Nikonoim
(Never played the original Dark Souls, so I can’t comment on how the remaster compares.)
Whenever a list of the most influential games of all time is made, among the likes of Doom, Half-Life and others one may see Dark Souls. It spawned the Souls-like genre, of which many new releases are a part of nowadays. However, it's rare that they manage to capture the true essence of Dark Souls. It’s not just a difficult RPG. The lore and the way the unique way the story is presented combined with the heavy atmosphere and an immersive world is what makes Dark Souls stand out.
I know I am praising this game a lot, but for me, this is the epitome of games as art. It's not just mindless entertainment, it made me think, wonder about its world and its story. Even now, months after finishing it, I still get emotional thinking about some of the characters and what they said to me.
I don’t guarantee that you will enjoy this game, many won't, but I believe that anyone and everyone should try it or at least any of the other souls-likes.
Story
In Dark Souls, there is rarely a point where the story is directly told to you. You yourself have to piece it together from item descriptions, environmental clues and the rare times when you get to talk to an NPC. This can seem to be an exhausting task, but the world was so interesting, I sought out more knowledge wherever possible.
Mechanics and gameplay
Ironically, called the game that invented difficulty, Dark Souls is for most people a hard game. It is its most notable feature when discussed in popular culture. Its lack of an easy mode makes its intentions apparent. It's hard because it has to be. Without it, the entire game would fall apart. None of its rewards or its quieter moments would be nearly as impactful without the challenge to get to them.
Personally, the first half of Dark Souls is a 10/10 (even higher if it was possible) while the second is an 8/10. The beginning at the level of level design all games aspire to. Both feeling open and linear, you will often be going back to an old area you expected to be miles from, thus tying the world together. It gives the feeling that this could be an actual place. The second half is the opposite. The places you have to go aren’t connected to each other in any way. I heard that the end of the development was rushed, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.
Graphics/Artstyle
I am sure the remaster played a part in this, but I think Dark Souls looks good. It’s that point of style over graphical fidelity. Anor Londo will forever look good, no matter how much graphics progress in the future.
Atmosphere/Immersion
In Dark Souls, you are canonically immortal. But you are not alone in this, one doesn’t need to play much of the game to find other undead like the player. They were once like you, the difference being they gave up. With this realization, the world of Dark Souls takes a much somber tone. It’s one of lost resolve and broken dreams.
“Don’t you dare go hollow” – This one simple line hit me harder than any other in any game I’ve played. At this point, the game transcends its own world and directly addresses the player. It pleads with them to not give up, to keep going, and it's not just talking about the game.
Soundtrack
With the foresight of having played multiple of the later titles, the ost of Dark Souls seems a bit subdued and at times can sound the same. I do still think it’s a good soundtrack that fits the theme of the game, it's just that I know that they can do even better. My favourite part is “A Moment’s Peace”.
Final Thoughts
Whoever did the male hurt sounds hit me up.
Whenever a list of the most influential games of all time is made, among the likes of Doom, Half-Life and others one may see Dark Souls. It spawned the Souls-like genre, of which many new releases are a part of nowadays. However, it's rare that they manage to capture the true essence of Dark Souls. It’s not just a difficult RPG. The lore and the way the unique way the story is presented combined with the heavy atmosphere and an immersive world is what makes Dark Souls stand out.
I know I am praising this game a lot, but for me, this is the epitome of games as art. It's not just mindless entertainment, it made me think, wonder about its world and its story. Even now, months after finishing it, I still get emotional thinking about some of the characters and what they said to me.
I don’t guarantee that you will enjoy this game, many won't, but I believe that anyone and everyone should try it or at least any of the other souls-likes.
Story
In Dark Souls, there is rarely a point where the story is directly told to you. You yourself have to piece it together from item descriptions, environmental clues and the rare times when you get to talk to an NPC. This can seem to be an exhausting task, but the world was so interesting, I sought out more knowledge wherever possible.
Mechanics and gameplay
Ironically, called the game that invented difficulty, Dark Souls is for most people a hard game. It is its most notable feature when discussed in popular culture. Its lack of an easy mode makes its intentions apparent. It's hard because it has to be. Without it, the entire game would fall apart. None of its rewards or its quieter moments would be nearly as impactful without the challenge to get to them.
Personally, the first half of Dark Souls is a 10/10 (even higher if it was possible) while the second is an 8/10. The beginning at the level of level design all games aspire to. Both feeling open and linear, you will often be going back to an old area you expected to be miles from, thus tying the world together. It gives the feeling that this could be an actual place. The second half is the opposite. The places you have to go aren’t connected to each other in any way. I heard that the end of the development was rushed, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.
Graphics/Artstyle
I am sure the remaster played a part in this, but I think Dark Souls looks good. It’s that point of style over graphical fidelity. Anor Londo will forever look good, no matter how much graphics progress in the future.
Atmosphere/Immersion
In Dark Souls, you are canonically immortal. But you are not alone in this, one doesn’t need to play much of the game to find other undead like the player. They were once like you, the difference being they gave up. With this realization, the world of Dark Souls takes a much somber tone. It’s one of lost resolve and broken dreams.
“Don’t you dare go hollow” – This one simple line hit me harder than any other in any game I’ve played. At this point, the game transcends its own world and directly addresses the player. It pleads with them to not give up, to keep going, and it's not just talking about the game.
Soundtrack
With the foresight of having played multiple of the later titles, the ost of Dark Souls seems a bit subdued and at times can sound the same. I do still think it’s a good soundtrack that fits the theme of the game, it's just that I know that they can do even better. My favourite part is “A Moment’s Peace”.
Final Thoughts
Whoever did the male hurt sounds hit me up.
2015
Cities: Skylines is a pretty awful name for a pretty good city builder. It can be said that this is the baseline for any city builder to meet, as it does everything that you would expect of this genre. You begin with a plain plot of land and develop it into the city you want. To successfully pull this off, careful management of the city's many requirements is needed. I say that this is the baseline, because I believe more could be done with this genre, however I haven’t played many of this type of games, so I can’t say this with certainty.
If you like city builders or resource management games then I recommend it, if you don’t then well why are you here?
Story
One can imagine that a city builder won’t have a story.
One would be right.
Mechanics and gameplay
Everyone knows that every good city begins with an empty plot of land and a convenient 6 lane highway right next to it. At least that’s how it happens in Cities: Skylines. With the starting money you are given you have to build your own city. At the beginning it will be small and humble, but overtime the more people settle in, you will begin to unlock more buildings and services. They will allow you to fulfil more of your people's needs and thus expand your city further. This is the main incentive in Cities: Skylines – expand, unlock, expand more.
There comes a time however where there is nothing more to unlock and that’s where this game lost me. My city was built, it had flaws, it had room for optimization, but I felt that I didn’t have much of an incentive to perfect it. Perhaps a different person, one who obsesses with perfection and optimization would find it enjoyable to maximize their city, but that’s not me, so I just stopped playing.
Graphics/Artstyle
The graphics are alright, good enough given the release year and the genre of the game. Close up it can look like plastic, but a nighttime vista of my city never disappointed, so I can’t complain.
Atmosphere/Immersion
There isn’t much of an atmosphere or immersion, not that there has to be. It’s a city builder after all.
It is kind of weird how you are projected as the mayor. It is more like you are a god who after enough offerings (taxes) by its followers (residents) will shape the land in their image (add another roundabout).
Soundtrack
I almost never listened to the ost of Cities: Skylines, simply because this is a perfect podcast game. I turned off the in-game music and put on whatever I wanted to listen to. Due to this I don’t have a favourite part of the soundtrack.
Final Thoughts
Cities: Skylines is a bad name, because why the colon. City Skylines or something similar would have been perfect, but no got to have the random colon.
If you like city builders or resource management games then I recommend it, if you don’t then well why are you here?
Story
One can imagine that a city builder won’t have a story.
One would be right.
Mechanics and gameplay
Everyone knows that every good city begins with an empty plot of land and a convenient 6 lane highway right next to it. At least that’s how it happens in Cities: Skylines. With the starting money you are given you have to build your own city. At the beginning it will be small and humble, but overtime the more people settle in, you will begin to unlock more buildings and services. They will allow you to fulfil more of your people's needs and thus expand your city further. This is the main incentive in Cities: Skylines – expand, unlock, expand more.
There comes a time however where there is nothing more to unlock and that’s where this game lost me. My city was built, it had flaws, it had room for optimization, but I felt that I didn’t have much of an incentive to perfect it. Perhaps a different person, one who obsesses with perfection and optimization would find it enjoyable to maximize their city, but that’s not me, so I just stopped playing.
Graphics/Artstyle
The graphics are alright, good enough given the release year and the genre of the game. Close up it can look like plastic, but a nighttime vista of my city never disappointed, so I can’t complain.
Atmosphere/Immersion
There isn’t much of an atmosphere or immersion, not that there has to be. It’s a city builder after all.
It is kind of weird how you are projected as the mayor. It is more like you are a god who after enough offerings (taxes) by its followers (residents) will shape the land in their image (add another roundabout).
Soundtrack
I almost never listened to the ost of Cities: Skylines, simply because this is a perfect podcast game. I turned off the in-game music and put on whatever I wanted to listen to. Due to this I don’t have a favourite part of the soundtrack.
Final Thoughts
Cities: Skylines is a bad name, because why the colon. City Skylines or something similar would have been perfect, but no got to have the random colon.
2018
Kenshi is a janky, clunky and ugly RPG that, for all of its flaws, I still think is one of the best open-ended RPGs I've played. It doesn’t have a storyline to follow, you just get dropped in and have to figure out the rest by yourself. This can make for a difficult early game in the beginning, until you understand how the different mechanic’s work. Due to this, I can’t recommend it to anyone looking for a peaceful and stress-free gameplay experience, nor can I recommend it for an expansive storyline. Kenshi is, for me at least, the definitive make your own story type game. The possibilities are many, and this goes for replayability as well. Many will bounce off Kenshi for the problems mentioned above, but those who aren’t bothered by it will find a truly amazing game.
Story
The world of Kenshi does the heavy lifting, as there is no main narrative to follow. It’s set in the post-apocalypse; however, the apocalypse was very apocalyptic, and it happened very far in the past. Technologically, it’s a weird mix of medieval era and modern day. Like, the most effective ranged weapon is a crossbow, but there are also fully functional autonomous robots. There are also remnants of the old world, like long abandoned ruins or a space lase that randomly fire down to Earth.
That’s one of the four races. The others are: humans obviously, Sheks like humans but more stupid and brutish, and the Hive who are bugmen that make for great manual labour. In addition, there are also many factions, all of which have their own relationships with one another and their own rules. Like the Holy Nation will kill you on site if you have any mechanical part.
As I said it’s a make your own story, the game helps with this by being so cruel, you can’t help but bond with your characters and the suffering they are being put through.
Mechanics and gameplay
It's an RPG, and it has all the elements you would expect. There is combat, base building, skills, and so on. I don’t want to spend the next 10 paragraphs describing all the mechanics, so instead I will give a short summary of one of my playthroughs.
My journey began with my two characters already enslaved by the Holy Nation and working in the Mines. Their names were Eon and Shem. My immediate goal was to obviously escape, and for that Shem was the promising one. He was faster and stealthier. So, one fateful night, I plotted my escape. While the guards were sleeping, Shem would unlock his cage and knock one of them out, take their armour and disguise himself. Everything was going well, until a guard walked in while Shem was stripping the downed guard. Shem was promptly beaten up and put on the cross, he lost an arm. Eon was in the same building while this was taking place, and he managed to escape.
The next few days were spent in hiding, avoiding anything and everything. Eventually, Eon travelled beyond the borders of the Holy Nation. There he made new companions, started a base, smuggled drugs and made a lot of money in the process. During that time, he was also training, he didn’t forget Shem’s sacrifice, and he wouldn’t leave him a slave.
He gathered his strongest warriors and led them through the Holy Nation undetected until they reached the Mines. A great battle took place, Eon’s warriors were strong and their weapons powerful, but the Holy Nation had numbers. Eon underestimated his foe, but he could buy time, just enough for Shem to limp to safety. After the dust settled most of the warriors were dead or met an even worse fate, Eon was back in his chains, and Shem brought himself back to Eon’s base. He would return the favour.
The cycle will continue.
Graphics/Artstyle
This won’t win any awards for good graphics. If one were to zoom in far enough, the difference between Kenshi and an asset rip on Steam wouldn’t be that big. There are mods to improve it, but I find it oddly fitting.
It's an ugly world, can’t have it looking pretty.
Atmosphere/Immersion
I find Kenshi very immersive. Throughout my playthrough I got very attached to my characters, more so than other games, even though they had no actual personality. I believe this is due to the cruel and unforgiving nature of Kenshi, that gives a sense of realism and validity to the trials and tribulations that the players characters experience.
In fact, this can be applied to the whole game. The world is interesting because it doesn’t care about you, the player is just another small part of it. Thus, it feels more real, almost like it could actually exist.
Soundtrack
It’s a nice tribal-like ost that leans into the desert part of the game. My biggest problem with it is that it plays very rarely. My favourite part is “Scorching Wind”.
Final Thoughts
40 km/h seems like a reasonable pace for someone to be travelling for multiple days, without rest, sustaining themselves entirely on 3 loaves of bread. Right?
Story
The world of Kenshi does the heavy lifting, as there is no main narrative to follow. It’s set in the post-apocalypse; however, the apocalypse was very apocalyptic, and it happened very far in the past. Technologically, it’s a weird mix of medieval era and modern day. Like, the most effective ranged weapon is a crossbow, but there are also fully functional autonomous robots. There are also remnants of the old world, like long abandoned ruins or a space lase that randomly fire down to Earth.
That’s one of the four races. The others are: humans obviously, Sheks like humans but more stupid and brutish, and the Hive who are bugmen that make for great manual labour. In addition, there are also many factions, all of which have their own relationships with one another and their own rules. Like the Holy Nation will kill you on site if you have any mechanical part.
As I said it’s a make your own story, the game helps with this by being so cruel, you can’t help but bond with your characters and the suffering they are being put through.
Mechanics and gameplay
It's an RPG, and it has all the elements you would expect. There is combat, base building, skills, and so on. I don’t want to spend the next 10 paragraphs describing all the mechanics, so instead I will give a short summary of one of my playthroughs.
My journey began with my two characters already enslaved by the Holy Nation and working in the Mines. Their names were Eon and Shem. My immediate goal was to obviously escape, and for that Shem was the promising one. He was faster and stealthier. So, one fateful night, I plotted my escape. While the guards were sleeping, Shem would unlock his cage and knock one of them out, take their armour and disguise himself. Everything was going well, until a guard walked in while Shem was stripping the downed guard. Shem was promptly beaten up and put on the cross, he lost an arm. Eon was in the same building while this was taking place, and he managed to escape.
The next few days were spent in hiding, avoiding anything and everything. Eventually, Eon travelled beyond the borders of the Holy Nation. There he made new companions, started a base, smuggled drugs and made a lot of money in the process. During that time, he was also training, he didn’t forget Shem’s sacrifice, and he wouldn’t leave him a slave.
He gathered his strongest warriors and led them through the Holy Nation undetected until they reached the Mines. A great battle took place, Eon’s warriors were strong and their weapons powerful, but the Holy Nation had numbers. Eon underestimated his foe, but he could buy time, just enough for Shem to limp to safety. After the dust settled most of the warriors were dead or met an even worse fate, Eon was back in his chains, and Shem brought himself back to Eon’s base. He would return the favour.
The cycle will continue.
Graphics/Artstyle
This won’t win any awards for good graphics. If one were to zoom in far enough, the difference between Kenshi and an asset rip on Steam wouldn’t be that big. There are mods to improve it, but I find it oddly fitting.
It's an ugly world, can’t have it looking pretty.
Atmosphere/Immersion
I find Kenshi very immersive. Throughout my playthrough I got very attached to my characters, more so than other games, even though they had no actual personality. I believe this is due to the cruel and unforgiving nature of Kenshi, that gives a sense of realism and validity to the trials and tribulations that the players characters experience.
In fact, this can be applied to the whole game. The world is interesting because it doesn’t care about you, the player is just another small part of it. Thus, it feels more real, almost like it could actually exist.
Soundtrack
It’s a nice tribal-like ost that leans into the desert part of the game. My biggest problem with it is that it plays very rarely. My favourite part is “Scorching Wind”.
Final Thoughts
40 km/h seems like a reasonable pace for someone to be travelling for multiple days, without rest, sustaining themselves entirely on 3 loaves of bread. Right?
2015
I haven’t played Just Cause 1 or 2, so I can’t say how it compares.
Just Cause 3 is a prime example of a sandbox power fantasy. It gives a gigantic world filled with enemies and environments to destroy and the tools to do so. All of this is held together by a narrative that I honestly barely paid attention to. This is not a game to play for its story, it all about explosions and carnage. If you aren’t rushing to the end, then you will have plenty of opportunities to do just that. However, that does also mean it becomes quite repetitive and none of the side content is that good either, so you must really enjoy blowing stuff up to really enjoy Just Cause 3.
Story
Can’t say how it relates to the previous Just Cause games.
Set in the Mediterranean republic of Medici, that would fit right in with Latin America, you play as Rico Rodriguez. Who is the one-man army of the resistance of the dictator General Di Ravello. Not that he is alone, it’s just that no one else does anything. You go about liberating the island by just blowing up anyone loyal to the dictator.
I feel as though this is a storyline for the sake of storyline. It’s just there to drive the player forward and give them an end goal. I honestly don’t mind games with basic plots and narrative structure, that is as long as they have something else to back them up.
Mechanics and gameplay
Gameplay in Just Cause 3 goes something like this: you look at your map, pinpoint the nearest enemy base, go there, then destroy all enemy structures and soldiers conveniently highlighted in red. This can be done in a wide variety of ways – you can shoot them, explode them, fling them into the air, fling them into the ground, burn them and much more. After doing that to everyone and everything in your vicinity – base liberated, and now the surrounding area is highlighted in blue rather than red. At times, a story mission will have to be done in order to progress, but they are hardly much different.
All makes for a nice gameplay loop which is quite fun. The problem lies in that while you do unlock more gear as you progress, there isn't much incentive to do better. At a certain point, it goes from how can I destroy this base in the most fun way, to how can I do it most efficiently. This leads to relying on repetitive methods, some of which are available from early on.
That isn't all the content though, there are plenty of side objectives to complete. Let's just say they aren't that interesting. It is the usual open world game time padding - collectables, race mission (side note - driving physics are bad) and more. The only thing that caught my eye was collecting all the vehicles, since it allows you to spawn them in later.
Graphics/Artstyle
Graphics wise it's a great looking game, nothing state of the art by today's standards, but I can't complain.
The world can be very pretty at times, although it did start to blend in, from it all looking very similar.
Immersion
You play as a resistance fighter that has no sense of urgency, laws or physics. As you can probably guess, this means there isn't much immersion in Just Cause 3.
Soundtrack
It's the type of soundtrack that I believe could have been really good had it been given more attention. For now, it's just generic action music. Favourite part is “Exploration Lave”.
Final Thoughts
There is 100% speedrun of this game.
Just Cause 3 is a prime example of a sandbox power fantasy. It gives a gigantic world filled with enemies and environments to destroy and the tools to do so. All of this is held together by a narrative that I honestly barely paid attention to. This is not a game to play for its story, it all about explosions and carnage. If you aren’t rushing to the end, then you will have plenty of opportunities to do just that. However, that does also mean it becomes quite repetitive and none of the side content is that good either, so you must really enjoy blowing stuff up to really enjoy Just Cause 3.
Story
Can’t say how it relates to the previous Just Cause games.
Set in the Mediterranean republic of Medici, that would fit right in with Latin America, you play as Rico Rodriguez. Who is the one-man army of the resistance of the dictator General Di Ravello. Not that he is alone, it’s just that no one else does anything. You go about liberating the island by just blowing up anyone loyal to the dictator.
I feel as though this is a storyline for the sake of storyline. It’s just there to drive the player forward and give them an end goal. I honestly don’t mind games with basic plots and narrative structure, that is as long as they have something else to back them up.
Mechanics and gameplay
Gameplay in Just Cause 3 goes something like this: you look at your map, pinpoint the nearest enemy base, go there, then destroy all enemy structures and soldiers conveniently highlighted in red. This can be done in a wide variety of ways – you can shoot them, explode them, fling them into the air, fling them into the ground, burn them and much more. After doing that to everyone and everything in your vicinity – base liberated, and now the surrounding area is highlighted in blue rather than red. At times, a story mission will have to be done in order to progress, but they are hardly much different.
All makes for a nice gameplay loop which is quite fun. The problem lies in that while you do unlock more gear as you progress, there isn't much incentive to do better. At a certain point, it goes from how can I destroy this base in the most fun way, to how can I do it most efficiently. This leads to relying on repetitive methods, some of which are available from early on.
That isn't all the content though, there are plenty of side objectives to complete. Let's just say they aren't that interesting. It is the usual open world game time padding - collectables, race mission (side note - driving physics are bad) and more. The only thing that caught my eye was collecting all the vehicles, since it allows you to spawn them in later.
Graphics/Artstyle
Graphics wise it's a great looking game, nothing state of the art by today's standards, but I can't complain.
The world can be very pretty at times, although it did start to blend in, from it all looking very similar.
Immersion
You play as a resistance fighter that has no sense of urgency, laws or physics. As you can probably guess, this means there isn't much immersion in Just Cause 3.
Soundtrack
It's the type of soundtrack that I believe could have been really good had it been given more attention. For now, it's just generic action music. Favourite part is “Exploration Lave”.
Final Thoughts
There is 100% speedrun of this game.
2006
(I played this on Metal Slug Anthology on a PS2 emulator)
Metal Slug 6 is the, probably, seventh instalment in the Metal Slug franchise. Playing the previous ones in not required. They are 2D run-and-gun arcade games that boast an impressive artstyle and well there is a good chance you’ve read this already, so I wont waste any more of your time. Except for the new levels and weapons there isn’t anything new. I should mention it is of slightly lower quality.
Story
Nothing. Actually, there is some storytelling, but it’s the practically just to connect the levels.
Mechanics and gameplay
I lied there is something. Now there is a meter that fills up every time you deal damage. What does it do? It just gives you more points.
If you want any more information about the gameplay, read any of my reviews on the other instalments. I am not rewriting it again.
Graphics and artstyle
The artstyle is of lower quality than expected from this series. It feels a bit cheap honestly.
Soundtrack and sound effects
They are good, but since the rest of the game didn’t make an impression neither did they.
Final Thoughts
HEAVY MACHINEGUN!!!
Metal Slug 6 is the, probably, seventh instalment in the Metal Slug franchise. Playing the previous ones in not required. They are 2D run-and-gun arcade games that boast an impressive artstyle and well there is a good chance you’ve read this already, so I wont waste any more of your time. Except for the new levels and weapons there isn’t anything new. I should mention it is of slightly lower quality.
Story
Nothing. Actually, there is some storytelling, but it’s the practically just to connect the levels.
Mechanics and gameplay
I lied there is something. Now there is a meter that fills up every time you deal damage. What does it do? It just gives you more points.
If you want any more information about the gameplay, read any of my reviews on the other instalments. I am not rewriting it again.
Graphics and artstyle
The artstyle is of lower quality than expected from this series. It feels a bit cheap honestly.
Soundtrack and sound effects
They are good, but since the rest of the game didn’t make an impression neither did they.
Final Thoughts
HEAVY MACHINEGUN!!!
2019
DnD inspired is an attribute that can be given to many games, but I feel that most of the time this is just referring to the way combat is designed or the setting. Rarely does it mean the way the party grows and develops throughout the adventure. Characterization of randomly generated characters is rarely done, especially when the entire party is like that. Most of the time they presented as a hive mind, that does and goes through the same things. You can imagine my surprise when Wildermyth does exactly the opposite. That is the main selling point of the game - the randomly generated character arc your party goes through. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy turn-based combat and DnD.
Story
Before you even begin playing Wildermyth you have to choose which campaign to play. This determines the overarching storyline that will be followed in the next 10+ hours of gameplay. They are okay, but if it was just them, then my rating wouldn't be so high.
If you've read the description, you would have seen it described as “character driven”, this couldn't be more true. At the beginning of the campaign, you pick your party of heroes. Unlike most games, these characters aren't just weapons like fighter, tank, healer. The game gives them as much personality as possible, through banter, backstory and interparty relationships. This could even lead to doing an entire sidequest with just one character that serves as their character development. All of this turns the usual lifeless party into an actual group of “people”.
After a campaign is done, starting another gives the player the choice to include some of their previous party members in their new adventure.
Mechanics and gameplay
It DnD kinda.
There is generally an objective that has to be completed. This is represented by a far-off place you have to get to in the overworld. The overworld is split into many plots of land, all of which have different random encounters. Liberating an area by completing the encounter allows you to use that area for recruiting, craft and so on.
Sometimes these encounters can be done without combat, but that's rare. Combat is turn based and yeah it's practically DnD. I won't go into the details because there is nothing groundbreaking, and it does get boring after a while. It's the main reason why I stopped playing. It was after completing two campaigns, so I have sunk a good amount of time into Wildermyth.
Graphics and artstyle
It's alright. Nothing too fancy as this is an indie game, I believe. Much of it is heavily stylized and thus quite distinctive. Although some NPCs did start to blend in after a while.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Hardly anything I can say about the immersion and atmosphere. However, I did get quite attached to some of my characters by the end.
Soundtrack
It's enough, I can't give it any compliments, though. For most of it sounds the same. My favourite part is “a quest” (I don't know if that's the real name, that's just what I found on YouTube).
Final Thoughts
I've always wanted to be a …. crow
Story
Before you even begin playing Wildermyth you have to choose which campaign to play. This determines the overarching storyline that will be followed in the next 10+ hours of gameplay. They are okay, but if it was just them, then my rating wouldn't be so high.
If you've read the description, you would have seen it described as “character driven”, this couldn't be more true. At the beginning of the campaign, you pick your party of heroes. Unlike most games, these characters aren't just weapons like fighter, tank, healer. The game gives them as much personality as possible, through banter, backstory and interparty relationships. This could even lead to doing an entire sidequest with just one character that serves as their character development. All of this turns the usual lifeless party into an actual group of “people”.
After a campaign is done, starting another gives the player the choice to include some of their previous party members in their new adventure.
Mechanics and gameplay
It DnD kinda.
There is generally an objective that has to be completed. This is represented by a far-off place you have to get to in the overworld. The overworld is split into many plots of land, all of which have different random encounters. Liberating an area by completing the encounter allows you to use that area for recruiting, craft and so on.
Sometimes these encounters can be done without combat, but that's rare. Combat is turn based and yeah it's practically DnD. I won't go into the details because there is nothing groundbreaking, and it does get boring after a while. It's the main reason why I stopped playing. It was after completing two campaigns, so I have sunk a good amount of time into Wildermyth.
Graphics and artstyle
It's alright. Nothing too fancy as this is an indie game, I believe. Much of it is heavily stylized and thus quite distinctive. Although some NPCs did start to blend in after a while.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Hardly anything I can say about the immersion and atmosphere. However, I did get quite attached to some of my characters by the end.
Soundtrack
It's enough, I can't give it any compliments, though. For most of it sounds the same. My favourite part is “a quest” (I don't know if that's the real name, that's just what I found on YouTube).
Final Thoughts
I've always wanted to be a …. crow
AC 5 is the grandest and longest AC game of the PS 2 era, however it's also the worst one. It's by no means a bad game, it has all the core components of AC - arcade flight controls, slight sci-fi, large plane selection and varied missions, but the storyline and at times bad balancing made it the least enjoyable for me.
Story
Another war in Strangereal, (Yes, that is the name of the alternate universe AC is set in) that continent can't ever get enough. AC 5’s storyline is about a war between two major superpowers that turns out was instigated by a shadowy organization. It doesn't use any unique storytelling methods like others in the series and overall, it's just a save the day kind of story without any of the elements that made the others special. Your character develops the gigantic vocabulary of two words - yes and no. Choosing either has no almost no effect on the story.
Gameplay
Gameplay is mostly okay. The same arcade flight mechanics of the other games with some additional features. These are a progression meter to unlock better planes by playing with a similar one and a way to give orders to your squadron. These orders however aren't very effective. My biggest problem is the low missile count of the planes. I failed multiple missions just because I didn't have enough. Whether or not this will be a problem for you is dependent on whether you play with a keyboard or controller. Since the MG’s (that are much easier to aim with a controller) are the most effective in any AC game.
Graphics and artstyle
The game is from the PS2 era so you can expect some outdated graphics. Unfortunately, the cutscenes have not been spared for this installment. The closest comparison I can make is Toy story 1.
Atmosphere
The hero that saves the day's atmosphere is still there, but it’s weakened a bit by having the whole squadron take the credit, rather than only you.
Soundtrack
Soundtrack is as good as always. “The Unsung War” is for me the best part of the ost.
Final Thoughts
President Harling, we NEED 5 million rockets to bomb Yuktobanian children. PLEASE
Story
Another war in Strangereal, (Yes, that is the name of the alternate universe AC is set in) that continent can't ever get enough. AC 5’s storyline is about a war between two major superpowers that turns out was instigated by a shadowy organization. It doesn't use any unique storytelling methods like others in the series and overall, it's just a save the day kind of story without any of the elements that made the others special. Your character develops the gigantic vocabulary of two words - yes and no. Choosing either has no almost no effect on the story.
Gameplay
Gameplay is mostly okay. The same arcade flight mechanics of the other games with some additional features. These are a progression meter to unlock better planes by playing with a similar one and a way to give orders to your squadron. These orders however aren't very effective. My biggest problem is the low missile count of the planes. I failed multiple missions just because I didn't have enough. Whether or not this will be a problem for you is dependent on whether you play with a keyboard or controller. Since the MG’s (that are much easier to aim with a controller) are the most effective in any AC game.
Graphics and artstyle
The game is from the PS2 era so you can expect some outdated graphics. Unfortunately, the cutscenes have not been spared for this installment. The closest comparison I can make is Toy story 1.
Atmosphere
The hero that saves the day's atmosphere is still there, but it’s weakened a bit by having the whole squadron take the credit, rather than only you.
Soundtrack
Soundtrack is as good as always. “The Unsung War” is for me the best part of the ost.
Final Thoughts
President Harling, we NEED 5 million rockets to bomb Yuktobanian children. PLEASE
2012
I would describe Hotline Miami as one of those games where everything fits perfectly, even the title. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Hotline Miami”? Neon lights, narcotics, crime - that's what this game is about. A drug fuelled slather with no rational motive or purpose. The gameplay manages to match this energy, thus leading to the cult status that Hotline Miami has obtained.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants a fast-paced game within a setting rarely seen in gaming. The game is short, however it does make up for it with its replay value.
Story
You play as a guy who took just the right drugs to turn into a killing machine. Now you receive orders from wherever, that decide which crime den you will assault next.
I was quite invested in the story, more so for finding out what will happen next than anything else, but I can't say I was disappointed.
Mechanics and gameplay
The gameplay loop is simple - enter a level, pick a mask, kill everyone.
This is deceptively simple, most enemies are either incapacitated or killed in one hit, but so are you. This leads to some very intense fights as you try to kill all enemies before they get a shot off.
In terms of replay value at the end of every encounter, you get points depending on how fast and stylish you were. A lot of time can be spent trying to figure out what's the most lethal route you can take in every level. I would recommend it if you have the reaction time.
Graphics and artstyle
Top down 2D and quite simplistic, but it conveys what it has to.
A lot of effort has been put into presenting the “vibe” of the game through the artstyle. This can be seen in the use of bright colours and trippy visuals.
Atmosphere/Immersion
As I said - a bloody drug induced trance. It pulls it off incredibly well, there is no mechanic or part that detracts from it.
It's hard to say I was immersed, it would be more correct to say I was invested.
Soundtrack
The OST matches the intensity of the combat and the hazy hangover-like levels in-between the action. Personally not my type of music, but there is hardly anything better for a game like this. My favourite part of the soundtrack is “Crystals”.
Final Thoughts
Why the long face?
I would recommend it to anyone who wants a fast-paced game within a setting rarely seen in gaming. The game is short, however it does make up for it with its replay value.
Story
You play as a guy who took just the right drugs to turn into a killing machine. Now you receive orders from wherever, that decide which crime den you will assault next.
I was quite invested in the story, more so for finding out what will happen next than anything else, but I can't say I was disappointed.
Mechanics and gameplay
The gameplay loop is simple - enter a level, pick a mask, kill everyone.
This is deceptively simple, most enemies are either incapacitated or killed in one hit, but so are you. This leads to some very intense fights as you try to kill all enemies before they get a shot off.
In terms of replay value at the end of every encounter, you get points depending on how fast and stylish you were. A lot of time can be spent trying to figure out what's the most lethal route you can take in every level. I would recommend it if you have the reaction time.
Graphics and artstyle
Top down 2D and quite simplistic, but it conveys what it has to.
A lot of effort has been put into presenting the “vibe” of the game through the artstyle. This can be seen in the use of bright colours and trippy visuals.
Atmosphere/Immersion
As I said - a bloody drug induced trance. It pulls it off incredibly well, there is no mechanic or part that detracts from it.
It's hard to say I was immersed, it would be more correct to say I was invested.
Soundtrack
The OST matches the intensity of the combat and the hazy hangover-like levels in-between the action. Personally not my type of music, but there is hardly anything better for a game like this. My favourite part of the soundtrack is “Crystals”.
Final Thoughts
Why the long face?
2010
Regarded as one of the best RPGs ever made, Fallout: New Vegas is the pinnacle of the Fallout series and is my go-to recommendation for anyone who wants to play an RPG or just a good game in general. I played for a good amount of time, exploring as much as I could, doing all the DLCs, finishing the final quest, and I was left completely satisfied. It's overall a great combination of a lot of well executed mechanics and damn good writing. The only reason why you wouldn't play it is if you can't handle outdated graphics, but that's on you.
Story
It’s set in a post-apocalyptic New Vegas and the surrounding Mojave Desert. The world of FNV is fascinating. There are so many locations which just upon seeing them made me start to wonder what their story is, and how do they tie in to the rest of the world? FNV provided the answers (most of the time), thus I was even more engaged.
You play as a courier (fancy name for a mail man), who got shot in the head, lost all memories and now can change the world. As I said, the writing is exceptional, the main quest is well-made with plenty of choices the player can make to have their faction of choice be the victor. Of course, there is never a perfect ending, and there isn’t one faction that can bring perfect harmony. The player has to decide which is best.
I also like how the ending was an actual ending and not just dropping you straight back into the world as if nothing happened.
Mechanics and gameplay
It's a first person RPG. Obviously there are levels, skills and so on. They are well implemented, as I never felt that an enemy was incredibly powerful just because of their high level.
The combat was okay. There is plenty of variety in weapons and ways to kill enemies, but it never goes that in depth, so I can't praise it too much. In a pure FPS, this would be disappointing, but as this is an RPG, it gets a pass from me.
The map isn't that big compared to its rivals, however It's filled with so many interesting locations that I found myself stopping to explore them very often. Due to this, traversing the entire map took much longer than I expected.
Also, there are four additional DLCs that are all superb.
Graphics and artstyle
Even at the time the game was released, its graphics were hardly top of the line. As such, you can imagine that today in terms of graphical quality, FNV is quite poor. Personally, it didn't affect me that much, but anyone who is used to today's quality will be put off.
Atmosphere/Immersion
In terms of immersion, I would say it was not perfect, but still pretty good. I for some reason couldn't shake the occasional feeling that this is just a game, although that could just be me.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is mostly dark ambiance. There are different soundtracks for different places, but to me, they all sound the same, so I never paid that much attention. That is, expected for when there is radio playing, as there are so real bangers that Mr Vegas puts on. My favourite part of the ost, excluding the ones not made for the game, is “The Courier Walks Softly”.
Final Thoughts
Is it Caesar or Caesar?
Story
It’s set in a post-apocalyptic New Vegas and the surrounding Mojave Desert. The world of FNV is fascinating. There are so many locations which just upon seeing them made me start to wonder what their story is, and how do they tie in to the rest of the world? FNV provided the answers (most of the time), thus I was even more engaged.
You play as a courier (fancy name for a mail man), who got shot in the head, lost all memories and now can change the world. As I said, the writing is exceptional, the main quest is well-made with plenty of choices the player can make to have their faction of choice be the victor. Of course, there is never a perfect ending, and there isn’t one faction that can bring perfect harmony. The player has to decide which is best.
I also like how the ending was an actual ending and not just dropping you straight back into the world as if nothing happened.
Mechanics and gameplay
It's a first person RPG. Obviously there are levels, skills and so on. They are well implemented, as I never felt that an enemy was incredibly powerful just because of their high level.
The combat was okay. There is plenty of variety in weapons and ways to kill enemies, but it never goes that in depth, so I can't praise it too much. In a pure FPS, this would be disappointing, but as this is an RPG, it gets a pass from me.
The map isn't that big compared to its rivals, however It's filled with so many interesting locations that I found myself stopping to explore them very often. Due to this, traversing the entire map took much longer than I expected.
Also, there are four additional DLCs that are all superb.
Graphics and artstyle
Even at the time the game was released, its graphics were hardly top of the line. As such, you can imagine that today in terms of graphical quality, FNV is quite poor. Personally, it didn't affect me that much, but anyone who is used to today's quality will be put off.
Atmosphere/Immersion
In terms of immersion, I would say it was not perfect, but still pretty good. I for some reason couldn't shake the occasional feeling that this is just a game, although that could just be me.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is mostly dark ambiance. There are different soundtracks for different places, but to me, they all sound the same, so I never paid that much attention. That is, expected for when there is radio playing, as there are so real bangers that Mr Vegas puts on. My favourite part of the ost, excluding the ones not made for the game, is “The Courier Walks Softly”.
Final Thoughts
Is it Caesar or Caesar?
2016
Stardew Valley is in the overgeneralizing genre of “relaxing games”. For a lot of people, this is the go to when they think of a relaxing gaming experience, and for good reason. It executes that part flawlessly. There is no rush, no overarching narrative pushing you towards a certain direction, you just take care of the farm and interact with the outside world as you see fit. Personally, I enjoyed my time with the game, although I was never taken hold by it as others have. If you just want a relaxing experience, there is hardly a better game for you.
Story
Your grandfather has recently passed away and left you his farm in Stardew Valley. As the sensible person you are, you decide to resign from your job and go live there together with its roughly 20+ permanent residents.
There is no overarching plot. The citizens of Stardew Valley go about their lives, you interfere, whenever you decide. Romance is an option, even marriage, however that's not the case for every NPC.
There is also kind of a villain with the Joja Corporation, which is apparently so desperate for new customers that it decided to build an entire supermarket in this tiny community. They disappear if you progress the game enough while also ignoring them.
Mechanics and gameplay
Stardew Valley has a variety of things to do, the most obvious being taking care of the farm. Planting, watering and watching them grow is what that consists of. However, as the farm grows the player requires better tools, sprinklers and more to keep up. This can be achieved with money earned from selling crops and going into the mine for materials.
What I described above is what most players will experience at some point while playing Stardew Valley. There is a lot I've left out - fishing, foraging, farm animals and so on. It will be a while before you take part in everything this game has to offer.
Graphics and artstyle
The artstyle of Stardew Valley is simplistic 2D pixel art. Describing it as simplistic is however deceiving, there is a lot of care and attention put into everything to make it fit with the rest of the game.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Stardew Valley reminds me of reading a book in which I know no character will die, no major drama will happen, but I just can't stop reading, because all of those small moments, those insignificant interactions are so well written.
Soundtrack
The ost is similar to the rest of the game - calming, cozy. I have no idea how this genre is named, but it's the type of music I would put in a “Relaxing music to listen to while studying/sleeping” playlist. My favourite part is “Winter (The Wind Can Be Still)”.
Final Thoughts
I looked all throughout the map and didn't find a single eight lane highway. My initial belief that this is set in the USA is shaking.
Story
Your grandfather has recently passed away and left you his farm in Stardew Valley. As the sensible person you are, you decide to resign from your job and go live there together with its roughly 20+ permanent residents.
There is no overarching plot. The citizens of Stardew Valley go about their lives, you interfere, whenever you decide. Romance is an option, even marriage, however that's not the case for every NPC.
There is also kind of a villain with the Joja Corporation, which is apparently so desperate for new customers that it decided to build an entire supermarket in this tiny community. They disappear if you progress the game enough while also ignoring them.
Mechanics and gameplay
Stardew Valley has a variety of things to do, the most obvious being taking care of the farm. Planting, watering and watching them grow is what that consists of. However, as the farm grows the player requires better tools, sprinklers and more to keep up. This can be achieved with money earned from selling crops and going into the mine for materials.
What I described above is what most players will experience at some point while playing Stardew Valley. There is a lot I've left out - fishing, foraging, farm animals and so on. It will be a while before you take part in everything this game has to offer.
Graphics and artstyle
The artstyle of Stardew Valley is simplistic 2D pixel art. Describing it as simplistic is however deceiving, there is a lot of care and attention put into everything to make it fit with the rest of the game.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Stardew Valley reminds me of reading a book in which I know no character will die, no major drama will happen, but I just can't stop reading, because all of those small moments, those insignificant interactions are so well written.
Soundtrack
The ost is similar to the rest of the game - calming, cozy. I have no idea how this genre is named, but it's the type of music I would put in a “Relaxing music to listen to while studying/sleeping” playlist. My favourite part is “Winter (The Wind Can Be Still)”.
Final Thoughts
I looked all throughout the map and didn't find a single eight lane highway. My initial belief that this is set in the USA is shaking.
STALKER is one of those game series which has got a huge number of mods for. STALKER: Anomaly is one of the most popular and comprehensive ones. There isn’t even any need for the vanilla games to play it, just download and play. To add on to that, it’s also free. Hardly a bad deal in my opinion.
Anomaly is a combination of all STALKER games, cut content and ideas that never made it. It follows a storyline similar to vanilla if story mode is chosen and does away with the pre-made player character. Can it stand on its own? It lacks the charm of the vanilla games, so I would recommend playing them first. Even if you don’t, you will still have a fun time with Anomaly.
Story
I noticed quite a few similarities between the story of anomaly and vanilla, so I didn’t feel the same need to follow the main quest as before. I honestly can’t remember much about it. I should mention that I didn’t to complete everything. Furthermore, I stopped playing in the middle of the second of 3 “main quests”. I already had the best gear; an incredible amount of money and it was a slog to keep going, so I stopped playing.
Obviously, that’s just my experience, yours may differ. Still, I would not recommend Anomaly for its story.
Mechanics and gameplay
As this is technically a mod, you can change almost every aspect of the gameplay to fit your playstyle. Personally, I didn’t bother with that and just stuck with vanilla Anomaly.
The first new addition that can be seen is the inclusion of a character creator that allows you to play as any faction and start in many locations. There you can also choose story or warfare and others part about your playthrough.
The largest change this mod brings is the combination of all the maps and more. This made the play area so massive that I didn’t manage to explore it all. Also, the FPS aspect is majorly improved, to the point that I’ve seen some complaints that it’s turning into a mil sim.
The warfare mode is worth mentioning. It can be a little unfair. By that I mean I was fighting off waves of hundreds of monolith forces while watching all other locations being overrun. Still, it was fun.
Overall, Anomaly is better than any of the STALKER games in terms of gameplay.
Graphics/Artstyle
Graphics are also pretty good. Still looks like STALKER, but its obvious effort has been put in to make it look as good as possible.
Atmosphere/Immersion
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I wasn’t as immersed in Anomaly as in the other STALKER titles. It felt as if I was a player in a game, rather than a stalker in the zone.
Music
Didn’t listen to soundtrack that much. Seems like mostly dark ambiance, just as before. I don’t have a favourite.
Final thoughts
I can’t wait for all of my STALKER reviews to be outdated the moment STALKER 2 comes out.
Anomaly is a combination of all STALKER games, cut content and ideas that never made it. It follows a storyline similar to vanilla if story mode is chosen and does away with the pre-made player character. Can it stand on its own? It lacks the charm of the vanilla games, so I would recommend playing them first. Even if you don’t, you will still have a fun time with Anomaly.
Story
I noticed quite a few similarities between the story of anomaly and vanilla, so I didn’t feel the same need to follow the main quest as before. I honestly can’t remember much about it. I should mention that I didn’t to complete everything. Furthermore, I stopped playing in the middle of the second of 3 “main quests”. I already had the best gear; an incredible amount of money and it was a slog to keep going, so I stopped playing.
Obviously, that’s just my experience, yours may differ. Still, I would not recommend Anomaly for its story.
Mechanics and gameplay
As this is technically a mod, you can change almost every aspect of the gameplay to fit your playstyle. Personally, I didn’t bother with that and just stuck with vanilla Anomaly.
The first new addition that can be seen is the inclusion of a character creator that allows you to play as any faction and start in many locations. There you can also choose story or warfare and others part about your playthrough.
The largest change this mod brings is the combination of all the maps and more. This made the play area so massive that I didn’t manage to explore it all. Also, the FPS aspect is majorly improved, to the point that I’ve seen some complaints that it’s turning into a mil sim.
The warfare mode is worth mentioning. It can be a little unfair. By that I mean I was fighting off waves of hundreds of monolith forces while watching all other locations being overrun. Still, it was fun.
Overall, Anomaly is better than any of the STALKER games in terms of gameplay.
Graphics/Artstyle
Graphics are also pretty good. Still looks like STALKER, but its obvious effort has been put in to make it look as good as possible.
Atmosphere/Immersion
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I wasn’t as immersed in Anomaly as in the other STALKER titles. It felt as if I was a player in a game, rather than a stalker in the zone.
Music
Didn’t listen to soundtrack that much. Seems like mostly dark ambiance, just as before. I don’t have a favourite.
Final thoughts
I can’t wait for all of my STALKER reviews to be outdated the moment STALKER 2 comes out.
STALKER: Call of Pripyat is the third and final instalment in the STALKER trilogy. It is definitively the best one. It has the best gameplay, the best graphics and doesn’t reuse the map like Clear Sky. Technically it is a sequel that takes place after Shadow of Chernobyl, but there isn’t much tying both games together, so Call of Pripyat can stand on its own. Overall, if you want to play just one STALKER game, play this one.
Story
The setting is pretty much the same as before, the only exception being that it takes place in a different part of the zone.
You play as an army officer sent to the zone to investigate disturbances that have been taking down helicopters that try to make it to the centre. Story has never been a strong point in the series, including this one. It’s enough to provide an objective while playing, and it is engaging, but not much more.
Side quests are much better here. There is plenty of variety, it isn’t just go here, shoot someone, take something.
Mechanics and gameplay
Gameplay is at its best here. The only part that’s missing is the faction warfare, but I was never interested in it, so I didn’t mind.
The biggest improvement is to the artefact hunting. The mechanics from Clear Sky have been kept and in addition the locations of the anomalies have been enhanced. Now rather than them being just in a random place, it is, for instance, a fire anomaly in an eternally burning village.
All other aspect is either similar or better. However, the total playtime you will get out of CoP is less than the previous.
Graphics and artstyle
Graphics are also at their peak. It’s still outdated, especially compared to today, but it isn’t ugly.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Immersion is also just as good, at times even better.
Music
As I have said before, the soundtrack is practically shared or at the very least similar among the trilogy. It’s mostly dark ambience. My favourite part is “Live to Forget”.
Final thoughts
“We thank you, oh Monolith, may your light shine down on the souls of the brave soldiers who gave their lives in service of your will.” It is now my daily prayer.
Story
The setting is pretty much the same as before, the only exception being that it takes place in a different part of the zone.
You play as an army officer sent to the zone to investigate disturbances that have been taking down helicopters that try to make it to the centre. Story has never been a strong point in the series, including this one. It’s enough to provide an objective while playing, and it is engaging, but not much more.
Side quests are much better here. There is plenty of variety, it isn’t just go here, shoot someone, take something.
Mechanics and gameplay
Gameplay is at its best here. The only part that’s missing is the faction warfare, but I was never interested in it, so I didn’t mind.
The biggest improvement is to the artefact hunting. The mechanics from Clear Sky have been kept and in addition the locations of the anomalies have been enhanced. Now rather than them being just in a random place, it is, for instance, a fire anomaly in an eternally burning village.
All other aspect is either similar or better. However, the total playtime you will get out of CoP is less than the previous.
Graphics and artstyle
Graphics are also at their peak. It’s still outdated, especially compared to today, but it isn’t ugly.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Immersion is also just as good, at times even better.
Music
As I have said before, the soundtrack is practically shared or at the very least similar among the trilogy. It’s mostly dark ambience. My favourite part is “Live to Forget”.
Final thoughts
“We thank you, oh Monolith, may your light shine down on the souls of the brave soldiers who gave their lives in service of your will.” It is now my daily prayer.
STALKER: Clear sky is the second in the STALKER trilogy and a prequel to Shadow of Chernobyl. Honestly, and many will agree with me, this is the weakest in the series. It’s a rehash of the previous game with slightly better graphics, some new areas and a new but worse story. Still the core of STALKER is there so I can’t call it bad, it’s just mid. It’s not required to play to be able to understand the next game. I would only recommend it to anyone who just wants more STALKER.
Story
Same setting as the previous game with only minimal differences. The story itself is worse.
You are part of an organisation trying to stop people from going to the centre of the zone in the guise of - very bad things will happen. It’s mostly just doing the same as in SoC, but without the magic of experiencing it for the first time.
Mechanics and gameplay
Gameplay wise there are multiple improvements, but it’s overshadowed by the next game in the series, Call of Pripyat, that does everything even better.
My biggest problem is that 80% of the map is the same. Playing this right after SoC makes both blur together. It could have been used to good effect if the storyline was better, but it isn’t so.
There is one thing I wasn’t included in the next title - faction warfare. It was in SoC, but it didn’t have much depth. Here you can join your faction of choice and fight for them, even taking territory. I wasn’t interested in it, so ignored it, however if you do want to spice up your playthrough, consider it.
Graphics
Improved compared to the previous title. I mainly remember the lighting being better.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Even with all the criticism I dished out, I was still mostly immersed in the world of Clear Sky. So I can’t say anything bad about the atmosphere, it has even improved in some parts.
Music
These games share many of the songs in their soundtracks. They are almost exclusively dark ambience. Clear Sky does have exclusive songs in each of the faction bases, the bandit radio being very popular to the point where I had no idea it was even from Clear Sky. My favourite is “Loner Radio”.
Final thoughts
Ever heard that very popular “Cyka blyat” sound bite, I believe it comes from this game, or at the very least from the STALKER series.
Story
Same setting as the previous game with only minimal differences. The story itself is worse.
You are part of an organisation trying to stop people from going to the centre of the zone in the guise of - very bad things will happen. It’s mostly just doing the same as in SoC, but without the magic of experiencing it for the first time.
Mechanics and gameplay
Gameplay wise there are multiple improvements, but it’s overshadowed by the next game in the series, Call of Pripyat, that does everything even better.
My biggest problem is that 80% of the map is the same. Playing this right after SoC makes both blur together. It could have been used to good effect if the storyline was better, but it isn’t so.
There is one thing I wasn’t included in the next title - faction warfare. It was in SoC, but it didn’t have much depth. Here you can join your faction of choice and fight for them, even taking territory. I wasn’t interested in it, so ignored it, however if you do want to spice up your playthrough, consider it.
Graphics
Improved compared to the previous title. I mainly remember the lighting being better.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Even with all the criticism I dished out, I was still mostly immersed in the world of Clear Sky. So I can’t say anything bad about the atmosphere, it has even improved in some parts.
Music
These games share many of the songs in their soundtracks. They are almost exclusively dark ambience. Clear Sky does have exclusive songs in each of the faction bases, the bandit radio being very popular to the point where I had no idea it was even from Clear Sky. My favourite is “Loner Radio”.
Final thoughts
Ever heard that very popular “Cyka blyat” sound bite, I believe it comes from this game, or at the very least from the STALKER series.
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl is loosely based on the film “STALKER” and the novel “Roadside Picnic”. The only things it shares with them are the anomalous artefacts, the existence of an exclusion zone and a dreary atmosphere. There is no point in beating around the bush, STALKER: SoC isn’t an uplifting or forgiving. Technically it's survival action, but looking back, I could classify this as survival horror with the number of times I thought to myself – I do not want to be here any longer. Don’t take that as a negative, after finishing this game, I couldn’t wait to play the rest of the trilogy. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a punishing open world action game set in a kind of post-apocalyptic environment with great atmosphere. Also, it’s made by Ukrainians, so don’t expect the best English voice acting.
Story
As the title implies it's set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone where a totally different disaster from the one, we know happened. It caused reality altering anomalies to appear, mutant to start roaming the surface and horrors to lurk in the shadows. Many go there, against the government's wishes, seeking riches or salvation via the rumoured wish granter located at the power plant.
The character you play as is an enigma. He was brought back from the centre, remembers nothing, and his main objective is to kill some guy named Sterelok. It’s not the best storyline I’ve played, but it was enough to keep me engaged.
Obviously, that’s not the only thing you can do. There aren’t as many activities as some other games of the genre, but still there are interesting things to do and explore.
Mechanics and gameplay
Survival horror, FPS, open world, are all genres STALKER SoC is a part of. I am going to be honest, most of it is kind of meh. Shooting is okay, but it’s clearly outdated. The open world isn’t bad, but it’s the one you can go through twice before it starts feeling small. Artifact hunting is fun, but it’s done so much better in later titles. Gameplay wise, there isn’t anything I can point to specifically and say that it was done exceptionally well. But still I had fun and it being semi short it didn’t get boring or annoying.
I have heard some complaints about bugs and glitches, but I never had much of a problem with them.
Graphics and artstyle
This is where STALKER: SoC can turn off a lot of people. A 2006 game made in Eastern Europe doesn’t scream high quality. However, anyone who has got used to the low quality of the early 2000s won’t find SoC off-putting. It at least never breaks the atmosphere it tries to build.
Atmosphere/Immersion
By far the best part of STALKER is its dreary, suffocating atmosphere. Everything from the environment, the colour pallet, the around design is made to build it up. It’s so well-crafted that I can totally see this world as existing on its own. I was totally immersed to the point where I was looking at random NPC’s and wondering why are they here, could the zone really be a better alternative to the normal world.
Soundtrack
All the STALKER games share has similar soundtrack, so you might hear one ost in two or even their games. In any case, it's almost exclusivity dark ambience, so you would need a keen ear to memorize them. My favourite part is “Dirge For The Planet”.
Final Thoughts
I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE
Story
As the title implies it's set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone where a totally different disaster from the one, we know happened. It caused reality altering anomalies to appear, mutant to start roaming the surface and horrors to lurk in the shadows. Many go there, against the government's wishes, seeking riches or salvation via the rumoured wish granter located at the power plant.
The character you play as is an enigma. He was brought back from the centre, remembers nothing, and his main objective is to kill some guy named Sterelok. It’s not the best storyline I’ve played, but it was enough to keep me engaged.
Obviously, that’s not the only thing you can do. There aren’t as many activities as some other games of the genre, but still there are interesting things to do and explore.
Mechanics and gameplay
Survival horror, FPS, open world, are all genres STALKER SoC is a part of. I am going to be honest, most of it is kind of meh. Shooting is okay, but it’s clearly outdated. The open world isn’t bad, but it’s the one you can go through twice before it starts feeling small. Artifact hunting is fun, but it’s done so much better in later titles. Gameplay wise, there isn’t anything I can point to specifically and say that it was done exceptionally well. But still I had fun and it being semi short it didn’t get boring or annoying.
I have heard some complaints about bugs and glitches, but I never had much of a problem with them.
Graphics and artstyle
This is where STALKER: SoC can turn off a lot of people. A 2006 game made in Eastern Europe doesn’t scream high quality. However, anyone who has got used to the low quality of the early 2000s won’t find SoC off-putting. It at least never breaks the atmosphere it tries to build.
Atmosphere/Immersion
By far the best part of STALKER is its dreary, suffocating atmosphere. Everything from the environment, the colour pallet, the around design is made to build it up. It’s so well-crafted that I can totally see this world as existing on its own. I was totally immersed to the point where I was looking at random NPC’s and wondering why are they here, could the zone really be a better alternative to the normal world.
Soundtrack
All the STALKER games share has similar soundtrack, so you might hear one ost in two or even their games. In any case, it's almost exclusivity dark ambience, so you would need a keen ear to memorize them. My favourite part is “Dirge For The Planet”.
Final Thoughts
I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE I SAID COME IN DON’T STAND THERE
2017
I played this many years ago, almost entirely because it was free and I had nothing else. It's simply a zombie survival game, it doesn’t do anything exceptional, it doesn’t have great graphics or a story, but it's free so what more could you ask for. It's possible to even play with friends, if one decides to make a server. Don’t forget the mods as well.
Story
As I said, no story. There is some lore as far as I have heard, but it's so obscure in the many hours I played I never thought to look for it.
Mechanics and gameplay
Have you ever played a survival game, like the ones where there is hunger, and you have to watch out for some kind of danger, and maybe there is also building? Well then, you’ve practically played Unturned. In, I would say, boil down almost any survival game to its core and you get Unturned.
That’s not to say I didn’t have any fun. There is no end goal, but for the 20 to 30 hours I spent simply building up my base and getting better gear, I was entertained. After a while, the realization that I was building up towards nothing came to me and I stopped playing.
Graphics and artstyle
I once saw someone refer to this game as “Minecraft with zombies”, which, ignoring the irony, give you an idea as to the graphical quality that should be expected.
Atmosphere/Immersion
I still like Unturned after all it was part of my childhood. That’s why I can’t really say anything about its atmosphere – I can’t tell what’s real and what’s just nostalgia.
Soundtrack
I barely remember the ost. I can recall just one song “Unturned theme song” so I guess that’s also my favourite.
Final Thoughts
Even after all these years, those zombies can still scare me.
Story
As I said, no story. There is some lore as far as I have heard, but it's so obscure in the many hours I played I never thought to look for it.
Mechanics and gameplay
Have you ever played a survival game, like the ones where there is hunger, and you have to watch out for some kind of danger, and maybe there is also building? Well then, you’ve practically played Unturned. In, I would say, boil down almost any survival game to its core and you get Unturned.
That’s not to say I didn’t have any fun. There is no end goal, but for the 20 to 30 hours I spent simply building up my base and getting better gear, I was entertained. After a while, the realization that I was building up towards nothing came to me and I stopped playing.
Graphics and artstyle
I once saw someone refer to this game as “Minecraft with zombies”, which, ignoring the irony, give you an idea as to the graphical quality that should be expected.
Atmosphere/Immersion
I still like Unturned after all it was part of my childhood. That’s why I can’t really say anything about its atmosphere – I can’t tell what’s real and what’s just nostalgia.
Soundtrack
I barely remember the ost. I can recall just one song “Unturned theme song” so I guess that’s also my favourite.
Final Thoughts
Even after all these years, those zombies can still scare me.