Vladeta
43 Reviews liked by Vladeta
Highwater
2023
Reviewing this game is going to be tricky as some of the design decisions and faults can annoy people a lot while others can really love the game for its strong points and what it’s trying to do. I was very hesitant on getting this so soon based on the mixed reception but I’m glad I went ahead with it after completing Highwater.
So what’s the gameplay basically? The loop is generally using your boat to get to the next destination. The journey is supported by the same radio host from The Cub with some music mixed in between. There are short cutscenes that don’t overstay their welcome. You can also explore (optional) areas to find collectibles, weapons and boosters. Collectibles are magazines or books with a cover and title to set the mood (so no real reading material). Weapons can be character specific and boosters are consumable items used during battles only (heal, better movement, hit harder etc). The fights are your typical strategy RPG like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics. So the game is mostly going from A to B with a lot of focus on fighting and exploring. Exploration is kept light hearted, everything you can interact with is hard to miss. The fights are not as complex as the games I mentioned and there is no progression system like level up or learning new skills. Skills are usually bound by the weapons you have equipped and there are some exclusive character skills.
So what’s so good about this game? The style is strong with this one. Some of the landscapes seen while travelling are so pretty with a great use of color. The game is great at showing you what humans are dealing with, how everyone is coping and how desperate they can become (it’s depressing). The battle system is actually VERY good. Although I didn’t expect anything close to Fire Emblem, it’s still complex enough, satisfying and it made me think a few times due to the objects you can interact with along with some of the achievements. Speaking of the achievements, they’re terrific. Some are clear from the get go. Others make you guess and keep you on your toes but once you encounter the moment you’re supposed to do something, you’ll know when the achievements will trigger. As long as you keep notes of the achievements (read them to remember) and explore all areas, then they’re doable and fun to get. I got them 100% blindly without using a single guide. The game also has a good pacing for the most part and the length (7.8 hours in my case) feels just right. There is chapter select and you can check your collectibles from the menu. The game saves automatically after leaving an area, completing a fight or picking up an item. So you never feel like you’re forced to play longer than you want. The performance, 1440p resolution and loading times are excellent.
I’m going to deal with the negatives a bit differently this time. First I’m going to focus on the negatives that I noticed and then talk about the negatives experienced by others. To me it was the overall lack of polish in terms of UI, bugs and graphics. All of these are not that bad but you do notice them. The UI can be lacking or unclear. For instance, I didn’t find out where I can check enemy movement before attacking. Sometimes it is unclear where you can attack when the color of the tile is mixed with a different tile to indicate something else. When equipping weapons, the grey color to show you who can equip what is so light, that you can easily miss it and wonder why certain characters can’t equip something. The bugs are mostly some rare visual bugs or when your party gets in your way while exploring. They can cause you to get stuck. While the style is good, the graphics could have been better. Some of the environments and objects are too blocky and it felt odd that you couldn’t control the camera while exploring or using your boat. With the graphics, perhaps it’s because of its mobile roots since this was a Netflix exclusive for a while. Others didn’t like the game’s map, the lack of character backstory or strong characters in general. The map is not typical and not really helpful in the grand scheme of things but it’s not needed at all because the game gives you the illusion of exploring ‘islands’ but it’s not really the case. If you go too far to the left or right, the controls are taken away from you temporarily to put you on the main road. The mini radar literally shows you where you can go and how close you are. The map is there to give you a general sense of direction but it’s mostly to make you feel how it’s pointless and there is no real infrastructure due to the story. The story is not really about the characters. It’s more about showing you how this can happen to anyone and how it feels, not the characters being memorable.
This is a game that could have used some more polish but I still loved it. I’ve completed it within 4 straight days and I leave satisfied. €20 feels like a bit too much but the €12 I paid is fine. I could have played the Netflix version for free but I’m glad I got it on PC for the performance etc. Give the game a try if you like the lore of Demagog games and are a fan of strategy RPG while keeping expectations in check in terms of scope.
So what’s the gameplay basically? The loop is generally using your boat to get to the next destination. The journey is supported by the same radio host from The Cub with some music mixed in between. There are short cutscenes that don’t overstay their welcome. You can also explore (optional) areas to find collectibles, weapons and boosters. Collectibles are magazines or books with a cover and title to set the mood (so no real reading material). Weapons can be character specific and boosters are consumable items used during battles only (heal, better movement, hit harder etc). The fights are your typical strategy RPG like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics. So the game is mostly going from A to B with a lot of focus on fighting and exploring. Exploration is kept light hearted, everything you can interact with is hard to miss. The fights are not as complex as the games I mentioned and there is no progression system like level up or learning new skills. Skills are usually bound by the weapons you have equipped and there are some exclusive character skills.
So what’s so good about this game? The style is strong with this one. Some of the landscapes seen while travelling are so pretty with a great use of color. The game is great at showing you what humans are dealing with, how everyone is coping and how desperate they can become (it’s depressing). The battle system is actually VERY good. Although I didn’t expect anything close to Fire Emblem, it’s still complex enough, satisfying and it made me think a few times due to the objects you can interact with along with some of the achievements. Speaking of the achievements, they’re terrific. Some are clear from the get go. Others make you guess and keep you on your toes but once you encounter the moment you’re supposed to do something, you’ll know when the achievements will trigger. As long as you keep notes of the achievements (read them to remember) and explore all areas, then they’re doable and fun to get. I got them 100% blindly without using a single guide. The game also has a good pacing for the most part and the length (7.8 hours in my case) feels just right. There is chapter select and you can check your collectibles from the menu. The game saves automatically after leaving an area, completing a fight or picking up an item. So you never feel like you’re forced to play longer than you want. The performance, 1440p resolution and loading times are excellent.
I’m going to deal with the negatives a bit differently this time. First I’m going to focus on the negatives that I noticed and then talk about the negatives experienced by others. To me it was the overall lack of polish in terms of UI, bugs and graphics. All of these are not that bad but you do notice them. The UI can be lacking or unclear. For instance, I didn’t find out where I can check enemy movement before attacking. Sometimes it is unclear where you can attack when the color of the tile is mixed with a different tile to indicate something else. When equipping weapons, the grey color to show you who can equip what is so light, that you can easily miss it and wonder why certain characters can’t equip something. The bugs are mostly some rare visual bugs or when your party gets in your way while exploring. They can cause you to get stuck. While the style is good, the graphics could have been better. Some of the environments and objects are too blocky and it felt odd that you couldn’t control the camera while exploring or using your boat. With the graphics, perhaps it’s because of its mobile roots since this was a Netflix exclusive for a while. Others didn’t like the game’s map, the lack of character backstory or strong characters in general. The map is not typical and not really helpful in the grand scheme of things but it’s not needed at all because the game gives you the illusion of exploring ‘islands’ but it’s not really the case. If you go too far to the left or right, the controls are taken away from you temporarily to put you on the main road. The mini radar literally shows you where you can go and how close you are. The map is there to give you a general sense of direction but it’s mostly to make you feel how it’s pointless and there is no real infrastructure due to the story. The story is not really about the characters. It’s more about showing you how this can happen to anyone and how it feels, not the characters being memorable.
This is a game that could have used some more polish but I still loved it. I’ve completed it within 4 straight days and I leave satisfied. €20 feels like a bit too much but the €12 I paid is fine. I could have played the Netflix version for free but I’m glad I got it on PC for the performance etc. Give the game a try if you like the lore of Demagog games and are a fan of strategy RPG while keeping expectations in check in terms of scope.
Highwater
2023
I love highwater's art direction, in a visual sense. puttering around in your inflatable dinghy can often be a serene, beautiful experience—in it, you peer out into the world around you, paved with cerulean and sinister waters, which at times yield to massive landmarks to the world before climate disaster. everything is eye-catching, eerie, and impressionistic, giving you glimpses into the setting, without revealing too much
even your closest buddies, in how they're visually represented, lack visual definition in even their facial features, lending an air of interpretive mystery to the closest sources of support you have in the game. in this respect, I would say the lack of high definition, of specificity, serves the game well
it does not, however, serve the writing well, which, for me, is the game's greatest (but not only) flaw
I appreciate, and even sometimes love, the intentions behind this game. rag-tag group of set-adrift folks try to work together to survive, escape? a climate disaster suffering world where the remaining institutions of power continue to do business as usual: exploit. it touches on community and the perils of individualism, and isn't afraid to give the player uncomfortable consequences
unfortunately, its writing beyond the point of concept is consistently lackluster, in almost every respect. the biggest crime for me is that the characters—who should matter so much in a story like this—are so thinly sketched they're barely on the page. there's never enough dialogue, and what there is is so plainly generic and lacking in personality from person-to-person. new characters get air dropped into your party with little explanation, and any backstory is short and not the easiest to navigate. some characters barely have enough writing to even meet the threshold of being archetypes. it's really disappointing and, worse, boring
the political worldbuilding is barely better. in moments it offers some decent observational satire, but the circumstances are so impressionistically vague in how they're explained that it's hard to say anything truly sharp or smart with it, other than "corporations bad!" (correct) and maybe "rebellions just as bad!" (eck). I would've said through most of the game it floats around this kind of, apathetic libertarianism, though to its credit, I think the endings do make it somewhat more complex, though barely
I think most other people will be frustrated at the gameplay. the gameplay didn't bother me much—the lack of level turned each combat encounter into a type of puzzle, which I could enjoy—but it isn't super well-tuned. once you figure out how to use josephine, almost every battle is easy to slice down. given my frustrations with the game, I didn't mind speeding through that part
on the flipside, though the exploration aspect of the game looks very pretty, it is deeply underbaked. despite the tantalizing appearance of being able to explore across this flooded environment, it's remarkable on rails for most of the game. and by the time you get to the one area that isn't, you've been trained to not explore that it's almost lucky if you still have the impulse
lastly, there's a lot of polish missing, especially towards the end. typos, score suddenly drops, etc. it's not game breaking, but it is noticeable
I appreciate the experience of the game, and respect the developers' intentions. I hope they can build on what works and improve on their writing approach moving forward, because there's totally potential here.
if you want to play better games the explore similar themes, I'd very highly recommend saltsea chronicles, citizen sleeper, and kentucky route zero
even your closest buddies, in how they're visually represented, lack visual definition in even their facial features, lending an air of interpretive mystery to the closest sources of support you have in the game. in this respect, I would say the lack of high definition, of specificity, serves the game well
it does not, however, serve the writing well, which, for me, is the game's greatest (but not only) flaw
I appreciate, and even sometimes love, the intentions behind this game. rag-tag group of set-adrift folks try to work together to survive, escape? a climate disaster suffering world where the remaining institutions of power continue to do business as usual: exploit. it touches on community and the perils of individualism, and isn't afraid to give the player uncomfortable consequences
unfortunately, its writing beyond the point of concept is consistently lackluster, in almost every respect. the biggest crime for me is that the characters—who should matter so much in a story like this—are so thinly sketched they're barely on the page. there's never enough dialogue, and what there is is so plainly generic and lacking in personality from person-to-person. new characters get air dropped into your party with little explanation, and any backstory is short and not the easiest to navigate. some characters barely have enough writing to even meet the threshold of being archetypes. it's really disappointing and, worse, boring
the political worldbuilding is barely better. in moments it offers some decent observational satire, but the circumstances are so impressionistically vague in how they're explained that it's hard to say anything truly sharp or smart with it, other than "corporations bad!" (correct) and maybe "rebellions just as bad!" (eck). I would've said through most of the game it floats around this kind of, apathetic libertarianism, though to its credit, I think the endings do make it somewhat more complex, though barely
I think most other people will be frustrated at the gameplay. the gameplay didn't bother me much—the lack of level turned each combat encounter into a type of puzzle, which I could enjoy—but it isn't super well-tuned. once you figure out how to use josephine, almost every battle is easy to slice down. given my frustrations with the game, I didn't mind speeding through that part
on the flipside, though the exploration aspect of the game looks very pretty, it is deeply underbaked. despite the tantalizing appearance of being able to explore across this flooded environment, it's remarkable on rails for most of the game. and by the time you get to the one area that isn't, you've been trained to not explore that it's almost lucky if you still have the impulse
lastly, there's a lot of polish missing, especially towards the end. typos, score suddenly drops, etc. it's not game breaking, but it is noticeable
I appreciate the experience of the game, and respect the developers' intentions. I hope they can build on what works and improve on their writing approach moving forward, because there's totally potential here.
if you want to play better games the explore similar themes, I'd very highly recommend saltsea chronicles, citizen sleeper, and kentucky route zero
Slow Damage
2021
finally finished slow damage! took me a while to get into it esp since i finished lamento recently, but here we are, it's a very good game. continuing on i will write all my thoughts about this game and its routes so whoever wants to discuss more can freely comment their opinion, i would really love that! anyways.
slow damage looks gorgeous! every n+c game has amazing visuals that fit the overall theme of its games and slow damage is surely one of them, the art, atmosphere and soundtrack all compliment the dark and twisted nature of the protagonists mind and it truly is a breath of fresh air having a 'darker' mc unlike the mcs of the previous entries who are either demure or chipper.
in this game we follow towa who lives pretty self-destructively, reveling in his own pain and madness and living from today to tomorrow. with every route we play we get a fragment of his past or a glimpse of his personality outside his masochistic auteur facade.
as for the routes; i will be frank and say that fujieda's route is the absolute peak of this game, the route that made me obsessively sit in front of the computer and click click click until i finally put the pieces together and see them two live their lives unapologetically and happily.
the other route i also enjoyed very much was rei's. rei is such a good and lovable character, i just wanted to hug him and pat him on his head. also i loved his friend group so much, just a really fun route that also deals with his complex issues, don't want to spoil it much but all in all fujieda and rei are definitely the routes i enjoyed the most.
as for madarame and taku. honestly idk which route i enjoyed LESS. maybe madarame's lol. i know we all love and respect toxic yaoi, i do too, but i kinda feel that madarame had only that going on for him. i can see the appeal but honestly the execution could be better. he was too one dimensional for me to like him and tbh after playing rei's route, going for madarame just hurt and left a bad taste in my mouth. something didn't click for me and i say this as someone whose fave in tnc was shiki lol...
taku was just... boring LOL i really love the older man yaoi route but taku was not interesting enough. his bad end was interesting gonna admit but otherwise kinda stale....
yeah those are my thoughts! fujieda ryou lover forever peace x <3
slow damage looks gorgeous! every n+c game has amazing visuals that fit the overall theme of its games and slow damage is surely one of them, the art, atmosphere and soundtrack all compliment the dark and twisted nature of the protagonists mind and it truly is a breath of fresh air having a 'darker' mc unlike the mcs of the previous entries who are either demure or chipper.
in this game we follow towa who lives pretty self-destructively, reveling in his own pain and madness and living from today to tomorrow. with every route we play we get a fragment of his past or a glimpse of his personality outside his masochistic auteur facade.
as for the routes; i will be frank and say that fujieda's route is the absolute peak of this game, the route that made me obsessively sit in front of the computer and click click click until i finally put the pieces together and see them two live their lives unapologetically and happily.
the other route i also enjoyed very much was rei's. rei is such a good and lovable character, i just wanted to hug him and pat him on his head. also i loved his friend group so much, just a really fun route that also deals with his complex issues, don't want to spoil it much but all in all fujieda and rei are definitely the routes i enjoyed the most.
as for madarame and taku. honestly idk which route i enjoyed LESS. maybe madarame's lol. i know we all love and respect toxic yaoi, i do too, but i kinda feel that madarame had only that going on for him. i can see the appeal but honestly the execution could be better. he was too one dimensional for me to like him and tbh after playing rei's route, going for madarame just hurt and left a bad taste in my mouth. something didn't click for me and i say this as someone whose fave in tnc was shiki lol...
taku was just... boring LOL i really love the older man yaoi route but taku was not interesting enough. his bad end was interesting gonna admit but otherwise kinda stale....
yeah those are my thoughts! fujieda ryou lover forever peace x <3
Cyberpunk 2077
2020
"A thing of beauty, will never fade way."
There's a lot to talk about, and I don't think anyone can talk about this game without at least mentioning its disaster of a launch.
I recall pre-ordering this game before launch, getting super hyped due to my previous experience with all of CDPRs prior works, and whilst the main story didn't disappoint me personally, the open world, RPG mechanics, and overall buggy state of the game (not even talking about how broken the console versions were) left a lot to be desired and felt like a betrayal to a lot of gamers for good reason after the years of overhype and overpromising.
But CDPR never gave up on the game when a lot of other devs and publishers would've, and over nearly 3 years from launch, they continued to work, polish, refine, and eventually gave us the game that we all wanted back in 2018.
And hoo boy, is this game with both the 2.0 update, and Phantom Liberty, a genuine gem that should be experienced, especially for people who love thought provoking and dark narratives.
The old skill/perk system was completely thrown out and rebuilt from scratch with skills having more worth and sometimes giving you new abilities and features like being able to air dodge, leap from cars into the air to get a drop on an enemy, or God of War style finishers to restore HP.
The loot and equipment system was also retooled from the generic Borderlands-y bigger numbers RNG bullshit into a more tier based upgrading system, meaning you can keep a favorite weapon or three, continue to upgrade them throughout the game, and actually build around them instead of ditching weapons every other fight for something that has +5 DPS.
The music was also always top tier even in the base game, and Phantom Liberty managed to add even more amazing tracks, some becoming personal favorites.
Characters are well written and the main highlights of both the base game and expansion, with most of them feeling like real, flawed, broken, but also likeable characters, with even the most hardshelled and volatile ones like Johnny Silverhand having understandable reasoning as to why they are the way they are.
I think one of the few flaws the game still has and will always have is the amount of junk feeling open world content in the base game, whilst they did improve on the way they were designed in the expansion, the gigs in the base game feel a bit detached, with there not being much communication with your client or fixer outside of an email giving background lore on the jobs which you can entirely miss out on. Which makes me feel less invested in the stories behind the gigs than I'd like, especially in comparison to the ones in Phantom Liberty, or the contracts in Witcher 3. The NCPD busts are also entirely junk open world content that feel just there to pad out the map with shit to do.
Hopefully with the second Cyberpunk game, they manage to match the gig quality with the ones in PL, and add more interesting things to do around the city like Yakuza/GTA style minigames, friend hangouts, or stuff like that.
Overall, this is a game I can't recommend enough, and as time goes on, it only becomes even more of a personal favorite of mine that is near and dear to my heart, and it is very commendable that the devs were given the chance to save this game from being a complete failure like so many in this industry end up being.
That being said, it should've never released in the state it did, and I can only hope going forward that CDPR has learned their lesson and won't do this again, as I don't think you can pull this off twice. And as we have learned from recent industry failures, the rest of the gaming industry sure hasn't learned anything
There's a lot to talk about, and I don't think anyone can talk about this game without at least mentioning its disaster of a launch.
I recall pre-ordering this game before launch, getting super hyped due to my previous experience with all of CDPRs prior works, and whilst the main story didn't disappoint me personally, the open world, RPG mechanics, and overall buggy state of the game (not even talking about how broken the console versions were) left a lot to be desired and felt like a betrayal to a lot of gamers for good reason after the years of overhype and overpromising.
But CDPR never gave up on the game when a lot of other devs and publishers would've, and over nearly 3 years from launch, they continued to work, polish, refine, and eventually gave us the game that we all wanted back in 2018.
And hoo boy, is this game with both the 2.0 update, and Phantom Liberty, a genuine gem that should be experienced, especially for people who love thought provoking and dark narratives.
The old skill/perk system was completely thrown out and rebuilt from scratch with skills having more worth and sometimes giving you new abilities and features like being able to air dodge, leap from cars into the air to get a drop on an enemy, or God of War style finishers to restore HP.
The loot and equipment system was also retooled from the generic Borderlands-y bigger numbers RNG bullshit into a more tier based upgrading system, meaning you can keep a favorite weapon or three, continue to upgrade them throughout the game, and actually build around them instead of ditching weapons every other fight for something that has +5 DPS.
The music was also always top tier even in the base game, and Phantom Liberty managed to add even more amazing tracks, some becoming personal favorites.
Characters are well written and the main highlights of both the base game and expansion, with most of them feeling like real, flawed, broken, but also likeable characters, with even the most hardshelled and volatile ones like Johnny Silverhand having understandable reasoning as to why they are the way they are.
I think one of the few flaws the game still has and will always have is the amount of junk feeling open world content in the base game, whilst they did improve on the way they were designed in the expansion, the gigs in the base game feel a bit detached, with there not being much communication with your client or fixer outside of an email giving background lore on the jobs which you can entirely miss out on. Which makes me feel less invested in the stories behind the gigs than I'd like, especially in comparison to the ones in Phantom Liberty, or the contracts in Witcher 3. The NCPD busts are also entirely junk open world content that feel just there to pad out the map with shit to do.
Hopefully with the second Cyberpunk game, they manage to match the gig quality with the ones in PL, and add more interesting things to do around the city like Yakuza/GTA style minigames, friend hangouts, or stuff like that.
Overall, this is a game I can't recommend enough, and as time goes on, it only becomes even more of a personal favorite of mine that is near and dear to my heart, and it is very commendable that the devs were given the chance to save this game from being a complete failure like so many in this industry end up being.
That being said, it should've never released in the state it did, and I can only hope going forward that CDPR has learned their lesson and won't do this again, as I don't think you can pull this off twice. And as we have learned from recent industry failures, the rest of the gaming industry sure hasn't learned anything
Control
2019
This game is... something... The gameplay is fun,the story confusing but its written by sam lake what did i expect lmao,playing this after playing alan wake 2 really sets up the "connected " universe thing everyone is doing nowadays but honestly i think remedy has something with this,hopefully control 2 is much better,the only factors that i found profoundly interesting is Ahti the janitor,and Dr darling. Ill tell ya, that "take control" level,i want more of that in future remedy games.
Alan Wake II
2023
This review contains spoilers
A step up from the last game,the game always keeps you on your toes,the new mechanics with the mind place and writers room is genuinely the best feature,along with light switching scenes,just great. The map and puzzles can get confusing to the point where if ur running from something its probably gonna take you a few tries to get it right. Other than that the story is great, Alan,Saga,Casey,great performances,oh and the soundtrack rocks Poets of the fall dont miss with remedy.
It took only 4 years of convincing for me to start playing this game and now I can't shut up about it honestly....it's just THAT cool and awesome!!! As an enjoyer of puns, I absolutely adore Geralt because he is an absolute pun machine and he delivers them in such a dry way that I always laugh about it...the best man ever, especially when I can punch everyone that disrespects women WHICH I DID BTW!!! Therefore, I'm super happy about these parts.
The most obvious part which impressed me is the story, I mean the storytelling is honestly insane with so many details about each and every quest, side quest and minor optional quest which you can accidentally come across! Once I did a super minor quest about chicken stealing (I know) and came back afterwards to see if the way I solved it had any consequences, AND IT DID. I never thought that so much effort would be put into such minor characters, and it really made me happy that I had that kind of effect in the story...Every quest was more or less memorable for me as it had a story of its own and it helped with understanding of the world we are exploring and about the diverse problem every region has. The Easter eggs are super funny as it has something from Kill Bill, Fight club and Twillight which were extremely funny and if you're playing read all the books and letters because they serve as an excellent intel and can be really funny at times. The main story is out of this world, and I teared up several times...
With all this said I also loved that we always had a choice in everything we did, but the part that stayed with me is that there weren't "good or bad" choices because nothing is black and white, but mostly you had to choose a "good" choice which is actually a lesser evil without knowing about it with Geralt saying that evil is evil and "If I'm to choose between one evil and another, I'd rather not choose at all".
Characters are also very well written, and everyone is interesting in their own way so you get to discover all the layers and grey areas which they have throughout the game which I will stay silent about for now...but Yennefer is THE mother and girlboss ever and Yen and Geralt just belong together I don't make the rules. I read some comments about Yen being bitchy but honestly? I don't see it. She is just strong willed and knows what she wants, likes and what is sometimes cruel but necessary so if you don't like women with a strong character and an existing personality of course you'll think she is only bitchy. This is only one character among so many of them so....find out about their awesomeness on your own because if I don't stop now, I'll write a novel instead of a review ig.
WITH THAT SAID I was completely mesmerized by this and so many other aspects of this game as for the enemies, fights, music, Gwent etc. and I will always recommend this game because it really is 5-star worthy and it can be so well adjusted to every kind of gameplay whether you're here for the story, combat or both it can be well adjusted and tailored for your wishes specifically so yes! That is how the game won me over ( •̀ ω •́ )✧
The most obvious part which impressed me is the story, I mean the storytelling is honestly insane with so many details about each and every quest, side quest and minor optional quest which you can accidentally come across! Once I did a super minor quest about chicken stealing (I know) and came back afterwards to see if the way I solved it had any consequences, AND IT DID. I never thought that so much effort would be put into such minor characters, and it really made me happy that I had that kind of effect in the story...Every quest was more or less memorable for me as it had a story of its own and it helped with understanding of the world we are exploring and about the diverse problem every region has. The Easter eggs are super funny as it has something from Kill Bill, Fight club and Twillight which were extremely funny and if you're playing read all the books and letters because they serve as an excellent intel and can be really funny at times. The main story is out of this world, and I teared up several times...
With all this said I also loved that we always had a choice in everything we did, but the part that stayed with me is that there weren't "good or bad" choices because nothing is black and white, but mostly you had to choose a "good" choice which is actually a lesser evil without knowing about it with Geralt saying that evil is evil and "If I'm to choose between one evil and another, I'd rather not choose at all".
Characters are also very well written, and everyone is interesting in their own way so you get to discover all the layers and grey areas which they have throughout the game which I will stay silent about for now...but Yennefer is THE mother and girlboss ever and Yen and Geralt just belong together I don't make the rules. I read some comments about Yen being bitchy but honestly? I don't see it. She is just strong willed and knows what she wants, likes and what is sometimes cruel but necessary so if you don't like women with a strong character and an existing personality of course you'll think she is only bitchy. This is only one character among so many of them so....find out about their awesomeness on your own because if I don't stop now, I'll write a novel instead of a review ig.
WITH THAT SAID I was completely mesmerized by this and so many other aspects of this game as for the enemies, fights, music, Gwent etc. and I will always recommend this game because it really is 5-star worthy and it can be so well adjusted to every kind of gameplay whether you're here for the story, combat or both it can be well adjusted and tailored for your wishes specifically so yes! That is how the game won me over ( •̀ ω •́ )✧
This review contains spoilers
as per usual, when i play a game that is almost perfect to me, a game that leaves me speechless, crying and wanting to spend more time with the cast and the whole atmosphere, i let my thoughts ruminate for a day or two and then i decide to write up said thoughts here. but with such an ambitious game and farewell to our beloved dragon of dojima, it really is hard to be coherent and straight to the point, the thoughts are just wilding.
anyways; i will be frank with the 'bad' parts first. i say 'bad' but they didn't really hinder nor change my overall opinion of the game, but it needs to be said.
-it is an ambitious game. rgg team tried to pack as much content in this game, be it minigames or side stories but also the main plot. i didn't mind the side stories at all, in fact, that was my favourite part of the game since bonding with the gang and just seeing their journey and growth is everything to me.
yes, the main plot. it got overwhelming after the half point and by the end of the game i honestly didn't care about the main antagonists, they were just cartoonishly evil and a bit flat. i liked ebina maybe a bit more than bryce but they're both pretty flat and playing gaiden before this, gaiden final boss solos IW final bosses.
-hanawa. hanawawawawa my heart hurts, it's evident that they wrote hanawa in gaiden after they finished iw and it's just sad how wasted his potential is. i was really sad and lowkey petty over it but alas.
-i may have wanted a bit of a better haruka and kiryu reunion but i will pretend that this thing they done in the game hits harder and is more poetic, whatever
now for the positives. which are. almost infinite HAHA.
first of all. i will say that i absolutely adore ichiban and i will stand my ground by saying that i enjoyed him more than 1-7 kiryu. IW kiryu will have a paragraph dedicated just to him. ichiban's whole story and kindness and never giving up even when there's no hope AND FORGIVENESS OVER ALL literally made me ugly cry and sob, it just spoke to me, he is so human and his kindness saved his whole party and gave them inspiration to go on with their lives when they thought there is no way out. i absolutely adore chitose and tomizawa, their whole dynamic with ichi is so organic and natural and fun and genuine and i could play 5 more games with just them in it. the drink links and learning in every corner of the city more and more things about them and their habits was so good and made me feel connected to the characters.
i admit that ichi's story was rushed somewhat because i feel kiryu was once again given the spotlight, which i will forgive considering his circumstances, even though i wish some things were maybe a bit more explored.
-ichi and the LAD gang are also so so so good i missed them so much. i love how seonhee and joongi got more screentime and trivia and just fun stuff about them because i loved them so much in LAD. i am though a bit shifty when it comes to saeko, i liked her more in LAD, they kinda fumbled her character but. whatever. seonhee forever.
-YAMAI????? i didn't expect at all to love him as much as i am now, he was truly a delight to see and hear and his whole arc is so appealing, esp his past and ties with tomizawa, 10/10 for me.
-as for the kiryu's side of the story, first of all i am glad to see emotional kiryu and kiryu who is relying on other people and learning that people love and appreciate him, not hate or curse him for coming into their lives. i also need to mention date, who is honestly kiryu's best man, friend, companion, the way he went to such lengths to convince kiryu that HE IS IMPORTANT TO OTHERS, OTHERS LOVE HIM. just brings tears to my eyes.
-kiryu's dynamic with ichi's gang is awesome, if anything i think IW nailed the character relationships because they're so human and belivable and AAA love it so much.
-i have nothing more to say tbh just wanted for kiryu to get a bit more closure than we got in the game, but i can hope we'll get that in the new entry eventually, where kiryu won't be a protagonist, just a cameo character.
i could talk about this game so so much more but here are so me of my thoughts. i will play it more, still, need to finish some dungeons and just fool around some more because i am not ready to say goodbye yet.
until rgg 9, bon voyage!
anyways; i will be frank with the 'bad' parts first. i say 'bad' but they didn't really hinder nor change my overall opinion of the game, but it needs to be said.
-it is an ambitious game. rgg team tried to pack as much content in this game, be it minigames or side stories but also the main plot. i didn't mind the side stories at all, in fact, that was my favourite part of the game since bonding with the gang and just seeing their journey and growth is everything to me.
yes, the main plot. it got overwhelming after the half point and by the end of the game i honestly didn't care about the main antagonists, they were just cartoonishly evil and a bit flat. i liked ebina maybe a bit more than bryce but they're both pretty flat and playing gaiden before this, gaiden final boss solos IW final bosses.
-hanawa. hanawawawawa my heart hurts, it's evident that they wrote hanawa in gaiden after they finished iw and it's just sad how wasted his potential is. i was really sad and lowkey petty over it but alas.
-i may have wanted a bit of a better haruka and kiryu reunion but i will pretend that this thing they done in the game hits harder and is more poetic, whatever
now for the positives. which are. almost infinite HAHA.
first of all. i will say that i absolutely adore ichiban and i will stand my ground by saying that i enjoyed him more than 1-7 kiryu. IW kiryu will have a paragraph dedicated just to him. ichiban's whole story and kindness and never giving up even when there's no hope AND FORGIVENESS OVER ALL literally made me ugly cry and sob, it just spoke to me, he is so human and his kindness saved his whole party and gave them inspiration to go on with their lives when they thought there is no way out. i absolutely adore chitose and tomizawa, their whole dynamic with ichi is so organic and natural and fun and genuine and i could play 5 more games with just them in it. the drink links and learning in every corner of the city more and more things about them and their habits was so good and made me feel connected to the characters.
i admit that ichi's story was rushed somewhat because i feel kiryu was once again given the spotlight, which i will forgive considering his circumstances, even though i wish some things were maybe a bit more explored.
-ichi and the LAD gang are also so so so good i missed them so much. i love how seonhee and joongi got more screentime and trivia and just fun stuff about them because i loved them so much in LAD. i am though a bit shifty when it comes to saeko, i liked her more in LAD, they kinda fumbled her character but. whatever. seonhee forever.
-YAMAI????? i didn't expect at all to love him as much as i am now, he was truly a delight to see and hear and his whole arc is so appealing, esp his past and ties with tomizawa, 10/10 for me.
-as for the kiryu's side of the story, first of all i am glad to see emotional kiryu and kiryu who is relying on other people and learning that people love and appreciate him, not hate or curse him for coming into their lives. i also need to mention date, who is honestly kiryu's best man, friend, companion, the way he went to such lengths to convince kiryu that HE IS IMPORTANT TO OTHERS, OTHERS LOVE HIM. just brings tears to my eyes.
-kiryu's dynamic with ichi's gang is awesome, if anything i think IW nailed the character relationships because they're so human and belivable and AAA love it so much.
-i have nothing more to say tbh just wanted for kiryu to get a bit more closure than we got in the game, but i can hope we'll get that in the new entry eventually, where kiryu won't be a protagonist, just a cameo character.
i could talk about this game so so much more but here are so me of my thoughts. i will play it more, still, need to finish some dungeons and just fool around some more because i am not ready to say goodbye yet.
until rgg 9, bon voyage!
This happened to my buddy Eric
I was held at gun point to play this game,still interesting tho
Despite alerting almost constantly and killing over 100 enemies, this was a masterclass of a game. This story really made me cry, and feel pure emotion. Despite the remake being made by Konami, I am interested to see how that plans out.
It was pretty fun and big (that's what she said) but jokes aside I enjoyed the game!!! I am very happy with the house I chose and I felt really glad when I could see how the characters are progressing throughout the game. As for the characters...there are so many of them I'm sad that I couldn't get to know more about some of them but that's okay since I've got to know SO many more.
Story was nice although some things moved very fast and some things fell flat....thankfully there was the gameplay which pulled through. But if we ignore that it was a very fun experience!!
Story was nice although some things moved very fast and some things fell flat....thankfully there was the gameplay which pulled through. But if we ignore that it was a very fun experience!!
The Cub
2024
The game was very short with an interesting story with platforming mechanics that left me underwhelmed. Now I've never played any of the previous Demagog Studio games, and that lack of experience may have effected my view of this game. The music made for the game wasn't bad, some of the songs were much better than others, and some were very bizarre... I missed a couple achievements but collected everything in one short playthrough.
You can view my entire review here: https://youtu.be/BlqpNqFOnR4
You can view my entire review here: https://youtu.be/BlqpNqFOnR4
Alan Wake II
2023
wow... just wow, what can I say... this game is truly a masterpiece. when it comes to alan wake 2's predecessor, the narrative was really good and interesting, while it lacked in gameplay, it made up with the story, but this game? truly checks all the boxes.
the story may get a bit too meta, bordering on pretentious, but i think it's a part of aw2's charm! the presentation, the visuals, the whole atmosphere and soundtrack is nothing less than superb, you can see this is truly a product of love and hard work and i'm so glad sam lake accomplished this, i just remember how happy he looked at the game awards :')
i liked both protagonists, maybe liked saga a bit more than alan, her story was really interesting and i enjoyed playing her chapters more than alan's, maybe because i already am familiar with alan so saga came as a breath of fresh air. the whole cast around her is so good and i enjoyed exploring her chapters very much!
as for alan's part of the story, probably the most memorable thing is the musical part. i just couldn't help but grin the whole duration of it, it was wonderful. also the scary parts of the game were so well done, rarely i get spooked by fictional horror but this just hit the spot.
truly a game worthy of a goty contender. very glad my friend recommended me this game, it surely will have a place in my top 10 games!
the story may get a bit too meta, bordering on pretentious, but i think it's a part of aw2's charm! the presentation, the visuals, the whole atmosphere and soundtrack is nothing less than superb, you can see this is truly a product of love and hard work and i'm so glad sam lake accomplished this, i just remember how happy he looked at the game awards :')
i liked both protagonists, maybe liked saga a bit more than alan, her story was really interesting and i enjoyed playing her chapters more than alan's, maybe because i already am familiar with alan so saga came as a breath of fresh air. the whole cast around her is so good and i enjoyed exploring her chapters very much!
as for alan's part of the story, probably the most memorable thing is the musical part. i just couldn't help but grin the whole duration of it, it was wonderful. also the scary parts of the game were so well done, rarely i get spooked by fictional horror but this just hit the spot.
truly a game worthy of a goty contender. very glad my friend recommended me this game, it surely will have a place in my top 10 games!
The Cub
2024
The old version of the demo made me cautiously optimistic while noticing some issues with the platforming. The new version of the demo improved on some aspects and I was ready to get the game day one but the reports of 2-3 hours of content discouraged me. The price of €15 seemed like too much based on that. Then the game released with a 33% discount and there was a bigger discount if you own Golf Club Nostalgia for a total of 46% off. I decided to get the game for €8 and I can definitely say it was worth it for that price.
Saying the game is a platformer is not really accurate. While platforming is definitely part of the game, there are also a lot of chase sections, other sections that add variety, there are a lot of collectibles, there is also a strong focus on fleshing out the story with lore and cutscenes between every chapter. Platforming might be the weakest aspect of the entire package because you need to get used to certain quirks of the controls and the game requires you to deal with some sections one way only despite there being multiple ways. For instance, the game has issues with grabbing poles when you jump between them. Even though you have normal jump and high jump, thus allowing you to adjust your position, the game doesn’t always like that. There have been instances where I adjusted my jumps and I should be grabbing a pole but I still miss. It’s preferred you either use normal jump or high jump once depending on the distance between the poles. Once you figure this out, the game becomes enjoyable to control. It’s not a fluid platformer like other games focused on platforming and this is something to keep in mind.
The game focuses on variety, atmosphere and telling a story through various means instead. The visuals and sound work together to successfully and uniquely get you invested. Seeing ruined buildings with details tells you a lot and the cutscenes are very effective and beautifully done despite the simplicity. The boy you control narrates the cutscenes very nicely and the host of the radio you listen to while playing is very soothing to the ears. The radio is not just there to flesh out the world but the radio also comments directly to what’s happening with the story as it develops and it’s quite brilliant. Then you have the collectibles. You can collect A LOT even though some of it is optional (not required for the achievements). You can find 22 books, 22 newspapers, 15 holo messages, 11 videos, 11 burps (food), 7 luxury items and 8 bears you can hug. The newspapers and books don’t have actual text, you mostly read the headlines with images to set the tone of the world. Those collectibles are already a lot for a longer game. So you can imagine where the focus lies when the game took me 3 hours on my first extensive run with only missing 4 collectibles and 3 achievements. Almost every collectible is easy to find. They’re not there to frustrate you but they’re there to enhance the story. You can check most of the collectibles found through the settings menu and the game also has chapter select right from the start. There are 8 chapters and a prologue.
It makes sense why the game is this short and costs this much. The 3 hours are not much but the presentation and almost everything around it is of very high quality. The game has lots of animations and the music within the radio seems to be done by actual bands/singers. The songs are also extremely good. It was such an enjoyable journey that I went back to complete it a second time straight away without rushing things even after I got all the achievements. I ended up playing the game for 7 hours. The Cub makes me want to play Golf Club Nostalgia asap because I want to see more of this world. Getting the game purely for the gameplay and content might not be a smart idea. But the game is worth getting if you like what you’re reading. €15 might be too much unless money is a non issue to you. Less than €10 is safer despite me fully understanding where the budget went and why it costs €15.
Saying the game is a platformer is not really accurate. While platforming is definitely part of the game, there are also a lot of chase sections, other sections that add variety, there are a lot of collectibles, there is also a strong focus on fleshing out the story with lore and cutscenes between every chapter. Platforming might be the weakest aspect of the entire package because you need to get used to certain quirks of the controls and the game requires you to deal with some sections one way only despite there being multiple ways. For instance, the game has issues with grabbing poles when you jump between them. Even though you have normal jump and high jump, thus allowing you to adjust your position, the game doesn’t always like that. There have been instances where I adjusted my jumps and I should be grabbing a pole but I still miss. It’s preferred you either use normal jump or high jump once depending on the distance between the poles. Once you figure this out, the game becomes enjoyable to control. It’s not a fluid platformer like other games focused on platforming and this is something to keep in mind.
The game focuses on variety, atmosphere and telling a story through various means instead. The visuals and sound work together to successfully and uniquely get you invested. Seeing ruined buildings with details tells you a lot and the cutscenes are very effective and beautifully done despite the simplicity. The boy you control narrates the cutscenes very nicely and the host of the radio you listen to while playing is very soothing to the ears. The radio is not just there to flesh out the world but the radio also comments directly to what’s happening with the story as it develops and it’s quite brilliant. Then you have the collectibles. You can collect A LOT even though some of it is optional (not required for the achievements). You can find 22 books, 22 newspapers, 15 holo messages, 11 videos, 11 burps (food), 7 luxury items and 8 bears you can hug. The newspapers and books don’t have actual text, you mostly read the headlines with images to set the tone of the world. Those collectibles are already a lot for a longer game. So you can imagine where the focus lies when the game took me 3 hours on my first extensive run with only missing 4 collectibles and 3 achievements. Almost every collectible is easy to find. They’re not there to frustrate you but they’re there to enhance the story. You can check most of the collectibles found through the settings menu and the game also has chapter select right from the start. There are 8 chapters and a prologue.
It makes sense why the game is this short and costs this much. The 3 hours are not much but the presentation and almost everything around it is of very high quality. The game has lots of animations and the music within the radio seems to be done by actual bands/singers. The songs are also extremely good. It was such an enjoyable journey that I went back to complete it a second time straight away without rushing things even after I got all the achievements. I ended up playing the game for 7 hours. The Cub makes me want to play Golf Club Nostalgia asap because I want to see more of this world. Getting the game purely for the gameplay and content might not be a smart idea. But the game is worth getting if you like what you’re reading. €15 might be too much unless money is a non issue to you. Less than €10 is safer despite me fully understanding where the budget went and why it costs €15.