Puzzle Quest 2 vs Ylands
Puzzle Quest 2
Puzzle Quest 2 is the sequel to one of the very first, award-winning match-3 puzzle/RPG where you'll need to save the village of Verloren from the ruthless demon Gorgon. As opposed to playing a character that you can mold to your liking, this time around, the game presents you with four character classes, namely the Sorcerer, Templar, Barbarian and Assassin, each with their own sets of skills and abilities which will provide you with very different gameplay experiences depending on which class you choose. In addition to its usual game modes of Story mode, Instant Action and Multiplayer, the game now also features a Tournament mode for a more competitive gameplay.Puzzle Quest 2 builds on the successful and addictive formula that had rocketed the original to fame and yet introduces some nice additions of its own. If you love the previous game, you'll definitely like this one.
Ylands
Ylands is a sandbox adventure game that has a gameplay that's a lot like a massively expanded version of Minecraft with a lot more resources for you to gather, items to craft, and amazing things to build. Instead of being "just a game", Ylands is more like a platform, much like Roblox is, where players are given the tools to create whatever worlds or games they like, be it a fun go-kart racing game that's inspired from Lega Racers or even a watery world where epic pirate-themed naval battles can take place. The worlds are completely interactive as well and every action you do will modify, no matter how slightly, the game environment of that segment of the world you happen to be in. In fact, if you change a terrain and populate it with an entirely different diversity of flora and fauna, you can basically change the climate system there.Unlike Minecraft though, Ylands has opted for a more polygonal appearance which gave it the extra leverage it needed to overcome the painful dismissal and degratory label of being simply a "Minecraft clone" - which admittedly, Ylands is most definitely not. The game has so much going for it and players truly have all the freedom within the game's pretty wide parameters to literally create anything they like. Of course, the game also supports sharing, so you can let other players in Yland enjoy that (for example) crazy maze-running game you've just made!
Ylands is most certainly impressive to say the least. However, due to its indie origins, not many players know about the game, let alone buy it on Steam. So, if you really like Minecraft-like sandbox games, you simply must give this game a try, and if you've had a great time there, be sure to recommend it to your friends or even buy it for them as their Christmas/ birthday gift!