josefzorn
Better than the first. Nicer guns. Cooler stealth and accessibility options. Better story... kind of.
Still way to heavy-handed presentation, still more annoying than challenging survival mechanics, still a eastern block macho hero vibe throughout.
Still way to heavy-handed presentation, still more annoying than challenging survival mechanics, still a eastern block macho hero vibe throughout.
2020
Oh man, what a drag. Rough time for a genre fan.
Some moments, short glimpses of an idea and (very few) lines were cool, but almost all mistakes you can make in an adventure game are in there.
Bad or no puzzle signposting, most of the time just a random solution you will have to happen to hit upon. Puzzle logic seems often not thought through. There's some pixel hunting screens in there. Some really bad writing and SO MUCH of it. As well as the items, variety is good, this was clutter from the get go. And then the rooms that are not clearly enough marked visually, that they exist. All of that makes enjoyment of an adventure impossible. Only frustration remains.
Reexplaining every unexciting plot point (no nudges for the puzzles sadly) at least 3 times. Even the art style (very solid basically with a few very nice shots peppered in) gets quite lazy and clunky like the gameplay itself.
Maybe I am a snob or too critical, because we are working on an old school looking point and click adventure game ( The Funny Boneyard™ ), but this is so odd.
The tonality in Virtuaverse is all over the place. It's serious cyber punky at first, critical, cerebral -- and then it feels like a bad Sierra game suddenly, with childish nerdy jokes by adolescents acting smart (e.g. wet panties). The strong language, the f*cks make no sense, not at all earned horribly utilized. And
Then the game seems to bully itself a bit, to make fun of itself, but badly because the jokes point out flaws. It comments on in-game logic problems, more than once, also about the plot complexity. At least stand behind your crazy sci-fi story. Speaking of: The makers seem to love 90s tech and have this "make computers great again" nostalgia, which comes across ill-fitting in the futuristic setting. With this dude loving cables and VCRs.
Stuff like the AVR goggles and their overlay mechanic, a decent soundtrack and a few clever sci-fi-ideas I liked at first, but a minute later I got angry about bad game design and dumb dialogue again. Can't recommend it, sorry guys.
Some moments, short glimpses of an idea and (very few) lines were cool, but almost all mistakes you can make in an adventure game are in there.
Bad or no puzzle signposting, most of the time just a random solution you will have to happen to hit upon. Puzzle logic seems often not thought through. There's some pixel hunting screens in there. Some really bad writing and SO MUCH of it. As well as the items, variety is good, this was clutter from the get go. And then the rooms that are not clearly enough marked visually, that they exist. All of that makes enjoyment of an adventure impossible. Only frustration remains.
Reexplaining every unexciting plot point (no nudges for the puzzles sadly) at least 3 times. Even the art style (very solid basically with a few very nice shots peppered in) gets quite lazy and clunky like the gameplay itself.
Maybe I am a snob or too critical, because we are working on an old school looking point and click adventure game ( The Funny Boneyard™ ), but this is so odd.
The tonality in Virtuaverse is all over the place. It's serious cyber punky at first, critical, cerebral -- and then it feels like a bad Sierra game suddenly, with childish nerdy jokes by adolescents acting smart (e.g. wet panties). The strong language, the f*cks make no sense, not at all earned horribly utilized. And
Then the game seems to bully itself a bit, to make fun of itself, but badly because the jokes point out flaws. It comments on in-game logic problems, more than once, also about the plot complexity. At least stand behind your crazy sci-fi story. Speaking of: The makers seem to love 90s tech and have this "make computers great again" nostalgia, which comes across ill-fitting in the futuristic setting. With this dude loving cables and VCRs.
Stuff like the AVR goggles and their overlay mechanic, a decent soundtrack and a few clever sci-fi-ideas I liked at first, but a minute later I got angry about bad game design and dumb dialogue again. Can't recommend it, sorry guys.
2012
Alright, I died around 1.700 times.
Got to Olmec around 5 times, never close to beating him. (That's why I am not marking this game completed, boy scout's honor) Incredible game design and how one gets better and better in this unforgiving world = chef's kiss.
I didn't throw my Vita out of the window either. I guess I must "like" this game?! Not uninstalling it either, just moving on in my backlog... and maybe some day this "played" button will become green, as in a game finished.
Until we meet again...
Got to Olmec around 5 times, never close to beating him. (That's why I am not marking this game completed, boy scout's honor) Incredible game design and how one gets better and better in this unforgiving world = chef's kiss.
I didn't throw my Vita out of the window either. I guess I must "like" this game?! Not uninstalling it either, just moving on in my backlog... and maybe some day this "played" button will become green, as in a game finished.
Until we meet again...
2023
Like the swiss army knife of videogames. Pack it all in, excellently balanced survival gameplay, never forgetting to pepper it with sufficient action adventure shooting fun.
Ressource and inventory management, cheesy 80s one-liners, cool puzzles and a batsht crazy story, honoring all that Resident Evil stands for.
I was a bit unsure why people love this game so much but the last "water sports" moments hit it home for me.
Liked Village a tiny bit more tho, and now I gotta watch videos to explain all the twisted narrative connections to my dumb ass.
Ressource and inventory management, cheesy 80s one-liners, cool puzzles and a batsht crazy story, honoring all that Resident Evil stands for.
I was a bit unsure why people love this game so much but the last "water sports" moments hit it home for me.
Liked Village a tiny bit more tho, and now I gotta watch videos to explain all the twisted narrative connections to my dumb ass.
2018
THE Boomer Shooter.
Doing most things right, great controls, great atmosphere, okay enemies.
The level design got intentionally confusing near the end I think. I didn't like that too much. Decent score.
But to be brutally honest this game feels redundant.
Doing most things right, great controls, great atmosphere, okay enemies.
The level design got intentionally confusing near the end I think. I didn't like that too much. Decent score.
But to be brutally honest this game feels redundant.
Very sweet "breezy" game with documentary elements mixed in. I felt a chunk of Limbo and a dash of ICO.
The mechanics and puzzles are underwhelming but a simple heartfelt story keeps you playing.
Some of the art and Alaska natives' backstory videos are quite appealing.
Might play it again with the kid.
The mechanics and puzzles are underwhelming but a simple heartfelt story keeps you playing.
Some of the art and Alaska natives' backstory videos are quite appealing.
Might play it again with the kid.
2022
I love tangible learning curves like these.
Had to do some challenges to unlock the Championship level and therefore visited older ones. Suddenly these hard af stages -- I'd seriously struggled with just days before -- were way easier. Whatever magic they did here regarding tight game design and helping the player to master the mechanics, they did it well and fine-tuned this game to almost perfection.
The long and specific privacy messaging in the beginning and at the end came off a bit odd (or maybe legit games are supposed to do it like that, I don't know).
Hey, don't forget to Perfect Dodge and then go into Super Reflex Mode, that's key to get higher scores. Just a little fyi
I screamed "Damn, that's a good game!" at the screen several times. That sums it all up nicely, I tink.
Had to do some challenges to unlock the Championship level and therefore visited older ones. Suddenly these hard af stages -- I'd seriously struggled with just days before -- were way easier. Whatever magic they did here regarding tight game design and helping the player to master the mechanics, they did it well and fine-tuned this game to almost perfection.
The long and specific privacy messaging in the beginning and at the end came off a bit odd (or maybe legit games are supposed to do it like that, I don't know).
Hey, don't forget to Perfect Dodge and then go into Super Reflex Mode, that's key to get higher scores. Just a little fyi
I screamed "Damn, that's a good game!" at the screen several times. That sums it all up nicely, I tink.
Perfect little game.
Just smiling through the credits right now.
Just smiling through the credits right now.
2022
Only played this because I got PS Plus (for dumb reasons that didn't even pan out). "Let's get into the free games at least," I thought. So these last few days of suffering are totally all on me.
What trash! The schlocky story and characters are "yawn" and "eye roll" simultaneously. Bad gameplay, sloppy creature animations (though they have some decent designs) and silly unsatisfying skill trees come together in arena encounters that stopped clicking with me very quickly.
The confusing overloaded weapon mechanics of Evil West and its pretty Unreal graphics with so much potential got me thinking though. I kind of want to create an action game on my own now. After seeing what not to do and what to avoid...
What trash! The schlocky story and characters are "yawn" and "eye roll" simultaneously. Bad gameplay, sloppy creature animations (though they have some decent designs) and silly unsatisfying skill trees come together in arena encounters that stopped clicking with me very quickly.
The confusing overloaded weapon mechanics of Evil West and its pretty Unreal graphics with so much potential got me thinking though. I kind of want to create an action game on my own now. After seeing what not to do and what to avoid...
2015
Text adventure meets immersive sim, for people who still remember their DOS prompt commands.
Few bugs I encountered and unintuitive puzzle progressions. Few.
It's a damn cool game though. It's quite the feeling, when you're swiftly typing, perfectly cracking ports and just in the zone.
My girlfriend looked over my shoulder sincerely thinking I was hacking stuff.
Few bugs I encountered and unintuitive puzzle progressions. Few.
It's a damn cool game though. It's quite the feeling, when you're swiftly typing, perfectly cracking ports and just in the zone.
My girlfriend looked over my shoulder sincerely thinking I was hacking stuff.
Needed to turn 40 to finish this classic during the holidays.
Incredibly entertaining, endless secrets and ways to play it. The vast exploration possibilities are stunning. No wonder that this game became a legend in a time before everyone had internet. Instead of the schoolyard I had Reddit threads and a friend, who could be on Retronauts, to ask questions ("what is up with this clock room?", "where is the Arcana Ring", "why's Richter so hard??" etc) to point me in right directions now and then. That pal also told me about Crissaegrim and such.
So I finished on 194 % the first time and immediately was told about the "best" ending, you need to have over 196 % for. And so I went back and uncovered some secret rooms, some skills I didn't know I had until then, just to finally finish it the third time that same day in order to see that ending. And yes it is the greatest, I got a bit emotional even. Oh Maria.
Even after my Hollow Knight playthrough, countless Dead Cells sessions I was able to fall deeply in love with this superb game, wonderfully drowned in its pixel blood and items galore.
Best over-the-top enemies and exciting genre defining gameplay. The background lore and save-point hopping felt a bit like a soulslike even. Played it on Vita. Sublime.
And guess what biggie's up next! FFVII mfs!!!!!
Incredibly entertaining, endless secrets and ways to play it. The vast exploration possibilities are stunning. No wonder that this game became a legend in a time before everyone had internet. Instead of the schoolyard I had Reddit threads and a friend, who could be on Retronauts, to ask questions ("what is up with this clock room?", "where is the Arcana Ring", "why's Richter so hard??" etc) to point me in right directions now and then. That pal also told me about Crissaegrim and such.
So I finished on 194 % the first time and immediately was told about the "best" ending, you need to have over 196 % for. And so I went back and uncovered some secret rooms, some skills I didn't know I had until then, just to finally finish it the third time that same day in order to see that ending. And yes it is the greatest, I got a bit emotional even. Oh Maria.
Even after my Hollow Knight playthrough, countless Dead Cells sessions I was able to fall deeply in love with this superb game, wonderfully drowned in its pixel blood and items galore.
Best over-the-top enemies and exciting genre defining gameplay. The background lore and save-point hopping felt a bit like a soulslike even. Played it on Vita. Sublime.
And guess what biggie's up next! FFVII mfs!!!!!
2020
I love that there are games like this. Mechanically kind of hit n miss, but sweet, odd and stoner friendly.
A feat. Everything's in there.
Survival horror, videogame realism, videogame weirdness, atmospheric WTF-ness, over the top body horror, entire well constructed puzzle stages, dumb cool protagonist one-liners, fun action levels to round it off, incredibly beautiful art throughout all of it...
Like I said a feat.
The minute I thought it was getting a bit trope-y or lazy it threw me and whacked me over the head with something twisted, fresh and crazy instead.
Survival horror, videogame realism, videogame weirdness, atmospheric WTF-ness, over the top body horror, entire well constructed puzzle stages, dumb cool protagonist one-liners, fun action levels to round it off, incredibly beautiful art throughout all of it...
Like I said a feat.
The minute I thought it was getting a bit trope-y or lazy it threw me and whacked me over the head with something twisted, fresh and crazy instead.
Revolutionary.
Was getting close to completing my Netherite gear, ready to face the Ender Dragon with buncha beds to explode... then my nephew deleted this world.
Lotsa work and hours of fun, gone
Was getting close to completing my Netherite gear, ready to face the Ender Dragon with buncha beds to explode... then my nephew deleted this world.
Lotsa work and hours of fun, gone
2019
The art lured me in and I did enjoy the gameplay. Of course slaying 30 to 40 of those little fruity fellows can be quite satisfying. But diminishing returns, none of the unlockable gear felt interesting (or changed things up enough) and so it got kind of boring. Apple wasn't able to keep me in its Arcade. Not unhappy about that.
The soundtrack is really good though, seriously!
The soundtrack is really good though, seriously!