#pan'orama

[blueeyedrat]

Steam Next Fest, winter 2023. New year, new games to try. Some hits and misses this time around. First impressions under the cut.

(Part 2)

Mineko's Night Market – I've been curious about this one for a while, mostly for the setting and artstyle. Visually it looks quite lovely, but gameplay-wise I ran into some issues. The controls were a bit awkward, and I couldn't connect my controller or remap any of the keyboard inputs to deal with it. The demo is kinda short, and showed off parts of the game I wasn't as interested in (a brief walk around the main town to talk to a few NPCs and gather a few resources, and a stealth mission that wasn't particularly compelling). There's probably a lot more to explore here, but the demo didn't really explore any of it. I'll need to see more before I pass judgement on this game.

Pocket Planet – It always comes back to hexagons, doesn't it? Gotta love hexagon tiles. I expected a Dorfromantik-like (seriously there's like two of them every event — the more the merrier, I guess?) but really it's just a straightforward puzzle game. Place tiles, fill out a set area, create certain tile formations (forests, mountains, islands, etc.) to solve puzzles. It's as much Terrace as it is Dorfromantik, and I have to admire a kindred spirit.

Pan'orama – This one, on the other hand, is closer to what I expected. As far as games of this sort go, it adds one interesting element (planning out specific tile combinations to create unique structures with different effects), but I'm not sure how much variety that adds to repeat playthroughs, and the game lacks other elements and some visual clarity in the process. Seems alright, but I've seen better.

URBO – Now here's one that's very much up my alley. URBO has a minimalist style similar to builder puzzle games like ISLANDERS, but gameplay-wise it's closer to a merge puzzle game like Threes or 2048: place buildings on the grid, three of the same type adjacent to each other combine into bigger buildings, go until you run out of space to build. A simple idea, with the potential to be very addicting. Looking forward to this one for sure.

Slopecrashers – An arcade racer. This one didn't leave a great impression, unfortunately. Maybe I'm just not that familiar with snowboarding games, but the controls never clicked with me and none of the objectives felt manageable. And something about the style (characters, environments, UI, audio, etc.) felt... generic, I suppose? I don't think I'll be coming back to this one.

Mail Time – A cute 3D platformer. Simple, but charming. The movement seems fine even if the controls aren't as tight as others I've played, and the area shown off in the demo puts a nice variety into a small space. Most of the game's appeal is in its visual style and characters, which are pretty solid, and the main character in particular offers a surprising amount of customization. It's nice, and that's all it really needs to be.

[peartea-and-gaming]

Cute.

[vulpixelates]

my body actually let me play a video game yesterday for the first time in like two weeks!!! i played so much pan'orama that i dreamt about placing the little tiles lmao

[thessalian]

Thess vs The List, Again

Oh, I failed to mention that I have been working on my whole resolution to at least try all of my games by the end of the year. This is slightly made problematic by the fact that I keep getting more games, but hey, it's not that bad of a problem to have. At least if I keep trying, I can whittle down the list of games I haven't even touched yet. So here we go:

Transistor: This is the one that won my little poll, and while the general story seems really interesting, the controls are not exactly intuitive for me. My tolerance for fiddly has pretty much died. I'll probably try it again when I have a few more spoons available.

Pentiment: Now this one, I liked. It doesn't exactly feed that need for Doing Things that attracts me to a lot of games (whether it's a farming sim, building sim, or just something where I can beat on people without getting arrested), but definitely an interesting one.

Garden In: This is a new one for me (released last year), but ... I mean, that still counts towards "whittling down the list", right? As the name suggests, it's basically a gardening sim, but one where you can also decorate your surroundings and the plants don't die a permanent death if dry or infested with bugs. So it's very Zen, though I figure it'll probably be one I finish all the achievements for and then put away for awhile, only to come back when I need that particular kind of Zen. Like I do with Pan'orama.

Model Builder: I liked this one, and it's very much my kind of Zen, but it can also be a little fiddly, so I'm going to have to restart that one. Probably going to be my go-to Zen for awhile once I've 100%-ed Garden In.

Enigmatis: The Ghost of Maple Creek: Thrown at my head for Christmas this year. I mean, I had the second, third, and fourth game in that series, and was just missing the first, so ... yeah. Anyway, a pretty standard hidden object game, and definitely my idea of a good time. (Side note: even if they don't live on my wishlist, a hidden object game never goes amiss.)

This War Of Mine: Yeah, I know, it was THE game for awhile and I'm only just now poking at it. It looks really interesting, and I'm slowly figuring out how to work the thing, but ... I think it's a little too grim for me at the moment. I need something way more sunshiney at this point. Or at least something that isn't "Everyone is living in abject misery". If I wanted that, I'd just look outside.

An Arcade Full Of Cats: More hidden object fun, and much more my speed. No particular story involved; just a "Find the cats and stuff" mandate and a bit of messing with the set dressing. It's cute, it's fun, and I guess I must not be alone in thinking that because there's a whole franchise of "Full Of Cats" hidden object games (where in some cases, there's a whole achievement based around finding the representations of the dev team's cats, so you get finding cartoon cats and real-furbaby cat tax).

Memory Fragment: Another one that's fiddlier than it needs to be, honestly. I think they were trying a little too hard with some of the mechanics. I'll probably try it again at some point.

Paradise Killer: I'm only a few minutes into this one, but it honestly wasn't grabbing me. The premise is ... probably interesting, but while I will probably carry on a little further just to see what's going on with it, the fact is that it's a first-person perspective game and those are hard for me. Might have to go into the NOPE column on general principles. And, y'know, not wanting my head to explode.

I'm pretty well resigned to not getting everything at least sampled before the end of the year. Not least because a) my birthday's coming up and for most people, hitting my Steam wishlist is just the easiest option, given the whole "ocean in the way thing" (plus maybe presents to myself, y'know), b) I actually want to finish a Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, and c) Horizon: Forbidden West comes out in about 7 weeks and that's going to eat my time for awhile (I should probably pick up Zero Dawn again just to remind myself what I'm doing there). Plus d) the office is a mess again (that's for another post, though). Still, I'm going to keep poking away at it. There are a lot of games there, and I have a 2TB external drive (plus space remaining on the 1TB external drive I got in honour of Baldur's Gate 3), so even the ones I didn't bother installing could see a return to at least test out. Plus it'd be nice to know the ones I can just leave uninstalled in perpetuity. Also, there's the off chance that some of the first-person perspective ones could be played, if they're not too frenetic ... y'know, if I bothered to get my prescription checked. I'm looking into that but I'm trying to figure out how best to go, "Look, I just want my prescription; I'll order the glasses themselves online because it's cheaper". We'll see. I do have an entire week off coming up soon. Ugh. They're going to do that stupid eye-puff glaucoma test that always leaves me with a migraine for the rest of the day. Still, better that than the increasingly regular headaches I've been getting lately. Part of it's probably stress, but the rest is probably "my eyes are going to shit". If I didn't need varifocals, it'd be fine! Or at least cheaper!

Don't mind me. It's not a lack of being able to afford it. It's a combination of sticker shock and general frustration with the whole process. Mostly because it just has to be done again a year or two down the line. The whole problem with being an adult is having to take yourself to the doctor etc, not to mention paying for it.

[ghostchilismoothie]

More Demo lets goooo! (Steam Next Fest Demos 2/6 7PM EST)

hey I grabbed a buncha demos, lets checkem out! love seeing new games and playing them. best part about this is everything is free to download! if you like a thing on stream you could just try it out for yourself. my favorite steam events throughout the year.

dunno how many i'll get through tonight, probably not all of them, but i've got Shumi Come Home, Hex and Tricks, Painter Simulator, Pan'orama, Planet of Lana, I Am Future, and Townseeker

[cavenewstimes]

Relaxing Hexagonal City Builder 'Pan'orama' Hits The Switch eShop Today (US)

EU launch to follow in January.If you’re a fan of unwinding city home builders, then the lovable zen-like Pan’orama from Awaken Realms may be up your street.Launching on the United States eShop today (December 14th, with an EU release to follow in January), Pan’orama is a puzzle simulation in which you put hexagonal tiles to develop a spectacular …Read More

[itseverydaybear]

A first look at Pan'orama, a chilled out city building puzzler, that's part of the Humble If You Build It - Cities & More bundle.

[hermitcraft-8]

well i've been switching between Pokemon Infinite fusion nuzlockes for vids by Flygonhg if you like Pokemon, Smallant and Pointcrow Tears of the Kingdom vids or you want Zelda, or chill Dorfromantik or Pan'orama games. But! I also suggest Hades lets's plays cause those always rule. Yeah thats my suggestions i hope one of them works!

ok im probably going to end up watching silent hill 4 playthroughs again like usual though full warning

[nebulouswinds]

I think I've decided I'm going to buy myself my own copies of the dragon age series and then like pan'orama or dorfromantik. Grad presents. Calm happy time. Maybe

[pandor-pandorkful]

How did I get 760+ hours on Dorfromantik...?

*violently flashbacks to a solid 6 month period of doing nothing but dorfromantik while catching up with podcasts, feeling nothing, spring to fall 2021*

Ohhh yeeeaaaahhh.......

Yeah I probably shouldn't buy Pan'orama, as badly as I want it.

[digitalvoidtv]

Pan'orama - Launch Trailer

Puzzle and city builder game, Pan'orama launches today on Steam for the PC!

[themikecollective]

Pan'orama

it's Dorfromantik

laying hex tiles of different types of terrain, points for connecting larger area, quests to fulfill of different shapes or sizes of terrain, etc

[peartea-and-gaming]

[peartea-and-gaming]

This is the biggest world I've built so far. However, I haven't figured out how to take a better screenshot, though. Hmm.

[peartea-and-gaming]

[peartea-and-gaming]

Yet another hexagon-tile-placing city-building game, but I like the soft pastel-toned hexagonal tiles.