TrevorMason117
2023
November 5th, 2023: Had a great time playing this one. The story was as confusing as ever which is expected for Alan Wake, the combat was far better than the original, the live action sequences were fantastic and fun to see as a movie guy myself, and the core combat system never got repetitive unlike the original for me.
Only reason why this is four stars instead of five is because I was severely disappointed with how the game ended. 13 years and we got another cliffhanger, but it's worse this time cause unlike the original game, there's way too many questions unanswered to justify the game ending right there in that point in time. The story in general is excellent and there's nothing wrong with the writing, but it's the fact that the game ended right there instead of wrapping up everything that could also lead into sequels like what Remedy wants.
I was also not a fan of the Chapter Songs in this game, that's a personal thing. The songs in the original game were far better and whenever Poets of the Fall showed up, they stole the show without much effort since the competition isn't very good.
But yeah, great game overall. Kinda sucks that Remedy held back story content for New Game Plus, the second expansion, and possible sequels.
January 2nd, 2024: I'm done with the game. I get what Remedy was trying to do with The Final Draft, but it was one of the most miserable experiences I've ever sat through in my life. I enjoyed playing the game in the first run, I did. But being forced to replay the ENTIRE game again just to get the ending you want with almost ZERO differences during the journey to get there was one of the most grueling gaming experiences I've ever sat through especially since the game already starting to get repetitive by the normal end. Yes, the ending is fixed. Though saying "fixed" is a stretch in of itself. Some characters do have closure now, but getting there is just as painful as being Alan Wake in The Dark Place writing Return for 13 years. And it's because you already played this before. It makes sense from a narrative perspective, but OneShot Solstice did this much better cause at least Solstice was actually different so you wouldn't get bored getting to the new unraveling of mysteries. In here, you are literally repeating the game just so you can get a new ending. Again, it fits the looping concept, but it is so mind-numbingly boring and repetitive where you wish you could stop playing. Instead of using New Game Plus like how it is in most games, why not make The Final Draft a full experience like the main game and then give us New Game Plus after finishing both Main Game and Final Draft. Main Game Plus and Final Draft Plus would've been far better than this. New Game Plus should only ever be used for when you want to just replay the game, not forcing yourself to replay the game for a new plot point unless if you actually take this concept and fully flesh it out instead of pulling a half measure like what this mode was.
With The Final Draft, the pacing is completely fucked and the game doesn't even justify its now 30 hour runtime. If it wasn't for my devotion to my boyfriend, I wouldn't have finished the game and just look up the new ending on YouTube instead. OneShot Solstice did this exact same thing and did it better in every single way imaginable. Not to mention when you think of the plot in a way where you can piece it together, it gave me a migraine and I barely understand it in the end. I should also mention that the new ending doesn't even fix all the issues I had with the original finale. It fixes some things, doesn't resolve some things that should be resolved, and it creates even more questions. So there's that.
Overall with everything now available, Alan Wake II left me with a sense of sadness cause I had a great time with the game until the original ending and once it happened, it was all downhill from there and it only got worse once I realized that The Final Draft was a literal half baked concept wasting the potential of what could've been taking the concept of New Game Plus and making it a new experience within itself, yet The Final Draft barely does anything worthwhile to justify the New Game Plus run or even the excessive runtime especially for Survival Horror standards.
Alan Wake II is an artistic achievement still, but it could've done so much more instead of tripping at the finish line so hard that it scuffs any enjoyment I previously had with it. The original Alan Wake is a far better experience for me. Even if it has it's sloppy controls and floaty combat, it's a far more satisfying experience compared to the sequel and at least you aren't forced to replay the game again to get the ending.
Only reason why this is four stars instead of five is because I was severely disappointed with how the game ended. 13 years and we got another cliffhanger, but it's worse this time cause unlike the original game, there's way too many questions unanswered to justify the game ending right there in that point in time. The story in general is excellent and there's nothing wrong with the writing, but it's the fact that the game ended right there instead of wrapping up everything that could also lead into sequels like what Remedy wants.
I was also not a fan of the Chapter Songs in this game, that's a personal thing. The songs in the original game were far better and whenever Poets of the Fall showed up, they stole the show without much effort since the competition isn't very good.
But yeah, great game overall. Kinda sucks that Remedy held back story content for New Game Plus, the second expansion, and possible sequels.
January 2nd, 2024: I'm done with the game. I get what Remedy was trying to do with The Final Draft, but it was one of the most miserable experiences I've ever sat through in my life. I enjoyed playing the game in the first run, I did. But being forced to replay the ENTIRE game again just to get the ending you want with almost ZERO differences during the journey to get there was one of the most grueling gaming experiences I've ever sat through especially since the game already starting to get repetitive by the normal end. Yes, the ending is fixed. Though saying "fixed" is a stretch in of itself. Some characters do have closure now, but getting there is just as painful as being Alan Wake in The Dark Place writing Return for 13 years. And it's because you already played this before. It makes sense from a narrative perspective, but OneShot Solstice did this much better cause at least Solstice was actually different so you wouldn't get bored getting to the new unraveling of mysteries. In here, you are literally repeating the game just so you can get a new ending. Again, it fits the looping concept, but it is so mind-numbingly boring and repetitive where you wish you could stop playing. Instead of using New Game Plus like how it is in most games, why not make The Final Draft a full experience like the main game and then give us New Game Plus after finishing both Main Game and Final Draft. Main Game Plus and Final Draft Plus would've been far better than this. New Game Plus should only ever be used for when you want to just replay the game, not forcing yourself to replay the game for a new plot point unless if you actually take this concept and fully flesh it out instead of pulling a half measure like what this mode was.
With The Final Draft, the pacing is completely fucked and the game doesn't even justify its now 30 hour runtime. If it wasn't for my devotion to my boyfriend, I wouldn't have finished the game and just look up the new ending on YouTube instead. OneShot Solstice did this exact same thing and did it better in every single way imaginable. Not to mention when you think of the plot in a way where you can piece it together, it gave me a migraine and I barely understand it in the end. I should also mention that the new ending doesn't even fix all the issues I had with the original finale. It fixes some things, doesn't resolve some things that should be resolved, and it creates even more questions. So there's that.
Overall with everything now available, Alan Wake II left me with a sense of sadness cause I had a great time with the game until the original ending and once it happened, it was all downhill from there and it only got worse once I realized that The Final Draft was a literal half baked concept wasting the potential of what could've been taking the concept of New Game Plus and making it a new experience within itself, yet The Final Draft barely does anything worthwhile to justify the New Game Plus run or even the excessive runtime especially for Survival Horror standards.
Alan Wake II is an artistic achievement still, but it could've done so much more instead of tripping at the finish line so hard that it scuffs any enjoyment I previously had with it. The original Alan Wake is a far better experience for me. Even if it has it's sloppy controls and floaty combat, it's a far more satisfying experience compared to the sequel and at least you aren't forced to replay the game again to get the ending.
2017
This is an absolute disgrace to the anthology genre and it's Devolver Digital's version of Twelve Minutes.
First of all, I wouldn't even call this an anthology to begin with. That's being generous. When making a short story collection, you need to make sure all the stories can be enjoyed on their own. Even if your collection has a framing device to escort you from story to story or even a theme for the collection at large, the actual tales within have to be fully standalone to be enjoyed on their own.
With that said, Stories Untold fails at its premise with having "stories" that are near non-existent outside of their premise, with the exception of The Lab Conduct, that are a front for a final story with the worst trope in all of fiction that makes you feel like you wasted your time and your patience getting through this "collection."
The House Abandon: You go home to find another person in your house. That's it. There is literally nothing else to this story once the premise is in the air and it ends before any interesting conflict can happen. We Never Left from Dread X Collection 5 is an infinitely better version of this and that was made by a collage student in comparison.
The Lab Conduct: The only interesting story in this game. You're a scientist conducting an experiment that goes wrong. Unlike the rest of the stories in this collection, this actually feels like a standalone short. The only issue I have with this one is that it ends abruptly.
The Station Process: You're a radio guy talking to two other stations as the rest of the world dies. That sounds like a great idea for a story, but guess what? There is barely any story in this one where literally nothing happens most of the time and the story ends before anything worthwhile can happen.
The Last Session: The worst offender and the reason why I call this game a disgrace to the genre. All three stories are intentionally designed to be as one note as possible so this story can happen. And what happens in this story? A PSA on why you shouldn't do [INSERT BAD THING HERE] while the entire anthology is rendered worthless. As soon as you realize what is going on from minute one, all of your investment in this collection is thrown out the window and it doesn't even have a conclusion to end the narrative. Nothing ends, nothing begins, and nothing matters. What is the point of doing an anthology if it's obvious you don't want to put in the effort to do one?
Now for the gameplay. It can be whatever, it can be fine, it can be repetitive, and it can be so boring that it would make you want to uninstall the game. Especially in the third episode. There's nothing more I can say about the gameplay other than I was bored with it mostly.
Overall, Stories Untold is a perfect example of how to not do a short story collection. The three shorts feel like a last minute addition compared to what the writer really wanted to do and so we got this as the result. A game that lures players in with the promise of interesting stories, only to pull the rug out of all of them with the worst storytelling cliche in history. At least V/H/S: Viral understood the concept of the genre it was set in.
First of all, I wouldn't even call this an anthology to begin with. That's being generous. When making a short story collection, you need to make sure all the stories can be enjoyed on their own. Even if your collection has a framing device to escort you from story to story or even a theme for the collection at large, the actual tales within have to be fully standalone to be enjoyed on their own.
With that said, Stories Untold fails at its premise with having "stories" that are near non-existent outside of their premise, with the exception of The Lab Conduct, that are a front for a final story with the worst trope in all of fiction that makes you feel like you wasted your time and your patience getting through this "collection."
The House Abandon: You go home to find another person in your house. That's it. There is literally nothing else to this story once the premise is in the air and it ends before any interesting conflict can happen. We Never Left from Dread X Collection 5 is an infinitely better version of this and that was made by a collage student in comparison.
The Lab Conduct: The only interesting story in this game. You're a scientist conducting an experiment that goes wrong. Unlike the rest of the stories in this collection, this actually feels like a standalone short. The only issue I have with this one is that it ends abruptly.
The Station Process: You're a radio guy talking to two other stations as the rest of the world dies. That sounds like a great idea for a story, but guess what? There is barely any story in this one where literally nothing happens most of the time and the story ends before anything worthwhile can happen.
The Last Session: The worst offender and the reason why I call this game a disgrace to the genre. All three stories are intentionally designed to be as one note as possible so this story can happen. And what happens in this story? A PSA on why you shouldn't do [INSERT BAD THING HERE] while the entire anthology is rendered worthless. As soon as you realize what is going on from minute one, all of your investment in this collection is thrown out the window and it doesn't even have a conclusion to end the narrative. Nothing ends, nothing begins, and nothing matters. What is the point of doing an anthology if it's obvious you don't want to put in the effort to do one?
Now for the gameplay. It can be whatever, it can be fine, it can be repetitive, and it can be so boring that it would make you want to uninstall the game. Especially in the third episode. There's nothing more I can say about the gameplay other than I was bored with it mostly.
Overall, Stories Untold is a perfect example of how to not do a short story collection. The three shorts feel like a last minute addition compared to what the writer really wanted to do and so we got this as the result. A game that lures players in with the promise of interesting stories, only to pull the rug out of all of them with the worst storytelling cliche in history. At least V/H/S: Viral understood the concept of the genre it was set in.
This review contains spoilers
The Callisto Protocol is a successor to Dead Space, yet it has nothing in common with Dead Space at all when you actually play the game aside from visual cues like the HUD being minimal.
In short, I enjoyed the game. I went into the game with as low expectations as possible given the game's awful launch on PC and with how people don't like the game, yet I came out of the game liking it. It's not perfect though and I'll tell you that.
The story is very generic and painfully average. At least in Dead Space, the Unitologists weren't the main villains of the game since they were both undeniably stupid and the worst part of the franchise lore. That's not the case here in Callisto. Sure, you beat the hell out of the Biophage in the game, but the UJC is very much the villain of the game with motivations that would make every sci-fy fan facepalm in disappointment due to seeing all of this stuff hundreds of times before. The character writing is good enough, but you barely spend any time with these guys to care about them all that much before you're thrown into the horrendous "character gets separated from group" cliché multiple times to the point where you seriously wonder if the writing team were out of ideas. It's quite hilarious how The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station, an audio drama that released six weeks before the game did, has an infinitely better story than the game it's advertising.
The game's ending is also an absolute joke of a conclusion. In Dead Space, everything was wrapped up except for Isaac's connection to the Marker. In Callisto, the game ends with so many loose ends where you are wondering where the fuck is the rest of the game once the credits begin. Pretty scummy to lock off the rest of the game to that story DLC coming later this year.
Gameplay. It's fun. It's actually pretty fun. Gets repetitive though and you can increasingly feel that for the entire game. The Melee combat is not fleshed out at all and feels very basic, and this is what you're going to be doing for the entire game if you want to save ammo. Ranged combat is meaty and full of weight so there's that. The GRP, I like this thing, but it breaks the game with letting you be able to throw the enemies off of ledges and into spikes. Turning the game into a cakewalk and I'm a guy who hates hard games so that should say something. At least there's a timer system so you don't abuse it at the start, but I'm sure some experts can already do that when you upgrade it halfway. Even with my complaints here, I ended up enjoying the combat loop due to the animations for the Melee combat to be visceral and packing a punch. Trust me, if they didn't, the game would've gotten very stale.
Overall I liked Callisto. It's a flawed game, but you can a good time with it if you set your expectations low unlike most people. The game can be fun, the voice cast is nice despite Sam Witwer barely being in the game to the point of contention, the animations are Medium Well Done, and levels are fun to run around in.
Is it worth $70 though despite it not having New Game+, Hardcore Mode, and the game's final act being cut for DLC? Fuck no.
In short, I enjoyed the game. I went into the game with as low expectations as possible given the game's awful launch on PC and with how people don't like the game, yet I came out of the game liking it. It's not perfect though and I'll tell you that.
The story is very generic and painfully average. At least in Dead Space, the Unitologists weren't the main villains of the game since they were both undeniably stupid and the worst part of the franchise lore. That's not the case here in Callisto. Sure, you beat the hell out of the Biophage in the game, but the UJC is very much the villain of the game with motivations that would make every sci-fy fan facepalm in disappointment due to seeing all of this stuff hundreds of times before. The character writing is good enough, but you barely spend any time with these guys to care about them all that much before you're thrown into the horrendous "character gets separated from group" cliché multiple times to the point where you seriously wonder if the writing team were out of ideas. It's quite hilarious how The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station, an audio drama that released six weeks before the game did, has an infinitely better story than the game it's advertising.
The game's ending is also an absolute joke of a conclusion. In Dead Space, everything was wrapped up except for Isaac's connection to the Marker. In Callisto, the game ends with so many loose ends where you are wondering where the fuck is the rest of the game once the credits begin. Pretty scummy to lock off the rest of the game to that story DLC coming later this year.
Gameplay. It's fun. It's actually pretty fun. Gets repetitive though and you can increasingly feel that for the entire game. The Melee combat is not fleshed out at all and feels very basic, and this is what you're going to be doing for the entire game if you want to save ammo. Ranged combat is meaty and full of weight so there's that. The GRP, I like this thing, but it breaks the game with letting you be able to throw the enemies off of ledges and into spikes. Turning the game into a cakewalk and I'm a guy who hates hard games so that should say something. At least there's a timer system so you don't abuse it at the start, but I'm sure some experts can already do that when you upgrade it halfway. Even with my complaints here, I ended up enjoying the combat loop due to the animations for the Melee combat to be visceral and packing a punch. Trust me, if they didn't, the game would've gotten very stale.
Overall I liked Callisto. It's a flawed game, but you can a good time with it if you set your expectations low unlike most people. The game can be fun, the voice cast is nice despite Sam Witwer barely being in the game to the point of contention, the animations are Medium Well Done, and levels are fun to run around in.
Is it worth $70 though despite it not having New Game+, Hardcore Mode, and the game's final act being cut for DLC? Fuck no.
2022
Teddy Bears: YongYea Edition.
Okay in all seriousness, I actually want to talk about this game since I've been wanting to play it for probably a year now and I just finished it.
Where to start? Let's start with the obvious: YongYea fantastic as Teddy. The guy's news coverage on games is fun to watch so seeing him be the main character in a video game, let alone be a Teddy Bear, instantly made me interested in the game. Then I learned that the game is a dark retelling of fairy-tales and I was on board.
The story: I loved it. It was a perfect slice of action, drama, comedy, and all around great fun to be had in here. There's even some horror which surprised me. Is the story was good as other similar games like Bear With Me? No, but it's very admirable either way.
Gameplay: I like it. It's like a simplified 2D version of Bayonetta with a mix of Hollow Knight/Metroid. I don't have much to say about it other than I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Cinematics: I was surprised with the amount of cinematics in a game like this, but I gotta say, these are beautifully done. The art made for the cutscenes (along with the game's backgrounds) is fantastic and the animation for the in-game cutscenes are also well done. Bravo.
So with all the praise I'm giving this game, I have to be the breaker of bad news and have to get into my gripes with it. Let's go.
Performance Issues: This game has really bad stuttering issues in certain parts of the game. I'm not sure if it's my PC or not since I will admit that I am playing below the recommended specs (From what I understand at least. I'm not a PC expert.), but the rest of the game ran perfectly fine so I don't see how the stuttering parts couldn't run like the rest. Maybe it's my PC so I'll have to give a caution on this section for those reading.
Level Design: This game needs a map because some of the levels can be a bit confusing to navigate unless if you search all over the place looking where to go. Perhaps some direction could work, but given how I saw some reviews suggesting a map, perhaps I'm not alone in the idea of wanting a bit of a guide with a map system. Now what I'm about to say is personal, but the second to final level was not fun to play at all. It felt like a maze sometimes and some of the platforming was beyond rage fueled. Thankfully the actual final level redeems the game so at least the game doesn't end with a sour taste.
And that's pretty much all I have to say about this game. You got Teddy Bears, you got a Hollow Knight inspired game, and you got YongYea voicing Teddy. You're well suited to have a good time with this one even with some of the issues above.
Okay in all seriousness, I actually want to talk about this game since I've been wanting to play it for probably a year now and I just finished it.
Where to start? Let's start with the obvious: YongYea fantastic as Teddy. The guy's news coverage on games is fun to watch so seeing him be the main character in a video game, let alone be a Teddy Bear, instantly made me interested in the game. Then I learned that the game is a dark retelling of fairy-tales and I was on board.
The story: I loved it. It was a perfect slice of action, drama, comedy, and all around great fun to be had in here. There's even some horror which surprised me. Is the story was good as other similar games like Bear With Me? No, but it's very admirable either way.
Gameplay: I like it. It's like a simplified 2D version of Bayonetta with a mix of Hollow Knight/Metroid. I don't have much to say about it other than I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Cinematics: I was surprised with the amount of cinematics in a game like this, but I gotta say, these are beautifully done. The art made for the cutscenes (along with the game's backgrounds) is fantastic and the animation for the in-game cutscenes are also well done. Bravo.
So with all the praise I'm giving this game, I have to be the breaker of bad news and have to get into my gripes with it. Let's go.
Performance Issues: This game has really bad stuttering issues in certain parts of the game. I'm not sure if it's my PC or not since I will admit that I am playing below the recommended specs (From what I understand at least. I'm not a PC expert.), but the rest of the game ran perfectly fine so I don't see how the stuttering parts couldn't run like the rest. Maybe it's my PC so I'll have to give a caution on this section for those reading.
Level Design: This game needs a map because some of the levels can be a bit confusing to navigate unless if you search all over the place looking where to go. Perhaps some direction could work, but given how I saw some reviews suggesting a map, perhaps I'm not alone in the idea of wanting a bit of a guide with a map system. Now what I'm about to say is personal, but the second to final level was not fun to play at all. It felt like a maze sometimes and some of the platforming was beyond rage fueled. Thankfully the actual final level redeems the game so at least the game doesn't end with a sour taste.
And that's pretty much all I have to say about this game. You got Teddy Bears, you got a Hollow Knight inspired game, and you got YongYea voicing Teddy. You're well suited to have a good time with this one even with some of the issues above.
2016
Bear With Me is a game of delusions. You know one thing and then the truth comes later, then more truths mount up until you're left at the desk with the full picture during the credits.
I didn't care much for the puzzles in this one and ultimately used a Steam walkthrough to get through those, but the story was the main draw for me and it delivered. I truly loved the narrative. It's hilarious and it's sad as fuck when you know everything. I should also mention that Miles Rand as Ted E. Bear is some of the best casting I've ever seen in a video game. That guy has a powerful voice for a character like Ted.
Episode One is free so jump in and have fun, then get the other two if you like EP1. I should also talk about The Lost Robots as well.
The Lost Robots is nowhere near as good as the base game, but it's a supplement to the main dish. It's not bad, it's not as good as it fully can be without playing the main game first.
So that's everything. Check this one out.
I didn't care much for the puzzles in this one and ultimately used a Steam walkthrough to get through those, but the story was the main draw for me and it delivered. I truly loved the narrative. It's hilarious and it's sad as fuck when you know everything. I should also mention that Miles Rand as Ted E. Bear is some of the best casting I've ever seen in a video game. That guy has a powerful voice for a character like Ted.
Episode One is free so jump in and have fun, then get the other two if you like EP1. I should also talk about The Lost Robots as well.
The Lost Robots is nowhere near as good as the base game, but it's a supplement to the main dish. It's not bad, it's not as good as it fully can be without playing the main game first.
So that's everything. Check this one out.
2022
After going through all of the Dread X games, you'd expect the quality of these collections to be well done after four games of experience. With Dread X Collection 5, it turns out to be quite the opposite.
Dread X Collection 5 is my least favorite game of the entire series and it's the franchise equivalent to V/H/S: Viral. Only three out of the thirteen games I liked and only two I thought where great. No disrespect to the developers here since Dread XP is pretty cool and I wish them the best, yet I can't lie when I'm talking about how I felt about these games.
Outpost 3000: A massive downgrade from 2, 3, The Hunt. Aside from the comic explaining everything that happened before the game starts, the game itself barely has a story other than getting the presents to the table to play the games. Compare that to 2, 3, and The Hunt where you didn't have to read supplementary material to understand what was going on. There were cinematics, full voice acting (which this one barely has), and a story to tell without having to go into outside material. The comic story is pretty cool, but the end of it provides more questions than answers. Given how this is might be the final game in the series based on reading the dev responses to Steam reviews, I doubt those questions will ever be answered. Outpost 3000 could've been cool if it was a linear cinematic game, but you're a kid inside of a haunted place doing pointless and boring puzzles to get to the next game. Such a disappointment.
Hunsvotti: This game was bizarre. Weird, unpleasant, and not very fun even when you're the aggressor in the end. Didn't like that one at all.
Gallerie: Like tradition, I didn't finish this one and the ASMR is the very reason why. Unlike Hellblade where the audio was immersive for the game's horror, I found the ASMR audio in here to be cringe educing to the point where I turned the game off after seeing that the game itself is nonsensical. No thank you.
The Book of Blood: Another game I didn't finish and I'll probably have to update the review since I'll have to play it with a buddy given how it's another puzzle game. Update: After I ended up not finishing this one, I watched one of my friends play it at his house and honestly, this one was beyond pointless. You're in a festival at night and you're stalked while solving a boring puzzle, then the game ends. Nothing special in there, it's as surface level as it comes.
Karao: This game was really cool. I loved the use of lights in the game, the gore was great, the level design was fun, the music was fun, everything was fun here. I liked this one a lot.
Rotten Stigma: The game that disappointed me the most. With a game trying to be Silent Hill, it only really uses the gameplay structure of those games without carrying over what made those games special and it's their narratives, symbolism, and soundtracks. Rotten Stigma has none of it and the game ends on a whimper. The template was there, but it needed much more.
Spirit Guardian: This one was also bizarre and felt random. You're in a daycare doing random tasks for ghosts while an elderly ghost who clips through the wall stalks you. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. The art style is cool, but that's about all it has going for it.
We Never Left: The best game in the collection and one of the best Dread X games ever made. For a game made by a collage student, it was beyond impressive and it felt like a Hollywood production given the game's all-star cast. Jonah Scott (Beastars, Dying Light 2) was an absolute show-stealer and showed what the Dread X series is capable of if it had a full big star cast. The game itself is also an intense thriller similar to Hush and features some of the best music the Dread X series has ever featured. Absolute masterpiece of a game.
Vestige: This one was alright, though it freaked me out a bit for sure. Cool game, but it would've been better with more content.
Resver: A visual marvel of a game. Despite this game not being scary at all, I loved the visuals this game had and if you like games like Tetris Effect, you'd enjoy this one too.
Ludomalica: Another disappointing game. The concept is cool and it starts off strong, but it grows boring and repetitive as it goes on.
Beyond the Curtain: The definition of a walking simulator. I honestly have nothing to say about this one aside from it being boring.
Interim: The worst game of the collection. Nonsensical, pretentious, and the physics and platforming were horrible.
And that's it. The end of the series and only three games I liked in this final game. I've liked nearly every Dread X Collection and even with 3, there was something to like a lot in 3. In Dread X 5, however, there's not much to enjoy in this one which why I don't recommend it. Super sad that this one didn't end up being the swansong the series needed, but at least we had some great games along the way with the series so there's that.
Dread X Collection 5 is my least favorite game of the entire series and it's the franchise equivalent to V/H/S: Viral. Only three out of the thirteen games I liked and only two I thought where great. No disrespect to the developers here since Dread XP is pretty cool and I wish them the best, yet I can't lie when I'm talking about how I felt about these games.
Outpost 3000: A massive downgrade from 2, 3, The Hunt. Aside from the comic explaining everything that happened before the game starts, the game itself barely has a story other than getting the presents to the table to play the games. Compare that to 2, 3, and The Hunt where you didn't have to read supplementary material to understand what was going on. There were cinematics, full voice acting (which this one barely has), and a story to tell without having to go into outside material. The comic story is pretty cool, but the end of it provides more questions than answers. Given how this is might be the final game in the series based on reading the dev responses to Steam reviews, I doubt those questions will ever be answered. Outpost 3000 could've been cool if it was a linear cinematic game, but you're a kid inside of a haunted place doing pointless and boring puzzles to get to the next game. Such a disappointment.
Hunsvotti: This game was bizarre. Weird, unpleasant, and not very fun even when you're the aggressor in the end. Didn't like that one at all.
Gallerie: Like tradition, I didn't finish this one and the ASMR is the very reason why. Unlike Hellblade where the audio was immersive for the game's horror, I found the ASMR audio in here to be cringe educing to the point where I turned the game off after seeing that the game itself is nonsensical. No thank you.
The Book of Blood: Another game I didn't finish and I'll probably have to update the review since I'll have to play it with a buddy given how it's another puzzle game. Update: After I ended up not finishing this one, I watched one of my friends play it at his house and honestly, this one was beyond pointless. You're in a festival at night and you're stalked while solving a boring puzzle, then the game ends. Nothing special in there, it's as surface level as it comes.
Karao: This game was really cool. I loved the use of lights in the game, the gore was great, the level design was fun, the music was fun, everything was fun here. I liked this one a lot.
Rotten Stigma: The game that disappointed me the most. With a game trying to be Silent Hill, it only really uses the gameplay structure of those games without carrying over what made those games special and it's their narratives, symbolism, and soundtracks. Rotten Stigma has none of it and the game ends on a whimper. The template was there, but it needed much more.
Spirit Guardian: This one was also bizarre and felt random. You're in a daycare doing random tasks for ghosts while an elderly ghost who clips through the wall stalks you. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. The art style is cool, but that's about all it has going for it.
We Never Left: The best game in the collection and one of the best Dread X games ever made. For a game made by a collage student, it was beyond impressive and it felt like a Hollywood production given the game's all-star cast. Jonah Scott (Beastars, Dying Light 2) was an absolute show-stealer and showed what the Dread X series is capable of if it had a full big star cast. The game itself is also an intense thriller similar to Hush and features some of the best music the Dread X series has ever featured. Absolute masterpiece of a game.
Vestige: This one was alright, though it freaked me out a bit for sure. Cool game, but it would've been better with more content.
Resver: A visual marvel of a game. Despite this game not being scary at all, I loved the visuals this game had and if you like games like Tetris Effect, you'd enjoy this one too.
Ludomalica: Another disappointing game. The concept is cool and it starts off strong, but it grows boring and repetitive as it goes on.
Beyond the Curtain: The definition of a walking simulator. I honestly have nothing to say about this one aside from it being boring.
Interim: The worst game of the collection. Nonsensical, pretentious, and the physics and platforming were horrible.
And that's it. The end of the series and only three games I liked in this final game. I've liked nearly every Dread X Collection and even with 3, there was something to like a lot in 3. In Dread X 5, however, there's not much to enjoy in this one which why I don't recommend it. Super sad that this one didn't end up being the swansong the series needed, but at least we had some great games along the way with the series so there's that.
You know the drill. What do I think about this one? Brilliant. Aside from two bad games in here, The Hunt was truly a brilliant game worth playing. A major step up from 3 alongside taking all the improvements from the later games and putting them in here as well.
ARK 2: Another fantastic wrap around for the series. Obviously inspired by The Thing, but all the better for it. A one slow burn of a story that's all worth playing alongside some great voice acting to seal the deal.
Axis Mundi: Fun game. The Dread X version of Fatal Frame and you travel back in time to kill ghosts. Fun for the whole family.
Seraphixial: The most creepy game in the anthology for sure. Love the sound design, the enemies, the guns, everything about this one was like a lucid dream that was all fun to play.
Uktena 64: This one was alright. It's basically a better version of Squirrel Stapler and a lot shorter than it. You hunt infected animals, pick up weapons, and do stuff. Decent game.
Rose of Meat: Like tradition with this series, this is the one game I didn't finish. Very very confusing one indeed. It was disorienting, weird, nonsensical, and random. Not very good.
The Fruit: Easily the most disappointing game of the entire series. It could've been a fun corridor shooter with the unique reloading mechanic, but nope. This game decides to be in a sprawling open hub area that is boring as hell to travel through. The spells feel like they're there to inflate the runtime, melee combat is awful, the story felt pointless, and everything about this game screams bad. It had potential to be great, but it was wasted on such poor ideas.
Black Relic: The standout game of the anthology. Of course, Torple Dook makes another good game to play and this is the Dread X version of Resident Evil 4. I think that's more than enough to get you playing.
The House of Unrest: I liked this one quite a lot too. The ending was absolutely fantastic and awesome to play, and the main game here is like Resident Evil where you search around a mansion to find stuff to get from point A to B. Fun game.
And that concludes it. The Hunt is a great game to play and my favorite game in the series so far. Absolutely loved this one.
ARK 2: Another fantastic wrap around for the series. Obviously inspired by The Thing, but all the better for it. A one slow burn of a story that's all worth playing alongside some great voice acting to seal the deal.
Axis Mundi: Fun game. The Dread X version of Fatal Frame and you travel back in time to kill ghosts. Fun for the whole family.
Seraphixial: The most creepy game in the anthology for sure. Love the sound design, the enemies, the guns, everything about this one was like a lucid dream that was all fun to play.
Uktena 64: This one was alright. It's basically a better version of Squirrel Stapler and a lot shorter than it. You hunt infected animals, pick up weapons, and do stuff. Decent game.
Rose of Meat: Like tradition with this series, this is the one game I didn't finish. Very very confusing one indeed. It was disorienting, weird, nonsensical, and random. Not very good.
The Fruit: Easily the most disappointing game of the entire series. It could've been a fun corridor shooter with the unique reloading mechanic, but nope. This game decides to be in a sprawling open hub area that is boring as hell to travel through. The spells feel like they're there to inflate the runtime, melee combat is awful, the story felt pointless, and everything about this game screams bad. It had potential to be great, but it was wasted on such poor ideas.
Black Relic: The standout game of the anthology. Of course, Torple Dook makes another good game to play and this is the Dread X version of Resident Evil 4. I think that's more than enough to get you playing.
The House of Unrest: I liked this one quite a lot too. The ending was absolutely fantastic and awesome to play, and the main game here is like Resident Evil where you search around a mansion to find stuff to get from point A to B. Fun game.
And that concludes it. The Hunt is a great game to play and my favorite game in the series so far. Absolutely loved this one.
2020
Another anthology, time to play. So let's jump into how I feel about this game. I was very disappointed with this one and it's mostly due to the Spoopy theme not working out. Instead of using the theme as a false sense of security to lure the player into truly disturbing games, the anthology mostly doesn't do that and does exactly what you think it would do. Predictable and nonsensical games that make you question why are they even in a horror anthology in the first place. It would've been much better if Dread X Collection 3 was five games rather than twelve as a mini Dread X instead of a full blown sequel.
I will say though that Dread X Collection 3 did provide a new feature for the series going forward which is great and it's that if you don't like a game, you can just turn it off and the hub world will move forward no matter if you completed the game or not.
Spookware: Nonsensical, overwhelming, barely any story, I honestly wonder why this game is even in the anthology to begin with since it's not a horror game. I know a lot of people love this one which is why it got a standalone game, but it did not work for me at all. If I knew you could skip the games beforehand, I wouldn't have forced myself to finish this one. Absolutely miserable.
Bete Grise: Another game I question was included in the first place. There's barely any horror in here. You are a hotel manager tiding up rooms and when something does happen, the game is nearly over beforehand. It's a fine game, but it would've been better if it had more to offer.
Bubbo: This one was pretty fun. I don't have much to say about this one other than it was fun.
Chip's Tips: This one was hilarious and really fun to play. I like how this game introduces more horror elements as it goes on, but the best part about this game is that you can tell Torple Dook had a lot of fun putting this game together when seeing all the live action footage and it makes the game give a sense of sincerity. This one was great.
Disparity of the Dead: This one I didn't finish and I have no plans to. It all felt disjointed and weird. This one was too weird for me to keep playing.
Eden: Another nonsensical game where you collect monsters for races. Another game that isn't horror related and another I question why it was included in a horror anthology.
Matter Over Mind: This one wasn't bad, but again, it's not a horror game at all.
Nice Screams at Funfair: This one didn't even make any sense to me. You're serving ice cream and you're told to not give tips to yourself, but the game ends with you being killed and the game ends with you being confused. Another game that makes me wonder why it was included.
REACTOR: A 10/10 game. Easily one of the best games of the entire series. Without question, this is Dread X's Alien.
Sato Wonderland: Another fantastic game and for once, the Spoopy theme is used to its full potential here to create a truly disturbing game to go through. Absolute perfection, I have zero issues with this one.
Soul Waste: A boring platformer with some nice music. The controls are really icy and sometimes you're just running endlessly. The final boss here was also a snoozefest. Not a terrible one, but it would've been better if the things mentioned here were improved with more tightly constrained content.
Submission: This is the one game in the series that I feel safe to call pretentious. This one was all over the place and boring in other places. Didn't like this one at all.
The Lone Castle (Dread X 3 Hub): A fantastic wrap around for the anthology. I love the writing at play here, the castle itself is fun to explore, and the way it ends is also fantastic. I have no issues with this one.
Overall, Dread X Collection 3 was very disappointing for me. There are some awesome games in here which is why I do recommend playing it, but most of the games in here don't do it for me. If you're wanting to play it, I suggest only playing REACTOR, Sato Wonderland, Bubbo, Chip's Tips, and just skipping the rest. If you don't want to do that then be my guest. I do hope the next two games are better.
I will say though that Dread X Collection 3 did provide a new feature for the series going forward which is great and it's that if you don't like a game, you can just turn it off and the hub world will move forward no matter if you completed the game or not.
Spookware: Nonsensical, overwhelming, barely any story, I honestly wonder why this game is even in the anthology to begin with since it's not a horror game. I know a lot of people love this one which is why it got a standalone game, but it did not work for me at all. If I knew you could skip the games beforehand, I wouldn't have forced myself to finish this one. Absolutely miserable.
Bete Grise: Another game I question was included in the first place. There's barely any horror in here. You are a hotel manager tiding up rooms and when something does happen, the game is nearly over beforehand. It's a fine game, but it would've been better if it had more to offer.
Bubbo: This one was pretty fun. I don't have much to say about this one other than it was fun.
Chip's Tips: This one was hilarious and really fun to play. I like how this game introduces more horror elements as it goes on, but the best part about this game is that you can tell Torple Dook had a lot of fun putting this game together when seeing all the live action footage and it makes the game give a sense of sincerity. This one was great.
Disparity of the Dead: This one I didn't finish and I have no plans to. It all felt disjointed and weird. This one was too weird for me to keep playing.
Eden: Another nonsensical game where you collect monsters for races. Another game that isn't horror related and another I question why it was included in a horror anthology.
Matter Over Mind: This one wasn't bad, but again, it's not a horror game at all.
Nice Screams at Funfair: This one didn't even make any sense to me. You're serving ice cream and you're told to not give tips to yourself, but the game ends with you being killed and the game ends with you being confused. Another game that makes me wonder why it was included.
REACTOR: A 10/10 game. Easily one of the best games of the entire series. Without question, this is Dread X's Alien.
Sato Wonderland: Another fantastic game and for once, the Spoopy theme is used to its full potential here to create a truly disturbing game to go through. Absolute perfection, I have zero issues with this one.
Soul Waste: A boring platformer with some nice music. The controls are really icy and sometimes you're just running endlessly. The final boss here was also a snoozefest. Not a terrible one, but it would've been better if the things mentioned here were improved with more tightly constrained content.
Submission: This is the one game in the series that I feel safe to call pretentious. This one was all over the place and boring in other places. Didn't like this one at all.
The Lone Castle (Dread X 3 Hub): A fantastic wrap around for the anthology. I love the writing at play here, the castle itself is fun to explore, and the way it ends is also fantastic. I have no issues with this one.
Overall, Dread X Collection 3 was very disappointing for me. There are some awesome games in here which is why I do recommend playing it, but most of the games in here don't do it for me. If you're wanting to play it, I suggest only playing REACTOR, Sato Wonderland, Bubbo, Chip's Tips, and just skipping the rest. If you don't want to do that then be my guest. I do hope the next two games are better.
2020
This review contains spoilers
Another anthology, another set of games to play. Since I gave my introductions last time, I might as well jump in as simple as sound. I liked this one. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, but I liked it. Overall, the anthology here suffered from the lack of any truly outstanding games, games that could've had more to them, or games that were either abysmal or boring or unplayable. Yet for the good games here, it's still worth a try.
Puzzle House: This is the wrap around for the game and unlike the first Dread X, you have a story to tell here and a house to explore in order to solve puzzles and watch tapes on the TV which are the games themselves. Without a doubt, this game is a direct mirror to V/H/S and I wonder if that was intentional or not. It was a cool story to tell, but the way it ends is very underwhemling and I wish there was more to it than what was there.
Arcadletra: This is the one game of the anthology that freaked me out the most. It was a weird visual acid trip that never lets up until the credits roll. I say put on some headphones for this one and make sure you don't break your chair from jumping up and screaming. Good game.
Solipsis: Another cool short game that tells a nice story. I don't have much to say about this one other that it's a goodie. Not outstanding, but good.
Squirrel Stapler: This is easily the most boring game I've ever played. You play an intentionally bad hunting simulator for an hour all for a two minute jumpscare. It reminds me of The Empty Wake in V/H/S/94, but unlike 94 where you wait ten minutes, it's an hour of tedious boredom that would put you to sleep before it scares you. Sitting through an hour of yawning isn't worth that amount of time at all to get to the scare and I'm surprised that this is from the same guy who made The Pony Factory in the last game since they're both polar opposites from each other. If you want to play a slow burn thriller that isn't boring then play We Never Left in Dread X 5 instead.
Sucker for Love: The most hilarious game in the series so far. For an anthology centered around the theme of Lovecraft, this is the one to take the cake for that theme. Even if I don't like dating sims, this game was a funny way of doing it and you'll have a good time with this one. Fun for the whole family.
The Diving Bell: A great short game to showcase the horror of the Lovecraft theme. Only problem: The ending sucks. Good game, but an unsatisfying ending to cap off the story.
To The End of Days: For game made by the devs of Cathartic, this was a very fun game to play. The gore was great, the shotgun was great, the music is great, the filters are cool, the levels are fun, and you get to murder the Cathartic enemies as well. I do wish this game had a better ending to home things in, but for what it is, it's fun.
Touched by an Outer God: An interesting story that has a repetitive Doom clone strapped to its back. I love the story at play here, but it would've been better as a short film rather than a game for the Dread X Collection. However, blasting Doom Eternal music while playing this makes it 10 times more fun so at least you can do that before the end. Plus, the enemies are way too bullet-spongy for their own good.
Undiscovered: Another interesting game. I don't have much to say about it honestly. Jump in and take my word for it. Could've had more for it, but it's not bad.
The Toy Shop: The standout game of the anthology. Without question. You have a fantastic story and a fun game to play. Sure, there's bugs and animation glitches that Unreal has sometimes, but if you can get past that, you have something special on your hands.
Another Late Night: I honestly don't know what to say about this one. It was like Scream, but it was confusing and weird. I can't tell if I like this one or not so go into it as you want.
Charlotte's Exile: I didn't like this one very much and it's due to subjective taste. Puzzle games are not for me and this one didn't impress. I was confused most of the time even with a friend in a Discord call helping out. If you like puzzle games, this one is for you. If you don't then skip it.
The Thing in the Lake: This is my least favorite game of the entire series. Apparently I'm not alone in that either since a patch came out for the game that automatically gives you the achievement when you start it up. I don't blame Dread XP for doing that since this game is nearly impossible to finish unless if you're a player who 100%ed Crash 4. The visual style is ugly and the level design is confusing because of it, the audio design is terrible, and the controls are also terrible. Why make the Sprint function tied to the Shift key in a sidescroller with no keybinding menu? The game also has RNG encounters that would often get you killed right when you're about to leave an area. The game is so annoyingly difficult where even Story Mode is a laughing stock since it doesn't help. The fact that Dread XP had to patch this game so players can skip it due to how bad it is says everything you need to know about The Thing in the Lake.
So there you go, there's my thoughts on Dread X Collection 2. A good game, but keep in mind that some of the games in here may not be all up to snuff. And that is expected with anthologies so I guess it's a normal day in the office.
Puzzle House: This is the wrap around for the game and unlike the first Dread X, you have a story to tell here and a house to explore in order to solve puzzles and watch tapes on the TV which are the games themselves. Without a doubt, this game is a direct mirror to V/H/S and I wonder if that was intentional or not. It was a cool story to tell, but the way it ends is very underwhemling and I wish there was more to it than what was there.
Arcadletra: This is the one game of the anthology that freaked me out the most. It was a weird visual acid trip that never lets up until the credits roll. I say put on some headphones for this one and make sure you don't break your chair from jumping up and screaming. Good game.
Solipsis: Another cool short game that tells a nice story. I don't have much to say about this one other that it's a goodie. Not outstanding, but good.
Squirrel Stapler: This is easily the most boring game I've ever played. You play an intentionally bad hunting simulator for an hour all for a two minute jumpscare. It reminds me of The Empty Wake in V/H/S/94, but unlike 94 where you wait ten minutes, it's an hour of tedious boredom that would put you to sleep before it scares you. Sitting through an hour of yawning isn't worth that amount of time at all to get to the scare and I'm surprised that this is from the same guy who made The Pony Factory in the last game since they're both polar opposites from each other. If you want to play a slow burn thriller that isn't boring then play We Never Left in Dread X 5 instead.
Sucker for Love: The most hilarious game in the series so far. For an anthology centered around the theme of Lovecraft, this is the one to take the cake for that theme. Even if I don't like dating sims, this game was a funny way of doing it and you'll have a good time with this one. Fun for the whole family.
The Diving Bell: A great short game to showcase the horror of the Lovecraft theme. Only problem: The ending sucks. Good game, but an unsatisfying ending to cap off the story.
To The End of Days: For game made by the devs of Cathartic, this was a very fun game to play. The gore was great, the shotgun was great, the music is great, the filters are cool, the levels are fun, and you get to murder the Cathartic enemies as well. I do wish this game had a better ending to home things in, but for what it is, it's fun.
Touched by an Outer God: An interesting story that has a repetitive Doom clone strapped to its back. I love the story at play here, but it would've been better as a short film rather than a game for the Dread X Collection. However, blasting Doom Eternal music while playing this makes it 10 times more fun so at least you can do that before the end. Plus, the enemies are way too bullet-spongy for their own good.
Undiscovered: Another interesting game. I don't have much to say about it honestly. Jump in and take my word for it. Could've had more for it, but it's not bad.
The Toy Shop: The standout game of the anthology. Without question. You have a fantastic story and a fun game to play. Sure, there's bugs and animation glitches that Unreal has sometimes, but if you can get past that, you have something special on your hands.
Another Late Night: I honestly don't know what to say about this one. It was like Scream, but it was confusing and weird. I can't tell if I like this one or not so go into it as you want.
Charlotte's Exile: I didn't like this one very much and it's due to subjective taste. Puzzle games are not for me and this one didn't impress. I was confused most of the time even with a friend in a Discord call helping out. If you like puzzle games, this one is for you. If you don't then skip it.
The Thing in the Lake: This is my least favorite game of the entire series. Apparently I'm not alone in that either since a patch came out for the game that automatically gives you the achievement when you start it up. I don't blame Dread XP for doing that since this game is nearly impossible to finish unless if you're a player who 100%ed Crash 4. The visual style is ugly and the level design is confusing because of it, the audio design is terrible, and the controls are also terrible. Why make the Sprint function tied to the Shift key in a sidescroller with no keybinding menu? The game also has RNG encounters that would often get you killed right when you're about to leave an area. The game is so annoyingly difficult where even Story Mode is a laughing stock since it doesn't help. The fact that Dread XP had to patch this game so players can skip it due to how bad it is says everything you need to know about The Thing in the Lake.
So there you go, there's my thoughts on Dread X Collection 2. A good game, but keep in mind that some of the games in here may not be all up to snuff. And that is expected with anthologies so I guess it's a normal day in the office.
2005
Another game to add to the pile of ever growing list of games that are highly beloved, yet I don't feel the same way towards.
Psychonauts has a lot of really cool ideas, but it's bogged down by so many things that make it an average game.
The game can be fun, but it's also really boring at times. The levels can be really fun, but some levels are also boring. Levels have really cool parts to it only to have certain elements that are beyond questionable.
The leveling system is pointless and I can say the same to the game being a collectathon which outright levelgates you if you're not a higher level. And the final level of the game is one of the worst final levels I've ever had this misfortune of playing.
In the end, Psychonauts is a giant mixed bag of cool things and poorly executed things.
Psychonauts has a lot of really cool ideas, but it's bogged down by so many things that make it an average game.
The game can be fun, but it's also really boring at times. The levels can be really fun, but some levels are also boring. Levels have really cool parts to it only to have certain elements that are beyond questionable.
The leveling system is pointless and I can say the same to the game being a collectathon which outright levelgates you if you're not a higher level. And the final level of the game is one of the worst final levels I've ever had this misfortune of playing.
In the end, Psychonauts is a giant mixed bag of cool things and poorly executed things.
2020
This review contains spoilers
I love anthologies. Those who know me well know that I love the V/H/S films and The Dark Pictures Anthology games so it was my delight to see a new series of games focusing on indie developers creating short horror games all packaged together in a series called Dread X. It feels right out of a V/H/S film due to how similar both properties are.
As much as I really enjoyed plenty of the games in the collection, unfortunately, Dread X suffers from a lot of issues with plenty of the games in the collection not having any form of quality control. I suppose it's due to this being a first entry in the series, but it's still a problem none the less.
I should mention that I haven't finished all the games in the anthology. Either because I refuse to given how awful one of the games is and with system specs not being up to snuff, but I'll review it as is and update it later when I'm able to play the last game I need to play.
Shatter: This game was a pretty simple and barebones experience. The idea is really cool, but it's more of a walking simulator with nice visuals. I can't really fault the game too much given how it does all the things it needs to do just fine. The problem is that there's not much in it. It's like Death Stranding without the depth. I am glad that Lovely Hellplace is turning this into a full game called Dread Delusion so perhaps the full experience will be better than what Shatter gave in this collection. Not a bad game, but feels more like a tech demo.
Summer Night: A fantastic short game. If this anthology wants to be like P.T. then Summer Night did its job beautifully. I don't want to spoil too much about this game and I'd rather have you experience it yourself. Take my word for it, you're in for a great time with this one.
Hand of Doom: Similar to Shatter, this one feels more like a tech demo than a fun game to play around with. You got the spells, incantations, and all that. The problem is that nothing interesting happens in the game. Just you collecting things with more than half of the screen being taken up by menus. Again, not a bad one, but very repetitive and more of a tech demo.
The Pay is Nice: I like the idea of the game, the problem comes down to it being boring with nothing happening like Hand of Doom. The presentation is nice, yet also very lacking due to the absence of voice acting and some cutscenes looking very off. This is one game where I can say it's just meh. Nothing special, nothing terrible.
Rotgut: How the hell was this game included in the first place? It's literally like one of those Steam Greenlight asset flips that Jim Sterling would talk about. Glitches, no sense of direction, no story at all, no interesting gameplay, literally nothing about this is good. Nothing. Imagine a bad version of Storm Drain (V/H/S/94). That's basically Rotgut. Horrible.
Don't Go Out: Similar to Shatter and Hand of Doom, this game has a cool idea, yet has not much to back up the premise. The card system is completely random which can either save you or screw you as the light goes out. The game also doesn't have much going for it aside from getting to a lackluster ending. Again, not a bad one, but it could be really cool as a standalone game with more put into it.
The Pony Factory: The standout game of the collection. A really fun shooter that combines a central horror atmosphere of Doom 3 with a scaled down version of Quake. A fantastic short game and a game well worth playing if you happen to get this collection.
Mr. Bucket Told Me To: A pretty creative game, all things considered. It would fit more if was in Dread X 3, but I digress. It's a very simple game all about surviving on an island and then a bucket comes in to break you. Pretty hilarious and fun to play. A joyful game.
Carthanc: This was painful. So much so that I didn't even finish it. Too much distortion, awful first person platforming, confusing level design where it's too dark to see where you're going especially when you're running away from things, and enemies that are dead set on you with no story reason for being there. A truly painful game to sit through.
Outsiders: This is the only game of the collection that I couldn't play due to my PC not being up to specifications to play. I will update this part in time when my friend lets me play the game.
Overall, The Dread X Collection is a mixed bag of really great games, tech demos, and really bad games. But for $7, it's not a bad deal at all. Especially for games like The Pony Factory, Summer Night, and Mr. Bucket. Even with the bad games in there, I'd say it's worth the price of entry alongside the other Dread X games. Hope the later games get better in time, but only I will find that out for myself when I can get that chance.
As much as I really enjoyed plenty of the games in the collection, unfortunately, Dread X suffers from a lot of issues with plenty of the games in the collection not having any form of quality control. I suppose it's due to this being a first entry in the series, but it's still a problem none the less.
I should mention that I haven't finished all the games in the anthology. Either because I refuse to given how awful one of the games is and with system specs not being up to snuff, but I'll review it as is and update it later when I'm able to play the last game I need to play.
Shatter: This game was a pretty simple and barebones experience. The idea is really cool, but it's more of a walking simulator with nice visuals. I can't really fault the game too much given how it does all the things it needs to do just fine. The problem is that there's not much in it. It's like Death Stranding without the depth. I am glad that Lovely Hellplace is turning this into a full game called Dread Delusion so perhaps the full experience will be better than what Shatter gave in this collection. Not a bad game, but feels more like a tech demo.
Summer Night: A fantastic short game. If this anthology wants to be like P.T. then Summer Night did its job beautifully. I don't want to spoil too much about this game and I'd rather have you experience it yourself. Take my word for it, you're in for a great time with this one.
Hand of Doom: Similar to Shatter, this one feels more like a tech demo than a fun game to play around with. You got the spells, incantations, and all that. The problem is that nothing interesting happens in the game. Just you collecting things with more than half of the screen being taken up by menus. Again, not a bad one, but very repetitive and more of a tech demo.
The Pay is Nice: I like the idea of the game, the problem comes down to it being boring with nothing happening like Hand of Doom. The presentation is nice, yet also very lacking due to the absence of voice acting and some cutscenes looking very off. This is one game where I can say it's just meh. Nothing special, nothing terrible.
Rotgut: How the hell was this game included in the first place? It's literally like one of those Steam Greenlight asset flips that Jim Sterling would talk about. Glitches, no sense of direction, no story at all, no interesting gameplay, literally nothing about this is good. Nothing. Imagine a bad version of Storm Drain (V/H/S/94). That's basically Rotgut. Horrible.
Don't Go Out: Similar to Shatter and Hand of Doom, this game has a cool idea, yet has not much to back up the premise. The card system is completely random which can either save you or screw you as the light goes out. The game also doesn't have much going for it aside from getting to a lackluster ending. Again, not a bad one, but it could be really cool as a standalone game with more put into it.
The Pony Factory: The standout game of the collection. A really fun shooter that combines a central horror atmosphere of Doom 3 with a scaled down version of Quake. A fantastic short game and a game well worth playing if you happen to get this collection.
Mr. Bucket Told Me To: A pretty creative game, all things considered. It would fit more if was in Dread X 3, but I digress. It's a very simple game all about surviving on an island and then a bucket comes in to break you. Pretty hilarious and fun to play. A joyful game.
Carthanc: This was painful. So much so that I didn't even finish it. Too much distortion, awful first person platforming, confusing level design where it's too dark to see where you're going especially when you're running away from things, and enemies that are dead set on you with no story reason for being there. A truly painful game to sit through.
Outsiders: This is the only game of the collection that I couldn't play due to my PC not being up to specifications to play. I will update this part in time when my friend lets me play the game.
Overall, The Dread X Collection is a mixed bag of really great games, tech demos, and really bad games. But for $7, it's not a bad deal at all. Especially for games like The Pony Factory, Summer Night, and Mr. Bucket. Even with the bad games in there, I'd say it's worth the price of entry alongside the other Dread X games. Hope the later games get better in time, but only I will find that out for myself when I can get that chance.
2016
This review contains spoilers
I've always been a man who is honest about the games he plays. No matter what and Pony Island is no different.
I don't understand why Pony Island is so beloved. It's a 2016 game, yet it feels like a game from 2010 that's only here to go with the meta concept and nothing more. The puzzles are boring and tedious, the gameplay is also boring and tedious. The story is simplistic and also very boring. For a game about an arcade machine from Lucifer, it somehow manages to be the most boring and frustrating game I've ever played. Perhaps that makes sense, but this game obviously wasn't made by the devil. It was made by Daniel Mullins.
Now, I don't hold ill will towards Daniel. Of course not. Sometimes good devs make bad games. Even Pixar has a few bad movies in their catalog. Solipsis from Dread X Collection 2 was a great short game from Daniel and I hear he's doing a lot of good things with Inscryption, yet this game feels it went home about the idea of it being meta and nothing else to bring the concept forward. It feels like Daniel had a great idea, yet had no idea how to execute it well compared to other games like Spec Ops: The Line or OneShot.
There's a scene in this game that takes your Steam friends list and uses it against you. It's actually a really cool scene, but then it's ruined by what I can assume to be a Skype notification sound. Playing this game in 2022 makes a scene like that hilarious given how Discord wiped Skype off the face of the Earth.
All in all, Pony Island was a miserable experience that I had the misfortune of playing. In the words of Masahiro Ito: "It's terrible so much."
I don't understand why Pony Island is so beloved. It's a 2016 game, yet it feels like a game from 2010 that's only here to go with the meta concept and nothing more. The puzzles are boring and tedious, the gameplay is also boring and tedious. The story is simplistic and also very boring. For a game about an arcade machine from Lucifer, it somehow manages to be the most boring and frustrating game I've ever played. Perhaps that makes sense, but this game obviously wasn't made by the devil. It was made by Daniel Mullins.
Now, I don't hold ill will towards Daniel. Of course not. Sometimes good devs make bad games. Even Pixar has a few bad movies in their catalog. Solipsis from Dread X Collection 2 was a great short game from Daniel and I hear he's doing a lot of good things with Inscryption, yet this game feels it went home about the idea of it being meta and nothing else to bring the concept forward. It feels like Daniel had a great idea, yet had no idea how to execute it well compared to other games like Spec Ops: The Line or OneShot.
There's a scene in this game that takes your Steam friends list and uses it against you. It's actually a really cool scene, but then it's ruined by what I can assume to be a Skype notification sound. Playing this game in 2022 makes a scene like that hilarious given how Discord wiped Skype off the face of the Earth.
All in all, Pony Island was a miserable experience that I had the misfortune of playing. In the words of Masahiro Ito: "It's terrible so much."
2013
When it comes to gaming, people think about levels where you jump through hoops collecting fruits. In this game, you see humans be humans while the world ends.
The Last of Us is without question Naughty Dog's best game. Combat is incredible, level design is incredible, and the story and performances from everyone is the best in the business. Some people may say that this game caused a lot of games to become nothing but Last of Us clones, though I can agree with them on that.
Even with that in mind, it's still a fantastic game to play. Remastered, PS3, PS5, or hopefully a Steam version one day. Play it.
The Last of Us is without question Naughty Dog's best game. Combat is incredible, level design is incredible, and the story and performances from everyone is the best in the business. Some people may say that this game caused a lot of games to become nothing but Last of Us clones, though I can agree with them on that.
Even with that in mind, it's still a fantastic game to play. Remastered, PS3, PS5, or hopefully a Steam version one day. Play it.
2018
The best VR game I've ever played. For a Tetris game, it's the best. Hope we get a sequel and a light show someday.