My Week Unwrapped: June 24, 2022 – Hero Emblems II, Paragon Pioneers, Yet Another Zombie Defense, Loco Looper and More

Hi everyone, and welcome back to My Week Unwrapped, where I discuss all the games I’ve been playing over the last seven days. It’s been an incredibly busy week, with the release of Hero Emblems II, which I’ve been waiting for for over six years. On top of that, Glitch Games announced the release date for their next adventure game, I completed Loco Looper, and sampled some of the upcoming HOOK sequel. As you can see, there’s a lot to discuss, so let’s get to it.

Hero Emblems II

The original Hero Emblems released in 2015 and is one of my favorite match-three games ever. There was so much depth to it in a genre that’s often watered down and, even more importantly, riddled with IAPs and power-ups you can purchase with cash. Premium match-three games are so rare that it was practically a unicorn. Shortly after its release, the developers announced they were working on a sequel. But it kept getting pushed off. So now, six years later, it’s finally in my hands. And it’s really good to be playing this series again. Hero Emblems II has improved graphics, more characters to play, and a lot more micromanagement. I’m not sure how I feel about that part yet, as I usually prefer to just make matches and not think too much about what skills each character should be using. But so far, it hasn’t been too much of a problem unless I encounter a boss that’s immune to multiple spells I have equipped. They also added ranking for each battle, which I’m not personally a fan of. But I’ve gotten used to it over the few hours I’ve played so far. Basically, I’m thrilled to be playing Hero Emblems again but do wish some annoyances from the original hadn’t carried over. For instance, traveling around the map feels like a slog, especially if you get interrupted by a random battle that won’t offer much of a challenge. It’s also not full screen on my iPad Pro, but the developer said that’s coming in an update. It does have iCloud, which I’m very thankful for. I plan to talk more about it as I get deeper into the game. But if you were a fan of the original, I think it’s pretty safe to say you’ll enjoy this one. You can watch some of my gameplay video below and I have more on my YouTube channel.

Paragon Pioneers

I started playing Paragon Pioneers last week, but now the game is available to purchase, so I wanted to talk more about it. I continued playing and made some progress, expanded to new islands. But I’m having trouble taking over those islands. There are trade routes you can set up but I don’t think the game does enough to explain how they work — at least not for me. I’d like to stick with it, but I wish these things were clearer. Considering everything involves waiting, it’s hard to tel sometimes whether I’m on the right track. I’m also not sure what my eventual goal is. I conquered the main island but do I just keep expanding? To what end? I’m not sure there’s enough motivation for me to do so. I still enjoyed the game to this point but I don’t know if I’ll continue playing. I recommend watching some of my videos if you want to see it in action before buying.

Yet Another Zombie Defense HD

I like the snark in the title of Yet Another Zombie Defense HD. It acknowledges that we perhaps have too many of them. That said, it seems like a fun game with tons of different modes to choose from. I played the basic defense mode and survived for 12 nights. I like how you combine barricades and auto-turrets with your own attacks. I do think the user interface could use some work, though. Basically, at the end of each day you automatically visit the shop and can buy new barricades, weapons and ammo and use them to build your defense. But all the items are listed at the top of the screen and you scroll through them to see their prices and how many you have. It’s pretty clunky, but I still managed to get used to it. The problem is, the game told me I had five skill points available and I couldn’t figure out how to use them. These kinds of things should either be super obvious or pointed out in a tutorial. But there was no tutorial. You just get thrown into things without any explanation. I now wonder if I could have lasted longer if I could just figure out how to use my skill points. It’s still a fun game, but it might be worth messing with the menus and interface before you get too deep into a run.

Loco Looper

I wrote about Loco Looper last week when it released and I mentioned how surprised I was that it wasn’t just a cool gimmick but also a tricky puzzler. I spent a lot of time with it this past week and completed all levels to perfection. The hardest ones for me were those with lots of tunnels and many ways they could be laid out. Overall, I had a great time solving all the puzzles and look forward to any new content that might be added in the future. If you’re a puzzle fan, don’t miss out on this one. And if you’re desperate for a solution, I have a full walkthrough guide here, but I think it’s far more satisfying to solve them yourself.

Ace Attorney Trilogy

I started playing Ace Attorney last week for the first time ever and have been enjoying it so far. It’s been such a busy week, though, that I only managed to squeeze in another half hour play session. You can watch that below, but I’ll have more impressions as I get deeper into the game.

Incoherence

Glitch Games announced the release date of their upcoming adventure game, Incoherence. It’s coming on June 30th to iOS, Android and PC. I played through it this week and loved it. I even have a giveaway for free codes on all three platforms. You can enter here and also read more about the game and why I enjoyed it so much.

HOOK 2

Maciej Targoni released HOOK seven years ago and it was so popular that it’s been downloaded millions of times. The developer has released a number of puzzle games since and I’ve enjoyed them all. But now he’s back with the sequel of his most well-known game. HOOK 2 is coming June 29th and adds a new dimension — literally. Later puzzles are in 3D, so you have to rotate the camera to see everything. It makes it quite a bit more challenging. Again, I wrote more about it here, so I’ll let you read that instead of repeating myself. But if you liked the original, it’s probably a safe bet to pre-order the sequel.

Genshin Impact

And last, I’m still playing Genshin Impact daily. This week the second half of version 2.7 started, which brought the return of Itto and a new character named Kuki Shinobu. Sadly, I can’t try to get her because I want to save my primogems for future banners after spending so much of them on Yelan. I did try her test run, though, and she’s fun to play. There’s also a new event taking place in the Chasm, called A Muddy Bizarre Adventure. It’s basically one battle per day, just cleaning out some monsters and mud on a timer. It shouldn’t be too difficult for anyone with properly invested teams. There’s also a hangout for Kuki Shinobu but I’ve been too busy with other games to find time for it. I’ll do it eventually, since there’s no time limit on it.

And that’s everything I’ve been up to this week! I also have a giveaway on Twitter for Chloe that ends tomorrow. As for my bigger screen, I caught up on The Boys, but it looks like it’s on a weekly schedule so there’s more to come. And I watched all of The Time Traveler’s Wife on HBO. I enjoyed it enough but found some things odd. It’s been too long since I read the book, though, to say if I’m bothered by the original story or changes that were made to it. It does make me want to re-read it, though, if I can find the time. Anyway, let me know in the comments section which games you’ve been enjoying and I’ll see you back here next time with more of My Week Unwrapped!

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Elaine

    Really hoping for more Avolteha walkthrough when you have time…I am so stuck!

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