Shocklingly ahead of it's time.
There are so many little moments of absolute genius when it comes to conveying horror through gameplay. The hallway that's a slow descent into the nightmare, the elevator with a mysterious 4th floor that wasn't there before, a bathroom that secretly teleports you, etc...

If anything I would say that feeling is a bit undermined by how easy the game can be, with controls that allow more movement than Resident Evil's and a melee option that floors 80% of enemies you end up having so many resources you are never really challenged or put in a tight spot.

And the presentation, just plain beautiful, there is so much texture and detail on every corner, an atmosphere so dense you are simply transported into the game. It also helps how masterful the camera work is, static on the right places to fully capture the scenery and moving to create shots that a lot of horror films wish they could accomplish. Just something great.

Just finished playing this entire thing co-op with my lovely girlfriend mayagirli (https://www.backloggd.com/u/mayagirli/). We absolutely rinsed this thing, getting 3 stars on every level including all DLC, and what a good time we had doing it too. We were a well-oiled machine, settling into our roles very quickly and typically getting 3-stars on a blind run of a level.

It's a juicy formula Overcooked 2! has, and the developers squeeze it dry, reworking the core mechanics into so many interesting configurations. The free DLC alone almost doubles the game's total content, and with the reasonably priced paid DLC on top of that, the main campaign is but a fraction of what Overcooked! 2 has to offer.

My only real issues are presentational elements. The main thrust of the game's narrative is that the "unbread" have been risen by the careless Onion King, and our chefs must travel the kingdom to make them delicious food, satisfying their hunger and putting them back in the ground. Outside of the the game's opening and ending levels, the main campaign gives up on presenting this theme entirely. Kitchens generally stick to a restaurant theme, with many even including visible customers (human, not "unbread"). Thankfully, one of the DLCs does a much better job at presenting this narrative element, featuring horde-mode-esque levels which function differently from the regular levels.

Other flaws include a lacking world map, some issues with readability, and odd physics when an object isn't locked onto the grid. Aside from those, we had a fantastic time with Overcooked! 2. Developing a strategy, refining the execution, getting into the rhythm of it... it's so satisfying when you get it right. Looking forward to going back and playing the first at some point, but for now I think we're Overcooked out.

There's two things a throwback platformer needs to do to get things right.

The first is the jump. How's it feel? Does it work, fit the game's needs? I'm happy to say that Alwa's jump is perfect. She does the thing, the little stiff-legged, feet together thing. At the apex her arms come out a bit, her feet kick forward. Perfect, timely delivery, product was in great condition.

Everything else is just icing on the cake. The art? Spot on, feels like NES, runs on NES. The music? A genuine highlight, great use of leitmotifs, never abrasive. How's the challenge? It's good, chill. Nothing too hard, most enemies are there to challenge you to one cycle a screen instead of waiting on patterns, puzzles tend to stay solved so backtracking doesn't become a chore. Warp points are in good spots, on that note, and exploration is worthwhile, with upgrades coming in both substantial boosts and incremental initial damage to bosses. Good stuff, good times, controls well. What more could you ask for?

Well. It's not perfect. The menu confirm is not the same as the game confirm, for example. Absolute hell, what were they thinking. Alwa gets most of her mobility from spells, so overall she feels a bit slow. Fits the pace of the game, though, and even with extra exploration it's never really an issue. Those incremental orb upgrades hit a brick wall once you hit 50% collected, requiring the final half to get the final boost. It doesn't really matter, but it's a bit odd. Speaking of, item% doesn't include those orbs, which is certainly a choice.

Still: solid little game, even more solid platform for the rather nice looking sequel. Tons of room to grow, in all the best ways.

Oh, the second thing. A good throwback game needs a name that causes confusion when it comes to the main character. It's Zoe, not Alwa. Arkista and Zelda send their regards.

Whilst I'm enjoying the trend of retro-style FPS games (I loathe the term "boomer shooter" and refuse to call them as such), most of them have a very one-minded idea of what 90s shooters were like. The throwbacks are all games with hordes of enemies, hyperspeed action and mindless violence - and sure there was that back in the day too, but it's like saying that every 80s action film was Commando and ignoring films like Total Recall or Predator. FPS was a wide genre even back then too (arguably wider than now in terms of aesthetics), and there were a lot of different tones and approaches that these games could take despite sharing the first person view. Pop culture history has even started flanderising some of the prime examples of this: Duke Nukem 3D is now most often thought of as a brainless action fest with as much bombshell babes as it had actual bombs, but the reason it was so humongously influential - and why it was hailed as an instant classic at its release - was because of its intricate level design that hadn't been seen before in the genre.

Cultic seems to have flown under the radar compared some of the other recent retro shooters but it's been one of my favourite experiences of this new-old genre, and that's precisely because it's built as an all-around adventure and an experience rather than just a clickfest. It very specifically refers back to the Build engine (made famous by DN3D itself) in its overall visual design and that's not just a cute hyper-specific nod, it links it with the heritage of old FPS games that paid heed to level design and an overall gameplay experience where gunning down enemies to gibs was just one part of the whole thing. While it's built in a way that makes the high-speed run 'n' gun hijinks possible (including some more modern touches like sliding and fast-tap dodges), it's not what the game is built around. Instead it's a far more atmospheric journey, sometimes building up to moments of tenseness and horror that give the player space to wander and wonder in worrisome calm. When the action gets heavy (and it definitely does, especially on the last third), it's terrific fun and balanced excellently between the new and the old.

The gripes I have are mainly to do with the slight monotony that runs through the game's general design. Despite being centered around a growing supernatural threat, Cultic tries to keep things grounded and that sometimes doesn't quite leave space for variation: the guns are all realistic post-WW2 designs (the wildest the game goes is a flamethrower and a grenade launcher), the enemies are primarily cultists with different coloured robes and at one point I did an audible chuckle when I realised the game was railing me towards yet another trawl through another mine. But they're only gripes, because the game is always quick to swing itself back in action whenever it risks faltering slightly. Despite looking dull the guns all feel great and powerful to use (the sawed-off shotgun has all the OOMPH of a classic FPS shotgun) and the simple upgrade system allows the player to fine-tune the ones they like, the appearance of any non-standard enemies can feel genuinely dramatic and feel suitably different to fight against, and halfway point on the general level design starts stretching its legs nicely. The setpieces, as they are, are great and the MIDI tracker music deserves a special shoutout for beautifully setting the tone in certain places, particularly the more intense action scenes.

Cultic is a literal one-man project and it's really admirable how tight it is. It's a shame this hasn't had as much of a hype around it as e.g. Dusk or Amid Evil - both of which are great fun, don't get me wrong - because this feels more like the kind of gameplay experiences that got me into FPS games to begin with in the early-mid 1990s, and should get its accolades.

After the disappointment I felt with Frogwares' The Sinking City, I yearned for a more traditional detective mystery, which is exactly what I got with Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments. I mean, what could be more traditional?

Crimes & Punishments is a simple, yet effective caper, taking the dynamic duo of Holmes and Watson through six cases with their own unique circumstances, locations, and stories to tell, all while an overarching plot slowly unfolds in the background. Unfortunately, I felt that this overarching plot was one of the weakest parts of the game, as it's barely mentioned halfway through before being shoehorned into the ending decision of the game.

The rest of the game, however, consisting of self-contained mysteries, is consistently solid from the first to the last. While the penultimate case was the weakest in my view, it still delivered a solid story and suitable motivations for the characters.

The mystery-solving elements themselves are nothing new, though they don't really need to be. They mostly consist of your basic loop of investigating, collecting evidence, and interrogating. What truly sets Crimes & Punishments apart, however, is the free-form nature with which you connect the dots and ultimately draw the conclusions. There's some handholding and guidance along the way, but the case's resolution is ultimately up to you putting all the pieces together and discerning the guilty party.

This part of the game is by far its most compelling and engaging aspect. Though its systems and logic can seem convoluted and archaic at times, this is one of the closest instances in which a game has emulated the feeling of being a real detective.

The puzzles that you solve along the way in your investigations are also largely solid, albeit with some unnecessarily elaborate ones, like the lock-picking mini-game, which the game starts to throw at you with frequency towards the back half.

Despite these setbacks, however, I truly enjoyed my time with Crimes & Punishments and hope that as I move forward, the series can build on this formula and throw a much stronger overarching narrative on top of it to really deliver the full Sherlock Holmes experience this franchise deserves.

7/10

Tetris Effect Connected is the most definitive version of Tetris that has something for everyone. It is such an impressive package that expands the Tetris formula in new ways and has so much replayability. If you are a fan of offline content, multiplayer or want an intense challenge it has all that in one package! While it may not be a masterpiece that is revolutionary it nails the ART and everything else so well. This game just feels like meditation when I am playing it since the art is so beautifully well done! Side note: I will not be covering multiplayer in this review!

Journey Mode: This is a single player mode for Tetris Effect Connected that has 27 stages to play from with an Beginner, Normal and Expert difficulty. The difference between these difficulties is that you’ll have to get more lines. Beginner is 30, Normal is 36 and Expert is 48 lines. I had so much fun with this mode because each level provided different art and music to vibe to! It just got me in zen mode. It took me about 10 hours to beat Journey mode, which is not a bad length even though I died a LOT! My favorite level has got to be Metamorphosis which is the final level you encounter. It was such a great level that you can tell they went all out because you have to get 90 lines and the music and art were on another level but all the levels were so good! There is also a theatre mode as well if you just want to look at the art for a level and listen to the music without playing. It is a nice addition if you just want to sit back and relax. The credits in this game were so exceptionally well done as well! I can tell they put lots of effort into that! Overall Journey mode was a blast to play with set pieces and music that will keep you relaxed and engaged!


Gameplay: The gameplay in Tetris Effect feels better then any Tetris game has ever felt! You have a new Zone ability where when you fill it up by completing lines you can make the blocks not move and can take your time. The completed lines will disappear after the zone ability is used which allows you to clear more than 4 lines at once in a Tetris game and get an Ultimatris. An Ultimatris is 20 or more lines cleared so if you get this then you are considered the best of the best! The highest I got was an Octotris which is 8 lines cleared. Zone is such a great addition to Tetris since it spices up the gameplay and allows for spectacular plays! Enhance games have then made it more accessible by showing what your next 4 blocks will be instead of 1 but this can be fine tuned to your liking. Then you can hold a Tetrimino to use for later if you do not get a block you like you can replace it with the one you are holding! There are many more accessibility features to allow people to thrive in Tetris Effect Connected! The gameplay has never felt better before and it is astounding how good it feels with the effects going nuts when you get a completed line. They can bother my eyes and be distracting though. The effects do make when you get a completed line so much more satisfying.

Effect modes: The effect modes are extra game modes in Tetris Effect Connected to add replayability. For example there is a marathon mode where you need to get the best score within a 150-line limit! Then there is Mystery where you try to survive as many random effects where some could be good and some bad! There are more of them than just the ones I mentioned! These effect modes add greatly to the replayability of the game because they are fun and can leave you with a challenge! I like that Enhance tried to give replayabillity to this iteration of Tetris by doing fun and gimmicky modes.


Conclusion: Overall Tetris Effect Connected is Tetris at its very best. Ever since Tetris was on the NES in 1989 it's been an icon in gaming! Enhance did such a great job with nearly everything in this game despite that the effects can be distracting and hurt my eyes! This is the best iteration of Tetris that has ever been made! Enhance did an amazing job with this game and it surprised me since I didn’t think it would be as good as it was! There is no doubt that any Tetris player will be able to find something here that they like! I give Tetris Effect Connected a 10/10! Tetris has been on a roll for me lately because I loved the movie now with Effect Connected being so awesome! The industry needs more calming and relaxing games like this and Enhance games knocked it out of the park! Cannot wait to see their future endeavours.

For $15 this is a solid God of War rip-off. One that wastes no time getting to the action and never takes itself seriously. Anyone who's ever played GoW will feel right at home. Almost every gameplay element in this is highly derivative of Santa Monica Studio's hit series. Think of it like a lite version. This is never a game that's really going to test your ability. Instead it just wants you to revel in the slaughter. Its silly sense of humor and crazy action serve to at least give it a unique sense of style, sans the look of the protagonist. There's nice enemy variety and responsive combat. The hardest thing to deal with is the camera. It uses a fixed perspective, but the angles are odd which requires some getting used to.

If you're gonna steal from somebody, it might as well be the best. This is something Marlow Briggs does well. It's a short, breezy game. One that's more like a quick, sweet snack compared to the bigger action games out there that serve as full meals. There's some merit in that; you can get a nice sugar rush. Despite having an original bone in its body, the game is worth a look. Not least of which is due to having an African-American protagonist. Still a rare occurrence in the gaming scene.

7.2/10

Over the top and silly in mostly fun ways.

Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death is action to the extreme. I mean you, conservatively, destroy around two HUNDRED helicopters in this game. You don't go more than ninety seconds without an explosion of some kind. Every other scene the world itself is falling apart in some manner. All while you continually get new weapons and magic to fight bugs, worms, mercenaries, ghosts, and more. Quips are shot from the hip and somehow land safely away from the too corny realm. It's a nonstop, button mashing, adrenaline fueled ride. And it looks great for being a decade old too!

Beyond being over the top fun, Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death just works. Configs and options are fun, but sometimes you just gotta appreciate a game that opens and runs. And on Steam Deck too! One of those games that seems like it was made for the Deck. Far too often people ask what the Deck can do instead of what the Steam Deck just does. Especially at 4.99USD, this is almost a must for Deck owners.

The game does have it's shortcomings. The fixed camera hearkens back to times older than it. It's a little painful to go back to. It hurts some of the platforming. You'll fall to what feel like very cheap deaths a lot. Far too much. Some of the weapon balance is questionable. The control scheme feels "old" too. And the spells only working when your mana is full, even though they don't use a full bar, is annoying. I've also seen some reviews mention that the combat, especially late game, can be tedious if you don't take the time to explore and upgrade (or play on the hardest difficulty). So yeah, explore. But for the price and the fun there is? Nothing that can't be overcome or overlooked.

Shut your brain off, stretch out your thumb muscles, and go have some fun. Easy recommendation.

[copied from my Steam review]

Probably just a three star game but gave it an extra half star for just being a fun mindless short palette cleanser.

Marlow Briggs is to God Of War as Assault Spy is to Devil May Cry: An indie-developed, low budget take on a hugely popular action title with all the established gameplay kinks and quirks. Light-heavy dial combos, multiple flavours of AOE magic, right-stick rolling, guarding, executions, it's as God Of War as a God Of War knockoff can be, just fuelled off a budget of cup noodles and a dream.

That's as much a blessing as it is a curse; as satisfying yet monotonous as Marlow Briggs' combat can get, it's got issues that I recall experiencing with God Of War 1 way back when I played it in 2018. A hit or miss lineup of bosses, a lot of the downtime between combat being crammed with fairly annoying platforming sections, where one wrong move will instantly kill you, and being just a bit long. In the case of Marlow, it was mostly the jungle and back end of the game that I felt could've been cut down some.

But hey, if you like the OG GOW titles, and always wanted to see a low budget take on the series handled by an indie team? Marlow Briggs is probably right up your alley. It only goes on sale for dirt cheap, so you've really not got much of anything to lose!

Also I had to watch the ending on YouTube, because, despite the game being verified for the Steam Deck, both ending cutscenes refused to play, lmao.

Some thoughts from a competitive player perspective, this was the first game I entered a tournament for:

Makes me sad that we won't ever see Brawl get revisited or refined, even with all the flaws it's my favourite Smash game (Melee shares that spot too). Smash 4 and Ultimate were made with competitive play in mind, at least a little bit, so the magic of Melee and Brawl where everything was discovered, developed and fleshed out by the community was lost over time.

In the newer games, what works and what doesn't is almost inmediately apparent and a lot more consistent by design, which is healthier for newer players and the competitive scene but makes the games feel more limited and scripted in comparison.
Even though Smash4 and Ult are games that borrow a lot more from Brawl than Melee, they will never replicate what made Brawl special for me (slower pace, focus on single hit interactions, obscure advanced techniques for most of the cast...), because it's impossible to get a game like that if you actually try making it a solid, polished and consistent experience for everyone.

The roughness and disregard for competitive play of both Brawl and Melee are what made them what they are today, not the balance. And 2 "accidents" like that won't ever happen with today's standards.

Brawl is, by no measure, the best Smash game from a technical, competitive, or content standpoint. Ultimate has it beat in all three, and Melee certainly beats it in a competitive setting.

That said, this was my first Smash game, so nostalgia definitely plays a part in my enjoyment of it. That said, this game has something the other two don't: Subspace Emissary.

While not a perfect campaign, the fact that they created a world to tell an epic crossover narrative where Link and Mario are fighting each other and Snake and Lucario are working together on the Halberd is such a magical experience. Obviously Smash isn't a "platformer," so the platforming levels aren't the best thing I've ever seen. But it's certainly more than what we would get in future titles.

The way the campaign works in unlocking characters is also genius, and I do wish that the series had continued using this idea.

The Metro series has always been one of those franchises I consider glorified cult classics -- they sell tons of copies, but whenever you ask their admirers what exactly they do right, it always comes down to something shallow: atmosphere, immersion, atmosphere, visuals, and did I mention AT-MO-SPHERE? No seriously, read the comments on any review and that’s what 90% of them are raving about.

Don’t get me wrong, atmosphere is important, especially for post-apocalyptic titles like Metro, but it’s arguably the least vital aspect behind things like, oh I don’t know, story, optimization, and gameplay, all of which 2033 has major deficits in. The premise is a nuclear war wiped out most of humanity, leaving mutants on top and the remaining Russians underground where several factions, including neo-Nazis, have formed. There are a lot of holes in this concept that, while I’m sure were addressed in the source material, aren’t even touched upon here (at least so far as I didn’t catch them). For starters, how exactly did the Moscow Metro protect against radiation when much of it is exposed? In Fallout, the bunkers were hermetically sealed; now I may not be a scientist, but in the game, you’ll find so many mask-free hypogean spaces, it seems illogical that airborne ionizing rays magically avoided them. Secondly, what exactly are the mutants? Wikipedia claims they’re transmogrified animals, however, nothing in the actual story indicates such, and given how absurd some of these monstrosities look, it seems like a giant stretch, even by sci-fi standards. Thirdly, how are there so many dang Nazis? The nuclear winter emerged in 2013, well after World War II, and you’re only ever in Russia, so where did an army of them come from? Out of all the states in history, I sincerely doubt a Slavic country would house a bastion of Nazi sympathizers given the atrocities of the second Great War.

I’m sure I could come up with more, and I certainly don’t mean to be nitpicky, but you guys need to understand dystopian video games are highly dependent on their lore: if you don’t understand how things came to be, it results in the world becoming generic to a fault. And that’s kind of the case here- the metro is a cliche dilapidated hub, the mutants indifferent from your standard vampires/zombies, and the Nazis another run-of-the-mill evil faction in the same vein as other hostile survivalists. And it’s a shame because I doubt the author of the book (Dmitry Glukhovsky) or the writers here intended for that. But without in-game descriptions, or at the very least optional data files, 2033 ultimately fails to be indistinguishable from its calamitous brethren.

All cards on the table, I doubt I’d be criticizing the setting this much had the narrative been up-to-par, but it’s honestly pretty bland. You play as Artyom, a young soldier tasked with delivering a message to the metro capital about a new threat called the Dark Ones. If you guys have ever seen the phenomenal movie 1917, Metro’s story is basically that minus the personality and impetus. Arytom’s journey takes him to many decrepit sections of the subway, but it never feels like you’re doing anything grand or important, namely because of two reasons: one, the Dark Ones are even duller than the mutants, their essence obscured for sequel purposes; and two, Artyom joins a long line of pointlessly mute protagonists, sapping him of any humanity he may have had. I’ve never understood the rationale behind narrative-driven games opting for silent heroes; it’s one thing if your product is gameplay-directed, but for titles like the original Dead Space, certain Call of Duties, and even Half-Life, I find it to be a fundamentally dumb decision, and 2033 joins those infamous ranks. By leaving the relative safety of his compound, Artyom is theoretically undergoing a nerve-wracking experience (as he literally conveys via diary entries in and in-between scenes [more on that later]), yet illogically shuts his trap when in the midst of this very madness! It’s genuinely anti-immersive, especially when you see how conveniently hackneyed the script is in its attempts at working around this lack of dialogue. Real-time observations about the state of affairs around you, whether by inner monologue or general discourse, could have also gone a long way towards imparting a sense of history to the slums you stumble about, slums that otherwise suffer from a severe lack of environmental storytelling. Don’t mistake me, each location you travel to is technically distinct from its brethren, however, the developers didn’t do much in the way of visually conveying that- everywhere you look it’s the same basic rusted metal grating contorted around shoddy marketplaces lit up by oil drums, their NPCs donning similar apparel regardless of their age or gender. The few times you head to the surface don’t bear greater fruit as the everlasting Russian winter poorly masks what is effectively a standard post-nuketown metropolis we’ve seen a million times over: you know, the leveled buildings with blown out windows, smooshed vehicles, broken down signposts, and scraggly foliage.

I get it, there’s only so much variation you can do with this archetypal setting, and I doubt the real life Moscow Metro would’ve been substantially altered in just 30-years of crude maintenance. But considering this is a game with psychic attacks and flying wing demons, a little artistic licensing wouldn’t have hurt. As it stands, it rarely feels like you’re progressing towards a grand marker when the lion’s share of milestone camps are optically indistinct from the place you just came from. There was an area later in the game that I swear induced an overwhelming sense of déjà vu in me due to its eerie similarity to a prior stage.

I don’t mean to sound completely whiny as Metro’s story isn’t bad by any means. In fact, it’s a perfectly solid entry in the standard man vs. monster conflict we’ve had since the dawn of humanity. I only bring up these criticisms to caution against those aforementioned praises coasting on atmosphere relishment: it’s vastly overstated, the subterranean tunnels being more detrimental than ambient.

Then again, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking 2033’s plot would be epic given the stunningness of the graphics. Playing the Redux version, I don’t know what upticks were done, but the final remaster is definitely breathtaking: cracked walling, razed concrete, the sleek green tint of a radiated pool, worn out textiles, and the natural disbursement of snow on corrugated surfaces; all are superb exhibitions of the monster that is 4A’s proprietary engine. From the splatter of blood on your visor to the flying of casings as you discharge weapons, tons upon tons of smaller details have been coded that I’m sure warrant multiple playthroughs to catch in their entirety. Yet even these pale in comparison to the grand feat that is the lighting. Conducting a bit of research (that is, browsing Wikipedia), I wasn’t surprised to learn that 4A’s software specializes in subsurface scattering as 2033 might have the best lighting I have ever seen in a video game. As you can imagine, you’ll be underground for the majority of your playthrough, meaning most of the effulgence derives from improvised ignition sources stuck in stationary poses: gas barrels, torches, and lanterns all make their presence known between levels, sending orange and gold shadows radiating along walls. And while an inherent baked overlay exists to prevent overwhelming darkness, the fact that you can discern a blaze fount from a distance speaks wonders about the overarching quality of the lighting.

Like most AAA games, these praises are unfortunately capped by foibles in the craft. First and foremost, 2033 has not been optimized well for PCs- I experienced numerous crashes that were only absolved by turning off certain settings (I’ve read other players have had to outright tone down the resolution). Secondly, shortcuts were effected with Artyom’s model as he is essentially an exaggerated first person camera: taking a gander down will reveal the absence of legs, while his uncovered hands look uncanny as heck (thankfully he wears gloves in the final act). Thirdly, and most noticeably, are the mutant responses to damage- 2033 may very well hold the worst paired animation schema I’ve witnessed in a video game as these motions are jarring. Whenever you slay a monstrosity, there’s no transition between the last bullet and death call -- they just up-and-initiate their pre-programmed collapse. It reminded me a lot of that defect in the Civil War FPS “A Nation Divided” wherein allies would spontaneously die on the spot without reason.

Shooting, in general, is pretty poor largely because of the inconsistent damage threshold. Every weapon feels great, but you won’t have much fun using them courtesy of the mutants varying in fatality margins: some go down consistently with headshots, others can tank an entire assault rifle clip (this being particularly irksome if you play on the harder difficulties with scarce ammunition, though more on that later). It’d be fine if 2033 made combat encounters intermittent or outright optional, but as it stands you’ll be in mandatory firefights for a good chunk of your playthrough and have to witness this incongruity.

Human enemies are luckily more stable in their faltering, and even against monsters, you’re occasionally provided allied AI that actually do a solid job mowing them down, so it isn’t all bad. On the flipside, 2033 has compulsory stealth sections which are underdeveloped, though in a twist of faith, this tends to be in your favor. See, the game hypothetically operates on the basis of shading- light sources can be destroyed or switched off, wherein you’re provided a veil of darkness to meander in and one-shot bad guys. The problem, based on my experience at least, is that lighting is ultimately irrelevant due to enemy vision cones being inherently impaired- I’ve literally had goons walk right by me while I was crouched, or see me as I peaked around corners, and not get alerted. I’ve heard the Redux version attempted to revamp the stealth, but these alterations have clearly resulted in coding errors which, combined with long-range silencers and throwing knives, honestly make the stealth a bit of a cakewalk. I’m not saying you’ll never have to redo a section, but chances are it’ll derive from accidentally springing a booby trap than a hoard catching you.

Unfortunately, these positives are negated by a baffling game design decision that frustrated me to the point of not having fun. What it comes down to is the same problem I had with Mirror’s Edge, which is this disparate juxtaposition between pure linear pathways against a free roam blueprint. When you begin a level, 7 times out of 10 the spaces before you look open-ended, seemingly promoting this idea that you can approach such obstacles in more ways than one. Sadly, though, what you’ll quickly realize is that this isn’t the case at all, and not only is it not the case, it’s downright insulting. See, 4A wasn’t interested in creating playpens for gamers to meander around in- they want you to do things exactly the way they intended, and if you try to deviate, be prepared to hit the reload button again and again and again. A group of guards blocking your way? Well, don’t bother sneaking around because you NEED to climb the ladder instead. Want to save a prisoner on the verge of execution? Don’t even think about it cause that’ll put you in sight of the snipers above. Want to take your chances fighting a giant mutant guarding a doorway? You’re wasting your time cause, plot twist, that entrance was blocked off anyway!

It does get better in the second half (one chapter set in a rundown library, in particular, is absolutely brilliant in composition), but the fact that you have to meander through 50 percent of the game dealing with this pseudo-sandbox is aggravating to a fault. Yes, you do have a compass which shows the right way; however, it more often points in the general direction of the next objective over the exact method you are obliged to utilize.

On the topic of the compass, much has been made about 2033’s HUD (or lack thereof), and while I’ve always felt animosity towards gaudier HUDs to be a bit silly, I can’t deny the numerous benefits that come from a clearer screen. That said, 2033 has a needlessly complicated tool interface that I believe could’ve been alleviated had the developers not gone tabula rasa with the display- you can only equip one ranged armament at a time (swapping requiring you to go through two different menus), certain gear like the night vision goggles need to be periodically recharged, and your watch (which reportedly indicates your oxygen level and hidden status) must be manually prompted to be viewed. These may appear like small potatoes, but when you’re in the heat of a battle and have to quickly toss a molotov grenade, or cowering from monsters and have your specs deplete, it can be pointlessly vexing.

Now the counterpoint to these grievances may be that 2033 is part-survival horror, meaning the extraneous elements are meant to deliberately induce stress in you. To this I respond maybe? I’m not huge into the genre, but my understanding is that it’s more about inventory management and maneuvering around conflicts than haggling with menus. And to be honest, after my playthrough, I don’t really consider 2033 to be survival horror- vendors for recuperating gear are a dime a dozen, there’s a lot of mandatory combat (including one scene that straight up feels like a CoD set piece), and the game is ultimately not scary. Granted, I did beat 2033 on the easiest difficulty (namely due to aforementioned annoyances with the mutants), so these facets could very well be amplified on the harder modes. But when I see titles like Dead Space and Black Flag master the interface in both a minimal and ergonomic way, it encroaches on 2033 a little.

Soundwise, I have no complaints. This is a firmly crafted enterprise that accounts for the differences between the occlusion of a sunken city and the wide berth of an exposed surface: plangent gunshots boom in the tunnels whilst gusts dampen your footsteps above. And while there isn’t much enemy diversity, mutants are capable of being individually identified by way of their unique gait (it’s saying something when the flap of wings can induce a heartbeat skip!).

When it comes to the voice acting, I’ve seen much debate online about whether to go with the Russian or English dub. To clarify, my philosophy has always been to adopt the version most culturally appropriate- if a work of fiction is rooted in a particular country, chances are the voices from that state will better infuse the story with that indescribable factor we call authenticity. Under these circumstances, 2033 is theoretically better suited with Slavic dialogue- it was made by a Russian studio, is set in Russia, and reportedly incorporates some Russian Orthodoxy. However, despite such notations, I actually recommend playing in English for a couple of reasons: one, subtitles are NOT present for the numerous side NPCs you hear conversing in the background (who tend to make interesting remarks about the world), and two, during shootouts, it’s too risky to glance at your comrades words whilst dodging creatures. Contrary to what some russophiles will tell you, the English voice acting is well-cast. No, they’re not as good as their Eastern counterparts, but at least they speak with accents (unlike a certain “acclaimed” miniseries). Plus, 4A has redone the lip-syncing, meaning you’re not dealing with any poor ADR.

The score by Alexei Omelchuk and Georgiy Beloglazov is good enough. There are times where they weirdly indulge in old-timey radio tunes that take you out of the game, but the majority of the music is what you’d expect from an action horror title- ambient beats without a particularly formative structure. Basically, they get the job done.

In the end, Metro 2033 is a fine enough FPS hampered by boneheaded mapping and a forgettable story. I won’t degrade other people’s experiences, but for me, the atmosphere truly wasn’t that great, at least not enough to supersede the game’s many problems.


NOTES
-There is an alternate ending, however the way to get it is a little contrived and not worth pursuing, especially since it isn’t canon for Last Light.

-I wasn't able to fit it in organically in the review, but facial animations are extremely well-done here, the Redux version putting them in the same camp as contemporary eighth generation releases. One of the cooler things 2033 does is have certain characters actually look directly and say something to you whenever you get up in their face (compared to most other titles where it's like you don't exist).

-Certain levels have a volatile autosave wherein it will either behave normally or force you to restart some portion back, so be warned.

-Being able to wipe off blood and soot from your mask is pretty cool, but not seeing any of it on Aryom’s palm is an example of two steps forward, one step back.

-Flies populating the face shield appear indifferently animated than flies populating your regular face.

This game is truly incredible, my favorite of all time as of right now. The best way I'd describe it is that while the specific story it's telling is somewhat standard yet perfectly adequate, the way it tells that story is where it's truly master class. For 2004, this must've been unbelievable, but it's still highly impressive all these years later. Masterful at both visual storytelling and interactive storytelling.

It's an FPS campaign on a tier that I rarely see any competitors. The graphics are dated but visually this is still unbelievably gorgeous. The facial animations especially are very well-done. The voice acting, especially for characters like Breen and Alyx, is quite good. The level design and conveyance are spectacularly masterful, and the game combines its typical sci-fi action feel with a bit of horror-esque atmosphere at times to keep it more interesting. I love all the different weapons, and the game does well to cater to however you want to approach it. The game does a fantastic job of making a mostly linear campaign feel like you're traversing all through this sprawling landscape. And I love how it all looks, the aesthetic style of the game, while going for realism, has some great Eastern European settings and tone with some really picturesque locations and great designs. New mechanics and ideas are introduced at just the right pace, and there's just the right balance of old and new in each level so that there's not too much new things being thrown at you to overwhelm you, but not too much of the same that it all becomes monotonous.

Personally I feel the pacing is amazing in the game. There's plenty of variety in the gameplay, from survival horror and physics puzzles to vehicular segments and more stealth-based portions, and it balances long segments of the game where you get to breathe and sort of relax a little more with story beats and heightened action when the slow pacing feels like it might start to get boring. It feels like the pacing changes at the right moments to avoid the game becoming too laidback or too strenuous. It ties great into the story progression, allowing enough time for Gordon to be himself and not rushing through the plot points. Aside from me wanting the ending in the citadel to be a little more drawn out and challenging, I feel it's spaced out very well at a good length. Maybe there could've been slightly less vehicle stuff and a little more at the end in the citadel, but it's not too big of a problem and I still haven't played the episodes. And while I used to not care for the soundtrack, it's really grown on me.

There are some problems with the game. Your AI companions can get in the way, sometimes characters deliver their lines too early (and some other slight acting quirks that I'm sure were part of this being very new stuff to work with in game design at the time), occasionally it's unclear what to do, there are a few brief segments that become too suddenly hard (and it can be a bit easy sometimes), and some places and props look better than others, but overall I'd say most of the flaws are minor or understandable. The ending felt a bit anti-climactic, too easy and all of a sudden, but like I said I haven't played the follow-up episodes, so maybe that too will become more forgivable.

But in summary, Half Life 2 is a classic FPS that everyone should play. It's still very impressive all these years later and has aged very well. Through every single level I found myself aware of what the designers were trying to accomplish, and you could really feel the mastery of game design, progression, and innovation in visual interactive storytelling they wanted to get across. Go play it.

It's been almost 14 years since I played the game, but the game still manages to feel indie-modern, of course, it depends on the console you play. The game has been released on more platforms than I can't count. I bought the experience in Snes because thanks to the Snes sound system, this music, which was created by blending classical music with electro music, sounds more pleasant to the ear, as in Genesis. It doesn't sound like the sound of Genesis. Although the sound of the gun effect sounds like the sound of wood in Genesis, the character responds with a unique dialogue when you get life. They added extra background in the episode and you get a better experience thanks to the improved resolution of Snes, but if you want the original genesise and its unique style like the 90s cartoon look, I recommend you to play Genesis. Not to mention the lack of animation makes the game, which has an already chaotic structure that you can't see, from a chaotic to a chaotic one, not to mention the lack of animation. The latest HD Remake has been made and in this version, there are extra levels, extra chapters within the level, and extra bosses.

We play a character named Jim, who has superpowers that he gets when a suit falls on a worm living in the world. Character Princess "Whatever his name is" (Yes "Whatever his name is"), his twin Queen Bug spawner I don't know what (Longer official name) and Rescuing his assistants from Psy-Crow, Evil the cat,Bob the Killer Goldfish etc.

Playmates Toys took a different approach to continue its success by transferring cartoons and movies to games, and this time they wanted to transfer a series from a game to a cartoon for the first time. As a result, Earthworm Jim was born. The game was a game with a cynical crazy atmosphere overlooking the cartoon industry. The game is 2D but it is a platform game based on avoiding obstacles by hitting the enemies and avoiding obstacles with a space gun that does not have a linear level design like mario and where we can use our head as a whip, as well as a diverse game where we can do Bungee Jumping and escort an alien dog. In addition, lynching the game and the character just because of the political views of its creator is an outdated attitude.

Although it perfectly reflects its unique, random chaotic humorous style, it has a style that does not appeal to everyone. I did not like the drawings of the platfrom designs in the level. It is not clear where the platfrom is where it is thorn. It is not clear where the platfrom is. Moreover, each section also varies with different enemy models, on top of that, these models have really extraordinary drawings. The enemies have their own attack mechanics, but the game presents it to you by experiencing it without showing it, and as a result, it adds an unnecessary extra difficulty to the game. They could have solved it by adding a Tutorial. you can get lost in the levels or you can't know what to do and watch the walkthrough. It is not clear where you will hit with the gun and whip, which makes it difficult to hit the enemy in the track system and this is the biggest deficiency in my opinion. After each episode, we enter the asteroid race with Psy-Crow. Being able to benefit from the bonuses in Crow, just like you, is a very fine and nice detail. Although it is fun at first, it can be annoying because it is too much later on. Waiting for the gun to be filled can be annoying from time to time, and the bullet is not enough because it is not clear where the bullet goes. It's a real Groovy! It offers mobile gameplay with climbing mechanics swinging your head like a Helicopter.

Leaving the suite and entering the suite again in the sections allowed by the game is a small but nice detail. In the underwater section, submarine control can be very difficult and annoying. It works completely with the logic of translation and it is difficult to get used to it because it does not provide acceleration. Although escorting a dog that has become more difficult looks good, it's bad in practice. (Hint, if you whip it in the air, it can double jump.) The bosses in the beginning are very fun. In the last episode, I don't understand why, you fight another boss before the final boss. While waiting for the final more epic fight Your dreams can be crushed. The biggest problem is that they can be collected and the lack of bonuses makes you play just to pass the level, and when the few collectable lives and the difficulty of the game combine, it makes you mad. As a result, Earthworm Jim presents you with beautiful mechanics more than once and with an average platform, it is surreally fun but hard time lets you pass.