GrailSeeker
2018
FPS perfection from a single developer and score from one of the best compositors in the industry - Andrew Hulshult. A solid 7 hours of experience, front to back, that never gets stale and gets better and better. Every level feels unique and creative. The art style is simply majestic.
DUSK is something more than a throwback boomer-shooter. DUSK is perhaps one of the best FPS titles ever made.
DUSK is something more than a throwback boomer-shooter. DUSK is perhaps one of the best FPS titles ever made.
The Witcher hasn't aged well. The storyline and the atmosphere are very well done. It has the darkest atmosphere in the whole trilogy, just as it should be. I love the old-school vibes and mechanics. But that's it.
The combat is clunky and too easy even on the hardest difficulty. If you play it right, you can become immortal. Even the boss fights feel like fighting a normal enemy. It took me around 1-2 min to beat the final boss. The dialogues are bad - did a child write them? At least the voice acting is good.
I encountered some annoying bugs. For example, sometimes I couldn't talk to anyone nor loot or draw my weapon. The only way to fix it was by saving and restarting the whole game. I had to redo the whole last 20 min of the game because of this (and because I didn't feel the need to save). Sometimes instead of a cinematic, I would get a black screen and again have to restart the whole game. In some of the more populated areas, my FPS would drop from 110 to 40. I understand it's an old game but it's still annoying.
In terms of equipment - don't expect much. There are only 3 armours, the last one you get is in the final chapter. Not much choice in weapons either. You end up with a lot of coins... and nothing to do with them.
Despite everything, I will still recommend it simply because it's The Witcher. For people who are just entering the world of The Witcher - don't hesitate! Read the books by Andrzej Sapkowski and continue with the games. It was cheap on sale (2€ only). With an open mindset, it's easy to get used to the old mechanics and clunky combat. The Witcher made me appreciate even more what a masterpiece The Witcher 3 is!
The combat is clunky and too easy even on the hardest difficulty. If you play it right, you can become immortal. Even the boss fights feel like fighting a normal enemy. It took me around 1-2 min to beat the final boss. The dialogues are bad - did a child write them? At least the voice acting is good.
I encountered some annoying bugs. For example, sometimes I couldn't talk to anyone nor loot or draw my weapon. The only way to fix it was by saving and restarting the whole game. I had to redo the whole last 20 min of the game because of this (and because I didn't feel the need to save). Sometimes instead of a cinematic, I would get a black screen and again have to restart the whole game. In some of the more populated areas, my FPS would drop from 110 to 40. I understand it's an old game but it's still annoying.
In terms of equipment - don't expect much. There are only 3 armours, the last one you get is in the final chapter. Not much choice in weapons either. You end up with a lot of coins... and nothing to do with them.
Despite everything, I will still recommend it simply because it's The Witcher. For people who are just entering the world of The Witcher - don't hesitate! Read the books by Andrzej Sapkowski and continue with the games. It was cheap on sale (2€ only). With an open mindset, it's easy to get used to the old mechanics and clunky combat. The Witcher made me appreciate even more what a masterpiece The Witcher 3 is!
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.
BioWare's second MMORPG... without the massive multiplayer part
I will be honest, I'm not a huge fan of BioWare's titles. After playing almost all their games, I do enjoy their reputable RPG formula and the stories they tell. However, it feels like they ignore everything else (like side quests, gameplay, exploration etc.).
Dragon Age Inquisition is the perfect example. I tried to like this but I'm left with immensely mixed feelings. A lot of aspects like the story, world-building, companions and combat are exceptionally well-done and of high quality, while others (exploration, side quests, some gameplay features) are very bad and annoying.
For starters, all the quest zones feel the same as the Hinterlands (the starting area). Every single one of them. All are filled with the same fetch quests - typical MMO filler - for you to get a tiny bit of companion approval, XP and fame. Most of the side quests you get by finding and reading some letters. It's best to just ignore everything which is not in the "Inquistor's Path" (main story) or "Inner Circle" (companions) part of the journal.
This leads to another problem - you can't just play the story because you more or less need to grind XP, gear and materials. Yes, you need to collect tons of materials which you can and should use for upgradings and crafting new gear. Some quests require a certain amount of materials to continue, most of the time nothing too crazy but it's worth mentioning because I can see how a lot of players would entirely skip gathering resources. Or you can download some mods.
As for the gameplay itself, the combat is punchy and spectacular with lots of spell combos, although a lot of people (mainly Dragon Age Origins fans) don't like the direction BioWare took. I hate the limited 8 skill slots. It was hard to get excited about levelling up near the end, as any new ability meant the loss of another one I had sunk several skill points into already, so I ended up forcing myself on passive abilities. What's more annoying are "little" things like not being able to sprint, the slow movement of the mount you eventually unlock, long looting animations etc. Most of which can, again, be fixed with mods.
As for the positives, the main story is quite intriguing and a lot more creative than most fantasies, although it does have the redundant "chosen one" trope. I especially liked the banter between all the different companions. They will ask each other either serious or dumb questions and tease each other. Some of their dialogues are so good that they made me laugh (mostly thanks to Sera). It's one of the reasons why I pushed myself to beat DA: I and get all the achievements. However, the banter in the vanilla game is for some reason so rare that you need to, that's right, download some mods.
Overall, I'm conflicted on whether or not I enjoyed my time with Dragon Age Inquisition, but I wouldn't recommend it simply because there are more negatives than positives. I can see why a lot of people might and do enjoy it, but personally, I hate MMORPGs and for the most part, it felt like a waste of time.
I will be honest, I'm not a huge fan of BioWare's titles. After playing almost all their games, I do enjoy their reputable RPG formula and the stories they tell. However, it feels like they ignore everything else (like side quests, gameplay, exploration etc.).
Dragon Age Inquisition is the perfect example. I tried to like this but I'm left with immensely mixed feelings. A lot of aspects like the story, world-building, companions and combat are exceptionally well-done and of high quality, while others (exploration, side quests, some gameplay features) are very bad and annoying.
For starters, all the quest zones feel the same as the Hinterlands (the starting area). Every single one of them. All are filled with the same fetch quests - typical MMO filler - for you to get a tiny bit of companion approval, XP and fame. Most of the side quests you get by finding and reading some letters. It's best to just ignore everything which is not in the "Inquistor's Path" (main story) or "Inner Circle" (companions) part of the journal.
This leads to another problem - you can't just play the story because you more or less need to grind XP, gear and materials. Yes, you need to collect tons of materials which you can and should use for upgradings and crafting new gear. Some quests require a certain amount of materials to continue, most of the time nothing too crazy but it's worth mentioning because I can see how a lot of players would entirely skip gathering resources. Or you can download some mods.
As for the gameplay itself, the combat is punchy and spectacular with lots of spell combos, although a lot of people (mainly Dragon Age Origins fans) don't like the direction BioWare took. I hate the limited 8 skill slots. It was hard to get excited about levelling up near the end, as any new ability meant the loss of another one I had sunk several skill points into already, so I ended up forcing myself on passive abilities. What's more annoying are "little" things like not being able to sprint, the slow movement of the mount you eventually unlock, long looting animations etc. Most of which can, again, be fixed with mods.
As for the positives, the main story is quite intriguing and a lot more creative than most fantasies, although it does have the redundant "chosen one" trope. I especially liked the banter between all the different companions. They will ask each other either serious or dumb questions and tease each other. Some of their dialogues are so good that they made me laugh (mostly thanks to Sera). It's one of the reasons why I pushed myself to beat DA: I and get all the achievements. However, the banter in the vanilla game is for some reason so rare that you need to, that's right, download some mods.
Overall, I'm conflicted on whether or not I enjoyed my time with Dragon Age Inquisition, but I wouldn't recommend it simply because there are more negatives than positives. I can see why a lot of people might and do enjoy it, but personally, I hate MMORPGs and for the most part, it felt like a waste of time.
Unbound will not save the arcade-racing genre… but it was close
I honestly don’t remember when I last enjoyed an NFS title. I grew up playing (amongst many other things) Hot Pursuit 2, Underground 2, Most Wanted and my all-time favourite racing game – Carbon. The last NFS titles I bought were Undercover and Hot Pursuit 2010, which were also solid. The thrill and excitement of driving dangerously while street racing is something, which we won’t find outside NFS. And I’m glad to say I did indeed have fun playing Unbound… for the first few hours. Soon after, the more I played – the more I find my experience tedious and in some cases infuriating.
Let’s start with the positives. I suppose most of you have already seen the numerous videos shitting on the OST. I can say those videos are completely taken out of context by selecting only certain parts of songs and only the 6-7 truly terrible songs – out of 72! A huge amount of the songs are bangers with a wide variety of lesser-known Western and Eastern European artists. The controls are good enough, but not as good as some of the older games. I like the changes to race rewards. Unlike other racing games, finishing first is not the only way to be rewarded or continue the story. The main goal is to earn a certain amount of money to continue with the story. You will lose money for placing poorly but good positions are always rewarded well. It never bogs down to repetitive perfectionism and keeps moving. The car customization system is also decent. There are plenty of options to individualize your ride. Moreover, they finally added the option to share your wraps with the community.
Now for the negatives. Unbound will test your tolerance for bullshit. The crash system is atrocious and it can easily ruin any enjoyment. Crash cams arrest control for several seconds and completely wreck the momentum of the race while the crash detections feel… unfinished. Sometimes trading paint will ruin your chances of placing in a good position, but a head-on collision can barely change your health bar. Most of the time crashes have zero physical sense. Moreover, the difficulty in Unbound feels very cheap and artificial. A.I. drivers with low scores somehow manage to dominate without you even having a chance of beating them. You can drive perfectly without making even a single mistake but an A.I. driver can still take the first spot with more than 250-300 meters lead. On top of that, you get a limited amount of restarts for the day and night (the story progress into days of the week and each day is divided into day racing and night racing). There is no fast travel so you have to drive to different events. Which wouldn’t be a problem if the police system was good. They are pests added to extend the game, nothing more. The map is also very bland with nothing distinctively interesting in it. You also can’t drive in a straight line through hills or shortcuts because of the absurdities of the destructible objects. The distinction is unclear between things that will evaporate on contact and things that will break you. The cherry on top for me personally is all the clutter that is on the screen. The tracks do look very detailed but having so many objects and effects on the screen makes it very hard to focus on the race and it was the main reason for all the frustration I had while playing Unbound. I’m personally not against the anime-like effects, a lot of effort was put into them but combined with everything else they feel unnecessary and too distracting.
Of course, it wouldn’t be published by EA if there were no shitty “DLCs”. Most of them are cosmetics but what made me laugh out loud was the “DLC” for 5€ which marks all the collectables (260!!!) and activities (190!!!). I will be honest – I bought it, installed a fast travel mod, got all the missing collectables, finished the missing activities and refunded it.
In conclusion, I find it very hard to recommend NFS Unbound. I bought the EA Racing Bundle on sale for ~20€ just because I wanted to get Hot Pursuit Remastered (which costs around the same price). It can be a good racing game, but it’s fundamentally flawed. It can be a better experience with some mods but it’s still a far cry from the golden Black Box era.
I honestly don’t remember when I last enjoyed an NFS title. I grew up playing (amongst many other things) Hot Pursuit 2, Underground 2, Most Wanted and my all-time favourite racing game – Carbon. The last NFS titles I bought were Undercover and Hot Pursuit 2010, which were also solid. The thrill and excitement of driving dangerously while street racing is something, which we won’t find outside NFS. And I’m glad to say I did indeed have fun playing Unbound… for the first few hours. Soon after, the more I played – the more I find my experience tedious and in some cases infuriating.
Let’s start with the positives. I suppose most of you have already seen the numerous videos shitting on the OST. I can say those videos are completely taken out of context by selecting only certain parts of songs and only the 6-7 truly terrible songs – out of 72! A huge amount of the songs are bangers with a wide variety of lesser-known Western and Eastern European artists. The controls are good enough, but not as good as some of the older games. I like the changes to race rewards. Unlike other racing games, finishing first is not the only way to be rewarded or continue the story. The main goal is to earn a certain amount of money to continue with the story. You will lose money for placing poorly but good positions are always rewarded well. It never bogs down to repetitive perfectionism and keeps moving. The car customization system is also decent. There are plenty of options to individualize your ride. Moreover, they finally added the option to share your wraps with the community.
Now for the negatives. Unbound will test your tolerance for bullshit. The crash system is atrocious and it can easily ruin any enjoyment. Crash cams arrest control for several seconds and completely wreck the momentum of the race while the crash detections feel… unfinished. Sometimes trading paint will ruin your chances of placing in a good position, but a head-on collision can barely change your health bar. Most of the time crashes have zero physical sense. Moreover, the difficulty in Unbound feels very cheap and artificial. A.I. drivers with low scores somehow manage to dominate without you even having a chance of beating them. You can drive perfectly without making even a single mistake but an A.I. driver can still take the first spot with more than 250-300 meters lead. On top of that, you get a limited amount of restarts for the day and night (the story progress into days of the week and each day is divided into day racing and night racing). There is no fast travel so you have to drive to different events. Which wouldn’t be a problem if the police system was good. They are pests added to extend the game, nothing more. The map is also very bland with nothing distinctively interesting in it. You also can’t drive in a straight line through hills or shortcuts because of the absurdities of the destructible objects. The distinction is unclear between things that will evaporate on contact and things that will break you. The cherry on top for me personally is all the clutter that is on the screen. The tracks do look very detailed but having so many objects and effects on the screen makes it very hard to focus on the race and it was the main reason for all the frustration I had while playing Unbound. I’m personally not against the anime-like effects, a lot of effort was put into them but combined with everything else they feel unnecessary and too distracting.
Of course, it wouldn’t be published by EA if there were no shitty “DLCs”. Most of them are cosmetics but what made me laugh out loud was the “DLC” for 5€ which marks all the collectables (260!!!) and activities (190!!!). I will be honest – I bought it, installed a fast travel mod, got all the missing collectables, finished the missing activities and refunded it.
In conclusion, I find it very hard to recommend NFS Unbound. I bought the EA Racing Bundle on sale for ~20€ just because I wanted to get Hot Pursuit Remastered (which costs around the same price). It can be a good racing game, but it’s fundamentally flawed. It can be a better experience with some mods but it’s still a far cry from the golden Black Box era.
2022
MEDS: NOT TAKEN
MIYAZAKI: BLAMED
VOICES IN THE WALL: HEARD
MAIDEN: TAKEN
YEP, IT'S BIG DARK SOULS TIME
MIYAZAKI: BLAMED
VOICES IN THE WALL: HEARD
MAIDEN: TAKEN
YEP, IT'S BIG DARK SOULS TIME
2020
Cyberpunk 2077 was always good (on PC).
Falsely advertised, over-promised and unfinished on launch, no denying that, but the story, characters, world-building and soundtrack could easily outshine all its flaws. It took CDPR 3 years, multiple missed deadlines, multiple fixes and $125 million to transform Cyberpunk 2077 into the shape it should have been in in the first place. And it was all worth it.
Falsely advertised, over-promised and unfinished on launch, no denying that, but the story, characters, world-building and soundtrack could easily outshine all its flaws. It took CDPR 3 years, multiple missed deadlines, multiple fixes and $125 million to transform Cyberpunk 2077 into the shape it should have been in in the first place. And it was all worth it.
2005
One of the best FPS games ever made. Great story, addictive gunplay, superb horror elements and exemplary AI. Always a different combat experience. A must-have!
2021
The Committee on Science, Arts and Culture declares that HROT does not contradict the party's policy on the ideological and cultural front but needs corrections.
The events in HROT are not entirely connected with the daily lives of the workers and peasants. Therefore, the developer is obliged to re-write HROT or [REDACTED].
Glory to the Party! Long live the Socialist order!
The events in HROT are not entirely connected with the daily lives of the workers and peasants. Therefore, the developer is obliged to re-write HROT or [REDACTED].
Glory to the Party! Long live the Socialist order!
A legendary sci-fi saga... slightly overrated.
Mass Effect was my proper introduction to BioWare's titles. I admit, I'm usually not a science fiction fan but I do enjoy compelling stories and lore. I haven't heard anything different than praise for both the trilogy and the studio, outside of their newer products, so I decided to give it a chance. For my first playthrough, I went straight into insanity difficulty and 100% of the whole saga.
First thing first, the legendary edition on PC is not... legendary at all. While the package is a convenient way for new and returning players to experience the whole trilogy, including all DLCs, there is surprisingly little customisation for graphics options, which for a game in 2021 released by a AAA company is unacceptable. No quality-of-life improvements. There is no FOV slider, even tho the third-person camera feels extremely claustrophobic. There is forced mouse acceleration and no option to change it. Support for an ultrawide aspect ratio is not what was advertised. You have to install mods to make it a proper playable experience. Often the framerate drops for no clear reason from solid 140 to 30 FPS (all the Mako sections in ME1 and The Citadel in ME3; ME2 was stable all the time).
Additionally, ME: LE requires the new EA Launcher, which is even worse than Origin for several reasons, including always-online DRM, reports for saves getting nuked and not being able to get achievements. When I launched ME2 for the first time, all the achievements were unlocked in the menu which prevented me from actually getting them on the Steam/EA App. This bothered me because I wanted to 100% and I almost gave up. The only way to fix it is by uninstalling EA App and downloading Origin's exe from a random Redditor.
The story is exceptionally well-written and intriguing. What makes the story great is throughout the sage, the player is presented with many situations that don't just have a straight answer. Instead, it creates a grey area that makes you think about the choice you're about to make and how it will impact the story later. Some choices in ME1 will affect the story in ME3 which adds a lot of replay value. What makes the Mass Effect trilogy special and enhances the story are the squadmates. Each of them is unique with their backstories, flaws, and how they can interact with Shepard. There are some well-written characters like Liara, Tali, Garrus, James etc... and there are characters like Jacob, Ashley or Kaidan who are extremely annoying. And yes, they did indeed make the alien squadmates better than the human ones. BioWare misanthropes - confirmed.
Sadly, everything else about Mass Effect is either mid or straight-up bad.
Common problems in the trilogy are the controls, combat, AI and the OST. The controls are clunky and the spacebar is used for taking cover, sprinting, use and all other actions. Combat is serviceable, nothing special, except for the biotics which are like magic powers. You can very easily become OP even on the hardest difficulty, no matter which class you choose. Enemy and squadmates AI is... terrible. The soundtrack is again, nothing special, it does the job but I expected something more spectacular, more epic to complement the story and cinematography.
Mass Effect 1
My first impressions were very positive - being put quite quickly into the action while also learning about the world and lore at the right pace, without being overwhelmed. A hard task which most RPGs usually fail at. It introduces the player to the fundamentals of the universe and society step by step and has choices that control the future of not only this game but the next two.
The very worst part of Mass Effect 1 is the site content. You're given a Mako, an all-terrain vehicle that controls very poorly, and you're driving to random __cpLocations just to press "accept to get x resource", and then leave. There are plenty of planets to "explore" but they are most of the time reused environments. Side missions are also extremely repetitive. Combat and movement are very clunky. And for some reason, there is way too much inventory management. I would advise new players to just skip everything optional and focus on the main story unless they want to get all the achievements.
Mass Effect 2 - a step forward
Objectively the most polished title in the trilogy. The gameplay reaches its peak (at least when it comes to controlling and managing your allies), and the characters, which are the best part of all of Mass Effect, are so heavily focused that there are more missions related to the companions than the main story. However, almost all of them are basically about daddy issues. Like legit - almost all your squadmates would ask you to help them deal with some kind of problem connected with their fathers. At this point, it's even a meme in the ME fanbase.
The gameplay was okay, nothing too special. There are remnants of the awful side quests, but they've been reduced to mobile game quality, so it's at least a hell of a lot faster to get through. Not enjoyable though. What I hate the most about ME2 is adding what I would call mini-games, additional to the mini-games when hacking/bypassing. Now you don't just select a __cpLocation on the galaxy map and teleport to it. Now you have to move the ship with the mouse, send multiple probes to different planets to get resources and pay for fuel and probes. Completely unnecessary feature, which I skipped with some simple mods.
Mass Effect 3 - two steps back
ME3 feels very rushed and unpolished. While I think it has the best missions and story in the saga, the gameplay itself is way clunkier than the other two. I encountered multiple bugs and glitches, including enemies spawning on top of me. Very often I would not hit enemies because of invisible walls or broken hitboxes. The annoying galaxy map mini-games from ME2 were brought back but changed a bit. Now you will scan different clusters for planets with resources or missions, instead of launching multiple probes on every planet you encounter. A lot of people don't like the endings but I did enjoy them all. I think they conclude the saga pretty well.
The most infuriating thing in ME3 was the new enemies. Almost all of them are bullet sponges, which can destroy you in a few shots/hits on the highest difficulty. A lot of them are like aimbots and they can shoot through objects. Like the previous games, the majority of the fights are not challenging at all but there are a couple of simply unfair fights unless you manage to break the AI.
Conclusion
I enjoyed my time with Mass Effect and doing a 100% playthrough. The story, characters and RPG elements are strong, while everything else is just serviceable at best. It is worth getting the whole package but beware of possible problems and annoyances, most of which can be fixed with mods.
Mass Effect was my proper introduction to BioWare's titles. I admit, I'm usually not a science fiction fan but I do enjoy compelling stories and lore. I haven't heard anything different than praise for both the trilogy and the studio, outside of their newer products, so I decided to give it a chance. For my first playthrough, I went straight into insanity difficulty and 100% of the whole saga.
First thing first, the legendary edition on PC is not... legendary at all. While the package is a convenient way for new and returning players to experience the whole trilogy, including all DLCs, there is surprisingly little customisation for graphics options, which for a game in 2021 released by a AAA company is unacceptable. No quality-of-life improvements. There is no FOV slider, even tho the third-person camera feels extremely claustrophobic. There is forced mouse acceleration and no option to change it. Support for an ultrawide aspect ratio is not what was advertised. You have to install mods to make it a proper playable experience. Often the framerate drops for no clear reason from solid 140 to 30 FPS (all the Mako sections in ME1 and The Citadel in ME3; ME2 was stable all the time).
Additionally, ME: LE requires the new EA Launcher, which is even worse than Origin for several reasons, including always-online DRM, reports for saves getting nuked and not being able to get achievements. When I launched ME2 for the first time, all the achievements were unlocked in the menu which prevented me from actually getting them on the Steam/EA App. This bothered me because I wanted to 100% and I almost gave up. The only way to fix it is by uninstalling EA App and downloading Origin's exe from a random Redditor.
The story is exceptionally well-written and intriguing. What makes the story great is throughout the sage, the player is presented with many situations that don't just have a straight answer. Instead, it creates a grey area that makes you think about the choice you're about to make and how it will impact the story later. Some choices in ME1 will affect the story in ME3 which adds a lot of replay value. What makes the Mass Effect trilogy special and enhances the story are the squadmates. Each of them is unique with their backstories, flaws, and how they can interact with Shepard. There are some well-written characters like Liara, Tali, Garrus, James etc... and there are characters like Jacob, Ashley or Kaidan who are extremely annoying. And yes, they did indeed make the alien squadmates better than the human ones. BioWare misanthropes - confirmed.
Sadly, everything else about Mass Effect is either mid or straight-up bad.
Common problems in the trilogy are the controls, combat, AI and the OST. The controls are clunky and the spacebar is used for taking cover, sprinting, use and all other actions. Combat is serviceable, nothing special, except for the biotics which are like magic powers. You can very easily become OP even on the hardest difficulty, no matter which class you choose. Enemy and squadmates AI is... terrible. The soundtrack is again, nothing special, it does the job but I expected something more spectacular, more epic to complement the story and cinematography.
Mass Effect 1
My first impressions were very positive - being put quite quickly into the action while also learning about the world and lore at the right pace, without being overwhelmed. A hard task which most RPGs usually fail at. It introduces the player to the fundamentals of the universe and society step by step and has choices that control the future of not only this game but the next two.
The very worst part of Mass Effect 1 is the site content. You're given a Mako, an all-terrain vehicle that controls very poorly, and you're driving to random __cpLocations just to press "accept to get x resource", and then leave. There are plenty of planets to "explore" but they are most of the time reused environments. Side missions are also extremely repetitive. Combat and movement are very clunky. And for some reason, there is way too much inventory management. I would advise new players to just skip everything optional and focus on the main story unless they want to get all the achievements.
Mass Effect 2 - a step forward
Objectively the most polished title in the trilogy. The gameplay reaches its peak (at least when it comes to controlling and managing your allies), and the characters, which are the best part of all of Mass Effect, are so heavily focused that there are more missions related to the companions than the main story. However, almost all of them are basically about daddy issues. Like legit - almost all your squadmates would ask you to help them deal with some kind of problem connected with their fathers. At this point, it's even a meme in the ME fanbase.
The gameplay was okay, nothing too special. There are remnants of the awful side quests, but they've been reduced to mobile game quality, so it's at least a hell of a lot faster to get through. Not enjoyable though. What I hate the most about ME2 is adding what I would call mini-games, additional to the mini-games when hacking/bypassing. Now you don't just select a __cpLocation on the galaxy map and teleport to it. Now you have to move the ship with the mouse, send multiple probes to different planets to get resources and pay for fuel and probes. Completely unnecessary feature, which I skipped with some simple mods.
Mass Effect 3 - two steps back
ME3 feels very rushed and unpolished. While I think it has the best missions and story in the saga, the gameplay itself is way clunkier than the other two. I encountered multiple bugs and glitches, including enemies spawning on top of me. Very often I would not hit enemies because of invisible walls or broken hitboxes. The annoying galaxy map mini-games from ME2 were brought back but changed a bit. Now you will scan different clusters for planets with resources or missions, instead of launching multiple probes on every planet you encounter. A lot of people don't like the endings but I did enjoy them all. I think they conclude the saga pretty well.
The most infuriating thing in ME3 was the new enemies. Almost all of them are bullet sponges, which can destroy you in a few shots/hits on the highest difficulty. A lot of them are like aimbots and they can shoot through objects. Like the previous games, the majority of the fights are not challenging at all but there are a couple of simply unfair fights unless you manage to break the AI.
Conclusion
I enjoyed my time with Mass Effect and doing a 100% playthrough. The story, characters and RPG elements are strong, while everything else is just serviceable at best. It is worth getting the whole package but beware of possible problems and annoyances, most of which can be fixed with mods.
2010
I hope all the people who worked and are still working in 4A Games are doing well. Sadly, some of the devs lost their lives due to the genocidal (Anti)russian Federation invasion of Ukraine. Animator Andrii Korzinkin, who worked at developer 4A Games, was killed following a combat mission.
Highly recommend anyone interested in the Metro universe or Eastern European culture read Dmitry Glukhovsky’s novels and might even understand why he was put on the Russian federal wanted list in 2022.
I remember when Metro 2033 came out. It had zero advertisements and flew under the radar for most, except in some Eastern European countries. Having serious problems with the optimization and missing graphic options didn’t help too. I pirated it expecting nothing and found one of my all-time favourite games.
Metro 2033 remains one of the most immersive shooters to this day. It is one of the few games I replay every year or two. Visually and mechanically it still holds up to this day and in many ways, it surpasses most of the high-budget AAA titles.
Usually, I play the redux version but this year I decided to go with the original one (was given away for free at some point) and I can confirm in some aspects it’s better than the redux but overall – not much difference between the two. It runs flawlessly but sadly, the graphics options are very limited and you need to edit some config files, including for changing the atrocious FOV.
It also runs flawlessly on Steam Deck.
Highly recommend anyone interested in the Metro universe or Eastern European culture read Dmitry Glukhovsky’s novels and might even understand why he was put on the Russian federal wanted list in 2022.
I remember when Metro 2033 came out. It had zero advertisements and flew under the radar for most, except in some Eastern European countries. Having serious problems with the optimization and missing graphic options didn’t help too. I pirated it expecting nothing and found one of my all-time favourite games.
Metro 2033 remains one of the most immersive shooters to this day. It is one of the few games I replay every year or two. Visually and mechanically it still holds up to this day and in many ways, it surpasses most of the high-budget AAA titles.
Usually, I play the redux version but this year I decided to go with the original one (was given away for free at some point) and I can confirm in some aspects it’s better than the redux but overall – not much difference between the two. It runs flawlessly but sadly, the graphics options are very limited and you need to edit some config files, including for changing the atrocious FOV.
It also runs flawlessly on Steam Deck.
A true cult classic!
Honestly, I understand why a lot of people don't like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. They are clunky, confusing, and maybe frustrating. There is a reason why people call it "Slav jank" (or "Euro jank" if you are outside Europe). It's not for casual players and most find it very hard to get into it. But beneath all the bugs and jank, this is one of the most original series ever made and truly an underrated gem.
The atmosphere is simply fantastic. The Zone is terrifying, it's unforgiving. The lighting, ambience, sound effects, and resource management aspects all add to the feeling that you are constantly being hunted. You never know what to expect next.
Firefights are tense and crushing. The beginning could be rough because you are extremely weak and have bad gear. It causes you to take every action you make more carefully and teaches you how to survive efficiently in the Zone. This is why most players find S.T.A.L.K.E.R. frustrating. They simply play it the wrong way - like your typical FPS. Taking cover, leaning, and taping/bursting headshots is the only way you can survive. You always have to be careful with your resources. You are not able to carry a lot of items so you should plan before traveling to a new area or going on a mission. Ammo conservation is important. By the end of the game, when you are much better and have better gear, it feels like you have come a long way.
The story is... unique. It's just the tip of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. iceberg. The lore is rich and there is a lot of room for interpretation. It's based very loosely on "Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - a fantastic novel, highly recommend reading it. The novel inspired the movie "Stalker" by Tarkovsky which is one of the best art movies ever made. They don't share the same stories or worlds. They share the same philosophical questions and interesting thought-provoking ideas.
I could easily go on and on. It's better to try it for yourself. I highly recommend to new players a blind vanilla playthrough. Set your game difficulty on Masters for immersion and actual difficulty. Remove the crosshair, you do not need it. After you beat the game, you can try different mods to make the experience even better. The mod community has been active ever since Shadow of Chernobyl came out and continues to keep the series alive with high-quality mods. I also highly recommend getting Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat.
Good hunting, Stalker!
Honestly, I understand why a lot of people don't like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. They are clunky, confusing, and maybe frustrating. There is a reason why people call it "Slav jank" (or "Euro jank" if you are outside Europe). It's not for casual players and most find it very hard to get into it. But beneath all the bugs and jank, this is one of the most original series ever made and truly an underrated gem.
The atmosphere is simply fantastic. The Zone is terrifying, it's unforgiving. The lighting, ambience, sound effects, and resource management aspects all add to the feeling that you are constantly being hunted. You never know what to expect next.
Firefights are tense and crushing. The beginning could be rough because you are extremely weak and have bad gear. It causes you to take every action you make more carefully and teaches you how to survive efficiently in the Zone. This is why most players find S.T.A.L.K.E.R. frustrating. They simply play it the wrong way - like your typical FPS. Taking cover, leaning, and taping/bursting headshots is the only way you can survive. You always have to be careful with your resources. You are not able to carry a lot of items so you should plan before traveling to a new area or going on a mission. Ammo conservation is important. By the end of the game, when you are much better and have better gear, it feels like you have come a long way.
The story is... unique. It's just the tip of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. iceberg. The lore is rich and there is a lot of room for interpretation. It's based very loosely on "Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - a fantastic novel, highly recommend reading it. The novel inspired the movie "Stalker" by Tarkovsky which is one of the best art movies ever made. They don't share the same stories or worlds. They share the same philosophical questions and interesting thought-provoking ideas.
I could easily go on and on. It's better to try it for yourself. I highly recommend to new players a blind vanilla playthrough. Set your game difficulty on Masters for immersion and actual difficulty. Remove the crosshair, you do not need it. After you beat the game, you can try different mods to make the experience even better. The mod community has been active ever since Shadow of Chernobyl came out and continues to keep the series alive with high-quality mods. I also highly recommend getting Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat.
Good hunting, Stalker!
2023
Before I say anything about this mod, I want to thank Gunship Mark and the team for all the hard work. Mark lived in what once was the beautiful city of Mariupol, Ukraine and managed to survive the siege of the city. The city itself was levelled to the ground while getting “liberated” by the russians. It is estimated that at least 25 000+ civilians were killed and 50 000+ deported. We can’t even imagine what Mark had to live through. More about his story on his Patreon and consider donating.
Half-Life: MMod is a refreshing way to re-visit the classic HL with modern fixes and improvements while staying true to the original game. A great way for new players to experience HL for the first time and is different enough to make it a fun playthrough for players already familiar with the franchise.
Half-Life: MMod is a refreshing way to re-visit the classic HL with modern fixes and improvements while staying true to the original game. A great way for new players to experience HL for the first time and is different enough to make it a fun playthrough for players already familiar with the franchise.
Greatest Star Wars media - free from George Lucas and Disney!
There were times when Star Wars was all about compelling stories and rich lore which mirrored real-world history and philosophy. The unfinished classic Knights of the Old Republic II from Obsidian is arguably one of the best stories from SW Legends and any media in general.
KOTOR2 turns Lucas' pure good/pure evil false dichotomy into the moral playground that makes you question everything. The story is an intensely philosophical reflection on war and morality. This is achieved thanks to the masterfully written dialogues. Every major character you meet frequently raises questions of responsibility and complicity, often manipulating the character/player and leaving it open for you to think about the choices you made and the nature of the Force itself. A great example is the philosophy and story of Kreia which highly mirrors the book by Friedrich Nietzsche – “Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None” and the concept of the Übermensch. The interwoven plot and rich storytelling of KOTOR2 couldn’t be possible in any other media which proves that video games can indeed be art.
The only downside is that when KOTOR2 was released it wasn't complete due to LucasArts pressuring the developers for an early Christmas release date. Many parts of the game were cut out. But thanks to hard-core Star Wars fans out there they made the TSLRCM which is easy to download from Steam Workshop and allows you to play the game with the cut-out parts.
Outside of being unfinished, KOTOR2 hasn’t aged well. The combat feels dated and it’s too easy even on the highest difficulty. You’ll die very little, outside some boss fights, and this leaves you feeling as if you are playing on rails. Dialogues are skipped over at unreadable speed when you play for a couple of hours which is some kind of bug where memory starts leaking.
Knights of the Old Republic II is a “must play” tier RPG and the greatest piece of Star Wars media that Disney will never acknowledge. Let’s hope for a proper remake!
There must always be a Darth Traya. One who holds the knowledge of betrayal, who has been betrayed and will betray in turn.
There were times when Star Wars was all about compelling stories and rich lore which mirrored real-world history and philosophy. The unfinished classic Knights of the Old Republic II from Obsidian is arguably one of the best stories from SW Legends and any media in general.
KOTOR2 turns Lucas' pure good/pure evil false dichotomy into the moral playground that makes you question everything. The story is an intensely philosophical reflection on war and morality. This is achieved thanks to the masterfully written dialogues. Every major character you meet frequently raises questions of responsibility and complicity, often manipulating the character/player and leaving it open for you to think about the choices you made and the nature of the Force itself. A great example is the philosophy and story of Kreia which highly mirrors the book by Friedrich Nietzsche – “Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None” and the concept of the Übermensch. The interwoven plot and rich storytelling of KOTOR2 couldn’t be possible in any other media which proves that video games can indeed be art.
The only downside is that when KOTOR2 was released it wasn't complete due to LucasArts pressuring the developers for an early Christmas release date. Many parts of the game were cut out. But thanks to hard-core Star Wars fans out there they made the TSLRCM which is easy to download from Steam Workshop and allows you to play the game with the cut-out parts.
Outside of being unfinished, KOTOR2 hasn’t aged well. The combat feels dated and it’s too easy even on the highest difficulty. You’ll die very little, outside some boss fights, and this leaves you feeling as if you are playing on rails. Dialogues are skipped over at unreadable speed when you play for a couple of hours which is some kind of bug where memory starts leaking.
Knights of the Old Republic II is a “must play” tier RPG and the greatest piece of Star Wars media that Disney will never acknowledge. Let’s hope for a proper remake!
There must always be a Darth Traya. One who holds the knowledge of betrayal, who has been betrayed and will betray in turn.