Modkiq
BACKER
Played this with a friend from start to finish. It's decent for what it is. It's funny, the constant one-liners may not be for everyone, however they hit the funny-bone for me. While the game is simple, it's a very good time for two people on a voice call just chatting, playing, and going through the silly game.
A mildly entertaining insult simulator where your goal is to insult the other person as much as you can. They feature a ton of characters like Postal Dude, Serious Sam, H.P. Lovecraft and more. Characters have unique insults, dumb (in a fun way) voice acting, and cute pixel art.
Great game if you're bored an evening and need to burn some time with a friend.
Great game if you're bored an evening and need to burn some time with a friend.
2014
This isn't a game you can complete, really. It is an experience a meditative piece of interactive(?) media. The game reflects the self and its meaningless relation to existence itself. Does meaning have meaning? Are you a mountain?
This game received a lot of negative attention when it first came out. I had just finished Borderlands 2 for the first time when this came out, and I was excited.
I played through the entire game, enjoyed it a lot, only to see how this game was getting slammed online.
While I do agree Borderlands 2 was better, this is by no means a big downgrade or a bad product.
It takes what Borderlands 2 does, and improves on a lot of aspects, while introducing new guns, ideas, bosses and environments. The story is good, and characters are fun, but Borderlands 2 did this better. There aren't many characters that stick with you for a long time after you complete this, unlike BL2.
That said, the guns are generally more fun, classes are crazier, and this game features my favorite weapon type in any Borderlands game, the Glithced guns from the Claptastic Voyage. The soundtrack is memorable, and it's great to learn more about the backstory of Handsome Jack.
Overall a great addition to the game, and the final good mainline borderlands game.
I played through the entire game, enjoyed it a lot, only to see how this game was getting slammed online.
While I do agree Borderlands 2 was better, this is by no means a big downgrade or a bad product.
It takes what Borderlands 2 does, and improves on a lot of aspects, while introducing new guns, ideas, bosses and environments. The story is good, and characters are fun, but Borderlands 2 did this better. There aren't many characters that stick with you for a long time after you complete this, unlike BL2.
That said, the guns are generally more fun, classes are crazier, and this game features my favorite weapon type in any Borderlands game, the Glithced guns from the Claptastic Voyage. The soundtrack is memorable, and it's great to learn more about the backstory of Handsome Jack.
Overall a great addition to the game, and the final good mainline borderlands game.
2021
My first Guilty Gear game, and what an incredible ride it has been. Even over two years later, I still frequently listen to the beautiful soundtrack, I keep up with developments, and I stay up to date on the absolute crazy lore.
Daisuke, you are a madman and deserve nothing but respect.
Daisuke, you are a madman and deserve nothing but respect.
2023
This review contains spoilers
Heretic's Fork is a deckbuilder tower defense that ultimately fails in both genres.
The artstyle is great, and the music is even better, but that is essentially where the fun ends.
Let's break down both genres and why they ultimately fail:
Deckbuilding.
When you think about great deckbuilders, games like Slay the Spire, Inscryption, or even online battlers like Hearthstone or Runeterra. Why do we play these games? Probably because you like making decisions on the fly, improving your deck, and trying new strategies.
Heretic's Fork offers none of this.
Before the round even begins, you are told to select your towers. This will define the rest of your run, they are your "class" so to speak. Since the enemy spawns are the same every single round with no variation, you select the towers you always select. There is no need to change it up, especially since experimenting in this game is often disappointing. Half the towers, especially garrison ones will lead to an instant loss.
So you choose your two towers. Great. Now your cards: Your cards will either buff your towers, or they won't. You play the cards that give you buffs, and you discard the rest. When being prompted to select new cards, you choose the ones that buff your towers, while you use the rest to make new cards. This is also not an interesting choice.
In most deckbuilders, you may get a card you usually wouldn't choose, but this time it might have a niche or interesting place in your deck. That doesn't happen here. You do the same thing every single run, and hope that your RNG is good so you get the cards you like but in higher rarity.
Ultimately, no matter what strategy you go for, they all play the same. You play the same 2-3 cards every other turn, sometimes you hope for a random upgrade, and hope that the cards you are spamming gives you enough buffs to win. Your win/loss is decided within the first 2-3 worlds, and after that there is not much you can do to pick yourself up.
Tower defense:
There are many great tower defense games out there. Another genre that usually have so much depth, but usually less randomness than a typical deckbuilder. Due to the less randomness in tower defense games, they often instead offer variety through having different maps or modes. Different enemy types that require you to use a combination of towers are common, and resource management is often something you constantly have to pay attention to.
Heretic's Fork once again offers none of this. There are essentially two enemies in the game. "Slow, heavy guy with lots of health" and "Fast dude with almost no health". There are some in-between, but they really do not matter for gameplay changes. This means that if your tower can deal good damage and quickly, you can't lose. You don't really have to think about utility, how to deal with specialty enemies, or even synergy. Essentially, as long as you can spam damage, speed and range upgrades, you're golden.
Things unique about Heretic's Fork:
In most games, whether it is Slay the Spire or a game like Bloons, you come to a point during your run where the gameplay shifts. You have the cards or towers you need, so now you need to focus on securing the win. This might be done through gathering relics in StS, or upgrading specific skilltrees in Bloons. What do you do when you have your setup in Heretic's Fork? Nothing. You have everything you need, so you keep playing the same 3 cards every single turn until the end of time. It's not fun, doesn't require much thought, and generally is a waste of time.
You finally won; now what?
In most roguelites, after you win, you can go back into the game knowing you will likely get a different experience. You can try a different build, a new map, or perhaps a different character. Heretic's Fork offers none of this. You have beat the game, now do it again, probably with the same strategy you just used. Even if you do try a new set of towers, it really doesn't play that different. You still see the same cards, and more than likely, the same cards you used to win your previous game will keep this new run going as well.
Meta Progression
Usually, unlocking new cards and classes is quite exciting in a game. Even this feels bad in Heretic's Fork. For example, if I unlock a card that says "+30% projectile size", why would I then also want to unlock the worse "+20% projectile size" card? This makes your card pool worse, and gives you a lower chance of giving you the cards you actually want.
The unlocks are also quite specific, and while it seems like they want to offer more strategies, they fail to do so in a way that is interesting or worth doing for the player. If I can have an entire deck with consistently good cards, vs a deck with a bunch of random (some good, some bad) cards, you would always choose the consistent deck. You get weaker the more you unlock, and not in a fun way where there's more challenge, you just get worse RNG and less control the more you play.
Other annoyances that made this game painful to play:
-The constant use and references to old and irrelevant memes is cringe at best.
-Every animation is so long and drawn out. When you unlock a card, they play this long animation where the back of the card "charges up", then flips to you to reveal it. This takes forever, and if you have money to unlock like 10 new cards, it's just painful.
-The whole computer system thing they're going for. It really adds nothing imo. Yeah yeah, funny hackerman is teasing you, and the computer program is actually real and you're punishing sinners for real (crazy), but it's all stuff we have seen before. It is like they played Pony Island and Hypnospace Outlaw and thought "I want this", without going deeper into WHY this works in other games.
-Every character except for one plays the exact same, and the one that is different does not make the game more fun. No matter who you play, you still go for the same strategy.
-The shop is frankly stupid. For half of your run, you cannot gain coins. You can only gain coins after the Greed realm. There are no choices you can take to earn more or less coins. The shop can only be opened when the game decides twice per run that it is shop time. What is in the shop is completely random. You have no control.
-The "shop" character loses the ability to combine cards. In return you can sell your cards for shits and giggles. It takes selling 6 green rarity cards to buy one blue card. Every other class can combine 2 greens for 1 blue. If you do not like the blue you got, you can combine two blues for a purple rarity card. This is great, but for the shop character you get stuck with nothing. You can spend 60 coins on a blue card only to sell it for 15. Are you kidding me? This is assuming you don't spend 50 gold re-rolling the incredibly small shop. This feature was not thought through at all. It is never worth using the shop character.
-No "speed up" feature. It allows you to do x2 speed. You cannot take any action during a wave. Not even look at the cards in your hand or in the locked position. Why not allow for faster waves? I don't see why x16 speed wouldn't be fine. Heck, even x100, why not.
Overall a very disappointing game with little to no gameplay variety, awful meta progression, extremelyt surface lvl tower defense gameplay, and little to no thinking required for a strategic roguelite deckbuilder.
The artstyle is great, and the music is even better, but that is essentially where the fun ends.
Let's break down both genres and why they ultimately fail:
Deckbuilding.
When you think about great deckbuilders, games like Slay the Spire, Inscryption, or even online battlers like Hearthstone or Runeterra. Why do we play these games? Probably because you like making decisions on the fly, improving your deck, and trying new strategies.
Heretic's Fork offers none of this.
Before the round even begins, you are told to select your towers. This will define the rest of your run, they are your "class" so to speak. Since the enemy spawns are the same every single round with no variation, you select the towers you always select. There is no need to change it up, especially since experimenting in this game is often disappointing. Half the towers, especially garrison ones will lead to an instant loss.
So you choose your two towers. Great. Now your cards: Your cards will either buff your towers, or they won't. You play the cards that give you buffs, and you discard the rest. When being prompted to select new cards, you choose the ones that buff your towers, while you use the rest to make new cards. This is also not an interesting choice.
In most deckbuilders, you may get a card you usually wouldn't choose, but this time it might have a niche or interesting place in your deck. That doesn't happen here. You do the same thing every single run, and hope that your RNG is good so you get the cards you like but in higher rarity.
Ultimately, no matter what strategy you go for, they all play the same. You play the same 2-3 cards every other turn, sometimes you hope for a random upgrade, and hope that the cards you are spamming gives you enough buffs to win. Your win/loss is decided within the first 2-3 worlds, and after that there is not much you can do to pick yourself up.
Tower defense:
There are many great tower defense games out there. Another genre that usually have so much depth, but usually less randomness than a typical deckbuilder. Due to the less randomness in tower defense games, they often instead offer variety through having different maps or modes. Different enemy types that require you to use a combination of towers are common, and resource management is often something you constantly have to pay attention to.
Heretic's Fork once again offers none of this. There are essentially two enemies in the game. "Slow, heavy guy with lots of health" and "Fast dude with almost no health". There are some in-between, but they really do not matter for gameplay changes. This means that if your tower can deal good damage and quickly, you can't lose. You don't really have to think about utility, how to deal with specialty enemies, or even synergy. Essentially, as long as you can spam damage, speed and range upgrades, you're golden.
Things unique about Heretic's Fork:
In most games, whether it is Slay the Spire or a game like Bloons, you come to a point during your run where the gameplay shifts. You have the cards or towers you need, so now you need to focus on securing the win. This might be done through gathering relics in StS, or upgrading specific skilltrees in Bloons. What do you do when you have your setup in Heretic's Fork? Nothing. You have everything you need, so you keep playing the same 3 cards every single turn until the end of time. It's not fun, doesn't require much thought, and generally is a waste of time.
You finally won; now what?
In most roguelites, after you win, you can go back into the game knowing you will likely get a different experience. You can try a different build, a new map, or perhaps a different character. Heretic's Fork offers none of this. You have beat the game, now do it again, probably with the same strategy you just used. Even if you do try a new set of towers, it really doesn't play that different. You still see the same cards, and more than likely, the same cards you used to win your previous game will keep this new run going as well.
Meta Progression
Usually, unlocking new cards and classes is quite exciting in a game. Even this feels bad in Heretic's Fork. For example, if I unlock a card that says "+30% projectile size", why would I then also want to unlock the worse "+20% projectile size" card? This makes your card pool worse, and gives you a lower chance of giving you the cards you actually want.
The unlocks are also quite specific, and while it seems like they want to offer more strategies, they fail to do so in a way that is interesting or worth doing for the player. If I can have an entire deck with consistently good cards, vs a deck with a bunch of random (some good, some bad) cards, you would always choose the consistent deck. You get weaker the more you unlock, and not in a fun way where there's more challenge, you just get worse RNG and less control the more you play.
Other annoyances that made this game painful to play:
-The constant use and references to old and irrelevant memes is cringe at best.
-Every animation is so long and drawn out. When you unlock a card, they play this long animation where the back of the card "charges up", then flips to you to reveal it. This takes forever, and if you have money to unlock like 10 new cards, it's just painful.
-The whole computer system thing they're going for. It really adds nothing imo. Yeah yeah, funny hackerman is teasing you, and the computer program is actually real and you're punishing sinners for real (crazy), but it's all stuff we have seen before. It is like they played Pony Island and Hypnospace Outlaw and thought "I want this", without going deeper into WHY this works in other games.
-Every character except for one plays the exact same, and the one that is different does not make the game more fun. No matter who you play, you still go for the same strategy.
-The shop is frankly stupid. For half of your run, you cannot gain coins. You can only gain coins after the Greed realm. There are no choices you can take to earn more or less coins. The shop can only be opened when the game decides twice per run that it is shop time. What is in the shop is completely random. You have no control.
-The "shop" character loses the ability to combine cards. In return you can sell your cards for shits and giggles. It takes selling 6 green rarity cards to buy one blue card. Every other class can combine 2 greens for 1 blue. If you do not like the blue you got, you can combine two blues for a purple rarity card. This is great, but for the shop character you get stuck with nothing. You can spend 60 coins on a blue card only to sell it for 15. Are you kidding me? This is assuming you don't spend 50 gold re-rolling the incredibly small shop. This feature was not thought through at all. It is never worth using the shop character.
-No "speed up" feature. It allows you to do x2 speed. You cannot take any action during a wave. Not even look at the cards in your hand or in the locked position. Why not allow for faster waves? I don't see why x16 speed wouldn't be fine. Heck, even x100, why not.
Overall a very disappointing game with little to no gameplay variety, awful meta progression, extremelyt surface lvl tower defense gameplay, and little to no thinking required for a strategic roguelite deckbuilder.
2022
This is how you do it. Pure platforming fun, nothing more, nothing less. This is one of the shortest and sweetest platformers out there, and sparks that same feeling of childhood wonder as games like Super Mario Galaxy did for me back in the day.
While the game is simplistic in nature, it never overstays its welcome, and it finds new gimmicks to throw at you which keep you engaged and interested to see more.
The speed and momentum of the game feels just right, and if you're into playing a game multiple time, there are multiple characters to unlock and play as, all with unique abilities. We need more games like this one
While the game is simplistic in nature, it never overstays its welcome, and it finds new gimmicks to throw at you which keep you engaged and interested to see more.
The speed and momentum of the game feels just right, and if you're into playing a game multiple time, there are multiple characters to unlock and play as, all with unique abilities. We need more games like this one
2023
Dredge is a fantastic little game where you're on a boat, you fish for money, use money to upgrade your boat so you can catch bigger fish.
The story has an Eldritch horror vibe to it, but that's mostly what it is, just a vibe. It rarely affects gameplay, and when it does it's very minor like a boat that sails towards you, but uh oh it turns out it's a big fish. There are a couple of tricks like this one, but that's mostly it.
Sometimes you are asked to fish up eldritch fish, which is cool, but they are not really different from normal fish other than cosmetically.
I love this game, don't get me wrong. The fishing is like crack, and upgrading your boat is a ton of fun. But as is the case with almost all Team17 games, you get the feeling that this could have been so much more if they supported the developer more. The horror aspects just aren't realized, and you get the feeling that the night time could have been so much more than what it is. A more risky, tense fishing experience. But no, you get a sanity meter, if it fills you die.
I really hope this developer makes Dredge 2 with a different publisher and gets to realize the incredible game this could have been.
That aside, I still recommend Dredge. The different environments are pretty, the fishing is great, and it's an overall great time. There's nothing quite like it. I wish the dev the best of luck.
The story has an Eldritch horror vibe to it, but that's mostly what it is, just a vibe. It rarely affects gameplay, and when it does it's very minor like a boat that sails towards you, but uh oh it turns out it's a big fish. There are a couple of tricks like this one, but that's mostly it.
Sometimes you are asked to fish up eldritch fish, which is cool, but they are not really different from normal fish other than cosmetically.
I love this game, don't get me wrong. The fishing is like crack, and upgrading your boat is a ton of fun. But as is the case with almost all Team17 games, you get the feeling that this could have been so much more if they supported the developer more. The horror aspects just aren't realized, and you get the feeling that the night time could have been so much more than what it is. A more risky, tense fishing experience. But no, you get a sanity meter, if it fills you die.
I really hope this developer makes Dredge 2 with a different publisher and gets to realize the incredible game this could have been.
That aside, I still recommend Dredge. The different environments are pretty, the fishing is great, and it's an overall great time. There's nothing quite like it. I wish the dev the best of luck.
Honestly a joy to experience. This is not "a game" as much as it is a musical theater play. You watch them sing, you get to make choices which impact the song and outcome of the story, and you get to take a backseat to the characters' drama and adventures. If this sounds like something for you, I recommend it!
While the game as a whole is great with everything from the music to the characters and fun plot, the game is not without issues.
-Sound balancing is off. This is surprising considering this is a musical. During some songs or normal conversations, one character will be louder than the other, only for the volume to suddenly change altogether. This isn't a big deal, but it can take you out of the moment sometimes.
-During one of the songs my character wouldn't sing anything after I selected their response. This was confusing and made the whole song feel disconnected, though my choices did register in the final result.
-Some characters give it away immediately. This game is about a murder mystery, but you can always tell from the beginning what a character's intentions are. They are written in a way where their attitude and general tone completely match their stereotype. They try to build up suspicious characters, but because they are charming and somewhat helpful you can just strike them off from the start. This kind of ruins the plot twists and turns.
-Sometimes the game will bring up seemingly important plot points, and just completely brush over them like it's not relevant. Hard to describe without getting into spoilers, but say in theory character betrayed you and your character leaves, the next time you meet them it's like nothing happened, the story just goes on.
With all its faults, it is still a charming experience and it is a fun playthrough for an evening or two. Overall recommended.
While the game as a whole is great with everything from the music to the characters and fun plot, the game is not without issues.
-Sound balancing is off. This is surprising considering this is a musical. During some songs or normal conversations, one character will be louder than the other, only for the volume to suddenly change altogether. This isn't a big deal, but it can take you out of the moment sometimes.
-During one of the songs my character wouldn't sing anything after I selected their response. This was confusing and made the whole song feel disconnected, though my choices did register in the final result.
-Some characters give it away immediately. This game is about a murder mystery, but you can always tell from the beginning what a character's intentions are. They are written in a way where their attitude and general tone completely match their stereotype. They try to build up suspicious characters, but because they are charming and somewhat helpful you can just strike them off from the start. This kind of ruins the plot twists and turns.
-Sometimes the game will bring up seemingly important plot points, and just completely brush over them like it's not relevant. Hard to describe without getting into spoilers, but say in theory character betrayed you and your character leaves, the next time you meet them it's like nothing happened, the story just goes on.
With all its faults, it is still a charming experience and it is a fun playthrough for an evening or two. Overall recommended.
2013
With Payday 3 just around the corner, I think it is finally time to review Payday 2.
This game has its quirks. Running in front of guards, fully armed and masked only for them to think it's just the wind. The drill that never works no matter how many millions you have to build a new one, the awkward AI and straight up stupid brand collaborations (Goat simulator, h3h3).
If you can look past all of that, you have an incredibly deep and satisfying heist simulator that allows for multiple ways to approach most missions. Even if you choose to Stealth a mission, there are often multiple paths to take.
The endless skilltree and perk customization, the A-level voice acting, the incredible music, endless content, even the christmas album. It's all great. Even with my 250+ hours, I have yet to see everything in the game. Considering all the patches this game has gotten over the years, I wouldn't be surprised if they have doubled the content since I last played actively.
While the devs/publisher has made some straight up stupid decisions over the years (like lying about microtransactions), you get the impression that they really do care for the community and only want the best.
I purchased this game almost 10 years ago, and it has been a game I always come back to every now and then. I am super excited for Payday 3.
This game has its quirks. Running in front of guards, fully armed and masked only for them to think it's just the wind. The drill that never works no matter how many millions you have to build a new one, the awkward AI and straight up stupid brand collaborations (Goat simulator, h3h3).
If you can look past all of that, you have an incredibly deep and satisfying heist simulator that allows for multiple ways to approach most missions. Even if you choose to Stealth a mission, there are often multiple paths to take.
The endless skilltree and perk customization, the A-level voice acting, the incredible music, endless content, even the christmas album. It's all great. Even with my 250+ hours, I have yet to see everything in the game. Considering all the patches this game has gotten over the years, I wouldn't be surprised if they have doubled the content since I last played actively.
While the devs/publisher has made some straight up stupid decisions over the years (like lying about microtransactions), you get the impression that they really do care for the community and only want the best.
I purchased this game almost 10 years ago, and it has been a game I always come back to every now and then. I am super excited for Payday 3.
2015
The beginning of the Life is Strange series. A game that has cemented itself as a classic among gamers looking for a narrative "movie-like" game. So, is it worth the hype? I'd say for the most part yes. The game has nice visuals, interesting and beloved characters, a beautiful soundtrack and extremely rad dialogue.
Writing a story that believably uses time travel is a huge overtaking. I will say for the most part the game does a good job, however sometimes the game falls flat on its face. Generally if you make a bad decision, don't worry, you can just rewind time. Want to test something for fun? Sure, do it and go back again. The issue comes in how the game handles important story elements.
The game cannot hit you with any surprises you can't undo, correct? Wrong. When the game feels like it, it will take away your time travel ability. The game never explains why this happens, it just does, and the main character is upset about it. It only happens a couple of times during the game, but it somewhat sours the experience. Sometimes the timing of this happening is too convenient for the plot, and it takes you out of the game world, so to speak.
Overall though, the game is still fantastic, just being held back by the plot being a bit too convenient sometimes.
Writing a story that believably uses time travel is a huge overtaking. I will say for the most part the game does a good job, however sometimes the game falls flat on its face. Generally if you make a bad decision, don't worry, you can just rewind time. Want to test something for fun? Sure, do it and go back again. The issue comes in how the game handles important story elements.
The game cannot hit you with any surprises you can't undo, correct? Wrong. When the game feels like it, it will take away your time travel ability. The game never explains why this happens, it just does, and the main character is upset about it. It only happens a couple of times during the game, but it somewhat sours the experience. Sometimes the timing of this happening is too convenient for the plot, and it takes you out of the game world, so to speak.
Overall though, the game is still fantastic, just being held back by the plot being a bit too convenient sometimes.
2023
It is not often a game of this quality comes around with no strings attached. No battlepass, no EXP boosters or "timesavers", heck, there's not even an in-game shop. You buy the game, you play the game, and that's it. You love to see it.
Remnant is unique because every time you re-play the game, the world is different. You will encounter new bosses, new dungeons, new enemies, and in some cases there are new chances to earn new classes. The cycle continues once the game is finished. This means that when you talk to your friends about the game, they may have no clue what you are talking about, because they never saw any of it. It's great, gives you a sense of mystery. The mystery continues when you learn how classes are unlocked. You're not expected to "figure this out" on your own. It is very much a game where you need to look things up, explore possibilities with communities, and learn together with others.
This game is also a huge step up from Remnant 1. Bosses are crazier, environments look better, abilities feel more impactful, and the class system is absolutely phenomenal.
The things holding this game back from a 5-star review is the following:
-The new armor system is extremely boring. You can't upgrade your armor, the armor-sets all have static stats, and they are all meant to be "balanced", meaning that even as you find new armor, there really isn't a reason to ever switch it up, unless you found something that fits your playstyle slightly better. Generally you will just mix whatever sets gives you the weight-class you want, with the highest stats, and use that forever.
-The performance is ass. Seriously, it's like they based their "recommended specs" around you aggressively using DLSS. I can't get a satisfactory framerate using a 4080 on low settings. Don't get me wrong, 90-100 fps isn't unplayable by any means, but I can't even imagine what playing this game is like on a worse PC. The game should run well without upscalers and frame-generation, the rest should be a bonus for those who want it.
-While I understand the appeal of endlessly upgrading gear, you often feel like you are forced to stick with 1 type. If I upgrade the sniper to lvl 1, starting upgrading a new weapon to try it out properly feels like a waste of resources. In practice this means that you play through the entire game with 1-2 guns, and every time you get a new gun you get the choice of "do i abandon my new gun and start upgrading this from lvl 1?". Probably not. This makes for somewhat boring gameplay-decisions where the player rarely switch things up. I get that this is a design choice that benefits very long term play, but for those that want to do 1-2 loops around the game, it's a negative.
Overall, very good game. Enemy designs are awesome and threatening. Bosses are crazy in the best way, and the gungeons are fun to explore with tons of loot to grab (so you can upgrade your 1 gun). Finding secrets is a lot of fun, and they do not shy away from rewarding you with incredible rings or other augments.
Remnant is unique because every time you re-play the game, the world is different. You will encounter new bosses, new dungeons, new enemies, and in some cases there are new chances to earn new classes. The cycle continues once the game is finished. This means that when you talk to your friends about the game, they may have no clue what you are talking about, because they never saw any of it. It's great, gives you a sense of mystery. The mystery continues when you learn how classes are unlocked. You're not expected to "figure this out" on your own. It is very much a game where you need to look things up, explore possibilities with communities, and learn together with others.
This game is also a huge step up from Remnant 1. Bosses are crazier, environments look better, abilities feel more impactful, and the class system is absolutely phenomenal.
The things holding this game back from a 5-star review is the following:
-The new armor system is extremely boring. You can't upgrade your armor, the armor-sets all have static stats, and they are all meant to be "balanced", meaning that even as you find new armor, there really isn't a reason to ever switch it up, unless you found something that fits your playstyle slightly better. Generally you will just mix whatever sets gives you the weight-class you want, with the highest stats, and use that forever.
-The performance is ass. Seriously, it's like they based their "recommended specs" around you aggressively using DLSS. I can't get a satisfactory framerate using a 4080 on low settings. Don't get me wrong, 90-100 fps isn't unplayable by any means, but I can't even imagine what playing this game is like on a worse PC. The game should run well without upscalers and frame-generation, the rest should be a bonus for those who want it.
-While I understand the appeal of endlessly upgrading gear, you often feel like you are forced to stick with 1 type. If I upgrade the sniper to lvl 1, starting upgrading a new weapon to try it out properly feels like a waste of resources. In practice this means that you play through the entire game with 1-2 guns, and every time you get a new gun you get the choice of "do i abandon my new gun and start upgrading this from lvl 1?". Probably not. This makes for somewhat boring gameplay-decisions where the player rarely switch things up. I get that this is a design choice that benefits very long term play, but for those that want to do 1-2 loops around the game, it's a negative.
Overall, very good game. Enemy designs are awesome and threatening. Bosses are crazy in the best way, and the gungeons are fun to explore with tons of loot to grab (so you can upgrade your 1 gun). Finding secrets is a lot of fun, and they do not shy away from rewarding you with incredible rings or other augments.
2017
Sonic Forces me to have a bad time.
Out of my ~3 hours and 15 minutes played, where I completed the game and extra Shadow prologue, 1 hour and 17 minutes was spent watching cutscenes or in-menu dialogue. That means that counting only gameplay, completing every lvl only takes 2 hours.
Even with that in mind, the game still drags on. Physics and momentum feels "fake", two of the lvls can be beat without touching the controller at all, a lot of the lvls is just running in a straight line while holding the boost button, and it controls like a fish out of water.
You spend half your time playing in this weird isometric view that controls like you're on ice, or as Classic Sonic which has momentum so poor, he can't even walk up basic slopes. It is an absolute embarrassment that this made it out, and is somehow worse than Sonic 06. This is all without going into the story, which makes absolutely no sense.
I see no reason to play this unless you are very drunk.
The only reason this game is not half a star is because the soundtrack slaps.
Out of my ~3 hours and 15 minutes played, where I completed the game and extra Shadow prologue, 1 hour and 17 minutes was spent watching cutscenes or in-menu dialogue. That means that counting only gameplay, completing every lvl only takes 2 hours.
Even with that in mind, the game still drags on. Physics and momentum feels "fake", two of the lvls can be beat without touching the controller at all, a lot of the lvls is just running in a straight line while holding the boost button, and it controls like a fish out of water.
You spend half your time playing in this weird isometric view that controls like you're on ice, or as Classic Sonic which has momentum so poor, he can't even walk up basic slopes. It is an absolute embarrassment that this made it out, and is somehow worse than Sonic 06. This is all without going into the story, which makes absolutely no sense.
I see no reason to play this unless you are very drunk.
The only reason this game is not half a star is because the soundtrack slaps.
2011
DLC Quest is a funny commentary game about the state of the game industry where they make everything in the game DLC. Want to jump? DLC. Wanna move left? DLC. Need equipment? DLC. Horse armor? You bet.
Fun for what it is, and the joke does not overstay its welcome.
Fun for what it is, and the joke does not overstay its welcome.
2013
Delver describes itself as a "roguelike dungeon crawler, just like you wished they used to make." While this is true, it is also what holds the game back. The game does not do enough to hold the player's attention, and the player quickly feels like they have seen everything in just a few hours.
While exploration is fun and the combat is fine, you quickly feel like you are walking through the same halls, doing the same things with the same weapons over and over. It is cute for what it is, but there are many better options out there.
While exploration is fun and the combat is fine, you quickly feel like you are walking through the same halls, doing the same things with the same weapons over and over. It is cute for what it is, but there are many better options out there.