GrailSeeker
2010
Peak military grimdark science fiction
2018
Fallout 76 is lackluster and inferior to its predecessors in almost every way. It can be somewhat enjoyable to explore Appalachia in the first couple of hours, but many of the glaring flaws become prominent.
The story and quests are repetitive and dull - a common issue amongst MMOs and MMO-likes - and something I can ignore. But the worst part of Fallout 76 is how grindy it is, especially after level 30. Managing your thirst, hunger, and ammo is more of a chore. It was detrimental to the experience since it took up the majority of my playtime. You need to constantly loot and scrap junk, which also takes up a big chunk of your inventory space. Your storage box is limited to 1200, which doesn't take long to fill. The solution to these problems is grinding, using specific perks, and paying for Fallout 1st (the “optional” subscription), which is basically paying for QoL features. I find it hilarious how Bethesda justified the space limit with “technical limitations,” which are suddenly gone once you pay €15/month. Once you reach level 30, all enemies get more bullet-spongy, and you need to properly plan your build. It gets even worse once you reach level 40 and then level 50. At this point, I got tired of grinding and inventory managing and quit.
What shocks me the most is how defensive the small community can be. They are very friendly until you criticize F76. A lot of active players defend the bs subscription model. Defending slop like this is exactly why they will keep releasing titles like Starfield.
The story and quests are repetitive and dull - a common issue amongst MMOs and MMO-likes - and something I can ignore. But the worst part of Fallout 76 is how grindy it is, especially after level 30. Managing your thirst, hunger, and ammo is more of a chore. It was detrimental to the experience since it took up the majority of my playtime. You need to constantly loot and scrap junk, which also takes up a big chunk of your inventory space. Your storage box is limited to 1200, which doesn't take long to fill. The solution to these problems is grinding, using specific perks, and paying for Fallout 1st (the “optional” subscription), which is basically paying for QoL features. I find it hilarious how Bethesda justified the space limit with “technical limitations,” which are suddenly gone once you pay €15/month. Once you reach level 30, all enemies get more bullet-spongy, and you need to properly plan your build. It gets even worse once you reach level 40 and then level 50. At this point, I got tired of grinding and inventory managing and quit.
What shocks me the most is how defensive the small community can be. They are very friendly until you criticize F76. A lot of active players defend the bs subscription model. Defending slop like this is exactly why they will keep releasing titles like Starfield.
Terrible stutter and lag no matter what I tried. Doesn't help that most of the search results when you Google the problem are for Divinity: Original Sin 2.
An interactive movie with a story far from the quality of the actual Guardians of the Galaxy films.
Entirely scripted, on the rails with no freedom, outside of some small linear "areas" where you can find upgrades and collectables. Every combat encounter feels like fighting the same horde, which wouldn't have been that bad if the controls and movement were not clunky. In addition, GotG has an "immersive"-style camera and you can't change the FoV. Tons of quick-time events, some of which I couldn't pass because it require using MB3 and mine is broken. Whenever you fail a quick-time event, most of the time the last checkpoint will return you right before a cutscene or another boring conversation. According to HLTB, GotG takes 18h to beat and I'm sure most of it is spent watching cutscenes or boring conversations.
Entirely scripted, on the rails with no freedom, outside of some small linear "areas" where you can find upgrades and collectables. Every combat encounter feels like fighting the same horde, which wouldn't have been that bad if the controls and movement were not clunky. In addition, GotG has an "immersive"-style camera and you can't change the FoV. Tons of quick-time events, some of which I couldn't pass because it require using MB3 and mine is broken. Whenever you fail a quick-time event, most of the time the last checkpoint will return you right before a cutscene or another boring conversation. According to HLTB, GotG takes 18h to beat and I'm sure most of it is spent watching cutscenes or boring conversations.
The most kino Feudal Japan/Shinobi tale out there.
Hesitate, and you lose... That is the way of war.
Words to live by.
Hesitate, and you lose... That is the way of war.
Words to live by.
2023
A good reason for another yearly S.T.A.L.K.E.R. playthrough. The saturation and UI might be off-putting for some fans of the series but I personally don't mind more variety when it comes to mods (looking at you, Anomaly and GAMMA players).
Sadly, I fucked up my save and didn't felt like starting over for now (remember to make hard saves).
Sadly, I fucked up my save and didn't felt like starting over for now (remember to make hard saves).
2020
A remaster nobody asked for which is worse than the original. Beated it in one sitting for the 25+ time. It's a special game for me but better stick to the original version.
Wolfenstein: The Colossal Cringefest
I grew up with Return to Castle: Wolfenstein and Enemy Territory. RTCW remains one of my all-time favourites and It's not just nostalgia - I replay it quite often and consider it a timeless FPS. I can't say the same about the MachineGames's Wolfenstein.
The whole Nu-Wolfenstein saga is extremely mid and The New Colossus is a waste of time:
- The majority of the game consists of cutscenes.
- New characters are infuriating.
- The villains are comically evil (which was not the case with past Wolfenstein titles and it feels completely out of place) and barely relevant to the flat plot.
- Level design reeks of wasted potential. Some of the locations at first glance are stunning but soon you are put in the same grey corridors, bombed-out buildings, and warehouses we have seen so many.
- Side missions are a joke and shouldn't be here.
- Worst story pacing I have seen so far. The gameplay gets interrupted by cutscenes quite often. There is almost zero world-building or anything different than shooting (in the same galleries or corridors), watching cutscenes, and repeating. There are a couple of difficulty spikes that happen out of the blue in which on higher difficulties you need to cheese the (atrocious) AI to progress.
- Almost zero enemy and weapons variety. Atrocious AI which simply doesn't work.
I'm just glad I bought the Nu-Wolfenstein saga bundle for dirt cheap. At least the next instalment in the series is better... right?
I grew up with Return to Castle: Wolfenstein and Enemy Territory. RTCW remains one of my all-time favourites and It's not just nostalgia - I replay it quite often and consider it a timeless FPS. I can't say the same about the MachineGames's Wolfenstein.
The whole Nu-Wolfenstein saga is extremely mid and The New Colossus is a waste of time:
- The majority of the game consists of cutscenes.
- New characters are infuriating.
- The villains are comically evil (which was not the case with past Wolfenstein titles and it feels completely out of place) and barely relevant to the flat plot.
- Level design reeks of wasted potential. Some of the locations at first glance are stunning but soon you are put in the same grey corridors, bombed-out buildings, and warehouses we have seen so many.
- Side missions are a joke and shouldn't be here.
- Worst story pacing I have seen so far. The gameplay gets interrupted by cutscenes quite often. There is almost zero world-building or anything different than shooting (in the same galleries or corridors), watching cutscenes, and repeating. There are a couple of difficulty spikes that happen out of the blue in which on higher difficulties you need to cheese the (atrocious) AI to progress.
- Almost zero enemy and weapons variety. Atrocious AI which simply doesn't work.
I'm just glad I bought the Nu-Wolfenstein saga bundle for dirt cheap. At least the next instalment in the series is better... right?
Expected a fun cinematic horror experience, but Man of Medan is nothing like that — a boring and predictable story with some of the clunkiest controls I have ever seen.
2022
Trek to Yomi nails the Akira Kurosawa aesthetics, but it lacks in every other aspect. All style, no substance.
For years, Battlefront 2 used to be the greatest Star Wars experience. Before the Dark Times. Before EA & DICE.
2023
Whilst not as groundbreaking as Quake, this is still a great old-school shooter. Quake II Remastered is easily the best way to play this classic. Tons of new content & QOL improvements.
Avoid like the plague. I've played games made by students which were 10x more polished.
2021
Skaven vs Lizardmen
Challenging 2D Souls-lite, with beautiful medieval art. Feels like an old-timey fairy tale picture book. But that's not all - the environments constantly change as you turn the tide against the Frog invaders. Towns get repaired, NPCs come and do stuff, junk gets cleared, and new structures show up. It's great, running through a town over and over seeing it look different every time.
Highly recommend it.
Challenging 2D Souls-lite, with beautiful medieval art. Feels like an old-timey fairy tale picture book. But that's not all - the environments constantly change as you turn the tide against the Frog invaders. Towns get repaired, NPCs come and do stuff, junk gets cleared, and new structures show up. It's great, running through a town over and over seeing it look different every time.
Highly recommend it.
Many hoped for a spiritual successor to Fallout New Vegas. The Outer Worlds was advertised as a project by the developers of Fallout: New Vegas, while in reality, only around 20% of the NV team worked on it and it’s painfully obvious. (Source: https://youtu.be/n2CXtrPkT2M)
Unfortunately, The Outer Worlds is too small for any good replay value and the plot isn’t particularly creative. They literally had one joke – evil corporations cut costs in a retarded way and everyone died, repeated over and over again. Capitalism bad, I guess.
Gameplay itself is not bad, but the lack of enemy variety, unique gear, and zero options for build crafting makes the overall experience mediocre.
As for the Spacer’s Choice edition – I got it from HB Choice (July 2023) way cheaper than the original version. Didn’t encounter any bugs or performance issues on the Steam Deck.
Unfortunately, The Outer Worlds is too small for any good replay value and the plot isn’t particularly creative. They literally had one joke – evil corporations cut costs in a retarded way and everyone died, repeated over and over again. Capitalism bad, I guess.
Gameplay itself is not bad, but the lack of enemy variety, unique gear, and zero options for build crafting makes the overall experience mediocre.
As for the Spacer’s Choice edition – I got it from HB Choice (July 2023) way cheaper than the original version. Didn’t encounter any bugs or performance issues on the Steam Deck.