writing and immersive world.