May The Fourth Be With You. Again. And No, Not That One.

I really did not think I was going to get a post done today, for various reasons including but not limited to being out most of the day and not having any ideas that weren't going to take a lot more time than I had to spare. But I'd forgotten it was the first Thursday of the month. And what does First Thursday mean?

Prime Gaming giveaways!

It sure took me long enough but I have now figured out that Chris Leggett, under whose byline the Prime Gaming Blog appears each month, isn't terminally disorganized. He can read a calendar. It's just that for him, for some reason I still don't, as yet, understand, the month always starts on Thursday.

So, what have we got for September? And I warn you, this is going to be quick because I've left it really late and I'm in a rush. I might not even get through everything.

Let's have the games you can grab right now, anyway. There are three of those and they're all reasonably interesting:

Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft Series

Ravenloft was my favorite of the AD&D campaigns I played through, back in the 'eighties. It was new then and there was only the one module: Ravenloft itself. Or at least that's how I remember it. It's been popular ever since and now there are loads of spin-offs, including the two in this double-pack, Strahd's Possession and Stone Prophet. I'll be claiming them but I had a look at the D&D games Prime gave away last month and they just looked so very off-puttingly old I didn't take it any further. These look a little more modern but not a whole lot. Can't imagine I'll play them but I did like Ravenloft...

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: The Complete Edition

Didn't we have this one last month? Oh no, that was Civ III. Is this one better? I guess it's newer, at least. Might as well take it anyway. Maybe one day I'll be in the mood for one of these. The day has to come sometime.

Into The Breach

Now, this does look quite interesting. It's a turn-based strategy/puzzle game. I'm always looking for more turn-based strategy games, preferably without puzzles. I'm very picky so it's harder than you might think. I try quite a lot of them but very few stick. Marvel's Midnight Suns didn't and neither, I suspect, will the one I started last night, Dark Envoy, a previous Prime giveaway. Both of those are sorta-kinda third-person 3D games, which is not really what I'm looking for. I'm after something more along the lines of Baldur's Gate or Divinity: Original Sin, visually at least, with little characters you move about like pieces on a  board. This one looks something but not exactly like that. Worth a go, anyway.

Next Thursday (Because everything happens on Thursday in Primeland (Except Wednesday, of course, but that's another Prime altogether.) we get Afterimage, which looks beautiful but also not remotely like anything I'd ever play, being a 2D action adventure. Pass. Probably.

Then there's Spelljammers: Pirates of Realmspace, another D&D title, albeit from the sideloaded "Spelljammer" universe. My TTRPG group in the 'eighties knew about Spelljammer but I don't recall anyone ever suggesting we play it so it has zero nostalgia value for me. It also looks ancient and has a "mixed" rating on Steam. I'll still claim it but I know it's just going to sit there.

Third we have Tower of Time which looks exactly like the kind of turn-based strategy game I was saying I was after... well, in the screenshots, anyway. It seems like it can be played in various ways, from tactically, with pause and slow-time, through to full-on, real-time action combat. There are various difficulty modes and even a permadeath option so something for everyone. It's got some decent reviews so I'm optimistic about this one. Definitely claiming it.

And it it doesn't turn out to be as good as it looks, maybe  Subterranean Mines of Titan will do a job. It's yet another turn-based rpg. Seems to be the month for them. Can't say the screenshots are doing much to whet my enthusiasm though. Too fussy and not my preferred aesthetic. I'll take it anyway, I guess.

A week later we get Residual, a very nice-looking 2D platformer I will completely ignore, plus yet another in the FATE series, this one subtitled The Cursed King, and... er, no, that's it for Week Three, just the two. I'll take the FATE game but I haven't tried any of the earlier ones in the series yet. Prime clearly has a policy of scooping up entire franchises and feeding them out month by month, which is great if it's something you like but kind of annoying if not. 

Speaaking of which, on the last Thursday of the month, there's yet another dumb hidden object game I won't even bother naming. That's a hard no. I might, however, claim Pixel Cafe, a visual novel/time management hybrid. It's a prety weak ending to the month, though, especially since Pixel Cafe is currently a whopping 94% off on Steam, making it worth less than a dollar.

And that's it. I said it was going to be quick and for once I wasn't lying!