DourCricket
2023
This review contains spoilers
Alan Wake 2
#25
PC - Epic Game Store
Beaten Nov 18th, 2023
The decade+ follow up to the beautiful schlocky Alan Wake, we finally get to try and spring our favorite horror author from his prison and find out what the final line means! Well, that's a gag in the game - I thought "Its not a lake, its an ocean" made perfect metaphorical sense, the dark place was an enormous realm that was trapping them, not something small and manageable like a lake, however there are some fun meta gags at the expense of the first game. This time we have dual protagonists: FBI Agent Saga Anderson in the real world and Alan himself, still trapped in the Dark Place trying to bust out, and this duality carries over to a lot of the game and how its systems work. But yeah, Alan Wake 2, finally.. was it worth the wait? What all has changed? Yes and a lot is the answer!
The Good:
-Damn where to even start on this one??? Art style I guess! Yeah, this is absolutely stellar. Similar to Remedy's previous game Control, almost every frame of this game is a painting. I feel equal parts sympathy and envy at my future self who have to pick ten screenshots to show off from all the exceptional art here.
-Story has some very satisfying twists and turns, some of which are nicely telegraphed but plenty come out of left field. It's a satisfying continuation of both the Alan Wake game + Control as well. I was worried Saga wouldn't be as great as Alan but she very much holds her own, especially when she has Casey to bounce off of.
-The vastly improved gameplay from the first game is pretty much the RE2/3/4make style and it serves them well. Fights are tough, not a lot of enemies, weapons handle pretty tight, enemies take quite a few hits to go down. For Alan's sequence there's a nice twist with the shadow enemies - only some are actually aggressive, most are just there to spook you and taunt you and its very difficult to tell them apart until its almost too late... helps play very well into the paranoia of the dark place
-Returning to Bright Falls in 4k is beatiful
-The environs in general are great to move around in, so much creativity on display even in the real world. Coffee World, the trailer park, the basement of the Sheriff Station, out in the spooky woods... Obviously the Dark Place too (perpetual rainy New York city) is rad
-Semi retcon of Alan Wake 1/Control: Alan's writing DOESNT just rewrite and create reality to whatever he wants, it can only twist what is there to suit the purpose of the story. I was initially having a bit of a tough time caring about our characters/story because they were fake people (Saga Anderson? Alex Casey? Yeah, these are made up people) but with the explicit change they make to how his powers were described previously I started enjoying the narrative limitations.
-Speaking of semi retcons: Alan is kinda of a douchebag. Alice talks about their marital issues and reveals the Dark Presence chose Alan for more than just his writing: he's also got some darkness in him already.. just like all the other people the dark place infects
-Saga & Casey Coffee Sips 11/10
-SHOW ME THE CHAMPION OF LIGHT!
The Bad:
-The first boss fight is easily the hardest and honestly not super interesting from a gameplay standpoint? You basically just run away, shoot, run away. No real progression against him like an RE boss, not super interesting arena or mechanics, pretty meh
-Lack of bosses in general. They're all in the dark place and there aren't that many of them.
-The mind place specific puzzles - some parts of the game require you to work through the mind place to get the door/item which was already obvious and feels like a waste of time. These need to be tossed out sorry
The Meh:
-The ending, from a gameplay perspective. You reawaken in the Dark Place as Saga and... walk around for like 15 minutes? There are a couple fights but they're against normal shadow enemies and very easy to just waltz right past. Why even bother with these if you're not going to do them right? It's not bad (the ending with her there looks awesome and offers some more leads on Sheriff Breaker and Door, the obvious sequel bait)
-Pacing - this one is on the cusp of bad honestly, but my chosen path between Alan and Saga's storylines (Alan pretty much all the way through after playing Saga to a good stopping point) I think helped it. Randomly bopping back and forth I think would feel odd
-The Mind Place in general is a neat idea, having to manually place things is kinda annoying. I'd do everything non-main-plot automatically pinned to save time.
-Encounter design/ enemies still need a level up or two. There needs to be "licker" type enemies to steal from RE2 some more: enemies where you have to interact with them in a very different way from the vanilla enemies that are dangerous AF. I also can't really remember any particular rooms/encounters other than a few ending bits as opposed to RE2/3/4 where I can think of several.
-Book Casey chime ins get long in the tooth BUT have an exceptional payoff at the end so I'll give it a pass
The Hmmmmmm:
-There's quite a few things here that are just obviously setting up for an inevitable sequel/spin off at some point that are left dangling here. A lot of it happens in the Dark Place so things being weird makes some sense but still feels a bit hmmmmmm
-Alan's story sequence is pretty hard to follow HOWEVER that does make sense given the nature of the dark place. When were the books written? Who actually wrote them? Did Scratch actually fuck with him/Alice or was it all Wake himself? Did he involve Saga intentionally and her family? The map keeps changing a little bit and its a bit hard to follow where to go... again, this could all be intentional but its definitely notable
A tour-de-force in video game art as Remedy keeps swinging for the fences and a step forward in the survival horror genre (what, these things can have interesting and layered stories now??), Alan Wake 2 follows up on its cliffhanger predecessor with a hell of a bang. Oh, and another cliffhanger lol
Final Grade: A
#25
PC - Epic Game Store
Beaten Nov 18th, 2023
The decade+ follow up to the beautiful schlocky Alan Wake, we finally get to try and spring our favorite horror author from his prison and find out what the final line means! Well, that's a gag in the game - I thought "Its not a lake, its an ocean" made perfect metaphorical sense, the dark place was an enormous realm that was trapping them, not something small and manageable like a lake, however there are some fun meta gags at the expense of the first game. This time we have dual protagonists: FBI Agent Saga Anderson in the real world and Alan himself, still trapped in the Dark Place trying to bust out, and this duality carries over to a lot of the game and how its systems work. But yeah, Alan Wake 2, finally.. was it worth the wait? What all has changed? Yes and a lot is the answer!
The Good:
-Damn where to even start on this one??? Art style I guess! Yeah, this is absolutely stellar. Similar to Remedy's previous game Control, almost every frame of this game is a painting. I feel equal parts sympathy and envy at my future self who have to pick ten screenshots to show off from all the exceptional art here.
-Story has some very satisfying twists and turns, some of which are nicely telegraphed but plenty come out of left field. It's a satisfying continuation of both the Alan Wake game + Control as well. I was worried Saga wouldn't be as great as Alan but she very much holds her own, especially when she has Casey to bounce off of.
-The vastly improved gameplay from the first game is pretty much the RE2/3/4make style and it serves them well. Fights are tough, not a lot of enemies, weapons handle pretty tight, enemies take quite a few hits to go down. For Alan's sequence there's a nice twist with the shadow enemies - only some are actually aggressive, most are just there to spook you and taunt you and its very difficult to tell them apart until its almost too late... helps play very well into the paranoia of the dark place
-Returning to Bright Falls in 4k is beatiful
-The environs in general are great to move around in, so much creativity on display even in the real world. Coffee World, the trailer park, the basement of the Sheriff Station, out in the spooky woods... Obviously the Dark Place too (perpetual rainy New York city) is rad
-Semi retcon of Alan Wake 1/Control: Alan's writing DOESNT just rewrite and create reality to whatever he wants, it can only twist what is there to suit the purpose of the story. I was initially having a bit of a tough time caring about our characters/story because they were fake people (Saga Anderson? Alex Casey? Yeah, these are made up people) but with the explicit change they make to how his powers were described previously I started enjoying the narrative limitations.
-Speaking of semi retcons: Alan is kinda of a douchebag. Alice talks about their marital issues and reveals the Dark Presence chose Alan for more than just his writing: he's also got some darkness in him already.. just like all the other people the dark place infects
-Saga & Casey Coffee Sips 11/10
-SHOW ME THE CHAMPION OF LIGHT!
The Bad:
-The first boss fight is easily the hardest and honestly not super interesting from a gameplay standpoint? You basically just run away, shoot, run away. No real progression against him like an RE boss, not super interesting arena or mechanics, pretty meh
-Lack of bosses in general. They're all in the dark place and there aren't that many of them.
-The mind place specific puzzles - some parts of the game require you to work through the mind place to get the door/item which was already obvious and feels like a waste of time. These need to be tossed out sorry
The Meh:
-The ending, from a gameplay perspective. You reawaken in the Dark Place as Saga and... walk around for like 15 minutes? There are a couple fights but they're against normal shadow enemies and very easy to just waltz right past. Why even bother with these if you're not going to do them right? It's not bad (the ending with her there looks awesome and offers some more leads on Sheriff Breaker and Door, the obvious sequel bait)
-Pacing - this one is on the cusp of bad honestly, but my chosen path between Alan and Saga's storylines (Alan pretty much all the way through after playing Saga to a good stopping point) I think helped it. Randomly bopping back and forth I think would feel odd
-The Mind Place in general is a neat idea, having to manually place things is kinda annoying. I'd do everything non-main-plot automatically pinned to save time.
-Encounter design/ enemies still need a level up or two. There needs to be "licker" type enemies to steal from RE2 some more: enemies where you have to interact with them in a very different way from the vanilla enemies that are dangerous AF. I also can't really remember any particular rooms/encounters other than a few ending bits as opposed to RE2/3/4 where I can think of several.
-Book Casey chime ins get long in the tooth BUT have an exceptional payoff at the end so I'll give it a pass
The Hmmmmmm:
-There's quite a few things here that are just obviously setting up for an inevitable sequel/spin off at some point that are left dangling here. A lot of it happens in the Dark Place so things being weird makes some sense but still feels a bit hmmmmmm
-Alan's story sequence is pretty hard to follow HOWEVER that does make sense given the nature of the dark place. When were the books written? Who actually wrote them? Did Scratch actually fuck with him/Alice or was it all Wake himself? Did he involve Saga intentionally and her family? The map keeps changing a little bit and its a bit hard to follow where to go... again, this could all be intentional but its definitely notable
A tour-de-force in video game art as Remedy keeps swinging for the fences and a step forward in the survival horror genre (what, these things can have interesting and layered stories now??), Alan Wake 2 follows up on its cliffhanger predecessor with a hell of a bang. Oh, and another cliffhanger lol
Final Grade: A
2020
Cyberpunk 2077
#17
A not-great RPG makes a pretty great experience! Now that it's 2.0 at least...
The Good:
-The shootin! I used shotguns most of the game and oooo they feel good. Also quickhacks are a fun 'magic' that I wish there was a bit more of!
-Cast of characters are all good-to-great. Johnny, Takemura, River, Judy, Panam... even when they're annoying or assholes they're FUN assholes '
-Phantom Liberty is DOPE but that gets its own review
Side quests are shockingly good. Silverhand narrating a noir novel? Heck yeah.
-Art style is off the damn charts, graphical presentation too.
-When the writing hits hard, it HITS. Calling Jackie's phone after he passes, talking with Johnny at the oil field, laying down with the BD hooker to get an outrageously good soul vomit...
The Bad
-As is usual with CDPR - the roleplaying is just... lacking. Good gameplay variety but with such good writing I expect the character RP to be much much better. Fixed somewhat in Phantom Liberty but that doesn't affect the base game. Normally in CDPR games this goes in the 'meh' column because in that we're playing a well-established character: Geralt. There's not a ton of wiggle room there with who he is. But V can be anyone, quit trying to make me one specific lady
-The open world mechanics are ehhhh. Driving is whatever, there's very little open level design... Just ugh
The Meh:
-As mentioned, the driving. You have to do a lot of it and it is rarely enjoyable but on a motorcycle it aint too bad
The Hmmm
-Why can't I use slomo aaaaand use quickhack powers????
A solid step-down from CDPR's previous Witcher games, a great RPG is ultimately held back by both the studios lack of skill in making a proper ROLE PLAYING game + a near-useless open world that hinders the level design of even the good parts of the game. Strong performances from the cast, excellent side missions and satisfying gunplay + leveling make it a fine experience overall.
Final Grade: B+
#17
A not-great RPG makes a pretty great experience! Now that it's 2.0 at least...
The Good:
-The shootin! I used shotguns most of the game and oooo they feel good. Also quickhacks are a fun 'magic' that I wish there was a bit more of!
-Cast of characters are all good-to-great. Johnny, Takemura, River, Judy, Panam... even when they're annoying or assholes they're FUN assholes '
-Phantom Liberty is DOPE but that gets its own review
Side quests are shockingly good. Silverhand narrating a noir novel? Heck yeah.
-Art style is off the damn charts, graphical presentation too.
-When the writing hits hard, it HITS. Calling Jackie's phone after he passes, talking with Johnny at the oil field, laying down with the BD hooker to get an outrageously good soul vomit...
The Bad
-As is usual with CDPR - the roleplaying is just... lacking. Good gameplay variety but with such good writing I expect the character RP to be much much better. Fixed somewhat in Phantom Liberty but that doesn't affect the base game. Normally in CDPR games this goes in the 'meh' column because in that we're playing a well-established character: Geralt. There's not a ton of wiggle room there with who he is. But V can be anyone, quit trying to make me one specific lady
-The open world mechanics are ehhhh. Driving is whatever, there's very little open level design... Just ugh
The Meh:
-As mentioned, the driving. You have to do a lot of it and it is rarely enjoyable but on a motorcycle it aint too bad
The Hmmm
-Why can't I use slomo aaaaand use quickhack powers????
A solid step-down from CDPR's previous Witcher games, a great RPG is ultimately held back by both the studios lack of skill in making a proper ROLE PLAYING game + a near-useless open world that hinders the level design of even the good parts of the game. Strong performances from the cast, excellent side missions and satisfying gunplay + leveling make it a fine experience overall.
Final Grade: B+
The Coffin of Andy and Leyley
#16
Time for some cleanup! A light adventure/VN game about a crapsack brother and sister in an arguably more crapsack world
The Good:
-Engaging characters, primarily our main two who are two different kinds of fucked up. The minor characters and how they interact with our leads all plays into the core tension with the two.
-The crapsack world: debatable whether our protagonists are reliable narrators, but everything in the world is a fucked up capitalist nihilistic hellscape. Our two leads start the game locked up in their apartments yet we quickly learn the lockdown is almost entirely bullshit (probably..?) and as we learn more and more about this place it just gets more interesting (and sad)
-Art style is solid - got an RPG maker feel for the overworld but everything is distinct and drab
-Good enough 'puzzles', they're just enough to make you think about what to do but very rarely annoying
The Bad:
-Choices and consequence are so far seemingly pretty minor? However the game isn't finished yet (Early access! UGHHH) so not 100% fair to say how much that'll change
-Some of the writing is pretty blah. Overall quite good but there's a few scenes that are ehh
The Meh:
-Could be a bit longer? Episode 1 felt very short which works great as a prologue but if the last chapter is only as long as 2 the game is only like 4 hours then?
-Definitely needs some more 'bespoke' animated scenes, maybe at the end of the episodes??
The Hmm
-The incest is laid on reeeeeeal thick, it's defended as "an option" but it seems very clear that's the way the author intends the story to go.
A strangely riveting tale of two people who are terrible for each other but ultimately in such a terrible place they've been put that you end up kinda rooting for them anyway? Obv the dev is going for extra pizzazz points by making the relationship incestuous if the player chooses but Layley has a legit point: it's hardly the most fucked up thing they've done or had happen to them! Genuinely engaging and fun
Final Grade: A-
#16
Time for some cleanup! A light adventure/VN game about a crapsack brother and sister in an arguably more crapsack world
The Good:
-Engaging characters, primarily our main two who are two different kinds of fucked up. The minor characters and how they interact with our leads all plays into the core tension with the two.
-The crapsack world: debatable whether our protagonists are reliable narrators, but everything in the world is a fucked up capitalist nihilistic hellscape. Our two leads start the game locked up in their apartments yet we quickly learn the lockdown is almost entirely bullshit (probably..?) and as we learn more and more about this place it just gets more interesting (and sad)
-Art style is solid - got an RPG maker feel for the overworld but everything is distinct and drab
-Good enough 'puzzles', they're just enough to make you think about what to do but very rarely annoying
The Bad:
-Choices and consequence are so far seemingly pretty minor? However the game isn't finished yet (Early access! UGHHH) so not 100% fair to say how much that'll change
-Some of the writing is pretty blah. Overall quite good but there's a few scenes that are ehh
The Meh:
-Could be a bit longer? Episode 1 felt very short which works great as a prologue but if the last chapter is only as long as 2 the game is only like 4 hours then?
-Definitely needs some more 'bespoke' animated scenes, maybe at the end of the episodes??
The Hmm
-The incest is laid on reeeeeeal thick, it's defended as "an option" but it seems very clear that's the way the author intends the story to go.
A strangely riveting tale of two people who are terrible for each other but ultimately in such a terrible place they've been put that you end up kinda rooting for them anyway? Obv the dev is going for extra pizzazz points by making the relationship incestuous if the player chooses but Layley has a legit point: it's hardly the most fucked up thing they've done or had happen to them! Genuinely engaging and fun
Final Grade: A-
A stellar expansion that twists Cyberpunk ever so slightly into a cool spy story. As always there are twists and turns here but ultimately things played pretty straight.
My story ended with a nice touch of tragedy and of course no one getting what they wanted but hey... At least we're free, yeah?
It's no Witcher 3 Xpacs but still excellent. Better than the base game actually
My story ended with a nice touch of tragedy and of course no one getting what they wanted but hey... At least we're free, yeah?
It's no Witcher 3 Xpacs but still excellent. Better than the base game actually
An exceptional RPG that should be experienced by anyone who loves games or rpgs or stories or being human
Do it for the working class.
Do it for the wind.
Do it for the working class.
Do it for the wind.
2020
What if....
A story.....
Asked some fun questions..............
And then some more boring questions....?
And then implied there would be more to the game.....
But there wasn't???????????
Final Grade: C
A story.....
Asked some fun questions..............
And then some more boring questions....?
And then implied there would be more to the game.....
But there wasn't???????????
Final Grade: C
2023
Killer Frequency
#13
PC - Steam
Beaten June 11th, 2023
A puzzle/walking-sim/visual novel disguised as a horror game (or wearing the mask of one...?) Killer Frequency is about a washed up, blacklisted DJ from the Big City being forced into rural overnight radio... as he's constantly demeaning his new home, a local legend reappears and starts knifing the townsfolk! Can our 'hero' and his plucky producer slash sidekick help out Gallows Creek, or will there be no one left to see the dawn??
The Good -
-Vibeeeeeesssssss man! Set in 1987 we've got the usual Neon 80's vibe, but also the small-town setting, washed up DJ trying to put a fun spin on the local murders (especially if you choose the right dialogue options) really comes together to make something special.
-Shooting hoops during long dialogue scenes, excellent choice by the devs
Playing your own vinyls! Just the amount of buttons really is cool - playing tapes, taking calls, etc. The board feels properly interactive to play with, it would've been easy to just "press A for next section" but they went that extra mile with all the interactivity.
-Voice acting is pretty perfectly cheesy for the B-movie PG-13 horror movie they're going for. Nash and Peggy esp
-Cast of characters is SOLID - well meaning but a bit ditzy producer, Pizza shop who won't stop calling to advertise their deals, RollerRink Guy and his dog, teenagers being dumb, creepy killer... Nailed it, team!
-The main story and its mystery are a bit by the numbers but executed well. Misdirects a-plenty and there's a point where you've got enough clues to legit get one over on the killer if you're paying attention and not just clicking options.
The Meh -
-Some of the actual 'gameplay' segments of exploration definitely needed a little more to them. I feel like there should have been some puzzles or something?
-The 'puzzles' for helping people on the phone calls could have been a bit clearer, in a few cases I legit didn't understand why I couldn't save some of the people! I didn't really play around with it though as I wanted the story to progress as naturally as possible.
-Ending is definitely a setup for a sequel but in some ways feels a bit undercooked. I feel like Forest and Peggy (or just the station in general) needed one more scene or something at the end.
The Bad -
-Pacing is off - not sure if the game should've been a bit shorter (I finished in 5.5hrs, maybe an hour less?) or maybe the office experiences should've been more involved that may have kept my interest a bit better.
The Hmm -
-We can see Peggy's monochrome model (great perm btw) through the window for most of the game but no reveal at the end???
-Expanding on that last point, definitely felt a lowwwwww budget on this one. Basically no working models at all other than the killer, station is pretty small and underused... It's not bad, just noticeable.
Killer Frequency is a damn solid B-movie horror presented as an interesting but not mind-blowing puzzler with great vibes and even greater hair.
Final Grade, very appropriately: B
#13
PC - Steam
Beaten June 11th, 2023
A puzzle/walking-sim/visual novel disguised as a horror game (or wearing the mask of one...?) Killer Frequency is about a washed up, blacklisted DJ from the Big City being forced into rural overnight radio... as he's constantly demeaning his new home, a local legend reappears and starts knifing the townsfolk! Can our 'hero' and his plucky producer slash sidekick help out Gallows Creek, or will there be no one left to see the dawn??
The Good -
-Vibeeeeeesssssss man! Set in 1987 we've got the usual Neon 80's vibe, but also the small-town setting, washed up DJ trying to put a fun spin on the local murders (especially if you choose the right dialogue options) really comes together to make something special.
-Shooting hoops during long dialogue scenes, excellent choice by the devs
Playing your own vinyls! Just the amount of buttons really is cool - playing tapes, taking calls, etc. The board feels properly interactive to play with, it would've been easy to just "press A for next section" but they went that extra mile with all the interactivity.
-Voice acting is pretty perfectly cheesy for the B-movie PG-13 horror movie they're going for. Nash and Peggy esp
-Cast of characters is SOLID - well meaning but a bit ditzy producer, Pizza shop who won't stop calling to advertise their deals, RollerRink Guy and his dog, teenagers being dumb, creepy killer... Nailed it, team!
-The main story and its mystery are a bit by the numbers but executed well. Misdirects a-plenty and there's a point where you've got enough clues to legit get one over on the killer if you're paying attention and not just clicking options.
The Meh -
-Some of the actual 'gameplay' segments of exploration definitely needed a little more to them. I feel like there should have been some puzzles or something?
-The 'puzzles' for helping people on the phone calls could have been a bit clearer, in a few cases I legit didn't understand why I couldn't save some of the people! I didn't really play around with it though as I wanted the story to progress as naturally as possible.
-Ending is definitely a setup for a sequel but in some ways feels a bit undercooked. I feel like Forest and Peggy (or just the station in general) needed one more scene or something at the end.
The Bad -
-Pacing is off - not sure if the game should've been a bit shorter (I finished in 5.5hrs, maybe an hour less?) or maybe the office experiences should've been more involved that may have kept my interest a bit better.
The Hmm -
-We can see Peggy's monochrome model (great perm btw) through the window for most of the game but no reveal at the end???
-Expanding on that last point, definitely felt a lowwwwww budget on this one. Basically no working models at all other than the killer, station is pretty small and underused... It's not bad, just noticeable.
Killer Frequency is a damn solid B-movie horror presented as an interesting but not mind-blowing puzzler with great vibes and even greater hair.
Final Grade, very appropriately: B
2023
Amnesia: The Bunker
#12
PC - Steam
Beaten June 10th, 2023
You know a game is REALLY fucked up when you have to seriously ask yourself: is being trapped in a near-lightless bunker with a hellbeast warped from powers beyond the stars really that much worse than being in World War I? Because, really, it's not as far off as you think...
The Bunker is the newest game in the Amnesia series with a new twist on its formula - rather than making your way through some linear levels solving puzzles and avoiding some roaming monsters, this time you're in a more sandbox~y map trying to grab a few necessary items (in whatever order seems best) to try and get to a clear end-goal set up from the beginning. It's a very cool twist on their formula and I had a lot of fun with it, also appreciated that length - 6~ hours, got in, got spooked, got out while the gettin' was good.
The Good
-New format for the series - more open ended and freeing to the player.
The story and premise: we're in WWI front trenches and a terrible beast is hunting our platoon.. and we've been sealed in! This leads to a natural question that the ending deals with: is being trapped in a bunker with a warped hellbeast SIGNIFICANTLY worse than being a soldier in WWI? Because... like the answer should be obvious, but.....
-Items are plentiful and work together in interesting ways. Make fuel in bottles, make some molotov cocktails, make bandages, make all kinds of neat items and combine them to figure out a way around the beast. Pretty much everything you find is useful in some way (except gas grenades those suck)
-THE GENERATOR! A key fulcrum of the game is LIGHT - the beast doesn't like it and will generally stay away unless you set off a bomb or something. However the generator guzzles fuel down - a huge chunk of your expeditions will be grabbing what cans of fuel you can afford to spend inventory spots on to bring back and keep the lights on. You can (and I did, def too much) wander around in the dark if you've got a keen sense of 3d memory you can do pretty well on short excursions for items you've seen before and make it back without incurring too much interest. It's always a risk reward - do you spend your fuel in the hopes to make more fuel and get story items, or go through the dark and save up for a bigger adventure later?
The Bad
-The map is really great BUT it's honestly too small. It is pretty easy to remember the layout of each section and just go through it in the darkness with little risk of getting lost or injured.
-Final encounter is a bit wonky - I get what they're going for of course with a climactic fight BUT ya know, push boxes together so you can hop over a wall? Eh
The Meh
-The engine is looking and feeling preeeeety dated. There are LOAD 'stutters' between each area? In 2023? Wat? And these are not big areas! At all!!
-Beast AI is a bit disappointing considering Alien Isolation (game number 11 this year!) was almost TEN YEARS ago. It doesn't hunt at all really, doesn't learn from you, doesn't have special environmental interactions...
The Hmm
-I do kinda wish there was a guide for some of the crafting items? Like I found out from forums that there are TORCHES? HOW GAME HOW
So yeah, Amnesia the Bunker is pretty rad bite sized horror game and I'm here for it man. We just need a balance for Alien Isolation & The Bunker and we're cookin with GAS.
Final Grade: A-
#12
PC - Steam
Beaten June 10th, 2023
You know a game is REALLY fucked up when you have to seriously ask yourself: is being trapped in a near-lightless bunker with a hellbeast warped from powers beyond the stars really that much worse than being in World War I? Because, really, it's not as far off as you think...
The Bunker is the newest game in the Amnesia series with a new twist on its formula - rather than making your way through some linear levels solving puzzles and avoiding some roaming monsters, this time you're in a more sandbox~y map trying to grab a few necessary items (in whatever order seems best) to try and get to a clear end-goal set up from the beginning. It's a very cool twist on their formula and I had a lot of fun with it, also appreciated that length - 6~ hours, got in, got spooked, got out while the gettin' was good.
The Good
-New format for the series - more open ended and freeing to the player.
The story and premise: we're in WWI front trenches and a terrible beast is hunting our platoon.. and we've been sealed in! This leads to a natural question that the ending deals with: is being trapped in a bunker with a warped hellbeast SIGNIFICANTLY worse than being a soldier in WWI? Because... like the answer should be obvious, but.....
-Items are plentiful and work together in interesting ways. Make fuel in bottles, make some molotov cocktails, make bandages, make all kinds of neat items and combine them to figure out a way around the beast. Pretty much everything you find is useful in some way (except gas grenades those suck)
-THE GENERATOR! A key fulcrum of the game is LIGHT - the beast doesn't like it and will generally stay away unless you set off a bomb or something. However the generator guzzles fuel down - a huge chunk of your expeditions will be grabbing what cans of fuel you can afford to spend inventory spots on to bring back and keep the lights on. You can (and I did, def too much) wander around in the dark if you've got a keen sense of 3d memory you can do pretty well on short excursions for items you've seen before and make it back without incurring too much interest. It's always a risk reward - do you spend your fuel in the hopes to make more fuel and get story items, or go through the dark and save up for a bigger adventure later?
The Bad
-The map is really great BUT it's honestly too small. It is pretty easy to remember the layout of each section and just go through it in the darkness with little risk of getting lost or injured.
-Final encounter is a bit wonky - I get what they're going for of course with a climactic fight BUT ya know, push boxes together so you can hop over a wall? Eh
The Meh
-The engine is looking and feeling preeeeety dated. There are LOAD 'stutters' between each area? In 2023? Wat? And these are not big areas! At all!!
-Beast AI is a bit disappointing considering Alien Isolation (game number 11 this year!) was almost TEN YEARS ago. It doesn't hunt at all really, doesn't learn from you, doesn't have special environmental interactions...
The Hmm
-I do kinda wish there was a guide for some of the crafting items? Like I found out from forums that there are TORCHES? HOW GAME HOW
So yeah, Amnesia the Bunker is pretty rad bite sized horror game and I'm here for it man. We just need a balance for Alien Isolation & The Bunker and we're cookin with GAS.
Final Grade: A-
2014
Alien: Isolation
#11
PC - Steam
Beaten 5/21/23
Isolation is one of the most well realized horror games I've ever seen - it's a beautiful recreation of the vibe and aesthetic of the classic original 'Alien' film, in all of its late 1970's glory! Monitors are monochrome CRT, lights and computers are all analog, the architecture is stark and low on color... Visually, this game is a damn feast. On the audio side its no damn slouch either - each piece is either a direct lift from the movie or so in tune with it that you could swap it into the movie and if you didn't tell anyone, it'd probably fool most people. So yeah, presentation wise this is an easy 5/5. How's the gameplay though? Welllllllllllll about that..
The Good:
-As I said above - the visuals are ASTOUNDINGLY good. The game takes place on Sevastapol station, a space station controlled by a Not-Wayland-Yutani corp but keeping very much in the same vibe of what people in the 70's thought that the future might look like a century or two in the future. Lights glare, art deco is on full display, monitors are ugly green CRT... just perfect, honestly
-The Titular Alien is our main foe here - though it is joined by human and android enemies who will will unfortunately get to later. The Alien makes their debut roughly an entire hour into the game and it is suitably horrifying and wily a foe. You will learn its AI quite well as the game goes on - it HUNTS you in a way that is now-common in horror games (RE, Outlast) but remains your main obstacle for much of the game. As you continue getting more and more tools you figure out new ways around it and even a couple of ways to drive it off... though of course it is impossible to defeat with normal means.
-Our protagonist Amanda is a pretty dope stand in for her mom as protagonist. Got that No-Nonsense energy down
The Bad:
-This game is 12~ hours and boy it draaaaags in parts. The encounters are all pretty solid but honestly there's a lot that just shouldn't be here. Honestly cut out a whole quarter of the game and you're on your way.
The Meh:
-The Story - our premise is that the Nostromo's black box has been found and it's being held at a 2nd-rate space station, neat! Love it. The actual story itself is, beat for beat, an Alien story about a monster slowly knocking out systems as our trusty engineer goes section by section flipping the switches as the other characters drop like flies...
-The other enemies - Alien, awesome. Humans, interesting because at least you're never really sure what they're going to do and that's got some neat tension there. The Androids.... creepy the first time, kinda boring and annoying to sneak around the rest of the time. Nothing matches the Alien and it is noticeable.
-Animations - For a game that looks AMAZING, the animations look jarringly weird. Like the robots make it work, but everything that's not the Alien is pretty jarring.
The Hmm:
-Crafting system - normal difficulty had wayyyyy too much shit man, I was maxed out on toys most of the game and rarely used any of them.
Final Grade: B+
#11
PC - Steam
Beaten 5/21/23
Isolation is one of the most well realized horror games I've ever seen - it's a beautiful recreation of the vibe and aesthetic of the classic original 'Alien' film, in all of its late 1970's glory! Monitors are monochrome CRT, lights and computers are all analog, the architecture is stark and low on color... Visually, this game is a damn feast. On the audio side its no damn slouch either - each piece is either a direct lift from the movie or so in tune with it that you could swap it into the movie and if you didn't tell anyone, it'd probably fool most people. So yeah, presentation wise this is an easy 5/5. How's the gameplay though? Welllllllllllll about that..
The Good:
-As I said above - the visuals are ASTOUNDINGLY good. The game takes place on Sevastapol station, a space station controlled by a Not-Wayland-Yutani corp but keeping very much in the same vibe of what people in the 70's thought that the future might look like a century or two in the future. Lights glare, art deco is on full display, monitors are ugly green CRT... just perfect, honestly
-The Titular Alien is our main foe here - though it is joined by human and android enemies who will will unfortunately get to later. The Alien makes their debut roughly an entire hour into the game and it is suitably horrifying and wily a foe. You will learn its AI quite well as the game goes on - it HUNTS you in a way that is now-common in horror games (RE, Outlast) but remains your main obstacle for much of the game. As you continue getting more and more tools you figure out new ways around it and even a couple of ways to drive it off... though of course it is impossible to defeat with normal means.
-Our protagonist Amanda is a pretty dope stand in for her mom as protagonist. Got that No-Nonsense energy down
The Bad:
-This game is 12~ hours and boy it draaaaags in parts. The encounters are all pretty solid but honestly there's a lot that just shouldn't be here. Honestly cut out a whole quarter of the game and you're on your way.
The Meh:
-The Story - our premise is that the Nostromo's black box has been found and it's being held at a 2nd-rate space station, neat! Love it. The actual story itself is, beat for beat, an Alien story about a monster slowly knocking out systems as our trusty engineer goes section by section flipping the switches as the other characters drop like flies...
-The other enemies - Alien, awesome. Humans, interesting because at least you're never really sure what they're going to do and that's got some neat tension there. The Androids.... creepy the first time, kinda boring and annoying to sneak around the rest of the time. Nothing matches the Alien and it is noticeable.
-Animations - For a game that looks AMAZING, the animations look jarringly weird. Like the robots make it work, but everything that's not the Alien is pretty jarring.
The Hmm:
-Crafting system - normal difficulty had wayyyyy too much shit man, I was maxed out on toys most of the game and rarely used any of them.
Final Grade: B+
2022
How Fish Is Made
#10
PC - Steam
Beaten May 14th
Weird indie horror double whammy!!! This one is an odd fish travels through a strange biomechanical stomach.. up or down?? UP OR DOWN?? DOES CHOICE MATTER?? DOES LIFE MEAN ANYTHING AT ALL??!?!?!?
Yes, they do matter, and yes it does game but that's okay game you're trying your best.
There's a delightful absurdism to things - the fish you can interact with all are clearly insane at their precarious situation, encouraging you to either go up or down at the end, or to question your intentions or sanity... it's some wacky dialogue and fucked up visuals along with a 10/10 musical number (no I will not elaborate)
Pretty darn good!
Final Grade: B
#10
PC - Steam
Beaten May 14th
Weird indie horror double whammy!!! This one is an odd fish travels through a strange biomechanical stomach.. up or down?? UP OR DOWN?? DOES CHOICE MATTER?? DOES LIFE MEAN ANYTHING AT ALL??!?!?!?
Yes, they do matter, and yes it does game but that's okay game you're trying your best.
There's a delightful absurdism to things - the fish you can interact with all are clearly insane at their precarious situation, encouraging you to either go up or down at the end, or to question your intentions or sanity... it's some wacky dialogue and fucked up visuals along with a 10/10 musical number (no I will not elaborate)
Pretty darn good!
Final Grade: B
2020
Perfect Vermin
#9
PC - Steam
Beaten May 13th, 2023
Beautiful mini-game that is best going in knowing nothing! So if you're reading this and you're not me... just play it!
Otherwise, this is a delightful "smash em up" where you're a cleaner sent into an office.. only you're here to kill mimics disguised as office furniture! There's a wonderful gag at the beginning "use wasd to move", okay sure, normal, here we go. "Use LMB to interact" - immediately swing and destroy a door with a sledgehammer rather than a just open it lolol, excellent intro. So you go through a few maps as narrated by a decaying newscaster, where we learn that this may just be all an allegory for the cancer that is killing him... excellent outro in that sense as things get more and more fucked up in the "office" which we can definitely tell is his body.
So yeah, excellent theme with great minecraft-esque graphics and fun gameplay and lasts about 20 minutes. Kinda perfect for what it is.
AND FUCK YOU SOAP!!
Final Grade: A
#9
PC - Steam
Beaten May 13th, 2023
Beautiful mini-game that is best going in knowing nothing! So if you're reading this and you're not me... just play it!
Otherwise, this is a delightful "smash em up" where you're a cleaner sent into an office.. only you're here to kill mimics disguised as office furniture! There's a wonderful gag at the beginning "use wasd to move", okay sure, normal, here we go. "Use LMB to interact" - immediately swing and destroy a door with a sledgehammer rather than a just open it lolol, excellent intro. So you go through a few maps as narrated by a decaying newscaster, where we learn that this may just be all an allegory for the cancer that is killing him... excellent outro in that sense as things get more and more fucked up in the "office" which we can definitely tell is his body.
So yeah, excellent theme with great minecraft-esque graphics and fun gameplay and lasts about 20 minutes. Kinda perfect for what it is.
AND FUCK YOU SOAP!!
Final Grade: A
2022
Man I didn't think I'd tear up at at this one when I started it... Lil Gator Game is a chill send up to adventure collect-a-thons like Breath of the Wild while having a strong narrative reasoning for why we're smashing up cardboard bits & tracking down friends to solve puzzles.
The Good
-Writing is equal parts heartfelt and clever, and they're damn big parts. I chuckled audibly every single conversation you have with an NPC
-Fun 'world' to explore, basically you're just wandering around a big island finding little secrets. There's something to hit or talk to every 5 feet.
-Pacing, its a bite sized snack of a game and it knows it. There's easy directions later on to get 100% if you really want to.
The Meh
-I feel like it needed a third "thing" other than just smacking cardboard and talking? Like some kinda proper puzzle system or something.
The Bad
-Err, honestly, not much to report here. It's kinda perfect for what it is.
The Hmm
-How old are we, exactly??? Sometimes you seem like an elementary kid, other times like a freshman. Not sure where the game was aiming at.
So yeah, Lil Gator Game is a delightful and charming romp through one last hurrah to end a childhood, and it's damn fun to be a part of it.
Final Grade: A
The Good
-Writing is equal parts heartfelt and clever, and they're damn big parts. I chuckled audibly every single conversation you have with an NPC
-Fun 'world' to explore, basically you're just wandering around a big island finding little secrets. There's something to hit or talk to every 5 feet.
-Pacing, its a bite sized snack of a game and it knows it. There's easy directions later on to get 100% if you really want to.
The Meh
-I feel like it needed a third "thing" other than just smacking cardboard and talking? Like some kinda proper puzzle system or something.
The Bad
-Err, honestly, not much to report here. It's kinda perfect for what it is.
The Hmm
-How old are we, exactly??? Sometimes you seem like an elementary kid, other times like a freshman. Not sure where the game was aiming at.
So yeah, Lil Gator Game is a delightful and charming romp through one last hurrah to end a childhood, and it's damn fun to be a part of it.
Final Grade: A
2023
Dredge
#7
PC - Steam
Beaten April 17th, 2023
Dredge is a game I really WANT to love - a fishing game set in a small chain of islands where something sinister is lurking just beneath the depths... Hell yeah Lovecraft!! But, like almost everything Lovecraft, I'm loving the premise but the execution leaves a great deal to be desired. This is a fishing game at its core and that is its largest failing: the fishing and gameplay just are not very interesting!! Your little boat is fun to drive around the wider seas but ultimately you just stop at POIs and play a little minigame (a simple timing game) to scoop up whatever treasure or fish you've got and thats'... like 95% of the game right there and gosh it's just never interesting honestly? The other chunk of the game is its spooky atmosphere and the occasional threat that pops up in the darker hours: and you might say:
"oh, so things get more dangerous at night but more rewarding??" Technically yes, but only barely more rewarding and you don't reallllly need the upgrades anyway, or at least not badly enough, so you'll only go out at night as the plot demands.
"oh, but at least nighttime is more interesting right? With all the monsters? That's neat!" Well, yes, but again only barely. What few extra enemies MAY pop up (most nights nothing will happen to you) are not terribly dangerous and almost all of them just give you a good whack and wander off, your chances of dying are quite slim.
"Ah, but I bet the story is super creepy and messed up right?? Lots of good Lovecraft horror!" Yeaahhhhhh about that...
The Good
-Visuals overall are pretty stellar. Character art pops nicely in a painterly style, fish look fucking weird even when they're "normal" fish and only get stranger from there, fog rolling in at night looks super spooky
-Each island chain (there are 5) have their own overarching stories that are all pretty good and either feed into the main plot (the calamity that destroyed a seafaring civilazation seems awfully familiar to what little we've seen from what we're dealing with now...) or just weave a darn good spooky supernatural tale (a great beast is being studied by a lonely researcher and you've got to help them out)
-The music is a pitch perfect "chill music for the waves.. with a slight underscore of dread"
-No "oh you're going out of bounds!" warnings on this map... something else keeps you in the zone =D
The Meh
-The pacing is a bit off, the early game goes by pretty slow as you're bouncing between trying to upgrade your boat to be actually useful and go faster than a rowboat and moving the actual plot forwards. After the first two story sections though you'll be flying through things and those last two island chains (which are pretty cool!)
-Story is generally pretty good beat for beat, but overall is a bit... lacking? Lovecraft does its best work when things go increasingly bonkers as the ending ramps up: this is not the case here at all, outside a 15 second cutscene at the end. I think the "bad" ending is by far the more interesting of the endings but the "good" ending does explain a bit more in what the heck is going on, though it raises even more questions that would be too spoilery to be get into but just aren't that important anyway so I'll just leave it at: some things don't make entire amounts of sense if you do both endings, and not in a good "Lovecraftian what is reality anyway?" way, but a "why would a normal human being say and do that thing" way, which is a bit disappointing
-Some gameplay systems need a bit better of an explanation: you can ONLY get upgrades through research + stacking your motors makes you go much faster!
The Bad
-The fishing minigame starts off as tolerable and is just kinda annoying about 2 hours in. There is no challenge or skill or even barely an evolution of it the entire game, and there are no stakes whatsoever. It is however mercifully short.
-As I mentioned above, the gameplay variety is pretty minimal even for a twelve hour game. You boat around with no challenges or real changes (minus the 4th island, they have some neat twists there but that's less than an hour in this 10 hour adventure) and fish with no challenges or real changes.
The Hmm
-The pacing is a bit off, the early game goes by pretty slow as you're bouncing between trying to upgrade your boat to be actually useful and go faster than a rowboat and moving the actual plot forwards
So while I do think Dredge was overall a good experience it does leave me with a bit of disappointment. The gameplay could've done with quite a bit more shaking up and I'm not sure the upgrade system really works properly with the day/night cycle or even the "fear" system that I was pretty much free to ignore. The story had plenty of opportunities to tell about the horrors of the deep and rarely did more than dip its toe into the shallow end. So despite this Lovecraftian Horror having way too many appendages I found Dredge to be oddly toothless.
Final Grade: B-
#7
PC - Steam
Beaten April 17th, 2023
Dredge is a game I really WANT to love - a fishing game set in a small chain of islands where something sinister is lurking just beneath the depths... Hell yeah Lovecraft!! But, like almost everything Lovecraft, I'm loving the premise but the execution leaves a great deal to be desired. This is a fishing game at its core and that is its largest failing: the fishing and gameplay just are not very interesting!! Your little boat is fun to drive around the wider seas but ultimately you just stop at POIs and play a little minigame (a simple timing game) to scoop up whatever treasure or fish you've got and thats'... like 95% of the game right there and gosh it's just never interesting honestly? The other chunk of the game is its spooky atmosphere and the occasional threat that pops up in the darker hours: and you might say:
"oh, so things get more dangerous at night but more rewarding??" Technically yes, but only barely more rewarding and you don't reallllly need the upgrades anyway, or at least not badly enough, so you'll only go out at night as the plot demands.
"oh, but at least nighttime is more interesting right? With all the monsters? That's neat!" Well, yes, but again only barely. What few extra enemies MAY pop up (most nights nothing will happen to you) are not terribly dangerous and almost all of them just give you a good whack and wander off, your chances of dying are quite slim.
"Ah, but I bet the story is super creepy and messed up right?? Lots of good Lovecraft horror!" Yeaahhhhhh about that...
The Good
-Visuals overall are pretty stellar. Character art pops nicely in a painterly style, fish look fucking weird even when they're "normal" fish and only get stranger from there, fog rolling in at night looks super spooky
-Each island chain (there are 5) have their own overarching stories that are all pretty good and either feed into the main plot (the calamity that destroyed a seafaring civilazation seems awfully familiar to what little we've seen from what we're dealing with now...) or just weave a darn good spooky supernatural tale (a great beast is being studied by a lonely researcher and you've got to help them out)
-The music is a pitch perfect "chill music for the waves.. with a slight underscore of dread"
-No "oh you're going out of bounds!" warnings on this map... something else keeps you in the zone =D
The Meh
-The pacing is a bit off, the early game goes by pretty slow as you're bouncing between trying to upgrade your boat to be actually useful and go faster than a rowboat and moving the actual plot forwards. After the first two story sections though you'll be flying through things and those last two island chains (which are pretty cool!)
-Story is generally pretty good beat for beat, but overall is a bit... lacking? Lovecraft does its best work when things go increasingly bonkers as the ending ramps up: this is not the case here at all, outside a 15 second cutscene at the end. I think the "bad" ending is by far the more interesting of the endings but the "good" ending does explain a bit more in what the heck is going on, though it raises even more questions that would be too spoilery to be get into but just aren't that important anyway so I'll just leave it at: some things don't make entire amounts of sense if you do both endings, and not in a good "Lovecraftian what is reality anyway?" way, but a "why would a normal human being say and do that thing" way, which is a bit disappointing
-Some gameplay systems need a bit better of an explanation: you can ONLY get upgrades through research + stacking your motors makes you go much faster!
The Bad
-The fishing minigame starts off as tolerable and is just kinda annoying about 2 hours in. There is no challenge or skill or even barely an evolution of it the entire game, and there are no stakes whatsoever. It is however mercifully short.
-As I mentioned above, the gameplay variety is pretty minimal even for a twelve hour game. You boat around with no challenges or real changes (minus the 4th island, they have some neat twists there but that's less than an hour in this 10 hour adventure) and fish with no challenges or real changes.
The Hmm
-The pacing is a bit off, the early game goes by pretty slow as you're bouncing between trying to upgrade your boat to be actually useful and go faster than a rowboat and moving the actual plot forwards
So while I do think Dredge was overall a good experience it does leave me with a bit of disappointment. The gameplay could've done with quite a bit more shaking up and I'm not sure the upgrade system really works properly with the day/night cycle or even the "fear" system that I was pretty much free to ignore. The story had plenty of opportunities to tell about the horrors of the deep and rarely did more than dip its toe into the shallow end. So despite this Lovecraftian Horror having way too many appendages I found Dredge to be oddly toothless.
Final Grade: B-
Faith: The Unholy Trilogy
#6
PC Steam
Beaten April 12th, 2023
Faith: The Unholy Trilogy is a pack of 3 sorta "mini" games released several years back (at least the first one was) that tell a VERY effective 8-bit horror story about a Priest who is dealing with a severe demon problem.. but are the demons on the outside, or the inside???
The Good:
-The visuals are SICK, I didn't think an 8 bit game (seriously it looks like a PC game from 1980) could pull off creepy vibes but it does on almost every screen in the game.
The narrative is mostly pretty great, especially it's focus on our main character John and his struggles with fighting the forces of evil. You can see and feel how much all of this shit is weighing on him which is kinda rare, oddly, for a horror game protagonist.
A long-awaited confrontation with our villain hero is suitably rad
-Multiple endings so if you want to keep playing these bite sized morsels of a game you are rewarded with content in doing so!
-The enemies and some scenes use a special rotoscoping effect while somehow staying 8-bit in appearance which adds some fucked up scenes that really elevate things to another level. You know shit is Getting Real when the artstyle shifts!
-Keeping in spirit with the 8-bit graphics, the sound is done like it's a crappy 1980's talking toy with droning frizzy sounds for each character. It's equal parts creepy and endearing. You'd THINK it would be annoying but all the dialogue is very short, only a few lines to not get on your nerves.
The Meh:
-Notes scattered about the map give lots of context to what is going on, but most feel pretty "artificial", like you definitely could've put this in the game some other and more satisfying way, c'mon
-"Combat" with regular enemies is just scaring them off with a button press. Not deep or anything but keeps tension up at least and gets the job done. Bosses on the other hand..
The Bad:
-Every boss encounter except the final one, lol
Seriously, your movement is so slow and you only have one "attack" while the major enemies move quickly and erratically at first so you're going to die A LOT. Like, at least 10 times while you learn the movesets.
The Hmm:
-Split up into 3 Chapters, they are not alike in terms of quantity with the third being the biggest by far. This is due of course to the fact that is was a tiny (and free I'm pretty sure) indie game that was later released in the Unholy Trilogy pack. It's not bad or anything, just a bit odd.
Final Grade: B+
#6
PC Steam
Beaten April 12th, 2023
Faith: The Unholy Trilogy is a pack of 3 sorta "mini" games released several years back (at least the first one was) that tell a VERY effective 8-bit horror story about a Priest who is dealing with a severe demon problem.. but are the demons on the outside, or the inside???
The Good:
-The visuals are SICK, I didn't think an 8 bit game (seriously it looks like a PC game from 1980) could pull off creepy vibes but it does on almost every screen in the game.
The narrative is mostly pretty great, especially it's focus on our main character John and his struggles with fighting the forces of evil. You can see and feel how much all of this shit is weighing on him which is kinda rare, oddly, for a horror game protagonist.
A long-awaited confrontation with our villain hero is suitably rad
-Multiple endings so if you want to keep playing these bite sized morsels of a game you are rewarded with content in doing so!
-The enemies and some scenes use a special rotoscoping effect while somehow staying 8-bit in appearance which adds some fucked up scenes that really elevate things to another level. You know shit is Getting Real when the artstyle shifts!
-Keeping in spirit with the 8-bit graphics, the sound is done like it's a crappy 1980's talking toy with droning frizzy sounds for each character. It's equal parts creepy and endearing. You'd THINK it would be annoying but all the dialogue is very short, only a few lines to not get on your nerves.
The Meh:
-Notes scattered about the map give lots of context to what is going on, but most feel pretty "artificial", like you definitely could've put this in the game some other and more satisfying way, c'mon
-"Combat" with regular enemies is just scaring them off with a button press. Not deep or anything but keeps tension up at least and gets the job done. Bosses on the other hand..
The Bad:
-Every boss encounter except the final one, lol
Seriously, your movement is so slow and you only have one "attack" while the major enemies move quickly and erratically at first so you're going to die A LOT. Like, at least 10 times while you learn the movesets.
The Hmm:
-Split up into 3 Chapters, they are not alike in terms of quantity with the third being the biggest by far. This is due of course to the fact that is was a tiny (and free I'm pretty sure) indie game that was later released in the Unholy Trilogy pack. It's not bad or anything, just a bit odd.
Final Grade: B+
2011
DS2 down on ng+, after completing DS Remake and RE4 Remake because WHY NOT??
A huge increase in cinematography and set piece battles over the original, and they're all very impressive and I love the game for it but... Dead Space feels more like a pure horror experience while RE4 has dramatically better encounter design which leaves this game feel just a touch lacking?
Still think it's amazing, I liked it more this time even, but if I were a coward who did half stars this would probably be a 4.5
A huge increase in cinematography and set piece battles over the original, and they're all very impressive and I love the game for it but... Dead Space feels more like a pure horror experience while RE4 has dramatically better encounter design which leaves this game feel just a touch lacking?
Still think it's amazing, I liked it more this time even, but if I were a coward who did half stars this would probably be a 4.5