kaishek
2021
kindve an ongoing review because this is multiplayer only, but yo this game is fun as hell.
Things I liked:
Easy to pick up, but enough depth to intrigue.
Costumes are colorful and fun and definitely needed because everyone is ugly as hell.
Any chance of winning beyond the earliest ranks is predicated on close teamwork and this will only become more true as people figure out the game.
To that end, glad to see the first limited time mode is one where you can only throw balled teammates.
Crossplay right out the gate. 60 FPS mode on the Switch as an option. Pretty good netcode even across platforms. Love to see a multiplayer game that isnt broken on release.
Things I dislike:
The faces are almost all uniformly hideous youtube poop monstrosities.
Maps are a mixed bag. Some of them just are not fun to navigate.
Not a "dislike" so much as something I'm keeping my eye on. I'm curious what the actual skill ceiling of this game is and what "high level" play looks like. Is it gonna be like For Honor on console, where everything was a boring parryfest? That game still had pretty long legs even with those problems tho
Things I liked:
Easy to pick up, but enough depth to intrigue.
Costumes are colorful and fun and definitely needed because everyone is ugly as hell.
Any chance of winning beyond the earliest ranks is predicated on close teamwork and this will only become more true as people figure out the game.
To that end, glad to see the first limited time mode is one where you can only throw balled teammates.
Crossplay right out the gate. 60 FPS mode on the Switch as an option. Pretty good netcode even across platforms. Love to see a multiplayer game that isnt broken on release.
Things I dislike:
The faces are almost all uniformly hideous youtube poop monstrosities.
Maps are a mixed bag. Some of them just are not fun to navigate.
Not a "dislike" so much as something I'm keeping my eye on. I'm curious what the actual skill ceiling of this game is and what "high level" play looks like. Is it gonna be like For Honor on console, where everything was a boring parryfest? That game still had pretty long legs even with those problems tho
This review contains spoilers
I wanted to go back to FE3H after dropping it in late 2019, but this DLC stood in my way tempting me with its extra characters, classes, lore, and explorable areas. I mention this because it shaded my experience a bit. I was not in it to savor every challenge and squeeze the last bit of FE3H content like some people, but to unlock all the goodies I could before playing the "real game" again.
That being said, I turned down the difficulty from Hard to Normal after the second battle. Having to redo some of these hour long missions didn't sound like fun.
Things I liked:
All of the Ashen Wolves are really cool. Constance might be my favorite character in the whole game, and I absolutely do not regret playing this DLC first largely because I am really looking forward to recruiting/romancing them in future playthroughs.
The story isn't amazing but it does add a little depth (hehe) to the class and privilege structure of the monastery.
Some things I liked less:
It's a staple of end game tactics games. Waves of enemies as a substitute for difficult enemies or interesting puzzles. Thankfully, this is really only the case for maybe a third of the missions.
Deep-seated factional or blood rivalries (every Ashen Wolf seems to have some proper cause to seek revenge on the upper world) seem to be put aside rather easily. Maybe they'll come up more again in the main campaign but I doubt it.
Why is Yuri all over my girl Byleth out of nowhere. Slow your roll Casanova.
That being said, I turned down the difficulty from Hard to Normal after the second battle. Having to redo some of these hour long missions didn't sound like fun.
Things I liked:
All of the Ashen Wolves are really cool. Constance might be my favorite character in the whole game, and I absolutely do not regret playing this DLC first largely because I am really looking forward to recruiting/romancing them in future playthroughs.
The story isn't amazing but it does add a little depth (hehe) to the class and privilege structure of the monastery.
Some things I liked less:
It's a staple of end game tactics games. Waves of enemies as a substitute for difficult enemies or interesting puzzles. Thankfully, this is really only the case for maybe a third of the missions.
Deep-seated factional or blood rivalries (every Ashen Wolf seems to have some proper cause to seek revenge on the upper world) seem to be put aside rather easily. Maybe they'll come up more again in the main campaign but I doubt it.
Why is Yuri all over my girl Byleth out of nowhere. Slow your roll Casanova.
This review contains spoilers
More than the sum of its parts, as the story can get too hokey for its own good and the normal combat encounters can be a little dry.
It's overall a fantastic experience with no obvious dip I can point to and say "boy not looking forward to playing this in future runs."
Things I especially liked:
First person worked well for the experience they were going for here. It's been said by now but RE8 is really a nonstop haunted house ride, it feels like your in a minecart going just a little too fast for comfort past a litany of scary sights and flashy lights.
Exploration is addictive and rewarding, it was like a microcosm of a modern Fallout game with even more of the fat trimmed away.
Story was bonkers and had me laughing out loud, and some of that was even on purpose.
Looked great, sounded great, ran without a hitch.
Things I disliked:
Weapon upgrades were a bit linear. As in, weapons you picked up as alternative versions of existing weapons you have were always better.
Moreau's area might have been the only one I would call "undercooked", especially in between Dimitrescu's Castle and Stronghold. Beneviento House is short but quality.
Not enough tension in item management. Maybe it didn't jive with the forward momentum Capcom was going for here, but there was hardly a time when I needed to care about inventory space (or ammo for that matter, playing on normal).
Ethan shouted for his daughter like 500 times and it felt like a bad American primetime action show.
It's overall a fantastic experience with no obvious dip I can point to and say "boy not looking forward to playing this in future runs."
Things I especially liked:
First person worked well for the experience they were going for here. It's been said by now but RE8 is really a nonstop haunted house ride, it feels like your in a minecart going just a little too fast for comfort past a litany of scary sights and flashy lights.
Exploration is addictive and rewarding, it was like a microcosm of a modern Fallout game with even more of the fat trimmed away.
Story was bonkers and had me laughing out loud, and some of that was even on purpose.
Looked great, sounded great, ran without a hitch.
Things I disliked:
Weapon upgrades were a bit linear. As in, weapons you picked up as alternative versions of existing weapons you have were always better.
Moreau's area might have been the only one I would call "undercooked", especially in between Dimitrescu's Castle and Stronghold. Beneviento House is short but quality.
Not enough tension in item management. Maybe it didn't jive with the forward momentum Capcom was going for here, but there was hardly a time when I needed to care about inventory space (or ammo for that matter, playing on normal).
Ethan shouted for his daughter like 500 times and it felt like a bad American primetime action show.