Fun world to explore, and that's it.

Shit gameplay, stupid way of storytelling with bots and audio-logs.

But you get to see some cool stuff sometime, so 4/10, worth a few hours of exploring and NOTHING ELSE.

Actually, 3/10 cause they have the balls to charge you an optional tier for Fallout 1st. Just make your game f2p at that point.

I've tried this game multiple times even including the first beta that came out like 6 years ago but this game has no substance at all and its hard to play for an hour without getting bored out of your mind.

Theres pretty much no story, the gunplay is terrible and the side quests are just fetch quests to justify you walking through the empty world. Its sad the world has a lot of cool detailed areas but nothing to do in them aside from shooting the same exact set of enemies over and over again or
clicking on something random to finish a quest. coudnt use half of the weapons i got either due to the terrible level system. worst of all the coop system barely works instead of sharing quests in your party everyone has to do them individually if they want all of the rewards for beating it, it just ends being you watching your other team members do the same thing you just did.

just frustrating as this could have been a decent experience

Playtime: 30 Hours
Score: 6/10

Better then it was initially at launch. I completely condemned this game at launch, hating everything about it and what Bethesda was doing with the Fallout IP, but unlike most devs who abandon live service games after they fail at launch, Bethesda did stick with this game and they did inact positive changes. And since it was free a few weeks ago for 5 days on steam, I checked it out and played it. Also as a disclaimer, I will be discussing everything about the game in its current state which includes Wastelanders and Steel Dawn.

The number one thing that this game has gotten better at is definitely stability. While the game is not perfect with bugs, I did mostly have a good experience stability wise and I only got kicked off the server twice in my 30 hours of playing, with one of those times being for server maintenance. Other improvements are the dialogue system which is good old fashioned Fallout dialogue, and not the limited options that came with a voiced protagonist in Fallout 4. This is also helped by both the Steel Dawn and Wastelanders expansions which do offer up human NPCs to talk to and provide proper quests to do. And overall the game can be fun at times, with a great soundtrack, beautiful lighting and fun gameplay. And the expansions like Steel Dawn are very compelling and fun to play through.

The issues that still persist is the vanilla content which has you follow audio logs and talk to uninteresting robots. Those quests are really boring and I only did a few before abandoning doing those ones entirety. And while the leveling system is interesting being you having perk cards tied to each attribute, its still a dumbed down version of what in my opinion, is a far superior progression system in Fallout 3, New Vegas and recently with Obsidians The Outer Worlds. Guns also just feel really weak even after you invest perk cards into it, as I ended up mostly sticking to melee weapons because they were only weapons that were reliable. I mostly played solo, which is I think why, because enemies are so spongy that there clearly tailored towards co-op play, which is the limitations of an online game. And while the new expansions are nice, Wastelanders in particular has a lot of boring fetch quests you have to do in between just to get to the good stuff, while Steel Dawn is a lot more condensed and focused, so I kind of gave up on one in favor of the other.

After the 5 day trial ended on Steam, I tried continuing on game pass on PC but that version of this game is practically broken as it messes up the installation somehow so it won't let me log in. There is a workaround, but I couldn't be bothered to do it for an average game like 76. And that's my main point, is that while it is a lot better then it was at launch, its still an average Fallout game. I'd much rather spend time playing the older Fallouts or playing games like The Outer Worlds or Wasteland 3, which continue what the older and better Fallout games started.

All Games I've Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/
Bethesda Games Studios Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/bethesda-game-studios-ranked/

A fascinating experiment in visual storytelling and narrative that I'd say is on-par with quite a few respected arthouse movies out there. From the wondrous yet elusive and mysterious steampunk Tsarist Russia to the fever-dream sequences and choices of camera angles, this game goes extremely hard in the cinematography department.

Indika's philosophical backbone is rock solid, positing some intresting reflexions on faith, religion and morality - very well represented by the leveling system, which is the game's only true achievement in gameplay as a ludonarrative device. The ending & its message is also something I won't be forgetting any time soon.

Gameplay, however, is quite janky. Jarring animations, sound mixing that's all over the place, uninteresting transitional setpieces and mediocre puzzles. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd be happier if Indika were even less "game" and more "walking simulator" than what it currently is. Give me more talking and less busywork. I'd have greatly appreciated more delirious sequences and dialogues with the devil.

Still, even though it's far from perfect, I can't help but praise Indika's sheer boldness. Its highs are really high and made me power through the lows. Perfect if you've liked Hellblade.

Rain World; Fez; Environmental Station Alpha. If your reaction is "hell yeah" to any of these following games, then you'll love Animal Well.

Decently sized metroidpuzzlevania that rewards exploration and incentivizes the player to tinker and break the game whenever possible. Great movement mechanics, inventive gadgets, fantastic sound design, excellent puzzles and a well-thought map and level design. Minimal handholding is part of the intended experience, but the game does an excellent job of subconsciously guiding us toward breakthroughs and "A-ha!" moments.

Some players will watch the credits roll and feel satisfied while others will spend many more hours unearthing every little secret in the game - and boy there's plenty of them. I feel like I hit a barrier at 52 eggs, and that's perfectly OK.

Fuck it, I am having a sad night, and this is one of the reviews I feel as if I HAVE to do at some point. Life is Strange, for some reason, surpasses any media I have ever absorbed in my life. As from begin to end I was truly pulled into the every aspect of this experience. The music all being within some of my favorite genres and feels, pulling that aspect of myself into the world. The story hitting some really hard aspects emotions that lots of people will have to feel at some point in their lives; and the setting, atmosphere, and general vibes of being in a small town near the mountains and forests pulling memories of where I have lived around for my whole life. I simply connected to this more then anything else, I let myself into the shoes of a character I thought I could relate to in a moment of sadness and depression after the death of my father; and when the story beats started hitting at the end, I cried. I do not cry, not even from a "I am a strong guy" mindset, this game just somehow managed to, in the only way I can describe those feelings, overwhelm me. Messages, music, character, story, setting; it changed me. I hate to say it, due to being silly, but this was a big part of my recovery. It pushed me over the edge to see a therapist, and I might not be here if not for that. I do not care if the writing or story is not "technically" amazing or any other bullshit, because technicality can eat shit when emotions and art prove some wrong. If this game did nothing for you, I am sorry. I wish it could have done the same for you as it did for me, but due to that I love it. I always will, Life is Strange will be within my memories for a long time.

Buckshot Roulette really respects your time - once you load into it and kick down two doors, you're already introduced to the unnamed dealer, who's gonna be your enemy in a game of life and death. The core mechanics are simple, you just have to shoot the dealer with live rounds or shoot yourself with blanks in order to get extra turns, so you can deplete the opposing health bar and win a round. After the first round, random items are introduced, which can give you advantages, like being able to see the current bullet or deal double damage for a turn, but the dealer is also able to use his items against you! After you beat the third and final round, you're already done with Buckshot Roulette, no strings attached.

I really appreciate how simple this game is kept and that there is no "hidden lore" or anything at all, it's just a cool concept packaged into a 3€ game and is all about the gameplay. You also unlock an endless mode after beating a normal run, where you can just play more for the sake of it, or try your luck for a bunch of achievements - in my opinion it's a good inclusion, so you get some more bang for your buck(shot).

In conclusion, if you're interested in this game, go for it! It might not be long, but the experience is definitely an unique one.

Very concise and well-crafted experience. The puzzles were engaging without being too difficult, the narrative had its twists and surprisingly emotional moments. The game respects your time and cut on unnecessary backtracking or exploration. The length was just perfect - not too short and didn't overstay its welcome.

But perhaps the best aspect of The Rewinder is its setting - it's heavily based into Chinese folklore, its mythology and deities. The game deals with this in a very digestible and approachable way, with tons of glossary entries and expositive dialogue which don't feel out of place and helps us (speaking as a westerner myself) get immersed into its rich lore. I love when a media piece allows us a window into the culture and customs of a different people.

The game oozes passion and feels a labor of love. Big props to Misty Mountain Studio!

Subway Surfing in the City of Glass.

The OG Mirror’s Edge is a bit of a darling to me - this laser-focused parkour action thrilla that limits it’s scope to densely choreographed sequences through rich, hyper-real urb environments. There’s a weightines to Faith’s movement, allowing the player to feel a sense of inertia to the stunts you string together, putting stones in your gut whenever your unbroken momentum ends in freefall. It’s so lean it’s so Mean.

Ultimately I put off playing Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst for yearz because I knew what they did to it. I knew it was an open world game, a sprawling map peppered with waypoints and collectables and challenges and skill trees and XP and shit. This Human Revolutionification of a game I originally adored because it sidestepped that stuff. With a few concessions (I skipped every cutscene and ignored everything that wasn’t a story mission), I was finally able to get over myself and just give the game a shot, and I’m happy 2 share that I think ME:C is Alright!!! It’s OK!

The shift in focus is almost immediately striking as the art direction of Catalyst shifts from heavily stylised minimal realism, to this catastrophic directionless mush of overexposed modernism. It's like every expensive yacht in the world crashed into one another to form a continent. It’s kind of pretty but it really doesn’t inspire awe in me in the same way as the OG… A lens flare fried calamity of white pointy buildings with an accent colour thrown in for good measure. Whenever I replay Mirror’s Edge, I gawk at the level of attention poured into the texture, staging and lighting work - and I just couldn’t find anything to care about here.

The reason for this visual mulch is, of course, gameplay clutter as a result of moving towards an open world. The environment design is stretched thin by taking a very blunt modular approach as a result of attempting to pad out the vast expanses of rooftop between quest markers. The City of Glass is slavishly built for Faith and her moveset, every canopy littered with pipes and platforms and grappling points with the intent to allow the player to maintain an unbroken sprint across vast expanses. I can’t help but prefer the simplicity and muted realism of the prior game’s world, one that felt almost hostile to the existence of the Runners, which necessitated a more thoughtful approach to the moment-to-moment - scanning the environment for ways to use your moveset to reach places you shouldn’t. Catalyst’s city is Faith’s playground - but who can deny the simple joys of swingin on da jungle gym.

I’m not going to shit on the game a whole lot - the core intent is very different, focused on player retention through endless sidemissions and jiggies, but it’s pretty great when you meet it halfway. Brushing aside the fluff content and focusing on the story missions allows something of a rush through what the game has to offer. It’s bigger, it’s crazier, it’s bombastic, Faith goes crazy scaling wacky luminescent architecture that doesn’t even pretend to feel like places built for civvies. Assault course game design. It even follows many of the same beats as the original game, you just can’t help but compare how differently things come across here. The combat buckles very quickly with miserable enemy variants, but I enjoyed the focus on using the environment against baddies by paddling them around/into each other, it's pretty slapstick but a damng lot more dynamic than what was in the original game.

I dunno, I’m middle of the road on this. Catalyst feels like the flipside of the same coin, Mirror’s Edge but hopped up on Ubisoft Juice. You couldn't convince me that Mirror's Edge needed bandit camps if your life depended on it, but the speed and flow and scale is intoxicating but it all rings kind of hollow when it feels like you’re just playing Aesthetique Temple Run. Maybe all I need to be happy in this life is seeing bullets go through Nvidia PhysX cloth & dats why this game isn’t doin it.