Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Attempting to answer the very complicated question of "Why do I care that other people spend money on live service games?" in under a minute. There are about a dozen other things I would say to have this conversation in full, but this is the elevator pitch version for the sake of YouTube Shorts.
Attempting to answer the very complicated question of "Why do I care that other people spend money on live service games?" in under a minute. There are about a dozen other things I would say to have this conversation in full, but this is the elevator pitch version for the sake of YouTube Shorts.
![RockLeeSmile Live! - Moonstone Island [First Impressions]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kWh4QFyEXT8/mqdefault.jpg "RockLeeSmile Live! - Moonstone Island [First Impressions]
I spent some time learning what Moonstone Island is about and truth be told its a pretty lovely time. Collecting monsters, turn based card battles, farming, relationship management, exploration, dungeon crawling... the game kind of has it all! In 3 hours I felt like I still had only barely scratched the surface. Theres 100 islands to explore and I only barely saw a couple!
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1658150/Moonstone_Island/
Watch live at: https://www.twitch.tv/rockleesmile")
![RockLeeSmile Live! - REKA (Early Access) [First Impressions]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l4X1eVmXAP0/mqdefault.jpg "RockLeeSmile Live! - REKA (Early Access) [First Impressions]
*Thank you to the devs for sending a code
Ive heard REKA described as Baba Yaga Simulator and having played it, thats actually pretty accurate. You play as a young witch who ends up restoring the mythical figures power and chicken legged forest hut while figuring out their own place in the world. What I played was an early access version so things will change going forward, but I found this to be a very unique and interesting game, definitely worth a look!
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1737870/REKA/
Watch live at: https://www.twitch.tv/rockleesmile")
![RockLeeSmile Live! - Disco Elysium [Part 1] (First Impressions)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lN1qdiu_slM/mqdefault.jpg "RockLeeSmile Live! - Disco Elysium [Part 1] (First Impressions)
Hey, Im finally playing Disco Elysium after all these years. Heres the first time Ive seen the game - it went pretty well Id say. This went on to become one of my favorite playthroughs of all time.
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/632470/Disco_Elysium The_Final_Cut/
Watch live at: https://www.twitch.tv/rockleesmile")
![RockLeeSmile Live! - Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf [First Impressions]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lRBfo9njslQ/mqdefault.jpg "RockLeeSmile Live! - Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf [First Impressions]
A first look at the new sequel to Planet of Lana, Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf. My quick takeaway is that its an excellent game with a very high level of polish. If you like narrative driven puzzle platformers like Inside or Out of this World, youll probably find a few things to like about this.
*Key provided by publisher
Check out Planet of Lana II here: https://game.page/planetoflanaii/RockLeeSmile
Watch live at: https://www.twitch.tv/rockleesmile")
![RockLeeSmile Live! - Mortal Shell II [Beta Playtest]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lqVMamUJSt8/mqdefault.jpg "RockLeeSmile Live! - Mortal Shell II [Beta Playtest]
I gave Mortal Shell II a spin for a couple of hours and aside from a bug at the very start that was easily fixed by quitting out to the main menu, I had an excellent experience. Mortal Shell II seems to be a pretty big departure from the original featuring an upgrade in scope, playstyle options and general fluidity.
I absolutely love the art and design approach featuring an otherworldly surrealist aesthetic and hope they got even further into this in the full version. The combat also feels about as good as I could ask - punchy and responsive with a great emphasis on weight shifting naturalistically.
For anyone on the fence, you dont need to have played the original to enjoy this. I look forward to trying more when I can!
Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2584270/Mortal_Shell_II/
Watch live at: https://www.twitch.tv/rockleesmile")
![RockLeeSmile Live! - Neva [First Impressions]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m-4J5mpSI-k/mqdefault.jpg "RockLeeSmile Live! - Neva [First Impressions]
*Thanks to the publisher for sending a key.
Neva is an absolutely gorgeous platformer by Nomada Studio, the developer of GRIS. Theyve done it again and made a beautiful follow-up to such a well crafted experience. These are my first impressions without spoiling too much of the game.
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2420660/Neva/
Watch live at: https://www.twitch.tv/rockleesmile")
