nddragoon
2022
I say without the slightest hint of irony that this is a better and more artistically interesting game than The Witness.
2019
An insanely fun roguelike with an unexpected amount of depth. One of the things I most appreciate in roguelikes is getting to make choices, and RoR2 gives you a ton of strategic choices to make as you progress through a run, and a ton of variety in builds to where no two runs look the same.
The music is top-notch and never gets old, the modding community is pretty big and installing mods is pretty trivial, and the art style is pretty unique even if I personally would make the colors more saturated. The items and lore bits you can find are also really interesting and filled with character.
My biggest complaint is probably that the longer a run gets the probability of dying to some weird bullshit where you can't even be sure of what happened steadily approaches 1. I can't really knock the game too much for it considering that such things are to some extent inevitable in a roguelike since the devs can't fully account for every possible situation, and there are features here to mitigate such things like one-shot protection, but I do wish that the game made it more clear what exactly killed you sometimes. A list of the last few damage sources that hit you would go a long way to understanding what exactly you did wrong.
The music is top-notch and never gets old, the modding community is pretty big and installing mods is pretty trivial, and the art style is pretty unique even if I personally would make the colors more saturated. The items and lore bits you can find are also really interesting and filled with character.
My biggest complaint is probably that the longer a run gets the probability of dying to some weird bullshit where you can't even be sure of what happened steadily approaches 1. I can't really knock the game too much for it considering that such things are to some extent inevitable in a roguelike since the devs can't fully account for every possible situation, and there are features here to mitigate such things like one-shot protection, but I do wish that the game made it more clear what exactly killed you sometimes. A list of the last few damage sources that hit you would go a long way to understanding what exactly you did wrong.
2016
This review contains spoilers
Much ink has been spilled about Firewatch's story regarding its facade of a mystery story.
Many people disappointed by the game find the mystery underwhelming, others trying to counter this opinion swing the other way claiming that it's not a mystery story at all and that the mystery is only a facade. I don't think the latter view is totally accurate.
I can see someone thinking the resolution of the mystery is underwhelming if they come into the game fully expecting a straightforward mystery plot and nothing else, but I'm of the opinion that the mystery and its resolution are actually quite good when you take it as part of the thematic tapestry of this game.
Firewatch's themes are obviously not subtle, it's really hard to play this game and not come out with a very clear idea of what it's trying to say. The beauty of it comes across in the way that every single element is so intentionally and tightly crafted around those themes, from the prologue methodically getting you to connect to Henry's backstory to the way the forest's layout and landmarks become familiar and ingrained in your brain as you play. The mystery plot, when seen as a piece of the broader thematic throughline rather than as a facade separate from the rest of the game, gains new depth when you can start to piece together what happened through the lens of people running from their problems. Trying to analyze the mystery in Firewatch in isolation from the rest of the game's elements is like asking why a cogwheel is bad at rolling over a surface when it's meant to mesh with others.
I think if you came away from the game disappointed or confused, this is a game that could greatly benefit from a replay, both to try other dialogue options and experience more of this game's objectively amazing writing, and to be able to see things that might've felt out of place with new eyes within the broader picture.
Many people disappointed by the game find the mystery underwhelming, others trying to counter this opinion swing the other way claiming that it's not a mystery story at all and that the mystery is only a facade. I don't think the latter view is totally accurate.
I can see someone thinking the resolution of the mystery is underwhelming if they come into the game fully expecting a straightforward mystery plot and nothing else, but I'm of the opinion that the mystery and its resolution are actually quite good when you take it as part of the thematic tapestry of this game.
Firewatch's themes are obviously not subtle, it's really hard to play this game and not come out with a very clear idea of what it's trying to say. The beauty of it comes across in the way that every single element is so intentionally and tightly crafted around those themes, from the prologue methodically getting you to connect to Henry's backstory to the way the forest's layout and landmarks become familiar and ingrained in your brain as you play. The mystery plot, when seen as a piece of the broader thematic throughline rather than as a facade separate from the rest of the game, gains new depth when you can start to piece together what happened through the lens of people running from their problems. Trying to analyze the mystery in Firewatch in isolation from the rest of the game's elements is like asking why a cogwheel is bad at rolling over a surface when it's meant to mesh with others.
I think if you came away from the game disappointed or confused, this is a game that could greatly benefit from a replay, both to try other dialogue options and experience more of this game's objectively amazing writing, and to be able to see things that might've felt out of place with new eyes within the broader picture.
2017
A deceitfully simple facade hides an insanely complex and engaging experience that unlike something like Cookie Clicker does in fact have an end.
It also conveys its thematic elements (even if they're not particularly subtle) in a unique way that's very well suited to its medium and presentation.
It's pretty great. It's only like 2 or 3 hours long and you can mostly let it do its thing while you do something else, so there's no real reason not to play it.
It also conveys its thematic elements (even if they're not particularly subtle) in a unique way that's very well suited to its medium and presentation.
It's pretty great. It's only like 2 or 3 hours long and you can mostly let it do its thing while you do something else, so there's no real reason not to play it.
I enjoyed the first game. I thought it was a neat enough story and I really liked the characters and their interactions, but at no point did it ever really touch me emotionally. For reasons I can't really explain, this game hit a lot closer to home and made me cry, that's probably enough said in that regard.
In a more objective sense, Oxenfree 2 is a huge improvement over the first game, mainly in how you actually interact with it. Moving around especially feels a lot less clunky than the original, partly cause Riley seems to generally walk a bit faster, and because paths seem to be a bit wider so you don't get "stuck" as much. The dialogue mechanics have also been smoothed out a lot, dialogue choices stay on screen a lot longer and most of the time will be buffered once you select them and said once other characters finish their lines, so you're not constantly being forced to interrupt other characters and miss lines like in the first game.
Overall I really liked this. I can't be sure how much I can recommend this for someone who hasn't played the first game since I don't know of a way to unplay Oxenfree, but if you liked the original you'll probably like this.
Also, you can pet the dog. 10/10.
In a more objective sense, Oxenfree 2 is a huge improvement over the first game, mainly in how you actually interact with it. Moving around especially feels a lot less clunky than the original, partly cause Riley seems to generally walk a bit faster, and because paths seem to be a bit wider so you don't get "stuck" as much. The dialogue mechanics have also been smoothed out a lot, dialogue choices stay on screen a lot longer and most of the time will be buffered once you select them and said once other characters finish their lines, so you're not constantly being forced to interrupt other characters and miss lines like in the first game.
Overall I really liked this. I can't be sure how much I can recommend this for someone who hasn't played the first game since I don't know of a way to unplay Oxenfree, but if you liked the original you'll probably like this.
Also, you can pet the dog. 10/10.
2019
Outer Wilds is one of those games that can be talked about forever or for no time at all depending on if the other person has played it. Suffice to say it's the best game ever made.