dotsandloops
354 Reviews liked by dotsandloops
Hotline Miami
2012
I played this for the first time around a year ago during the final days of a period where I was intensely overworked for weeks straight. I had entered into some kind of sleep deprived rhythm, every day doing the exact same thing. One night I had a couple of hours of free time, saw Hotline Miami on sale for 99 cents, and four hours later I was a different person. There aren't even words that would explain how playing this felt after looking at spreadsheets for so long
Disney's Aladdin
1993
Nice little bite sized treat.
I'm on a mission to finish games that were too hard for me as a small childe.
Aladdin is a good ol' platformer with fluid animation and is (for the most part) faithful to the movie with regards to the movie and the soundtrack. It's not too challenging, it's short and very sweet.
They managed to capture the overall tone and vibe of the film very well and it's cool to hear the film's soundtrack with these SNES renditions.
I'm on a mission to finish games that were too hard for me as a small childe.
Aladdin is a good ol' platformer with fluid animation and is (for the most part) faithful to the movie with regards to the movie and the soundtrack. It's not too challenging, it's short and very sweet.
They managed to capture the overall tone and vibe of the film very well and it's cool to hear the film's soundtrack with these SNES renditions.
Ico
2001
I absolutely respect Ico for the influence it had on artistic adventure and exploration games along with Shadow of the Colossus. I really wanted to like it, as Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favorite games ever.
Unfortunately I hated Ico.
The loose controls, weird camera, and blurry, eye-straining graphics with way too much bloom gave me an actual headache. I just could not continue playing when the game had made me physically unwell in the first half hour.
Unfortunately I hated Ico.
The loose controls, weird camera, and blurry, eye-straining graphics with way too much bloom gave me an actual headache. I just could not continue playing when the game had made me physically unwell in the first half hour.
Insaniquarium Deluxe
2004
This game is so good ive been playing it since the first humans of the Apollo 11 crew touched down on the moon and walked on it. No joke!
This review contains spoilers
Base game review
In my most recent review of the base game, I mentioned that discovery is the ethos of Outer Wilds. That ethos is successfully carried over to the Echoes of the Eye DLC, but not in a way that I expected. A key aspect of discovery is the ability to bravely face the unknown, and it’s that very aspect that Echoes of the Eye tests its players on. The farther you progress throughout the DLC, the more the game tests you in this regard, as you gradually learn more and more about the fate of the species that occupies The Stranger, and you eventually trespass through a world that’s hostile, oppressive, and foreboding in order to learn the truth about this mysterious and unheard-of alien race, as well as how they tie into the mystery regarding the Eye of the Universe.
The DLC feels very segmented from the core game, while at the same time managing to integrate itself naturally with the rest of Outer Wilds’ galaxy. Its explanation for why you wouldn’t have discovered it over the course of your original playthrough makes sense. The Stranger uses cloaking technology to make itself invisible so you likely would never find it over the course of your original journey. I like how they made getting to The Stranger a puzzle itself, further justifying why you wouldn’t have discovered it during your original run.
The Stranger is a very cool environment to explore. Making it a ring world like Halo was a great idea, and I love how its environment is more or less an extension to that of Timber Hearth’s, with its woodlands-based climate. Navigating The Stranger is quite fun. Regardless of your overall feelings towards the DLC, I feel like almost everyone can agree that water rafting to the different areas throughout the ship is really fun, especially with the accompanying music track that plays when the raft picks up speed.
The storytelling is done differently in the DLC. Since your translator doesn’t understand the language of the alien race aboard The Stranger, the story is told via the different projector reels that you find all throughout various abandoned and rotting buildings in the ship, and eventually, the dream world as well. Once you start to discover the various projection reels, the DLC gradually becomes more and more ominous as you learn additional details regarding the race that’s aboard the Stranger. I can’t tell you how uneasy I felt when I discovered the corpses of this race hidden away in one of their dream rooms. It was extremely unnerving the first time.
The contrast between dark and light is a key theme of the DLC, and like the base game, the DLC ties its key narrative theme with its gameplay very well. From the moment you board The Stranger, you discover how the ship’s systems generally operate via sources of light, making your flashlight a key tool throughout the entire DLC. This contrast is explored even further when you explore the dream world, which is enshrouded in pitch black darkness. Going from the bright and serene environment of The Stranger to the dark and oppressive atmosphere of the dream world is such an intense transition. The devs went above and beyond in making you feel like the dream world is a place you are not supposed to be in. Thanks to the incredible sound design as well as the usage of darkness to make it difficult to get a grasp on your surroundings, it feels like anything can come out of the dark to surprise and attack you at any moment. This is how Echoes of the Eye tests your ability to face the unknown in order to reach the truth.
I truly admire the lengths gone to in order to tie this narrative theme with the gameplay. The devs definitely accomplished what they set out to do with it, but at the same time, part of me feels like they did a little too good of a job. The dream world is so dark that it’s actually a bit of a nuisance trying to explore it. That in addition to its overwhelming atmosphere and the inability to fight back against enemies is the primary reason why unlike the base game, I wasn’t enthusiastic about exploring the dream world, and there were times where I actually had to sit down and force myself through it. I don’t know why I had such a reaction to the dream world when I’m normally an enjoyer and advocate for horror. It might be because of how much the environment is obfuscated in the dream world. In other horror games, I feel like I can at the very least prepare for threats by being aware of my surroundings, and I’m generally able to fight back against enemies, even in a limited capacity. In the dream world, my inability to always have a firm grasp of my surroundings due to the darkness or fight back at all against the patrolling enemies, as well as the oppressive soundscape, kept me constantly uncomfortable and on edge at all times. Even if the enemies are telegraphed by the lanterns they carry in the dark, they could still be hard to spot, and I would occasionally just turn around a corner and run into one of them with no way of knowing beforehand.
I definitely understand what the devs were trying to do by making the dream world dark and difficult to navigate. At the same time though, it made the dream world a pain to explore at times, as well as figure out what to do and where to go. When you discover the Forbidden Archives in each of the three key locations and you get the clues you need to figure out how to make navigating the dream world easier, it gets a lot better. You also learn additional details of the alien race that occupies The Stranger, including the contents of the projector reels that you discover on The Stranger that have burnt out slides, making them a particularly strong reward.
The conclusion of the DLC, which you reach by freeing the Prisoner after utilizing the techniques you learn in the Forbidden Archives, was rather satisfying. I really enjoyed the scene with the Prisoner where you exchange information with one another via his projection staff. I can’t imagine the complex emotions the Prisoner must’ve felt when he realized that his actions weren’t in vain, and in-fact, lead to core events that kick off the base game’s narrative. You can really grasp those feelings by listening to his pained, yet vindicated howl after the vision exchange. It’s a very tender and beautiful moment that only Outer Wilds is capable of. I was told to redo the base game’s ending again once I finished the DLC, and I’m glad I did, I’m actually a little ashamed that I didn’t think to do so after initially completing Echoes of the Eye. The addition of The Prisoner to the finale sequence was a welcome one, and it was very nice seeing him join up with the rest of the crew, introducing an additional race to the new universe that we birth together.
Echoes of the Eye is a different, yet excellent addition to Outer Wilds. However, I feel like I’d be lying if I said I completely enjoyed the experience. The dream world can be frustrating to navigate even when you do get used to the scary atmosphere and the enemies stop having that effect they once had on you, simply because of how difficult it is to see anything while you’re in it without leaving your artifact behind. Like most things in Outer Wilds though, it does become easier to navigate thanks to repetition. The DLC as a whole is still an excellent experience, and a worthwhile addition to the game. It’s not consistently fun, but at the same time it’s not trying to be. It challenges you to face the unknown, and I’m glad I braved that challenge.
In my most recent review of the base game, I mentioned that discovery is the ethos of Outer Wilds. That ethos is successfully carried over to the Echoes of the Eye DLC, but not in a way that I expected. A key aspect of discovery is the ability to bravely face the unknown, and it’s that very aspect that Echoes of the Eye tests its players on. The farther you progress throughout the DLC, the more the game tests you in this regard, as you gradually learn more and more about the fate of the species that occupies The Stranger, and you eventually trespass through a world that’s hostile, oppressive, and foreboding in order to learn the truth about this mysterious and unheard-of alien race, as well as how they tie into the mystery regarding the Eye of the Universe.
The DLC feels very segmented from the core game, while at the same time managing to integrate itself naturally with the rest of Outer Wilds’ galaxy. Its explanation for why you wouldn’t have discovered it over the course of your original playthrough makes sense. The Stranger uses cloaking technology to make itself invisible so you likely would never find it over the course of your original journey. I like how they made getting to The Stranger a puzzle itself, further justifying why you wouldn’t have discovered it during your original run.
The Stranger is a very cool environment to explore. Making it a ring world like Halo was a great idea, and I love how its environment is more or less an extension to that of Timber Hearth’s, with its woodlands-based climate. Navigating The Stranger is quite fun. Regardless of your overall feelings towards the DLC, I feel like almost everyone can agree that water rafting to the different areas throughout the ship is really fun, especially with the accompanying music track that plays when the raft picks up speed.
The storytelling is done differently in the DLC. Since your translator doesn’t understand the language of the alien race aboard The Stranger, the story is told via the different projector reels that you find all throughout various abandoned and rotting buildings in the ship, and eventually, the dream world as well. Once you start to discover the various projection reels, the DLC gradually becomes more and more ominous as you learn additional details regarding the race that’s aboard the Stranger. I can’t tell you how uneasy I felt when I discovered the corpses of this race hidden away in one of their dream rooms. It was extremely unnerving the first time.
The contrast between dark and light is a key theme of the DLC, and like the base game, the DLC ties its key narrative theme with its gameplay very well. From the moment you board The Stranger, you discover how the ship’s systems generally operate via sources of light, making your flashlight a key tool throughout the entire DLC. This contrast is explored even further when you explore the dream world, which is enshrouded in pitch black darkness. Going from the bright and serene environment of The Stranger to the dark and oppressive atmosphere of the dream world is such an intense transition. The devs went above and beyond in making you feel like the dream world is a place you are not supposed to be in. Thanks to the incredible sound design as well as the usage of darkness to make it difficult to get a grasp on your surroundings, it feels like anything can come out of the dark to surprise and attack you at any moment. This is how Echoes of the Eye tests your ability to face the unknown in order to reach the truth.
I truly admire the lengths gone to in order to tie this narrative theme with the gameplay. The devs definitely accomplished what they set out to do with it, but at the same time, part of me feels like they did a little too good of a job. The dream world is so dark that it’s actually a bit of a nuisance trying to explore it. That in addition to its overwhelming atmosphere and the inability to fight back against enemies is the primary reason why unlike the base game, I wasn’t enthusiastic about exploring the dream world, and there were times where I actually had to sit down and force myself through it. I don’t know why I had such a reaction to the dream world when I’m normally an enjoyer and advocate for horror. It might be because of how much the environment is obfuscated in the dream world. In other horror games, I feel like I can at the very least prepare for threats by being aware of my surroundings, and I’m generally able to fight back against enemies, even in a limited capacity. In the dream world, my inability to always have a firm grasp of my surroundings due to the darkness or fight back at all against the patrolling enemies, as well as the oppressive soundscape, kept me constantly uncomfortable and on edge at all times. Even if the enemies are telegraphed by the lanterns they carry in the dark, they could still be hard to spot, and I would occasionally just turn around a corner and run into one of them with no way of knowing beforehand.
I definitely understand what the devs were trying to do by making the dream world dark and difficult to navigate. At the same time though, it made the dream world a pain to explore at times, as well as figure out what to do and where to go. When you discover the Forbidden Archives in each of the three key locations and you get the clues you need to figure out how to make navigating the dream world easier, it gets a lot better. You also learn additional details of the alien race that occupies The Stranger, including the contents of the projector reels that you discover on The Stranger that have burnt out slides, making them a particularly strong reward.
The conclusion of the DLC, which you reach by freeing the Prisoner after utilizing the techniques you learn in the Forbidden Archives, was rather satisfying. I really enjoyed the scene with the Prisoner where you exchange information with one another via his projection staff. I can’t imagine the complex emotions the Prisoner must’ve felt when he realized that his actions weren’t in vain, and in-fact, lead to core events that kick off the base game’s narrative. You can really grasp those feelings by listening to his pained, yet vindicated howl after the vision exchange. It’s a very tender and beautiful moment that only Outer Wilds is capable of. I was told to redo the base game’s ending again once I finished the DLC, and I’m glad I did, I’m actually a little ashamed that I didn’t think to do so after initially completing Echoes of the Eye. The addition of The Prisoner to the finale sequence was a welcome one, and it was very nice seeing him join up with the rest of the crew, introducing an additional race to the new universe that we birth together.
Echoes of the Eye is a different, yet excellent addition to Outer Wilds. However, I feel like I’d be lying if I said I completely enjoyed the experience. The dream world can be frustrating to navigate even when you do get used to the scary atmosphere and the enemies stop having that effect they once had on you, simply because of how difficult it is to see anything while you’re in it without leaving your artifact behind. Like most things in Outer Wilds though, it does become easier to navigate thanks to repetition. The DLC as a whole is still an excellent experience, and a worthwhile addition to the game. It’s not consistently fun, but at the same time it’s not trying to be. It challenges you to face the unknown, and I’m glad I braved that challenge.
Sights & Sounds
- As far as remasters go, it seems difficult to work with assets from the blocky early 3D period of the late 90s. Regardless of your skills, you're starting with awkwardly shaped polygons and muddy JPEG backgrounds
- That is to say, this remaster of the LucasArts classic Grim Fandango is visually uneven. The updated textures on the 3D models look pretty nice, but the conversion to 16:9 has stretched the character models a little bit. I probably wouldn't have noticed were I not looking at direct comparisons, but they are noticeably squished. The backgrounds appear to be mostly unchanged, but the lighting and shadows have been heavily revamped. Most indoor parts of the game are far darker than they used to be if there isn't a light source nearby
- The voicework is as spectacular as ever. It was my favorite thing about the game when I played the original way back in the early 2000s, and it's still a collection of standout performances. Manny, Glottis, and Meche are all of course excellently voiced, but even the side characters are great. I still like to parrot the French accent of the roulette table's croupier
- Setting my nostalgia glasses aside, it's evident that the game still looks very dated, and even the remaster doesn't really do much to update it. Thankfully, the strong art direction and setting still look good after all this time. The Land of the Dead and all its Dia de los Muertos inspired populace look great, whether you're milling about your office or trying to hide from monsters at the bottom of the sea
- The jazzy soundtrack is also a highlight, and Year 2's music is particularly great. The less boisterous tracks sound like background music for The Maltese Falcon
Story & Vibes
- The narrative is extremely good; with all the time skips and varied settings you traverse, it actually feels like you're going on an adventure. The plot follows Manuel "Manny" Calavera, a travel agent in the Land of the Dead. In this version of the afterlife, the dead are required to embark on a treacherous journey before their soul can finally move on. The wicked may only get a walking cane to assist them, but the most righteous score a "double-N" ticket for the No. 9, a luxury train that allows them to skip the whole ordeal
- (Skip this bullet if you don't want spoilers for the set-up) Although Manny was formerly a consistent employee-of-the-month, he's recently been outshined by his colleague, Domino Hurley, who seems to be extremely shady and appears to have connections to the realm's seedy criminal underbelly. The plot kicks off after you find that Hector has stolen the ticket of Mercedes "Meche" Colomar, a virtuous soul who spent the majority of her life doing charity work for children. Meche sets off on her journey anyway, forcing Manny to try to track her down on a world-spanning adventure to ensure her path across the land of the dead is safe and successful. Along the way, you'll find yourself in the middle of a huge conspiracy, so you should probably see about tidying that up, too
- One of the highlights of the narrative has to be the variety in the settings you traverse. You'll guide Manny through mundane offices, the tops of tall skyscrapers, spider-infested woods, secret underground tunnels, and beatnick jazz clubs. And that's just the first half of the game
- All the while, you'll be accompanied by the friendly demon, Glottis. In a game full of comic relief, he's the comic relief-iest--a constant source of eye-rolling gags and physical comedy that will probably annoy you at first, but will eventually become endearing. As far as sidekicks go, he's one of the best. I'd place him just a spot below Disco Elysium's Kim Kitsuragi
- There's some great emotional range going on here. In spite of the ubiquity of death and its prominent place in the plot, the humor is constant and often very funny. Corny, but still capable of eliciting some chuckles. In other moments, the game is very contemplative and soulful. As you'd imagine, the fact that there's an afterlife gives you plenty of time to regret your former life's actions
Playability & Replayability
- Although LucasArts point-and-clicks had traditionally been fixed camera, front-on, 2D affairs, Grim Fandango was their first departure from that perspective. Unfortunately, expanding to fill a new dimension came with some growing pains, specifically in terms of how you navigate. Like early Resident Evil games, LucasArts opted for tank controls as your main mode of locomotion. These have always been annoying, and it wasn't any better in Grim Fandango. Luckily, the Remaster only features these as a settings menu option, but note that you'll need to endure them if you want to 100% the game. Turn them on before leaving your office at the beginning if you want to suffer for that unlock
- Due to playing so many point-and-clicks over the years, I have a high tolerance for unintuitive or seemingly random puzzle solutions. That said, Grim Fandango is obtuse enough in this regard to test a saint's patience. I was able to remember many of the more ridiculous solutions from the original, but I still had to consult a guide. The GameFAQs walkthrough I used was published in 1998, and part of me wonders if it's the same one I used back in middle school
- Retreading these puzzles has given me a bit of a new perspective: they're largely bad. The setting, art, and story of Grim Fandango may all be world-class, but the puzzles are nonsensical even by LucasArts standards. If you insist on beating this one blind, be prepared to not know what you're supposed to do roughly 95% of your playthrough
- If you can stomach the gameplay, this is definitely a game worth replaying. Maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but Grim Fandango's narrative, characters, and art design basically guarantee that this will be a game I come back to every now and then
Overall Impressions & Performance
- It's a classic, but not one that I would necessarily call "timeless". Game design has come a long, long, way since 1998
- I wouldn't be opposed to a full remake of this game (but keeping the original voicework) if such a thing were possible. Given Disney's track record of "vaulting" content that didn't sell well at release, I think this is the last official version of Grim Fandango we'll see, unfortunately
- After seeing that the remastered visuals weren't anything that would benefit from a larger screen, I wound up just playing this on the couch on the Steam Deck. It performed well, and the analog sticks made the tank controls a little more bearable
Final Verdict
- 8.5/10. Before playing the remaster, I was totally prepared to give this game something in the 9.5-10 range, but actually revisiting it has given me some pause. The story, art, and voice work are all still incredible and hold up, but I have less tolerance for the unintuitive puzzles than I used to. Some of them are actually pretty bad in retrospect. That said, this is absolutely a must-play for any point-and-click fan
Like writing reviews? Check out my free Steam game giveaway
- As far as remasters go, it seems difficult to work with assets from the blocky early 3D period of the late 90s. Regardless of your skills, you're starting with awkwardly shaped polygons and muddy JPEG backgrounds
- That is to say, this remaster of the LucasArts classic Grim Fandango is visually uneven. The updated textures on the 3D models look pretty nice, but the conversion to 16:9 has stretched the character models a little bit. I probably wouldn't have noticed were I not looking at direct comparisons, but they are noticeably squished. The backgrounds appear to be mostly unchanged, but the lighting and shadows have been heavily revamped. Most indoor parts of the game are far darker than they used to be if there isn't a light source nearby
- The voicework is as spectacular as ever. It was my favorite thing about the game when I played the original way back in the early 2000s, and it's still a collection of standout performances. Manny, Glottis, and Meche are all of course excellently voiced, but even the side characters are great. I still like to parrot the French accent of the roulette table's croupier
- Setting my nostalgia glasses aside, it's evident that the game still looks very dated, and even the remaster doesn't really do much to update it. Thankfully, the strong art direction and setting still look good after all this time. The Land of the Dead and all its Dia de los Muertos inspired populace look great, whether you're milling about your office or trying to hide from monsters at the bottom of the sea
- The jazzy soundtrack is also a highlight, and Year 2's music is particularly great. The less boisterous tracks sound like background music for The Maltese Falcon
Story & Vibes
- The narrative is extremely good; with all the time skips and varied settings you traverse, it actually feels like you're going on an adventure. The plot follows Manuel "Manny" Calavera, a travel agent in the Land of the Dead. In this version of the afterlife, the dead are required to embark on a treacherous journey before their soul can finally move on. The wicked may only get a walking cane to assist them, but the most righteous score a "double-N" ticket for the No. 9, a luxury train that allows them to skip the whole ordeal
- (Skip this bullet if you don't want spoilers for the set-up) Although Manny was formerly a consistent employee-of-the-month, he's recently been outshined by his colleague, Domino Hurley, who seems to be extremely shady and appears to have connections to the realm's seedy criminal underbelly. The plot kicks off after you find that Hector has stolen the ticket of Mercedes "Meche" Colomar, a virtuous soul who spent the majority of her life doing charity work for children. Meche sets off on her journey anyway, forcing Manny to try to track her down on a world-spanning adventure to ensure her path across the land of the dead is safe and successful. Along the way, you'll find yourself in the middle of a huge conspiracy, so you should probably see about tidying that up, too
- One of the highlights of the narrative has to be the variety in the settings you traverse. You'll guide Manny through mundane offices, the tops of tall skyscrapers, spider-infested woods, secret underground tunnels, and beatnick jazz clubs. And that's just the first half of the game
- All the while, you'll be accompanied by the friendly demon, Glottis. In a game full of comic relief, he's the comic relief-iest--a constant source of eye-rolling gags and physical comedy that will probably annoy you at first, but will eventually become endearing. As far as sidekicks go, he's one of the best. I'd place him just a spot below Disco Elysium's Kim Kitsuragi
- There's some great emotional range going on here. In spite of the ubiquity of death and its prominent place in the plot, the humor is constant and often very funny. Corny, but still capable of eliciting some chuckles. In other moments, the game is very contemplative and soulful. As you'd imagine, the fact that there's an afterlife gives you plenty of time to regret your former life's actions
Playability & Replayability
- Although LucasArts point-and-clicks had traditionally been fixed camera, front-on, 2D affairs, Grim Fandango was their first departure from that perspective. Unfortunately, expanding to fill a new dimension came with some growing pains, specifically in terms of how you navigate. Like early Resident Evil games, LucasArts opted for tank controls as your main mode of locomotion. These have always been annoying, and it wasn't any better in Grim Fandango. Luckily, the Remaster only features these as a settings menu option, but note that you'll need to endure them if you want to 100% the game. Turn them on before leaving your office at the beginning if you want to suffer for that unlock
- Due to playing so many point-and-clicks over the years, I have a high tolerance for unintuitive or seemingly random puzzle solutions. That said, Grim Fandango is obtuse enough in this regard to test a saint's patience. I was able to remember many of the more ridiculous solutions from the original, but I still had to consult a guide. The GameFAQs walkthrough I used was published in 1998, and part of me wonders if it's the same one I used back in middle school
- Retreading these puzzles has given me a bit of a new perspective: they're largely bad. The setting, art, and story of Grim Fandango may all be world-class, but the puzzles are nonsensical even by LucasArts standards. If you insist on beating this one blind, be prepared to not know what you're supposed to do roughly 95% of your playthrough
- If you can stomach the gameplay, this is definitely a game worth replaying. Maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but Grim Fandango's narrative, characters, and art design basically guarantee that this will be a game I come back to every now and then
Overall Impressions & Performance
- It's a classic, but not one that I would necessarily call "timeless". Game design has come a long, long, way since 1998
- I wouldn't be opposed to a full remake of this game (but keeping the original voicework) if such a thing were possible. Given Disney's track record of "vaulting" content that didn't sell well at release, I think this is the last official version of Grim Fandango we'll see, unfortunately
- After seeing that the remastered visuals weren't anything that would benefit from a larger screen, I wound up just playing this on the couch on the Steam Deck. It performed well, and the analog sticks made the tank controls a little more bearable
Final Verdict
- 8.5/10. Before playing the remaster, I was totally prepared to give this game something in the 9.5-10 range, but actually revisiting it has given me some pause. The story, art, and voice work are all still incredible and hold up, but I have less tolerance for the unintuitive puzzles than I used to. Some of them are actually pretty bad in retrospect. That said, this is absolutely a must-play for any point-and-click fan
Like writing reviews? Check out my free Steam game giveaway
Grand Theft Auto IV
2008
This game was a cultural phenomenon of its time, so in true keeping with my tradition, I waited 16 years before actually finding out what all the hooplah was about. Don't get me wrong, I was interested - I can probably still recite some of the gushings about it I read in a magazine back then, waxing poetic about the game's living world, its vehicular combat, its in-game internet, how incredibly detailed it all was. But I didn't own a PS3 or Xbox 360; all I had was a Pentium III that was older than I was, so I figured there was no chance of me playing it. Little did I know back then that this game's PC port was so borked that even folks who owned high-end PCs in 2008 couldn't enjoy it.
I'm reviewing the Complete Edition incarnation of GTA IV, the one that's available on Steam. I purchased the game in one of my impulse purchases because Steam sales are more addictive than crack, and then I fucked around for 4 months before deciding it was finally time to play this game. And guess what? My laptop, which is no warhorse but still outstrips GTA IV's recommended requirements, still couldn't run it without stuttering like King George VI giving a speech. Clearly this game's requirements are only a suggestion. So I gave up, and tried the game on my dedicated gaming computer. That computer is a beast, and since I recently bought it and it's my precious baby, I almost didn't want to install the quasi-malware Rockstar launcher and Social Club bullshit on it that's required to play this game. But the refund period was long since gone, so I complied with their draconian demands.
And guess what? It still wouldn't let me play the fucking game. By this point I had 2 hours of Steam playtime on a game that hadn't even launched yet. First I had to solve 4 separate captchas to assure Rockstar that yes, I know what an upright cow looks like, and then I had to verify my email address again, and now finally I could play the game.
But what the fuck. Why does playing a game you bought have to be an experience on par with passing through an Israeli checkpoint? I gave up on video game piracy a while ago because of the perks Gaben's platform offers, but if the refund window had still been open, I would definitely have gone that route.
After all that, how's the game? Well, it's all right. GTA IV is amazingly detailed for its time - cars take realistic damage, the passengers inside them take realistic damage, you can shoot the driver to make them fall over onto the horn and go BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. The cars handle much more realistically than any game I've ever played; they have actual weight, and using the brakes is a necessity rather than a choice. While it takes some getting used to, the driving in this game - and believe me, there is a lot of it - is pretty fun.
The same cannot be said for riding motorcycles, however, and thankfully there are few missions that require you to. No matter how good you think you are at video games, you will always look like a monkey trying to fuck a football when you ride bikes in GTA IV. Out of the ~15 attempts I had to make on the final mission, one of the few that required repeat attempts (the difficulty in this game is usually very fair, which is surprising when you consider how bullshit most GTA games get later on), the list of failures go something like this:
- 11 were due to the required motorcycle section (the game suddenly loses all open-endedness to force a setpiece on you, and even if you shoot 15 rocket launchers at the final boss's boat, he won't die)
- 1 was due to me not stabilizing the helicopter fast enough, because the helicopter controls are almost as bad as the motorcycle ones
- 3 were due to a game-breaking, widely reported bug that Rockstar has had 16 years to fix, but they were too busy cutting content from the so called 'complete' edition to do so, leaving players to find workarounds.
Dear God, this final bug. It's not the only one in the game, but it's the most egregious, and really highlights how awful the PC port of this game is. Sure, it finally runs smoothly provided your computer is powerful enough to be able to run the game ten times over on its officially stated 'recommended' settings, but it's still not bug-free. NPCs getting stuck on geometry is extremely common, and the effect can range from you being forced to skip a cutscene and force the game to move on, to having to retry the whole mission because you can't bear to watch them bumping into walls like idiots any longer.
There are still stutters, and this was the first game to crash on my new PC - it can run brand new games at the highest settings with nary a glitch, but a 2008 game crashes. Sometimes Rockstar decides they're still not done bullying you, and their proprietary launcher closes without starting the game, so you have to click the Play button on Steam again and hope this time the two frontends this game mandates will both work. Not only that, the game doesn't seem to register manual saves, only autosaves after completing missions. Sometimes I lost progress because I had manually saved without completing a mission. I suspect this is because the Rockstar Launcher has its own cloud, which shuts down immediately when I quit the game after saving. Know an easy solution to this? DON'T HAVE TWO LAUNCHERS FOR ONE FUCKING GAME.
I realize I'm spending a lot of time talking about the abysmal performance of the PC version than the actual game, but when it's this egregious, it spoils the whole experience. I will try to talk about the game some more now.
Combat is much better than in previous GTA games, although it still is just on the level of a passable third-person shooter in 2008, one that lacks an open world. The cover system is finicky, and oftentimes it's better to make your own positional cover behind walls and boxes without snapping to surfaces. If you play with a controller, the triggers are used in all their analog glory - a half-press for manual aim, a full squeeze for auto-aim. There are a few missions that are extremely well-structured, such as the Heat-parody bank heist, even if a lot are simply the repetitive 'drive here, kill that' loop. The world is nice and detailed, though the NPCs are more cowardly than people in real-life - if you so much as sprint near someone, they will run away screaming. The in-game internet is rife with hilarious mockeries of the 2008 world wide web, some of which I sorely miss. There are also some fun side activites you can explore alone or on dates (romantic or otherwise), such as a strip club with at least 5 clones of Nicki Minaj walking around, a cabaret show that's honestly very entertaining to watch, darts, pool (played on a table made of ice, judging from the physics), and SEX. Pick up hookers and kill them after so you can get your money back. It's tradition.
Like all GTA games though, GTA IV suffers from most of the content being concentrated on the first island. There isn't even that much difference between the three islands - in the previous incarnations of Liberty City, you truly felt like you were moving to more affluent parts of the metropolis as you changed islands, whereas almost all of LC feels like a ghetto here. The third island hardly has anything to do at all. I've always felt that the reason memes about GTA are concentrated in the first third of the games is because most players don't progress past the first island. I guess Rockstar know that too, so they left the other two islands bare.
Despite all its flaws, GTA IV is extremely addictive. It's a decent game even in 2024, with an ahead-of-its-time attention to detail. With the issues it has though, I can't recommend buying the Steam version of the game. Rockstar don't care about fixing the bugs, and they don't care about your experience once they've got your money. They can't even be arsed to renew the licenses for the music, having removed 50+ songs so far, and it's only going to get worse. Every time I switched to the rock radio station, 'Wild Side' by Motley Crue would be playing, because there were about 4 fucking songs left on the thing. Do you want to have a cumbersome, watered-down, buggy time with this game? Nah. If you have the choice, I sincerely recommend finding an old PS3 disc and playing that instead. Don't give Rockstar your money for an incomplete 'complete' edition.
I'm reviewing the Complete Edition incarnation of GTA IV, the one that's available on Steam. I purchased the game in one of my impulse purchases because Steam sales are more addictive than crack, and then I fucked around for 4 months before deciding it was finally time to play this game. And guess what? My laptop, which is no warhorse but still outstrips GTA IV's recommended requirements, still couldn't run it without stuttering like King George VI giving a speech. Clearly this game's requirements are only a suggestion. So I gave up, and tried the game on my dedicated gaming computer. That computer is a beast, and since I recently bought it and it's my precious baby, I almost didn't want to install the quasi-malware Rockstar launcher and Social Club bullshit on it that's required to play this game. But the refund period was long since gone, so I complied with their draconian demands.
And guess what? It still wouldn't let me play the fucking game. By this point I had 2 hours of Steam playtime on a game that hadn't even launched yet. First I had to solve 4 separate captchas to assure Rockstar that yes, I know what an upright cow looks like, and then I had to verify my email address again, and now finally I could play the game.
But what the fuck. Why does playing a game you bought have to be an experience on par with passing through an Israeli checkpoint? I gave up on video game piracy a while ago because of the perks Gaben's platform offers, but if the refund window had still been open, I would definitely have gone that route.
After all that, how's the game? Well, it's all right. GTA IV is amazingly detailed for its time - cars take realistic damage, the passengers inside them take realistic damage, you can shoot the driver to make them fall over onto the horn and go BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. The cars handle much more realistically than any game I've ever played; they have actual weight, and using the brakes is a necessity rather than a choice. While it takes some getting used to, the driving in this game - and believe me, there is a lot of it - is pretty fun.
The same cannot be said for riding motorcycles, however, and thankfully there are few missions that require you to. No matter how good you think you are at video games, you will always look like a monkey trying to fuck a football when you ride bikes in GTA IV. Out of the ~15 attempts I had to make on the final mission, one of the few that required repeat attempts (the difficulty in this game is usually very fair, which is surprising when you consider how bullshit most GTA games get later on), the list of failures go something like this:
- 11 were due to the required motorcycle section (the game suddenly loses all open-endedness to force a setpiece on you, and even if you shoot 15 rocket launchers at the final boss's boat, he won't die)
- 1 was due to me not stabilizing the helicopter fast enough, because the helicopter controls are almost as bad as the motorcycle ones
- 3 were due to a game-breaking, widely reported bug that Rockstar has had 16 years to fix, but they were too busy cutting content from the so called 'complete' edition to do so, leaving players to find workarounds.
Dear God, this final bug. It's not the only one in the game, but it's the most egregious, and really highlights how awful the PC port of this game is. Sure, it finally runs smoothly provided your computer is powerful enough to be able to run the game ten times over on its officially stated 'recommended' settings, but it's still not bug-free. NPCs getting stuck on geometry is extremely common, and the effect can range from you being forced to skip a cutscene and force the game to move on, to having to retry the whole mission because you can't bear to watch them bumping into walls like idiots any longer.
There are still stutters, and this was the first game to crash on my new PC - it can run brand new games at the highest settings with nary a glitch, but a 2008 game crashes. Sometimes Rockstar decides they're still not done bullying you, and their proprietary launcher closes without starting the game, so you have to click the Play button on Steam again and hope this time the two frontends this game mandates will both work. Not only that, the game doesn't seem to register manual saves, only autosaves after completing missions. Sometimes I lost progress because I had manually saved without completing a mission. I suspect this is because the Rockstar Launcher has its own cloud, which shuts down immediately when I quit the game after saving. Know an easy solution to this? DON'T HAVE TWO LAUNCHERS FOR ONE FUCKING GAME.
I realize I'm spending a lot of time talking about the abysmal performance of the PC version than the actual game, but when it's this egregious, it spoils the whole experience. I will try to talk about the game some more now.
Combat is much better than in previous GTA games, although it still is just on the level of a passable third-person shooter in 2008, one that lacks an open world. The cover system is finicky, and oftentimes it's better to make your own positional cover behind walls and boxes without snapping to surfaces. If you play with a controller, the triggers are used in all their analog glory - a half-press for manual aim, a full squeeze for auto-aim. There are a few missions that are extremely well-structured, such as the Heat-parody bank heist, even if a lot are simply the repetitive 'drive here, kill that' loop. The world is nice and detailed, though the NPCs are more cowardly than people in real-life - if you so much as sprint near someone, they will run away screaming. The in-game internet is rife with hilarious mockeries of the 2008 world wide web, some of which I sorely miss. There are also some fun side activites you can explore alone or on dates (romantic or otherwise), such as a strip club with at least 5 clones of Nicki Minaj walking around, a cabaret show that's honestly very entertaining to watch, darts, pool (played on a table made of ice, judging from the physics), and SEX. Pick up hookers and kill them after so you can get your money back. It's tradition.
Like all GTA games though, GTA IV suffers from most of the content being concentrated on the first island. There isn't even that much difference between the three islands - in the previous incarnations of Liberty City, you truly felt like you were moving to more affluent parts of the metropolis as you changed islands, whereas almost all of LC feels like a ghetto here. The third island hardly has anything to do at all. I've always felt that the reason memes about GTA are concentrated in the first third of the games is because most players don't progress past the first island. I guess Rockstar know that too, so they left the other two islands bare.
Despite all its flaws, GTA IV is extremely addictive. It's a decent game even in 2024, with an ahead-of-its-time attention to detail. With the issues it has though, I can't recommend buying the Steam version of the game. Rockstar don't care about fixing the bugs, and they don't care about your experience once they've got your money. They can't even be arsed to renew the licenses for the music, having removed 50+ songs so far, and it's only going to get worse. Every time I switched to the rock radio station, 'Wild Side' by Motley Crue would be playing, because there were about 4 fucking songs left on the thing. Do you want to have a cumbersome, watered-down, buggy time with this game? Nah. If you have the choice, I sincerely recommend finding an old PS3 disc and playing that instead. Don't give Rockstar your money for an incomplete 'complete' edition.
Outer Wilds
2019
The Outer Wilds is the single greatest video game I've ever played from a critical standpoint. I'm not sure if I'd call it my personal favorite video game, but it is the single game that I feel is the absolute closest to perfection.
The controls and some aspects of the game's worlds can be trying and frustrating, but they're not at all bad. They simply take learning and getting used to, that is the point. The game overall focuses on testing your patience and sense of exploration.
You cannot fail. You can only give up.
Do. Not. Give. Up. In the end, it'll all be worth it.
The controls and some aspects of the game's worlds can be trying and frustrating, but they're not at all bad. They simply take learning and getting used to, that is the point. The game overall focuses on testing your patience and sense of exploration.
You cannot fail. You can only give up.
Do. Not. Give. Up. In the end, it'll all be worth it.
Outer Wilds
2019
This review contains spoilers
This is going to be a bit different from my usual reviews. Nowadays when I review games, I prefer to do so while my most recent experience with it is fresh in my mind. Sadly, when I first played Outer Wilds a few years ago, I didn’t write a review for it, and as you likely know by now, the game is a once in a lifetime experience. That’s not just me being hyperbolic for the sake of gassing the game up as much as I possibly can. The game is designed in a way that you can really only ever get the most out of it a single time. Sure you could go through the motions of filling out the ship’s log again, but the entire ethos of Outer Wilds hinges on discovery. Once you’ve figured out the answers to its mysteries and you learn what you need to do to clear the game, you can never enjoy it the same way again. As such, nothing I write will be able to accurately capture those feelings I experienced when I first played the game. However, after recently finishing the Echoes of the Eye DLC and realizing I’m not especially satisfied with my non-spoiler review of the game, I’ve decided to make an effort to at least try.
Like I said, discovery is the ethos of Outer Wilds, and that’s what makes this game so euphoric. Each planet is so much fun to explore. They’re all layered with so many elements that make them intriguing. They’ll either have unique physics like the more intense gravity of Giant’s Deep or the pocket dimension seeds that can be found in the Dark Bramble, or they drastically change over the course of the loop like the Ash Twins and Brittle Hollow. All planets also feature logs of the Nomai people, pointing you in the direction of the Eye of the Universe, as well as allowing you to learn more about their history, culture, and legacy. As you play the game more and more, you constantly learn new things about this fascinating galaxy, which feels incredible and appeals to your sense of curiosity to make you want to play the game more.
The developers have frequently cited The Legend of Zelda - my personal favorite video game franchise, as a major influence on the game, and it definitely shows. I remember all throughout my playthrough feeling a very similar sense of childlike wonder that I feel whenever I play a Zelda game. That feeling, that sense of adventure, is one that I greatly cherish. It reminds me of more innocent times, and it makes me very excited and joyful when games I play manage to evoke it. I love it when games encourage me to want to visit every nook and cranny of it’s world (or in Outer Wilds’ case, its universe) by making everything you can find all worthwhile instead of filling the game with fluff for the sake of making it seem bigger than it is. Every planet, and everything you can find on those planets, ties into the game’s overall goals of figuring out what you can do to keep the sun from exploding, as well as tracking down the Eye of the Universe. Finding everything there is to discover, as well as figuring out how all of those things you discover are connected not just with one another, but your main goals as well, is indescribably satisfying.
The game’s core controls can definitely take some getting used to, and is a common point where I see a lot of people struggle. The “tutorial” with the remote control ship on Timber Hearth does not do a very good job at simulating the controls of flying the actual spaceship you use throughout the game, but at the same time, you do get the gist of it, and it’s not too dissimilar from controlling your own playable character in zero gravity. The more you play the game, the more you get used to them, as you do with any other game that has competent controls, and beating the game does require a fundamental understanding of them.
The time loop itself is a constant source of anxiety all throughout the game. In some ways, it can cause you to make mistakes, since there are so many instances where you need to be in a specific location at a certain point in time over the course of the loop, and you can accidentally kill yourself or destroy your ship trying to get somewhere in a hurry because you’re rushing. It can also be a bit annoying at times. You could be in the middle of making some kind of important discovery right as the sun is exploding. At the same time though, the time loop also pushes the player to get better at the game. The concept of an open-ended exploration game requiring a level of skill may sound strange, but it’s true. The time loop pushes you to not only get better at handling your character and ship, but to also memorize the planets and the locations within them, as well as how to get to them as quickly and easily as possible.
Its storytelling is excellent. Normally, I’m not a fan of when games tell their story through extensive log entries. It feels like homework that you need to do in order to get the context for the plot which the game itself doesn’t really provide. Games like Transistor and DOOM Eternal are two examples that immediately come to mind. Outer Wilds manages to make storytelling through logs fun by writing them in a way that tells a story as it unfolds. They not only provide context to the current state of the location you're exploring as well as the Nomai’s actions, but they also serve as pieces of the game’s overall puzzle. The Nomai logs are actually a reward, rather than homework. Another storytelling element the game does masterfully well is how it ties in its narrative themes with its gameplay. You need to make the best use of what time you have in your life. That’s both one of the key themes of the game as well as what you literally do over the course of each time loop you go through. Then there’s the finale. No words can really capture the sheer wonder and the overwhelming multitude of emotions you experience over the course of it. Thematically and cinematically it’s one of, if not the most concise and impactful endings in any video game I’ve ever played.
Outer Wilds is the game that I feel like is the closest to being perfect that I have ever played. While I do prefer other games for reasons such as their gameplay or aesthetics, I can ultimately find flaws in them that can detract from the experience, even in minor ways. For Outer Wilds, it’s very difficult to find anything wrong with it without doing the most egregious nitpicking imaginable. The closest thing to a flaw that I could think of was that the planets themselves aren’t constructed in a way where they actually feel like they’re planets. They’re way too small to be a planet, as evidenced by the single teeny-tiny villages and settlements you can find on most of them. Despite this, the game still manages to capture the feeling of traveling to distinct planets thanks to each world’s unique characteristics and how they change over the course of each loop. Even if the planets aren’t big enough to feel like actual planets, they are the perfect size for the game’s core gameplay.
The one single game that I choose to recommend to anyone is Outer Wilds. It may not appeal to everyone per se, especially if they don’t have a natural sense of curiosity and aren’t especially fond of doing a lot of reading in their games, but I still think it’s worth it for everyone to at the very least give the game a shot. Despite taking clear inspiration from specific pieces of media, the developers managed to create something wholly unique and original. There’s nothing out there right now at the time of writing this that’s like Outer Wilds. It is a true, honest to god, once in a lifetime experience that can’t easily be replicated. Sure, there might be other games out there that I prefer to Outer Wilds despite their flaws, but in all honesty, this is the greatest game I’ve ever played. It is a nearly flawless masterpiece and one of the most genuine, sincere, and beautiful works of art I have ever experienced.
Like I said, discovery is the ethos of Outer Wilds, and that’s what makes this game so euphoric. Each planet is so much fun to explore. They’re all layered with so many elements that make them intriguing. They’ll either have unique physics like the more intense gravity of Giant’s Deep or the pocket dimension seeds that can be found in the Dark Bramble, or they drastically change over the course of the loop like the Ash Twins and Brittle Hollow. All planets also feature logs of the Nomai people, pointing you in the direction of the Eye of the Universe, as well as allowing you to learn more about their history, culture, and legacy. As you play the game more and more, you constantly learn new things about this fascinating galaxy, which feels incredible and appeals to your sense of curiosity to make you want to play the game more.
The developers have frequently cited The Legend of Zelda - my personal favorite video game franchise, as a major influence on the game, and it definitely shows. I remember all throughout my playthrough feeling a very similar sense of childlike wonder that I feel whenever I play a Zelda game. That feeling, that sense of adventure, is one that I greatly cherish. It reminds me of more innocent times, and it makes me very excited and joyful when games I play manage to evoke it. I love it when games encourage me to want to visit every nook and cranny of it’s world (or in Outer Wilds’ case, its universe) by making everything you can find all worthwhile instead of filling the game with fluff for the sake of making it seem bigger than it is. Every planet, and everything you can find on those planets, ties into the game’s overall goals of figuring out what you can do to keep the sun from exploding, as well as tracking down the Eye of the Universe. Finding everything there is to discover, as well as figuring out how all of those things you discover are connected not just with one another, but your main goals as well, is indescribably satisfying.
The game’s core controls can definitely take some getting used to, and is a common point where I see a lot of people struggle. The “tutorial” with the remote control ship on Timber Hearth does not do a very good job at simulating the controls of flying the actual spaceship you use throughout the game, but at the same time, you do get the gist of it, and it’s not too dissimilar from controlling your own playable character in zero gravity. The more you play the game, the more you get used to them, as you do with any other game that has competent controls, and beating the game does require a fundamental understanding of them.
The time loop itself is a constant source of anxiety all throughout the game. In some ways, it can cause you to make mistakes, since there are so many instances where you need to be in a specific location at a certain point in time over the course of the loop, and you can accidentally kill yourself or destroy your ship trying to get somewhere in a hurry because you’re rushing. It can also be a bit annoying at times. You could be in the middle of making some kind of important discovery right as the sun is exploding. At the same time though, the time loop also pushes the player to get better at the game. The concept of an open-ended exploration game requiring a level of skill may sound strange, but it’s true. The time loop pushes you to not only get better at handling your character and ship, but to also memorize the planets and the locations within them, as well as how to get to them as quickly and easily as possible.
Its storytelling is excellent. Normally, I’m not a fan of when games tell their story through extensive log entries. It feels like homework that you need to do in order to get the context for the plot which the game itself doesn’t really provide. Games like Transistor and DOOM Eternal are two examples that immediately come to mind. Outer Wilds manages to make storytelling through logs fun by writing them in a way that tells a story as it unfolds. They not only provide context to the current state of the location you're exploring as well as the Nomai’s actions, but they also serve as pieces of the game’s overall puzzle. The Nomai logs are actually a reward, rather than homework. Another storytelling element the game does masterfully well is how it ties in its narrative themes with its gameplay. You need to make the best use of what time you have in your life. That’s both one of the key themes of the game as well as what you literally do over the course of each time loop you go through. Then there’s the finale. No words can really capture the sheer wonder and the overwhelming multitude of emotions you experience over the course of it. Thematically and cinematically it’s one of, if not the most concise and impactful endings in any video game I’ve ever played.
Outer Wilds is the game that I feel like is the closest to being perfect that I have ever played. While I do prefer other games for reasons such as their gameplay or aesthetics, I can ultimately find flaws in them that can detract from the experience, even in minor ways. For Outer Wilds, it’s very difficult to find anything wrong with it without doing the most egregious nitpicking imaginable. The closest thing to a flaw that I could think of was that the planets themselves aren’t constructed in a way where they actually feel like they’re planets. They’re way too small to be a planet, as evidenced by the single teeny-tiny villages and settlements you can find on most of them. Despite this, the game still manages to capture the feeling of traveling to distinct planets thanks to each world’s unique characteristics and how they change over the course of each loop. Even if the planets aren’t big enough to feel like actual planets, they are the perfect size for the game’s core gameplay.
The one single game that I choose to recommend to anyone is Outer Wilds. It may not appeal to everyone per se, especially if they don’t have a natural sense of curiosity and aren’t especially fond of doing a lot of reading in their games, but I still think it’s worth it for everyone to at the very least give the game a shot. Despite taking clear inspiration from specific pieces of media, the developers managed to create something wholly unique and original. There’s nothing out there right now at the time of writing this that’s like Outer Wilds. It is a true, honest to god, once in a lifetime experience that can’t easily be replicated. Sure, there might be other games out there that I prefer to Outer Wilds despite their flaws, but in all honesty, this is the greatest game I’ve ever played. It is a nearly flawless masterpiece and one of the most genuine, sincere, and beautiful works of art I have ever experienced.
I'm honestly relieved to be done with Dark Souls II's DLC. It's extremely overhyped. I always heard that Dark Souls II's DLC was what made the game worth playing and I'll tell you right now, whoever says that is full of shit. There's really nothing all that great here. It's the same stuff you got in the base game, but at times, even more annoying. The frigid outskirts is particularly terrible. I reached the boss once and then decided it wasn't worth it.
I initially thought it was a mandatory fight, but the instant I found out it was optional, I yeeted the hell out of there. What an absolute waste of time! Lets just have the previous mandatory fight, but this time, there's two of them and the boss run is the worst one we've ever made! God damn! Why even bother? Keep in mind that I'm the guy who's okay with the Blue Smelter Demon boss run. I'd always been the guy who'd fight as many bosses as I could in these games, but this time around, I honestly couldn't be bothered.
To be fair, the DLC integrates the level design with the boss fights in a way that is an echo of other bosses in the base game. However, it's just a chore in my book. I didn't enjoy the final boss much, which greatly encourages the player to find four knights to serve them during the boss fight. Neat idea in concept, but in execution, it was just a hectic mess of a fight. I easily preferred the bosses from Iron King or even Sunken.
It's not terrible, but it might be my least favorite DLC from DS2. Not enraging like Sunken was at times, but also lacks the high highs that that DLC had to offer in the form of those standout boss fights. What a disappointment. Hopefully DS3's DLC is better...
I initially thought it was a mandatory fight, but the instant I found out it was optional, I yeeted the hell out of there. What an absolute waste of time! Lets just have the previous mandatory fight, but this time, there's two of them and the boss run is the worst one we've ever made! God damn! Why even bother? Keep in mind that I'm the guy who's okay with the Blue Smelter Demon boss run. I'd always been the guy who'd fight as many bosses as I could in these games, but this time around, I honestly couldn't be bothered.
To be fair, the DLC integrates the level design with the boss fights in a way that is an echo of other bosses in the base game. However, it's just a chore in my book. I didn't enjoy the final boss much, which greatly encourages the player to find four knights to serve them during the boss fight. Neat idea in concept, but in execution, it was just a hectic mess of a fight. I easily preferred the bosses from Iron King or even Sunken.
It's not terrible, but it might be my least favorite DLC from DS2. Not enraging like Sunken was at times, but also lacks the high highs that that DLC had to offer in the form of those standout boss fights. What a disappointment. Hopefully DS3's DLC is better...
The best designed area in Dark Souls 2 hands down. The bosses are also decent (at least 2 out of the 3)
This DLC opened up with an absolutely beautiful view, but annoyed and frustrated me to no end through poor level design and unfun enemies to fight. The two bosses were interesting, but needing repair powder for one of them due to it just destroying your durability left a sour taste but the other was kinda enjoyable. Really wish they did better on this DLC, I feel like that setting has incredible potential.
Genuinely love this area. Sihn the Slumbering Dragon is one of my fav fights in the series.
I LOVE THE ARCHITECTURE!!!!
I have no idea why but I fucking hated this area when I first played it. While the level itself kicks ass the gank squad is maybe my least favourite boss in the entire series and the other bosses are pretty mid.