Lunartic
2016
This review contains spoilers
"What's going to happen with the remaining cultists?"
"Shouldn't be much of a problem."
"What about the Aetherials?"
"We'll manage."
"What about Ulgrim?"
"I don't know, he'll be fine."
"Shouldn't be much of a problem."
"What about the Aetherials?"
"We'll manage."
"What about Ulgrim?"
"I don't know, he'll be fine."
2020
There's some nice changes to the established formula, but the game drags on way too long for what it's worth, while the ending is rushed and boring.
A lot of the dialogue is cringe inducing, trying too hard to be witty or funny for the sake of it. Ironically, I felt a lot more attached to my XCOM soldiers than any of the set characters.
The setting's premise is interesting, but it ends up being quite shallow, I kind of hope this won't be regarded as canon for a regular XCOM sequel.
A lot of the dialogue is cringe inducing, trying too hard to be witty or funny for the sake of it. Ironically, I felt a lot more attached to my XCOM soldiers than any of the set characters.
The setting's premise is interesting, but it ends up being quite shallow, I kind of hope this won't be regarded as canon for a regular XCOM sequel.
Nothing quite like the emotional rollercoaster this game can provide in a mere two turns, especially on Ironman.
2012
One thing I hate is how seemingly inconsistent tiggering groups of aliens is. Sometimes you're fighting two or three enemies and happen to move one of your units in a way that suddenly triggers the next group, but in other cases multiple groups get triggered at once, some of them even entering your line of sight, only to be properly triggered afterwards.
Apart from that, good game with satisfying, albeit sometimes frustrating combat and addictive gameplay loop.
Apart from that, good game with satisfying, albeit sometimes frustrating combat and addictive gameplay loop.
2019
Great game to sink a lot of time into with sometimes daunting complexity.
I really enjoy the soundtrack, but I started muting it and putting on some other music (or simply the OST itself) in the background. A bit annoying when crisis music sets in and interrupts your workflow, because a fire broke out again. Would also be nice if the music faded into the new respective track instead of the sudden cut off during region shifts. I suppose this is more of a general Anno issue and a nitpick all in all.
I really enjoy the soundtrack, but I started muting it and putting on some other music (or simply the OST itself) in the background. A bit annoying when crisis music sets in and interrupts your workflow, because a fire broke out again. Would also be nice if the music faded into the new respective track instead of the sudden cut off during region shifts. I suppose this is more of a general Anno issue and a nitpick all in all.
"Disconnected from Server"
2015
SOMA's main problem is definitely the fact, that every monster encounter boils down to sneaking and hiding in a corner (occasionally running away when you're spotted), it's a real slog. There are some underlying mechanics, like the way some creatures react to noise and your flashlight or shouldn't be looked at directly in one instance, but in the end it always plays out the same. I guess I would've preferred more emphasis put on figuring out these mechanics and making it more of a puzzle. It is also quite disappointing to realize that the game basically repeats the same three section over and over again. You stumble into a new station and get some time to explore, a certain trigger activates spooky mode with one or two monsters looming around in the area now and finally you get a break with some dialogue in between afterwards. That's pretty much as far as my complaints go though, everything else is top notch, the story and themes being the most noteworthy.
2020
I keep reinstalling this game every few months to play the final mission because it's so damn good.
2019
Solid metroidvania. Wish I had a bit more to say but there's nothing that particularly stood out to me.
Great gameplay (with some exceptions like an awful 10 minute long trailing mission), but the story is a big mixed bag. Being overly pretentious and cheesy, the game pretty much ruins the more subtle elements of its predecessor, trying so hard to make you care about its characters and telling a message that ultimately feels thereby hollow. The decision mechanic had potential, but was ultimately redundant and a rather annoying way to make me interact with the characters. The actual decisions are obscurely presented (how the hell does a comment on music change the outcome of a coin toss?!).
Still, there are some great moments and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the game for the most parts.
Still, there are some great moments and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the game for the most parts.
Solid game all in all, feels like there's a lot of wasted budget and potential though. So many pretty cutscenes but I couldn't care less about any of the characters, let alone the story. The setup for the antagonist was great but fell flat in the end and I was generally underwhelmed by the last mission that has usually been a big cherry on top in the other games. There was nothing too outstanding about the gameplay if you compare it to its predecessors, but that's not inherently bad, this is probably the go to Ace Combat game if you just want to have fun with the barebone gameplay (with the best visuals).
The DLC missions are awesome and I kind of wish the main game had more of that.
The DLC missions are awesome and I kind of wish the main game had more of that.
Neat story and solid gameplay but holy shit these 20 minute score attacks must have been the most boring thing I've ever done in the series.
One chance to actually change stuff for once and they turn it into a generic loot based RPG.
2012
Quite good at the start but then it gets repetitive and I'm just not a big fan of the narrative.
2012
Incredibly mediocre game with some fun mechanics.