Hi everyone, and welcome back to My Week Unwrapped, where I discuss all the games I’ve been playing over the last seven days. This week has been light on new releases, but there has been a lot going on in Genshin Impact and the beta version of Sky. I also took this time to work on my video walkthrough for Psychic Squad, and even tried out an older game I’ve been meaning to for a while. There’s still a fair bit to discuss, so let’s get to it.

Bike Baron 2

I never played the original Bike Baron, but I was curious about the sequel, especially its slick updated graphics. I was a bit confused by the way the game just throws you into the action with no introduction, no tutorial. There’s just a level select screen and you choose a level and then figure out how to play on your own. I managed to get the gist of it, but I only got 1 star in all the levels I tried. I appreciate the plentiful checkpoints for people like me who aren’t used to the game. I was still able to get to the end of many levels even if I kept dying. I just had a terrible score at the end. I eventually stopped, though, when I couldn’t figure out how to progress on a particular level. There was a bomb in my path and I couldn’t see anything to do other than either get blown up or fall under it to my death. It’s not really my kind of game so I doubt I’ll stick with it, but check out my gameplay video below to see if it’s more your speed.

Polgar: Magic Detective

I really wanted to love Polgar: Magic Detective. On paper, it sounded right up my alley, looking for clues and solving murder mysteries that involve magical creatures akin to Pok╬ô├╢┬ú╬ô├«├ëmon. Thankfully, the first chapter is free, so I was able to give it a try. Unfortunately, I deleted it before even completing the first chapter. The idea is that you look around the crime scene for clues. Once you find them all, you look through the bestiary and try to choose the creature that murdered the victim. The problem is, the clues don’t really give much context. You just zoom in on a clue — like a pocket watch or broken window — and that’s it. There’s no extra information to be garnered from them. You can’t even look at them again without getting an annoying message that you already found all the clues. The autopsy report was much more useful and, based on it I thought the creature should be of an ice element. But I didn’t notice any like that. So I chose a storm dragon and was wrong. The game didn’t give me any feedback or try to help in any way. It just restarted the chapter and made me go through everything again. I really don’t feel like doing this over and over until I guess correctly, so I’m done with the game. It’s too bad, because it really is an interesting concept. I wouldn’t personally recommend it, but since the first chapter is free, try it for yourself and see if it clicks with you.

Downwordly

Downworldly is a word game that reminds me of Mahjong Solitaire, in that you need to make words using tiles to clear them. When you do so, you’ll make the tiles next next to them usable. The tiles also stack similarly to Mahjong, so you need to peel away layers. The game has a few rough spots to iron out, but overall it’s a pretty solid entry into the genre. I like that there are multiple modes, like endless or puzzle. And the game is free without any ads. The only IAP is for the multiplayer if you want to play that. If you’re happy playing solo, you don’t have to spend a penny. The game also looks great and has some impressive animations for what is a rather simple game. I’d say give this one a try if you’re a fan of word games.

Primordia

I’d been meaning to play Primordia for years now but it just kept getting pushed aside by newer games. With the PC release of Strangeland from the same developer, this seemed like a good time to jump in. I haven’t played that long yet, but I was impressed with the writing and voice acting. The humor is spot on and I the friendly banter between the two robot friends. That said, I got hopelessly stuck not far into the game. I found some conduits that need to be secreted together. But the putty is both not sticky enough and at the same too sticky. The grease on the floor would also make it too sticky. I’m out of ideas and can’t find anything else to use. I hate the idea of resorting to a walkthrough this early on, so I’ll try to figure it out on my own first. But it’s a bit discouraging to be stuck already. You can watch some of my gameplay video below to see what it’s like, as I haven’t really gotten far enough yet to give proper impressions.

Overboard!

I’m still trying to tie up loose ends in Overboard!, but I can never get things to go my way. I’ve learned more about the blackmailer but killing them just got me arrested. I’m now trying to win $1000 playing blackjack but it’s not working out very well. I’m going to keep trying, though! I’ve still encountered some new paths, along with some twists and surprises, so I’m not bored of it just yet. When I do figure it out, I’ll be sure post the solution here.

flocks

As a big fan of nada studio’s first game, Starman, I really wanted to like their latest game, flocks. I played some of it last week and had some mixed feelings about it. I liked the overall idea and figuring out the solutions to the puzzles. I wanted to see where it goes so I played through the second chapter. Unfortunately, it was torture for me. The puzzles themselves were pretty straightforward, but carrying them out with the given controls was a test of patience. Driving vehicles is particularly maddening, and at one point I even flipped a vehicle across the level somehow. The controls are too fidgety and too easy to mess up. The ragdoll physics on top of it don’t help, and by the time I got through the second chapter I was sure I didn’t want to play anymore. The long waiting times between levels and even restarts made it extra painful. I would love to give the game another try if it gets some improvements, but at the moment I can’t recommend it.

Adventure Escape Mysteries – Psychic Squad: The Italian Affair

Since it was a quiet week, I took advantage of it and worked on my Psychic Squad videos. But I haven’t made one for the wight chapter yet, since a lot of people have been complaining about my solution for a specific puzzle not working for them. So I’m waiting for an update to fix the bug so I can be sure my next video has a solution that works for everyone. You can see my full walkthrough guide here.

Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact got a huge update this week, version 1.6. It brought with it a new event called Midsummer Island Adventure, which introduces a whole new area to explore called the Golden Apple Archipelago. It’s a temporary area, so it will sadly disappear in 40 days. But it’s chock full of so many mysteries and surprises to find. I spent 3 hours playing today alone and feel like I barely scratched the surface. I’m looking forward to spending more time with it tomorrow, though I’m not too thrilled about having to solve a musical puzzle, since I’m pretty tone deaf. Anyway, if you’re a Genshin player, don’t miss out on this event! It brings back what the game does best — exploration.

Sky: Children of the Light

Not too much happened in Sky this week, but I did make a video for the last daily quest related to the Season of Assembly. I also played through the first five story quests of the upcoming Season of the Little Prince in the beta version of the game. If you’re curious about it and don’t mind spoilers, you can watch them here.

Legends of Kingdom Rush

And last, after a long draught, Apple Arcade got its first new release, Legends of Kingdom Rush from Ironhide. As a fan of the Kingdom Rush tower defense games, I was excited to finally be able to play it. I’m not sure if it’s for me, though. It’s an RPG roguelike in which you explore a map and battle enemies, trying to survive as long as you can. Any progress you make resets for your next playthrough, except for some small persistent unlocks. Those unlocks only allow you to choose from different skills when your characters level up, so success still very much comes down to minute-by-minute strategy. I still want to give it another go and see if I can do better. But I do wish the game could speed up a bit. There’s a lot of loading screens and it just generally feels a bit slower than I’d like. But if you have an Apple Arcade subscription, give it a try. It’s still one of ten more interesting offerings.

And that’s everything I’ve been playing this week. I also saw Cruella in theaters and, while the acting was great and I enjoyed the campiness, I still couldn’t explain the need for this movie to exist, or its long length. Even when I was enjoying it, it dragged and I was anxious for it to wrap up. I also finished The Undoing, which wasn’t all that great. I’m now watching The Flight Attendant, which really sucked me in and might be the reason I didn’t get more work done this week. Anyway, let me know in the comments section what games you’re playing and I’ll see you back here next week with more of My Week Unwrapped!