Steam] Happy Year of the Ox! PC games themed on cows to play in the Year of the Ox!

Time is melting away!
Lacno Princess" is a fantasy dairy farming simulation with many challenging elements!

• Lacuno Princess " (Inu to Neko)
• Genre: Simulation
• Release date: November 30, 2019
• Price: 1,000 yen (as of January 6, 2021)
• Copyright: (c) 2019 Inu to Neko

When we think of cows, many of us may first associate them with beef and milk. It is no exaggeration to say that cows are an indispensable part of our dinner table, and as the name suggests, the game "Lacuna Princess" introduced here is about "dairy farming".

This management simulation game is set in a fantasy-like world.

The main character is Lakmo, a young girl with cow-like clothes who lives in the maritime city of Ishwald, and on her 16th birthday, she is entrusted with part of the management of her father's "Retreto Farm. The story of "Lakmo Princess" is about Lakmo's struggle to achieve stable management of the ranch. The character of Lakmo, who is a confident cow lover and a bit shy, is very unique and cute. Another nice touch is that some parts of the story are voiced!　Lakumo-chan's voice, which is always slightly low-tension, is very addictive.

The goal of the game is to raise your ranch rank by clearing the monthly examinations. The game is cleared when the highest ranch rank is reached. The basic actions that players must perform in order to achieve this are "selling," "exploring," and "animal management. At first glance, the game may seem complicated and difficult because there are so many things to do, but since all operations are basically limited to selecting commands and entering numerical values, the game is easier to play than you might think.

Let's explain the actions one by one.

First is "selling. This action allows you to earn money by selling milk, eggs, and other livestock products from the farm, as well as processed products created through "production" to customers visiting the farm.

Set the items you want to sell in the sales slots and press the "Progress" button, and customers will automatically visit your ranch and buy your products.

The more items you sell, the higher the level of the item, the higher the quality, the higher the customer demand and the higher the selling price. In addition, some items can inspire "recipes" when they reach a certain level, and new products can be produced based on the inspired recipes.

For example, if you sell "chocolate," you will learn the recipe for "chocolate milk. Selling "aromatic herbs" will lead to "herbal aroma oil," and selling more "herbal aroma oil" will lead to "herbal throat lozenges.

The more you sell, the more new items you will be able to create, which is simple but fun, and you will find it hard to stop. There are a total of 300 different items in the game, so this alone is quite a time-suck.

Then there is "exploration. This is the action of sending adventurers on a quest to acquire new items and animals, as well as farm points, which are necessary for production and other activities.

By setting the destination, the adventurers automatically go exploring and automatically fight monsters that appear. Adventurers can be trained to improve their stats and equipped with weapons created at the "blacksmith". Although the game is basically a simple command selection operation, it also offers a fun RPG-like experience, and is a distinctive system that makes you realize that this is not just a management simulation, but a "fantasy dairy farm simulation.

Animal management is an element unique to this game, which is set on a dairy farm. By feeding the animals, you can raise their level of popularity, which leads to an increase in the number of visitors to the farm.

As the number of visitors increases, income from admission fees increases, so the basic principle of "Lucknow Princess" is to herd the most popular animals to earn money.

In addition, this title also has a breeding element, whereby animals can be bred to each other to create new species. The game features a whopping 100 different types of animals, making it a challenging and rewarding game to play.

You can learn new recipes by acquiring materials through "exploring" and "shopping," making processed products through "production," and earning money through "sales. Also, you have to remember to take care of and manage your "animals" by doing "production." ...... In this title, you can find things you want to do one after another, saying "I have to do this, I have to do that," which is fun and busy in a good sense of the word.

The simple screen layout and easy mouse operation, as well as the lightweight operation and windowed rather than full-screen display, make "Lucknow Princess" ideal for "playing while you work". However, once you start playing, you may get carried away and find that a tremendous amount of time has melted away ...... (as was the case with the author), so be careful not to get too hooked!

2. Save the cow in space! Space Cows" is a twin-stick shooter that's a bit silly and corny.

• Space Cows " (Happy Corruption)
• Genre: Action
• Release date: September 6, 2019
• Price: 820 yen (as of January 6, 2021)
• Copyright: (c) 2019 Happy Corruption

Cows are probably one of the easiest animals to characterize in anime and manga due to their many distinctive elements, such as their black and white speckled pattern, their distinctive "moo~" cry, and their laid-back movements. Space Cows" is an action game featuring such comical cow characters.

This game falls under the "twin-stick shooter" genre, also known as omni-directional shooting.

In this genre, players control their ship with the left stick and aim and shoot with the right stick against enemies that appear from all directions in 360°.

As the title "Space Cows" suggests, this game is a twin-stick shooter set in space, and the objective is to defeat aliens called Mutants while moving around in zero gravity.

Incidentally, the main character shoots at mutants not with bullets or lasers, but with "rubber cups" for some reason. The name "rubber cup" may not be familiar to many people, so to explain it simply, it is known as "Toilet Sponge X." Why would you want to shoot such a thing in space? Why such a thing is shot in space is a complete mystery.

As well as the "Toilet Sponge X," this work is characterized by the "slightly vulgar mood" that pervades the entire film.

For example, the main character, for some reason, always has her bottom exposed, and a light farting sound is emitted whenever the cursor is moved on the menu or options screens. The "pooh" sound is also heard when dashing around in the game.

The game's vulgarity is funny, but it is also somewhat reminiscent of "The Simpsons" or "South Park" with its cartoon-style graphics and American flavor.

The game has a silly atmosphere, but the core game is surprisingly solid and orthodox for a twin-stick shooter. In addition to the basic controls of move, aim and shoot, the game also features a "dash" function to avoid enemy attacks and traps such as lasers, and a "slow motion" function that slows down enemy movement for a certain period of time. The game has a "dash" to avoid traps. Used properly, these elements can turn a critical situation into a counterattack, adding thrills and exhilaration to the game.

Now, where do the essential cow elements, the main focus of this feature, appear in "Space Cows?" They appear at key points in the stage as rescue targets for the main character.

The cow appears at key points in the stage as the main character's rescue target. The rescue is complete when you approach the cow floating in space, perform the "pick up" action to grab it, and shoot it into a nearby rescue container. The overall atmosphere of the game is surreal, but a cow floating around in zero gravity is also quite a surreal sight.

Shooting the cow into the container completes the rescue, but for some reason, a mini-game is suddenly inserted at this point.

These include a game in which the player must turn the cow in his arms left and right to milk it accurately, and another in which the player must move left and right to avoid something harmful that is falling from the sky. Although the games are simple, you can earn lives by exceeding the target score, so you can't help but get serious about them. The quirky American comic-style graphics are also quite pleasing.

Space Cows" may look silly at first glance, but it is a very solid twin-stick shooter. The exhilarating feeling of destroying large numbers of enemies by dashing and using slow motion is guaranteed to be addictive. The difficulty can be set from easy to hard, so this game is recommended for both beginners and veterans of twin-stick shooters.

3. 2 minotaurs challenge the labyrinth! Cooperative puzzle action "DYO" that can be played by two players together

• DYO " (Team DYO, Josia Roncancio)
• Genre: Action
• Release date: February 14, 2018
• Price: free (as of January 6, 2021)
• Copyright: (c) 2018 Team DYO, Josia Roncancio

Perhaps the most famous bull in mythology is the Minotaur, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The Minotaur was imprisoned in the palace of Knossos on the island of Crete, which is the origin of the word "labyrinth" in Greek mythology.

This is a stage-clearing side-scrolling puzzle action game in which the player manipulates the Minotaur to reach the exit.

The game is more of a puzzle game than an action game, and is a type of game in which the player must think carefully.

The most important feature of this game is that there are two Minotaurs to control. The player controls the two Minotaurs using either the keyboard or the gamepad. The game can be played with a keyboard and gamepad combination or with two gamepads, making it a slightly unusual game that allows two players to play side by side with a family member or friend while looking at the computer screen. Incidentally, the game can also be played alone without any problems.

The two main characters in "DYO" are a slim, white Minotaur and a muscular, red Minotaur. The atmosphere is set in a mythological-style stage reminiscent of the Labyrinth of Crete introduced at the beginning of the game, with quiet, mystical music.

The player controls two minotaurs, one white and one red, and aims for the exit of the stage, but since this is a puzzle action game, naturally it is not easy to reach the goal. However, since this is a puzzle action game, it is not easy to reach the goal.

The action that is indispensable for success in this game is "screen lock". When the two Minotaurs on each of the left and right screens lock their screens, the thick border in the center of the screen disappears, and the two Minotaurs can move back and forth between the left and right screens. This allows the two Minotaurs to use the other Minotaur as a springboard to jump over high steps and go to places they could not go before.

The use of "screen lock" is not limited to simply allowing the character to move back and forth between the left and right sides of the screen. By using "screen lock" to align the left and right screens, it is possible to get out of a walled area and create a step that serves as a foothold.

This feeling of being able to go to seemingly impossible places with a little imagination and inspiration is the real thrill of this title. Once you have experienced this exhilarating sensation, which cannot be experienced in any other puzzle game, you will become addicted to it.

Although it is an action puzzle game, the level of difficulty is not high, and there is no time limit or loss of life. DYO" is easy to play even for those who do not usually play games, and can take their time and enjoy it. Since the goal of each stage cannot be achieved by the power of one Minotaur alone, but requires two Minotaurs to cooperate with each other, the game is sure to be even more exciting if you play together with someone you are comfortable with.

Moreover, at the time of writing this article, the game is free of charge. Seeing is believing," so if you like puzzles or are looking for a game that can be played by two people, please step into the labyrinth of "DYO" and see for yourself.

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