esoteric_nebula
2023
I recall saying "I can't do this anymore" to my screen and then uninstalling after 5 hours of gameplay.
2017
I played the True Final Ending of Nier Automata during a time I was processing several losses in my life. Words can't even describe how life-affirming the game left me.
I didn't even know a video game could do this to me.
I didn't even know a video game could do this to me.
One day my dad brought this home from work, saying that his coworker wanted me to "play-test" it. My dad worked for a company that made pamphlets that you'd find in school counselors' offices. You know the kind: "Your Body Belongs To You", "Eating Healthy", "About STDs", etc. So it was not out of the realm of believability that somehow my dad got a pre-release version of this anti-tobacco game via his work. False memories or not, somehow this found a way to my family's SNES and I did play it.
As far as the game goes, even 6 year old me knew this game was hot garbage. Yes, smoking is bad, but this game is potentially even worse for your health.
As far as the game goes, even 6 year old me knew this game was hot garbage. Yes, smoking is bad, but this game is potentially even worse for your health.
Now this is a VIDEO. GAME.
FromSoftware does it again. The combat is incredibly challenging, but once you engage with all of its systems it becomes very rewarding and satisfying. Almost everything has a counter, whether that is via play-style and/or changing up your mech's build. Boss has a big shield? Use vertical missile shoulder mounts. Boss is hounding you with homing missiles from a distance? Use a nimble reverse-jointed mech with a laser sword and don't let up on your unrelenting attack.
Also, the stagger system is just feels so damn good.
The only bad thing I can say about it is that Easy Anti-Cheat seems like a necessary evil for anything with competitive online multiplayer. As someone who doesn't play online, I wish I could disable it.
Aside from the Easy Anti-Cheat, AC6 marks FromSoft's first PC release that doesn't feel like a compromised version compared to consoles. 16:10 is supported, 120 FPS is supported, and the Mouse+Keyboard controls clearly got some love because they feel great (and I'm not one of those sickos who plays Dark Souls with M+KB).
FromSoftware does it again. The combat is incredibly challenging, but once you engage with all of its systems it becomes very rewarding and satisfying. Almost everything has a counter, whether that is via play-style and/or changing up your mech's build. Boss has a big shield? Use vertical missile shoulder mounts. Boss is hounding you with homing missiles from a distance? Use a nimble reverse-jointed mech with a laser sword and don't let up on your unrelenting attack.
Also, the stagger system is just feels so damn good.
The only bad thing I can say about it is that Easy Anti-Cheat seems like a necessary evil for anything with competitive online multiplayer. As someone who doesn't play online, I wish I could disable it.
Aside from the Easy Anti-Cheat, AC6 marks FromSoft's first PC release that doesn't feel like a compromised version compared to consoles. 16:10 is supported, 120 FPS is supported, and the Mouse+Keyboard controls clearly got some love because they feel great (and I'm not one of those sickos who plays Dark Souls with M+KB).
2024
junk food..
2023
Relevant biases:
- Loved Hollow Knight
- Hated Cuphead
- Liked Celeste
I was smitten by the art style, music and theme, but anti-smitten by the controls and Cuphead-esque boss fights. Ultimately decided to refund after 90 minutes, but not altogether a terrible game.
- Loved Hollow Knight
- Hated Cuphead
- Liked Celeste
I was smitten by the art style, music and theme, but anti-smitten by the controls and Cuphead-esque boss fights. Ultimately decided to refund after 90 minutes, but not altogether a terrible game.
2021
Seriously don't understand the cope surrounding this game. It's about as fulfilling as a slot machine, which shouldn't be a surprise as it was made by someone who used to work in the gambling industry.
1997
We rented this from our local grocery store for my birthday (probably 10th or 11th birthday). It was late autumn so the leaves had fallen and the nights had started to get long. My friends and I stayed up until the the sun rose playing the heck out of this game. I'm not sure how this game would hold up today, but it holds a special place in my heart.
2020
This review contains spoilers
I'm about 50 hours in on my save file and 79 hours of Steam playtime. I'm not done with it (far from it), but here's my thoughts at the moment:
- Amazing game, there's nothing like it
- The story is gripping yet parse-able that I rarely need to open my journal to know what to do next.
- Choices I make seem to wildly affect the outcome of the story
- The choices I make a HARD but interesting
- The characters and writing are brilliant. I would die for Karlach.
- I've done the dirty with two of my party members, a devil, a foursome with two drow and a party member, all while my romance partner acknowledging and approving of the polyamory.
- There's no DRM.
- There's no micro-transactions.
- There's no in-game currency for real-life cash.
- There's no predatory battle-passes or loot-boxes.
- Amazing game, there's nothing like it
- The story is gripping yet parse-able that I rarely need to open my journal to know what to do next.
- Choices I make seem to wildly affect the outcome of the story
- The choices I make a HARD but interesting
- The characters and writing are brilliant. I would die for Karlach.
- I've done the dirty with two of my party members, a devil, a foursome with two drow and a party member, all while my romance partner acknowledging and approving of the polyamory.
- There's no DRM.
- There's no micro-transactions.
- There's no in-game currency for real-life cash.
- There's no predatory battle-passes or loot-boxes.
2022
TL;DR: A sapphic delight that, while standing on the shoulders of its influences, is still worth your time and money.
Longer: Can a game be great if it every single aspect of itself has clear influences from its inspirations? What is the difference between homage and derivative?
If I could somehow wipe my memory of playing Resident Evil, NieR Automata, Metal Gear Solid, and Silent Hill 2 and play Signalis with fresh eyes it would be an all-time great for me. But I do remember those games, which makes me feel very conflicted.
Signalis is almost like a collage in the form of a game. For every puzzle, every NPC, and every plot beat, I think to myself, "Oh that's just like X from Y!" I admit, finding the references is a bit of fun in itself, but that's certainly not enough to make a good piece of media (see: Ready Player One).
Perhaps I'm willing to give Signalis leeway because it nails the details so perfectly. Aesthetically, it is akin to a demake. Especially in the first-person portions, I felt myself hurdled back in time to my childhood self sitting on a tie-die beanbag chair in a wood-paneled room playing my dad's PlayStation.
However, it wisely eschews things like tank controls (though, I do think you can opt into them in the settings) to make it playable to 2022's sensibilities.
I need to get out of bed and make coffee. The rest of the review coming soon…
Longer: Can a game be great if it every single aspect of itself has clear influences from its inspirations? What is the difference between homage and derivative?
If I could somehow wipe my memory of playing Resident Evil, NieR Automata, Metal Gear Solid, and Silent Hill 2 and play Signalis with fresh eyes it would be an all-time great for me. But I do remember those games, which makes me feel very conflicted.
Signalis is almost like a collage in the form of a game. For every puzzle, every NPC, and every plot beat, I think to myself, "Oh that's just like X from Y!" I admit, finding the references is a bit of fun in itself, but that's certainly not enough to make a good piece of media (see: Ready Player One).
Perhaps I'm willing to give Signalis leeway because it nails the details so perfectly. Aesthetically, it is akin to a demake. Especially in the first-person portions, I felt myself hurdled back in time to my childhood self sitting on a tie-die beanbag chair in a wood-paneled room playing my dad's PlayStation.
However, it wisely eschews things like tank controls (though, I do think you can opt into them in the settings) to make it playable to 2022's sensibilities.
I need to get out of bed and make coffee. The rest of the review coming soon…
2024
Strong offline content for a FG. And I'm terrible at FGs.
2024
It's addictive. That's not a good thing.
Note: This is a review of the Switch HD Remaster and not the game itself.
Terrible "HD remaster" which is just a Unity wrapper around a port. Horrific frame pacing and dropped frames everywhere. Load times are ridiculously long. You're better off playing the PlayStation 2 version.
Terrible "HD remaster" which is just a Unity wrapper around a port. Horrific frame pacing and dropped frames everywhere. Load times are ridiculously long. You're better off playing the PlayStation 2 version.
My dad and I still joke about "MY TOE! MY TOE!" to this day. I haven't played it since I was a literal child, but I remember having a ton of fun with it.
The Marvel-ification of action-platformers.