NatusFanatus
2023
Good sequel that addressed and fixed a ton of the issues of the first game, more layers to the job system, each main character received some more depth in their main gimmicks, extra main quests dedicated to the interactions between two main characters were also added, and most importantly of all: 2x speed during combat.
Soundtrack and combat still as solid as the first game, if not improved on in a lot of aspects. Each main story is significantly better in most aspects compared to the first game, both in structure and writing, but still not super unique in most aspects.
Still suffers from a really slow start until you can play the game proper, as well as some grindiness.
Soundtrack and combat still as solid as the first game, if not improved on in a lot of aspects. Each main story is significantly better in most aspects compared to the first game, both in structure and writing, but still not super unique in most aspects.
Still suffers from a really slow start until you can play the game proper, as well as some grindiness.
2018
A really good 2.5D turn-based JRPG with a weakness-focused combat system, very memorable music, and a lot of freedom in team setups and builds.
Still suffers from a lot of the problems JRPGs have, like being pretty grindy at points and a really slow start until you can actually play the game properly. The stories of each protagonist are hit-or-miss, and pretty predictable most of the time. Interactions between your party members is exclusively relegated to Tales-Of style banter events, except they only trigger during main quests of each character, and only with specific characters in the party.
Suffers from the cardinal sin of not having an option to speed up combat, especially because the base speed is really slow.
Still suffers from a lot of the problems JRPGs have, like being pretty grindy at points and a really slow start until you can actually play the game properly. The stories of each protagonist are hit-or-miss, and pretty predictable most of the time. Interactions between your party members is exclusively relegated to Tales-Of style banter events, except they only trigger during main quests of each character, and only with specific characters in the party.
Suffers from the cardinal sin of not having an option to speed up combat, especially because the base speed is really slow.
2021
A decent fangame with significantly harder puzzles (as you'd expect from the introduction of a third portal), but with decent length to it.
Will melt your brain.
Will melt your brain.
2015
Super high-quality mod with a unique setting.
Puzzles are significantly harder and more challenging than most of Portal 2, and that's excluding the optional hard mode the game now comes with to make it even more difficult.
All in all good fangame which I highly recommend to anyone raring for more portal 2 with trickier puzzles.
Puzzles are significantly harder and more challenging than most of Portal 2, and that's excluding the optional hard mode the game now comes with to make it even more difficult.
All in all good fangame which I highly recommend to anyone raring for more portal 2 with trickier puzzles.
2022
Decent immersive-FPS with a focus on stealth.
A complete open-world each chapter free to explore as you like, full of secrets and extra goodies. Servicable skilltree that doesn't offer a lot of interesting perks though.
Guns in this game are (literally) hit or miss, as the leniency with headshots is non existent (as in, being barely a few pixels off will count as a miss), and bodyshots are a waste of ammo on virtually every weapon except for the shotgun.
Stealth in this game is really easy most of the time, but extremely punishing if you mess up, since guns-blazing approaches require you to be super accurate with headshots (or have enough shotgun shells on hand), and as mentioned before; headshots have no leniency and all alerted enemies move their heads super sporadically.
The bosses are laughably easy, along with a really, really annoying ending that nullifies any and all efforts to say the least without spoiling it.
A complete open-world each chapter free to explore as you like, full of secrets and extra goodies. Servicable skilltree that doesn't offer a lot of interesting perks though.
Guns in this game are (literally) hit or miss, as the leniency with headshots is non existent (as in, being barely a few pixels off will count as a miss), and bodyshots are a waste of ammo on virtually every weapon except for the shotgun.
Stealth in this game is really easy most of the time, but extremely punishing if you mess up, since guns-blazing approaches require you to be super accurate with headshots (or have enough shotgun shells on hand), and as mentioned before; headshots have no leniency and all alerted enemies move their heads super sporadically.
The bosses are laughably easy, along with a really, really annoying ending that nullifies any and all efforts to say the least without spoiling it.
2018
Decent Wolfenstein-like with a huge arsenal and really fun upgrades.
Maps are short and sweet, weapons are mostly pretty punchy and enemies have a lot of visual variety (although actual types don't change too much).
The magic and spell system was interesting, but can be largely ignored in favor of guns, same goes for the RPG-level system, where most of the points can be ideally put into max-health or ammo capacity.
Overall a nice game to grab on sale for its low, low price.
Maps are short and sweet, weapons are mostly pretty punchy and enemies have a lot of visual variety (although actual types don't change too much).
The magic and spell system was interesting, but can be largely ignored in favor of guns, same goes for the RPG-level system, where most of the points can be ideally put into max-health or ammo capacity.
Overall a nice game to grab on sale for its low, low price.
2018
A really, really good roguelite-side mode.
A completely new and really large map created for the DLC to explore, and the mechanic that everything you do in a full run persists between each character you pick playing after one another. Supplies you leave in a safe spot can be grabbed by your next character, and so on.
Certain builds completely break the balance, but that's on par for the course with the base game. And runs aren't super different from one another, even in the same "full run", most differences being some areas that get repopulated with enemies, as well as some areas being more dangerous due to power outages or fire outbreaks.
The different characters you can play as do change the way you play, as each of them effectively features what is a significantly reduced skilltree from the basegame, usually focusing on specific aspects of it, with very few new skills being added.
Overall, the gameplay loop is still largely the same as the base game, and I personally only recommend grabbing this DLC if you really want more of the base game with a few tweaks.
A completely new and really large map created for the DLC to explore, and the mechanic that everything you do in a full run persists between each character you pick playing after one another. Supplies you leave in a safe spot can be grabbed by your next character, and so on.
Certain builds completely break the balance, but that's on par for the course with the base game. And runs aren't super different from one another, even in the same "full run", most differences being some areas that get repopulated with enemies, as well as some areas being more dangerous due to power outages or fire outbreaks.
The different characters you can play as do change the way you play, as each of them effectively features what is a significantly reduced skilltree from the basegame, usually focusing on specific aspects of it, with very few new skills being added.
Overall, the gameplay loop is still largely the same as the base game, and I personally only recommend grabbing this DLC if you really want more of the base game with a few tweaks.
2017
A really, really good immersive-FPS, following the spirit of System Shock in its overall atmosphere and story.
A beautifully designed space-station free to explore, complete freedom to customize your build or break the game balance-wise. A smaller arsenal emphasizing more "improvised" weapons, nudging you to be more creative with their usage.
The actual ending to the game sadly ends on a cliffhanger never elaborated on ever since, not even in the DLC.
A beautifully designed space-station free to explore, complete freedom to customize your build or break the game balance-wise. A smaller arsenal emphasizing more "improvised" weapons, nudging you to be more creative with their usage.
The actual ending to the game sadly ends on a cliffhanger never elaborated on ever since, not even in the DLC.
Decent sequel that fixes a ton of the problems of its predecessor, but still suffers from a lot of the pitfalls of the first game.
Core aspects were reworked and tweaked, but the core gameplay loop is still same-y, and quickly falls off after the first act with barely any changes throughout the game.
The humor is full of love and references to old action movies, but doesn't go very far beyond that (besides the protagonist being a dumbass). It's a lot more over-the-top and insane in its story, but still ends on a completely dickish cliffhanger in the same way as the first one (it's not very funny to abruptly end the game after a cliffhanger twice in a row).
Zero replay-value, you get 100% achievements by playing the game, and the other fighting styles are literally given to you in the final section of the game, along with the option to freely reallocate your stats however you please.
Grab this on sale, and only then.
Core aspects were reworked and tweaked, but the core gameplay loop is still same-y, and quickly falls off after the first act with barely any changes throughout the game.
The humor is full of love and references to old action movies, but doesn't go very far beyond that (besides the protagonist being a dumbass). It's a lot more over-the-top and insane in its story, but still ends on a completely dickish cliffhanger in the same way as the first one (it's not very funny to abruptly end the game after a cliffhanger twice in a row).
Zero replay-value, you get 100% achievements by playing the game, and the other fighting styles are literally given to you in the final section of the game, along with the option to freely reallocate your stats however you please.
Grab this on sale, and only then.
2019
Fun and somewhat mindless FPS-roguelike with borderlands-style looter aspect (but more overboard).
Artstyle and graphics is, by all means, something that clicks with you or not (or rather something you can or can't put up with).
A giant arsenal with a lot of standout weapons, and just as many that don't, marred by the random modifiers which can absolutely make-or-break a weapon, in good ways making a "low-tier" or "boring weapon" insanely fun, but also "high-tier" weapons next to useless or garbage.
The meta-progression is done in a super interesting way, in the form of three minigames styled after retro-games (Mario, Pokémon, Galaga), but gets pretty grindy.
The third major chapter of the game is extremely long compared to the first two, and kind of drags on the end of the game, not helped by the semi-procedually generated maps blending together, even less by returning to the same "hub-level" repopulated with enemies, and even worse by the final boss being extremely easy (for better and worse).
Artstyle and graphics is, by all means, something that clicks with you or not (or rather something you can or can't put up with).
A giant arsenal with a lot of standout weapons, and just as many that don't, marred by the random modifiers which can absolutely make-or-break a weapon, in good ways making a "low-tier" or "boring weapon" insanely fun, but also "high-tier" weapons next to useless or garbage.
The meta-progression is done in a super interesting way, in the form of three minigames styled after retro-games (Mario, Pokémon, Galaga), but gets pretty grindy.
The third major chapter of the game is extremely long compared to the first two, and kind of drags on the end of the game, not helped by the semi-procedually generated maps blending together, even less by returning to the same "hub-level" repopulated with enemies, and even worse by the final boss being extremely easy (for better and worse).
2022
A very charming blend of a vendor-sim, deckbuilding, and persona-style time- and relationship-management.
Low difficulty if you know what you're doing, or prioritize the main objectives, and sadly barely any replay-value beyond maxing out the relationship with every character or 100% the achievements, as there is no NG+ or endless-mode.
Character animations during dialogue are super charming and high-quality, but sadly are somewhat bogged down by the choppy transitions between the poses (as in, they abruptly cut to the next pose), which has been a flaw since the intial demo of the game.
By all means, more of a 'one-and-done' game in terms of replay-value.
Low difficulty if you know what you're doing, or prioritize the main objectives, and sadly barely any replay-value beyond maxing out the relationship with every character or 100% the achievements, as there is no NG+ or endless-mode.
Character animations during dialogue are super charming and high-quality, but sadly are somewhat bogged down by the choppy transitions between the poses (as in, they abruptly cut to the next pose), which has been a flaw since the intial demo of the game.
By all means, more of a 'one-and-done' game in terms of replay-value.
2023
A very nice overhaul to Half-Life 1's combat in every way, while also overhauling some enemy placements throughout the whole game, although maps are otherwise untouched (for better and worse).
Still features a lot of the jank of the GoldSrc engine, as well as some jank by its own, but is a must-play if you're raring for another playthrough of GoldSrc Half-Life 1. For newcomers to the series, I still personally recommend going for the original game, or the fan-remake Black Mesa.
Still features a lot of the jank of the GoldSrc engine, as well as some jank by its own, but is a must-play if you're raring for another playthrough of GoldSrc Half-Life 1. For newcomers to the series, I still personally recommend going for the original game, or the fan-remake Black Mesa.
2021
Really good gameplay, accompanied by beautifully flashy attacks. By far the weakest story of the Tales-games, with a very interesting start, but the story becomes more questionable (and predictable) as time goes on.
The two anime openings the game has are good metaphors for the game (in my opinion), the first one playing throughout the first half being extremely strong and my personal favorite, with the second being significantly weaker by all means.
Lastly, the 2D-animated scenes by Ufotable had some questionable choices, in the sense that some of them are an utter waste of their talent and one of the potentially flashiest fights in the game not receiving a scene like that is a cardinal sin.
The two anime openings the game has are good metaphors for the game (in my opinion), the first one playing throughout the first half being extremely strong and my personal favorite, with the second being significantly weaker by all means.
Lastly, the 2D-animated scenes by Ufotable had some questionable choices, in the sense that some of them are an utter waste of their talent and one of the potentially flashiest fights in the game not receiving a scene like that is a cardinal sin.
The misunderstood middle child of the Souls-trilogy (hot take, I know). Compared to DS1, the lows of this game are arguably as bad as the worst parts of DS1, if not worse, and significantly more frequent. On the other hand, this game features by far the most creative ideas and additions to the formular, a lot of which have become mainstays to future FromSoft games.
Significantly more punishing, "unfair", and tricky than any other game of the trilogy, but also by far with the most interesting actual story and its most central characters delivering the most memorable speeches in a Souls-game, ever (for me at least).
Getting into the game is, by all means, a fight, but the reward for "clicking" with the game is completely worth it.
Significantly more punishing, "unfair", and tricky than any other game of the trilogy, but also by far with the most interesting actual story and its most central characters delivering the most memorable speeches in a Souls-game, ever (for me at least).
Getting into the game is, by all means, a fight, but the reward for "clicking" with the game is completely worth it.
2020
One of the most fun sleeper hits in 2023, featuring fluid movements, a nice and large arsenal, and really fun blast-jumping on top. All classes feel and play distinct from one another, with whole upgrade trees which branches out to a different focus, akin to a borderlands character.
While it is a roguelike-FPS, it leans significantly more into its "FPS"-part, meaning that you still have show a lot of skill to get through a run, although RNG still makes a significant difference, just not as much as, say, Gunfire Reborn where you can get extremely overpowered.
The stages are decent and distinct form one another, and filled with a ton of secrets, collectibles, secret stages, etc.
My main gripe is simply how runs can blend together if you do several in a row (which you'll most likely do given its a roguelike), and the difficulty spiking a lot towards the end as a single mistake can end up with getting hit by several overlapping grenades which costs you almost all your health or a run.
While it is a roguelike-FPS, it leans significantly more into its "FPS"-part, meaning that you still have show a lot of skill to get through a run, although RNG still makes a significant difference, just not as much as, say, Gunfire Reborn where you can get extremely overpowered.
The stages are decent and distinct form one another, and filled with a ton of secrets, collectibles, secret stages, etc.
My main gripe is simply how runs can blend together if you do several in a row (which you'll most likely do given its a roguelike), and the difficulty spiking a lot towards the end as a single mistake can end up with getting hit by several overlapping grenades which costs you almost all your health or a run.