Planet Stronghold: Colonial Defense

DISCLAIMER: This review will be biased. I was heavily involved in testing the game since the early alpha. Most balancing and fixes were made with my input. I wrote the accompanying manual and the current wording of all cards in the game. However, I have no financial stake in the game’s success, so I don’t feel disqualified from writing a review. I can only praise the developer for being so accepting of my input. Planet Stronghold Colonial Defense (PSCD) is developed by Winter Wolves, who are mostly known for visual novels with varying degrees of gameplay and an emphasis on romance. Earlier games such as Loren the Amazon Princess and the original Planet Stronghold had RPG elements. PSCD, a prequel to Planet Stronghold, is a visual novel with card battles, like a collectible card game (CCG). Prior knowledge of Planet Stronghold is not required. Being a story driven single player card game means that it isn’t a traditional CCG. You don’t buy booster packs, all cards in the game are unlocked by progressing through the story. After a number of tutorial games, you do build your own deck though, within the restrictions of the game, which can vary from mission to mission. You have three difficulty modes to choose from, and a visual novel mode that completely removes the card game, for people who are just interested in reading the story. If you’re at all experienced with CCGs or strategy games in general, you should play the game on Hard. All missions and cards have been balanced to fit Hard mode. Normal would be for people unfamiliar with this type of game or insecure in their strategic abilities. Easy is mostly for people who don’t want to miss out on the gameplay, but are mainly playing for the story. Winter Wolves are known for being very LGBT friendly, and this game is no exception. You choose your gender from two predetermined characters, and can romance men, women, an alien, or even a robot. The story revolves around your character leading the only human colony on a hostile alien planet through a number of battles and intrigues. Playing the card game is very intuitive if you’ve ever played Hearthstone, Magic the Gathering or any similar CCGs. Following the tutorials and paying attention to card text should teach you most of the game, but just in case, there is also a complete manual distributed with the game (found in the installation folder). It’s a good place to go to understand everything completely, and as a reference for various card abilities that aren’t always spelled out on the cards. The card game is fun, sometimes challenging and very varied. Because it’s a single player game, many battles are sort of mini puzzles where the player needs to figure out what cards will be best suited to win the fight. Since there is no need for balancing decks against each other, the AI has access to some very strong cards to give it an edge over the player. If I have a point of critique it’s mostly that I don’t feel the tone of the story is quite right for the game. There is very little sense of drama, as most of what goes on is “slice of life” style talks between your team members as they go on picnics, play in the holoroom and flirt with one another. It’s a little hard to feel the tension one would expect from a lone colony on a hostile world. Note that I am not slamming the writing, it’s really good with a lot of great details and clever dialogue. I just personally would expect a more dramatic story with fewer slice of life moments. IN CONCLUSION I highly recommend this game for anyone with an interest in single player CCGs. Strategy gamers will definitely also find something here to keep them entertained. If you’re more interested in the story, just be aware that it’s mostly slice of life style writing, but if that’s up your alley, you can dive right in and not even worry about the card game, as it can be turned off completely!

I have yet to finish the game, but I'm a good few hours in, and the issues are already glaring. Perhaps this is because I'm playing on Visual Novel mode, but the writing for this game, and the scene changes are horribly put together. They really skimped out when writing. It appears the writer did not know the age old rule of "show, don't tell." Instead of subtley letting us know the characters feelings/backstory through written movements/facial expressions, and various other hints they opt to fill the game with dialogue, and coincidences. Most of the dialogue is actually unneeded, theres so many times the characters go off on some random conversation that attempts to be funny (i think?). The worst part is that I often don't know whos talking because many characters will speak, and their sprites won't even pop up. Typically, visual novels will make the names/words colour coded to help quickly tell who's speaking, but oddly enough only some characters have colour codes, and its only in their name. Doesn't help when only a few of the characters get a proper introduction in the beginning of the game. So I'm sitting here the first 20 minutes trying to remember who's who, and figure out who's making that one snide unneeded off screen remark. The scene changes are also really bad, I'm wondering if this is bcause VN mode? Dunno, but.. Sometimes characters will be going off to battle some enemy like in Scene 16, and before your captain even leaves the hangar it cuts off to "Battle Over" and you never get to really know who the enemy actually is. If this is a result of skipping battles it was a poor move that makes everything feel even less real. Also the romance.... I romanced Rigel, and while I was ecstatic about him at first, I quickly grew disenchanted when I realized the date scenes are just completely.. empty. Like. You don't get to see the date, you don't get to build any attachment to the character. It seems the writer for this game has strength in worldbuilding, because the alien designs, and lore are great. Their weakness though is characters, and thats the most important thing in a visual novel game. Worldbuilding doesn't really mean squat if your characters suck. It's obvious they were leaning on the cardgames to make up for the poor character writer, but that begs the question of why they even bothered with visual novel mode in the first place? I wouldn't recommend this game, I'm surprised at the positive reviews this game has gotten.

Я покупал игру исключительно ради контента 18+, но, увы, он меня разочаровал! Если вы хотите пощекотать себе нервы и зарубиться в космо-гвинт, то можно выбрать какой-то сложный режим игры и зависнуть тут часов на 15. Но если вас интересует только контент 18+ и сюжет, то можно поставить “режим новеллы”. Помимо того что обычного контента 18+ в игре мало, в игре присутствует и гей-контент. Повезло, что его хоть можно доджить. Рисовка в игре меня очень заинтересовала, поэтому я и купил эту игру. Рисовка и персонажи очень схожи с персонажами из игры “Tomboys Need Love Too”. Если говорить про контент 18+, то в нём нет анимации, слайд-шоу и тому подобного… Выходя на нужный нам рут (а на него попробуй ещё выйти), мы просто получаем один арт 18+. На старте игры мы можем выбрать, за кого хотим играть (за девушку или за парня). Логично, что если мы будем подкатывать к одному и тому же NPC за разных персонажей, то сцены с ним будут разные. Но чтобы получить все руты, нужно потратить очень много времени. Потому что даже скипая все диалоги, одно “прохождение” занимает минут 20/30. Из минусов: -Контент 18+ -Скучный сюжет *много лишнего текста -Долго получать весь контент 18+ Из плюсов: +Стиль рисовки Игру не рекомендую к покупке! Хотите увидеть обзор на какую-то свою игру? Вы запросто можете мне её подарить!:) А если вам понравился мой обзор, не забывайте ставить лайки или кидать награды(*^ω^) А так-же, вы можете подписаться на мою кураторскую группу в Steam: [h1] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43626167-Lord-Azazel-Group/] Куратор: Lord Azazel Group [/url] [/h1]

The card game is fun and makes the game more interesting to replay if you’re after all the achievements. I played it at the easy level since I’m not really into card games and the difficulty was just right for someone like me who’s mainly interested in the story but still wants to experience the battles firsthand (in my opinion the game feels slightly unbalanced in pure visual novel mode, without the card battles to provide some rhythm). The main strength of the visual novel part is the worldbuilding, with no less than a dozen of characters (most of them romanceable) and four races of aliens you can interact with and who have distinct traits. The moral choices you make outside of the romance paths can be pretty heavy especially when they relate to the war going on in Stronghold and they influence the card battles as well (as you make alliances with/try to destroy other aliens). The writing is good on the whole; it is at its best in witty scenes or banter between characters (which is probably why there’s so much of it) and can fall a little flat at other times, especially during the romance paths (the sex scenes tend to be…a bit excruciating). The romances are otherwise really cute and straightforward. Overall I’d recommend trying out the demo to see if the VN/card game mix works for you. I definitely enjoyed this one.

Planet Stronghold: Colonial Defense is a science fiction turn-based collectible card game interlaced with a visual novel both developed and published by Winter Wolves. Set in the distant future you take on the role of either the male or female Nelson sibling both of whom have been put in joint command of the Planet Stronghold colony. Follow the story as they attempt to put an end to the ever increasing conflicts that arise between the indigenous races and bring much needed order back to the settlement. Menacing man-eating aliens, sentient rock people and hostile synthetics running amok on a foreign world...can you restore the peace AND make time to find love? [h1]PRESENTATION[/h1] Visually this title is quite impressive and the novel has an aspect that I've not yet encountered before in any V.N. which I've read to date on Steam. It offers two distinct styles of artwork to choose from. You can opt for the more realistic illustrations or the anime/manga inspired style of art. The fact that the developers give you the reader a choice as to what type of art style you would prefer to enjoy the visual novel with gives quite a boon to the overall presentation of this V.N. in my opinion. But no matter which type of illustrations that you decide to pick they both look fantastic with wonderful colors and terrific shading on not only the characters themselves but the backgrounds and locations that you visit as well. The characters also change facial expressions depending on the dialogue so that really helps with immersion. Also, the games U.I. is quite eye catching and has a very futuristic flair which makes complete sense given the science fiction theme of the story. Moving on, the card game could be...fun...once you learn how to play it that is as the included tutorial just doesn't explain things very well at all. I myself found the card game very forgettable and decided to focus more of my attention on the narrative which is where this title truly shines. Luckily there is an option to experience the storyline without playing the included card game so after an hour or so into my first read of the V.N. I chose to start over in visual novel mode which is minus the card game. Other people may enjoy it but sadly I did not. The audio quality is fair but would have been much better with some ambient or background sound effects to increase immersion. Also, the title is not voiced but I typically prefer my visual novels without voiced dialog anyhow so that's a plus for me. With that said, no matter how you choose to approach this V.N. you definitely won't be disappointed with the visual presentation which is very well done. [h1]CONCLUSION[/h1] I really enjoyed Planet Stronghold: Colonial Defense...the turn-based card game not so much but the interesting science fiction laced narrative was quite entertaining. There are also plenty of pop-culture references peppered throughout the narrative which I also found appealing. Replayability is very high because of the number of choices to make throughout the storyline which will have long lasting effects on current events as well as the stories ending depending on the decisions that you make. Also, don't forget about the two different sets of illustrations available so that alone increases the replay value immensely. Length-wise, this is a fairly long visual novel as it took me about 14 hours to complete but that was without the card battles so for someone playing them it would definitely take a little longer. Technically, I didn't have many issues other than a few typos which is very typical for a visual novel and the title froze up on me once during a card battle. One other problem is that sometimes there could be as many as five or six different characters talking to you at the same time but only up to four would appear on screen. Therefore, during the conversation, dialogue could get a little convoluted and confusing because various people are speaking to you but it's none of the four or so that you're looking at which I found frustrating at times. As for extras, the novel itself has the basic V.N. options for sound/music volume and text speed as well as a C.G. gallery that unlocks as the story progresses. Also, there are a number of Steam Achievements to hunt down and Steam Trading Cards to collect. Last but certainly not least, is D.L.C. in the form of a soundtrack, a set of wallpapers and some "free" D.L.C. which adds four new romances to the game and a "Quick Play Mode" that allows you to card battle at your leisure outside of the main campaign. In conclusion, although I did not find the card game enjoyable I did however find the sci-fi storyline and light dating sim aspects quite appealing so Planet Stronghold: Colonial Defense is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to visual novel, science fiction and otome fans only.

I enjoyed Stronghold: Planetary Defense, but recommend this game with reservations. It has a lot going for it–a tactical card game, a huge roster of diverse characters, lots of content, decent art, and a far-ranging story–but while I appreciated them individually they didn’t add up to more than the sum of their parts. Being immersed in the card game, the side conversations or the main story all had their rewards but I didn’t feel they blended together very well. As a result, this game look a lot longer to pull me in than it should have, and it was my faith in the developers rather than my experience which kept me going until I enjoyed it. Part of the problem in my opinion was the presentation and pacing. For the card game my first impression was not positive. The luck of my draw had as much to do with my victory as my choices, and I had many frustrating battles before I learned when to restart vs. inevitably fail. Sure, I could carefully craft a deck to combat a specific threat, but if I didn’t draw my specialty cards in time then my strategy was for nothing (especially in the 10-round limit fights). Eventually I could brute force my way through most fights via the upgrade system, so if I wasn’t in the mood for tactics I could barrel ahead anyway. Regarding the characters, there were so many presented so quickly that it was overwhelming. It took me a while to absorb who was who, especially since nearly every conversation had 2-4 additional characters participating. Eventually, a sort of Gestalt emerges as you repeatedly talk to everyone across the scenes. The feast or famine approach to the side conversations wasn’t something I liked. Several times I was left with 12+ conversations at once, and I’d have preferred if they were gated to battles or linked to story points instead. I didn’t want to rush through my “content” but after 9 talks in a row it took some effort to give them equal attention. Whether and for how long I could save up the side conversations wasn’t clear to me, either, so saving them for later was risky. Instead I took them in massive chunks and I think my experience suffered for it. The story itself was fine but kind of relentless. It was the characters who made it worth reading rather than what was happening… they were often fun to read despite the can’t-catch-a-break narrative of things going wrong. Having said that, you know how there’s always that that one snarky character who makes random sexual comments and has a sly comeback for everything? Well, in Stronghold: Planetary Defense, *all* of the characters are like that. On the one hand, this style injected some free-wheeling fun to a perpetually bad situation, and it made me grin imagining a future so liberal that even the most grizzled general would make non-stop sex jokes . On the other hand, it wore me out when every casual interaction resulted in rapid-fire, multi-participant repartee. I guess the writer deserves credit that it wasn’t more annoying than it was… I did enjoy the dialog once I accepted that how it was going to be. Last but not least, I liked all the art with one unfortunate exception: I didn’t like the look of my main character, Alex Nelson, at all. I thought he looked like a weird head stuck on a meatloaf body, not sexy in the least. I liked the variety in everyone else though, and appreciated their costume changes during the side conversations. Oh, and I should probably mention the romances. I’ve only tried one at the time of this review, and it was “fine.” If Alex weren’t so unappealing I might have gotten into it more. Seriously, what’s wrong with his face? They can fix that sort of thing in this world, and tell you so! My final verdict is that Stronghold: Planetary Defense is a fair use of funds to support Winter Wolves and have some awkward fun while you do it. The game was clearly made with quality in mind and I think it’s a shame that I didn’t like it more than I did. Having said that, I by no means had a bad time, and I’m still a big fan of the developers. Looking forward to the next entry, guys!

[h1]It's not a perfect game, but the positives outweigh the negatives[/h1] [b]Overall?[/b] The game comes in three sections. The first is a visual novel dating game type thing, pick a person, talk to them and potentially pursue a romance. The second, a visual novel telling the story of you, a commander of an earth colony beset by aliens both friendly and less so. And the last, the "fighting" second of the game, a turn based card game. The decisions you make in the first two sections can alter the resources and cards available to you in the last - as well as which missions you go on. [b]The good news?[/b] The card game is *very* entertaining. Easy mode makes you feel super powerful as you mow through the enemy, hard mode makes you feel like your victories were hard earned, and normal is ... well normal. And if the card game doesn't interest you at all, there's a visual novel mode that let's you skip it. The plot is engaging enough to make you want to find out more, the characters you meet and interact with are interesting, layered and believable, and the setting is vast and detailed. [b]The bad news?[/b] The art is a bit uncanny valley. It is by no means bad, and it does grow on you, but there is an adjustment period. The character interactions can catch you off guard with the wacky (all be it entertaining) hijinks coming from seemingly nowhere. And the game has a desperate need for a universe database - or at very least a cast list. The setting is very detailed and all the information is delivered in an organic and natural way, but with the vast cast, the changes to human society, and all the different alien races, it can leave you scratching your head as you try to remember who everyone is. [b]To sum up?[/b] The good stuff is gooder than the bad stuff is bad. The game is entertaining once you get into it, and has enough variety to sustain replay. plus best of all, there is a demo available on the developers website so you can try before you buy.

Planet Stronghold : Colonial Defence. Where to start? I wish there was a -neutral- rating system (neither highly recommend or not recommend). Still? I believe it deserves a thumbs up. Part of my time with the game was while still in testing (from first to last version) though I've had a closer look and playthrough of the final version as well It's the second game in the series, a prequel as the setting takes place years before the original Planet Stronghold (VN with RPG tactical turnbased battles). The two major differences between the games are the battle syste , this is a card battle game, and very well balanced on at that (imo), as opposed to turnbased rpg , the card art is really well done, and the battles require you to think. The other significantt difference is the art. The decks you are handed are based on decisions you take in the story. Though I played the VN mode (omitting the cardgame bit) I came to realize that the card battles is probably this game's greatest strength. I've never been into those kind of games before, and it took me a long time to figure out how to play, yet when I did? It was totally worth it. It's fairly complex (for a N00B!!!) to the genre at least, though the tutorial got increasingly better through testing. IF you like cardgames, I think you'll like this one (9/10) The graphics and artwork take a more "realistic" style compared to the (still great) than the manga/anime style used in the first Planet Stronghold. Some might like ,some might not, admit I missed the charm of the old graphics, though PS:Colonial Defense' s is still really high quality. I want to perhaps especially point out the ending artwork (different style but beautifully done). HUD / card artwork is perhaps the ones I appreciated the most. (artwork 7/10 => on account of my personal taste, didn't love the artwork, even if it was well done) The story however? I found part of the reason I regretted not paying more attention to the cardgame, was that ..it was the game's strongest side. The overall plotline is what you'd expect, defending the colony against numerous threats, some forces visibly hostile from the start, and some that might surprise you. This isn't where the game suffers. The characters, there's quite a few of them, some what you'd expect, officers serving at the colonies, techies, science personell, and then some. Mid missions is where the "VN-part" of the game takes place, and it's during these scenes you get to know your fellow personell / citizens of the colony. One of the main problems here is you'll be bombarded by characters from day one, you were just attacked? Groups of 4 + will be there to comment, quite often their only "facetime" is tossing in funny (or not so funny, given the gravity of the situation) comments. Your psionic has gotten ripped up by living crystals? Jokes...... Part of the base destroyed? Jokes..... Far too often these attempts to lighten the mood made me feel less of the characters making them. Not bad people necessearily, but I wished I (as Captain, and colony leader) could say "That was out of line", "that comment was uncalled for", or "Show some respect, people died here". You aren't allowed to shut the banter down, given other settings, being out for a drink with one of the people in question, those comments or "insights" might've been okay. Some of the characters are certainly more enjoyable than others, some are actually funny, some obnoxious, some are downright creepy. I sometimes struggle to find the logic in what your crew here say. At one point you hear "Lucius the android never complains, and is so polite" (or similar) :p Lucius the android complained -all- the time about his lot in life, of being forced to follow robot laws (think i-Robot) ,like ones where he's not allowed to harm human beings. He's constantly testing his boundaries and complaining when he doesn't get his will. Almost every conversation with that one character is about how he yearns for more freedom to do whatever he please. The characters (how they acted) and the conversations is what I liked the least about this game, -yet- I admit I'm not an expert on games like these, I know how much I liked VN's and perhaps especially Winterwolves' in the past exactly because of the character gallery. VN-part : 5/10 Music? Ambience and combat music is really well done, soothing and of high quality. Admit the theme song might not be quite....my favourite genre, something I'd expect in some anime ,but not here. 8/10 Well polished and good value overall I still recommend the game, just don't expect many similarities with the original Feeling generous I'd give it a 7/10 on my personal scale (though closer to 6 => just above average) The cardgame is FUN

[h1]A Visual Novel / Card Game[/h1] https://youtu.be/3svztu0YcBQ + An interesting sci-fi story about settling on a planet and the dangers within + The card game that plays alongside the story is actually surprisingly fun and there's quite a bit of strategy that goes along with it. It's also pretty easy to pick up if you are familiar with other card games of similar nature. (120 unique cards) + Various dialogue options, and romance options later in the game + Interesting characters with unique personalities + Good soundtrack - I feel like the card game could have been split into a separate game. Not that this is neccesarily a bad thing, I just found it a bit misplaced in a visual novel, and I personally enjoyed the card game a bit more than the story. - I believe some voice acting could have helped bring the story, and characters more to life although I understand it's hard for an indie game such as this.

This game is a mix between VN and card game (trading/living card games like). If you are not into card games yo can skip it by the game options, if you are not into reading much text but card games, you can only fast forwad the text. The game is generally not too difficult, but there are some fluctuations making some duels super difficult, depending on your in game choices. What makes the card part interesting is the option to upgrade your cards, giving them better stats and the storyline missions which require to make you different decks. Try the Demo! http://www.winterwolves.com/pscd.htm