I might be the only one who really cares here, seeing how no one else has made any explicit mention of this, but EA's funneling of shitty, cynical DLC into an otherwise great game is so criminal when you realize the fact that EA makes it impossible to disable it. You may be wondering why I'm complaining about free DLC in a video game, but it's the DLC itself that is the problem. Dead Space 2, despite its action elements being more palpable than the first, is still a HORROR game. So why in God's name would EA give you every single weapon at the very beginning of the game? And it's not even just that, but EA provides weapons with a bunch of stat boosts and quirky little effects that make them more powerful. There are many issues with this, but the two most obvious ones relate to how the DLC completely trivializes both the horror elements and the progression. I did not care about collecting money or exploring for that matter, because I could buy literally whatever I wanted from the store at a very low price. Ammo and power nodes are the only real commodities worth investing in, but those are often scattered throughout the environment in easy-to-look places. I am positive the game did not expect me to start slicing up enemies with Line Cutters or Force Guns within the first three hours of the game. Worst of all, there is absolutely no way to disable it. You can try and work around it with some piracy options but at the end of the day, the work becomes too much effort. This would've been solved if EA had just kept their hands to themselves.

the game itself is well-made and as a debut title, i'm impressed by the vast majority of things this game gets right. the combat is simple yet satisfying, the art direction is breathtaking, the music is fantastic, and the setting is dripping with lore at every corner. the bosses were pretty great too, and often integrated various mechanics previously introduced within the game. if i hadn't known, i would've thought this was the work of a bunch of professionals. the game takes obvious inspirations from hollow knight, dark souls, and even salt and sanctuary, and I honestly believe that at its best, this game rivals those entries. in fact, this game is so good it makes salt and sanctuary look like a piece of shit. everything wrong with salt and sanctuary was gracefully fixed in this game.

however, it's not perfect. the ending chunk of the game was underwhelming, as is the case for most soulslikes it seems, and the rewards given for your exploration were at times very underwhelming. a huge missed opportunity from the developer's end was with the armor. the developers decided to make the armor only cosmetic, but yet put it in very hard-to-find parts of the map. what I'm trying to say is, you will often bust your ass trying to get to a secret part of the map, only to find out the secret is a worthless cosmetic item. sometimes you'd get weapons, which was neat, but the fact the armor does jackshit really rubbed me the wrong way. also, the performance was really inconsistent sometimes.

overall, it was a really good experience, with some hiccups here and there. i'd probably give this a strong eight. check it out

this game is as cynical as it is boring. the characters never shut the fuck up, and often interrupt the game to chip in corny one-liners. many of the characters are quite annoying for the most part, i'd say. a lot of the gameplay elements are way too complicated for what should be a shooty fun fun kill zombie video game. i'm not really trying to critique the game for trying something new, but for something that clings so heavily to left 4 dead, i see no choice but to compare it to its predecessor. and honestly, less is more. i don't give a shit about the characters, no one ever did. part of the fun with l4d was that most people would just create their own memes out of the characters, as a shorthand way of "developing" what were just lifeless vessels. it's not as fun when the personalities are so boisterious and most importantly, unfunny. my game shat itself whenever i shot a gun too, which was kinda annoying. it felt like it went through several coats of manufactured online multiplayer lootbox paint and was then shat out. i think the only amusing part of this game was the fact the zombies call you slurs. yes this is real. but of course, as expected from something as lifeless and droning as this game, they patched that out. the weird ass card deck mechanic though? still in the game!

i mean it doesn't really spell out anything positive if my first thought after two rounds of this game was, "i want to play left 4 dead 2 instead." go back to valve. give us left 4 dead 3. i'm begging.

edit: i do not condone racist zombies

contrary to popular belief, this game is not that bad. a lot of the exploration is fun and rewarding, the music is pretty kickass, and the plot is surprisingly engaging. the game itself was a really solid experience, however, that does not mean it's perfect.

the controls are pretty awkward as doing diagonal attacks and teleporting can be extremely botherwise. the lock feature helps with the diagonal attacks , but the problem was trying to achieve the diagonal shots in the first place. the bosses range from good to bad, with the worst being a boss that is pathetically easy and visually boring (teleport behind it and then unleash your wrath upon it.) the game itself didn't offer much in the visual department either, as many of the environments were roughly the same except snowy or deserted. there was variation here and there but they were nothing to write home about. a lot of the game does feel a bit underdeveloped in terms of level design and enemy placement, as i often died from bullshit placement and overall annoying enemies.

one of the best things i can comment on is the plot. the plot is surprisingly nuanced and dynamic, as it poses various philosophical questions on whether or not people can be redeemed, if the death of others is worth the happiness of another, and more. i found myself shocked by how well written the dialogue was at times, and i even snuck a few peeks at the notes.

the worst thing about the game would probably be the ending. the game abruptly ends with a lukewarm boss fight and an anti-climatic cutscene which only acts as sequel bait. for as well made as the rest of the game was, i was expecting the climax to be something powerful, but yet i was left thoroughly disappointed. just when you think there's still more to uncover, the game just abruptly ends.


it's time for the sequel i guess.

Wow! I love this game's visuals! The music is vibrant, the combat has weight, and the items are super interesting! Let's see what else it has to offer!

Haha, I just died. Okay. Let's restart.

40 minutes later

This game is so FUCKING ugly. The combat is SO FUCKING BAD I hate this STUPID ASS SKELETON. FUCK.