odoital
2019
This game perfectly depicts both the horrors of space and the wonder of it. Luckily my wonder and curiosity for space is much bigger than the fear of it and the existential dread it makes me feel.
2008
To be fair, it takes skill to gaslight so many gamers and journos into thinking that Braid is a first truly deep, artful and whatever else video game at the time when such games as Metal Gear, Killer7, Mother, Deus Ex, Ico, Drakengard and especially Yume Nikki and OFF (aka real indie games) already existed.
2005
YOU'RE FUKKKKD
Shame, such a beautiful environment that is left almost completely non-interactable and is wasted on a pretentious and boring game that for some reason is insanely slow and tedious without any deeper meaning to justify such choices. Also, who tf makes walking simulators with CryEngine??
There is literally an Among Us quest in the Dark Brotherhood questline.
Sometimes a game comes out that implements so many pointless features of a certain era that you start thinking the developers are making this on purpose. Almost everything this game does is makes everything worse by trying to stick all the new shiny things to it instead of just fixing the issues of a pretty good original game.
Why is it a reboot?
Why does it need a skill tree where half of the skills are the necessary things that were available from the start in the first game and the others are absolutely pointless (the pull object magrope upgrade is the worst offender because all these walls just DON'T EXIST until you get this upgrade)?
Why can't you get a weapon? God, the combat is one of the worst I've ever seen, the evade/shift movements feel completely random sometimes and often throw you in a completely wrong direction.
Why making it an open world when you can't even make an interesting open world? Okay, the metroidvania approach is an interesting idea, but the world is empty (and no, in this case you can't say "that's the point!!!").
Why all the pointless collectibles and side quests? Yeah, I know, to make players waste more time on the game.
And worst of all, the movements are still clunky, the shitty post-7th generation "realistic" jumping controls don't fit the parkour/platformer nature of the series, and Fate misses the jump or the right direction more often than she should. And the story and characters are still boring, but now we have more cutscenes because cinematic!!
The visuals are pretty good, yeah, but while the original game came in the era of piss filter and had a really unique color scheme and design choices, this one is just a futuristic-looking city with various colors. Beautiful, but barely interesting.
Why is it a reboot?
Why does it need a skill tree where half of the skills are the necessary things that were available from the start in the first game and the others are absolutely pointless (the pull object magrope upgrade is the worst offender because all these walls just DON'T EXIST until you get this upgrade)?
Why can't you get a weapon? God, the combat is one of the worst I've ever seen, the evade/shift movements feel completely random sometimes and often throw you in a completely wrong direction.
Why making it an open world when you can't even make an interesting open world? Okay, the metroidvania approach is an interesting idea, but the world is empty (and no, in this case you can't say "that's the point!!!").
Why all the pointless collectibles and side quests? Yeah, I know, to make players waste more time on the game.
And worst of all, the movements are still clunky, the shitty post-7th generation "realistic" jumping controls don't fit the parkour/platformer nature of the series, and Fate misses the jump or the right direction more often than she should. And the story and characters are still boring, but now we have more cutscenes because cinematic!!
The visuals are pretty good, yeah, but while the original game came in the era of piss filter and had a really unique color scheme and design choices, this one is just a futuristic-looking city with various colors. Beautiful, but barely interesting.
I love cats
2007
This is a better commentary on war than Metal Gear Solid
2011
Many things have already been said about how great this game is, but for me one more thing that fascinates me is the feel of loneliness, which is never addressed straightforwardly, but is constantly present throughout the whole game. The moment when Wheatley throws you down the tube just for a minute comprehend that you are at the bottom of some abandoned facility, surrounded by age old constructions and COMPLETELY alone.
2016
Okay, where do I even start... This game is really weird.
Why is it so long?
No, really. The question is not even out of annoyance. I actually don't think I've played a linear, almost seamless game that long. Especially when you consider how all events happen during one single day, the game feels like it purposefully drags time. Howlongtobeat says it takes 22 hours to complete it, it took me 18 hours, but I was just skipping a lot at some points, so the truth must be somewhere in between. There are some walkthroughs on YouTube that are 5-6 hours long, but that's just bullshit.
Why is it so long?
Lots of things that made you enjoy the game in the beginning become more and more annoying as time goes on. Source is great for such environments, yet the more time you spend underground, the more painful it is to look at. The game regains some of its momentum in the latter chapters, but again, you spend a lot of time in the dark. This is actually part of a bigger issue I have with the game...
I kinda hate the protagonist. His obsession with undeground sewers, tunnels and wasting time becomes more and more obvious the further you play, because why the fuck is he even doing half the stuff he's doing? Why is he so reluctant to just go back to the office? I generally don't like when games put you in situations where there's obviously an easy way out, but it's not achievable due to gameplay or story limitations. That's just bad design. You could've avoided doing that as a developer, but you still did. There were at least 3 or 4 times where the protagonist was LITERALLY outside and could just get the taxi or walk to the office instead of wasting everyone's time, but noooo. He has to climb back to the sewers while the city is falling apart (partly because of him, btw). It's actually crazy. Why are you doing all this??? Just go to the fucking office! You can literally climb over the fence or break the glass door. Instead, you just have to go back underground and waste time doing god knows what. "I don't get paid enough for this shit!!" my brother in Christ, YOU can't get your ass back in the office and prefer to crawl through the sewers. You're in a prison of your own making. And probably smell like shit. The epitome of that is the moment in Chapter 9 when Mark's colleagues just took a helicopter while he was crawling through some trashed and abandoned buildings (once again) and reached the power plant faster (and cleaner). Though the point can be made that he's just THAT bad at his job, always doing anything but what's really necessary. Or that his colleagues really do hate him that much.
And what's with the voice? Sorry, I know it's really subjective, but the guy's voice is fucking obnoxious. Almost uncanny. Even at the start of the game, it feels like everyone talks normally, but he sounds like he just learned to talk yesterday. Or like he's a robot. He is overacting, his emotions sound so fake, and for god's sake, why do you have to make all these comments and "witty" remarks about everything with your annoying voice shuuut the fuuuck uuuup!!!
Why is it so long?
There are obviously thematic reasons for such a slow pace. I guess. It touches on lots of stuff like corruption, the government's and executives' lack of accountability, the divide between white and blue collars, ecology and the importance of proper maintenance. There are moments when you enter a really long hallway, and it becomes obvious that the slowness and tedium are there on purpose. In fact, I kinda like that, it works. But the game is inconsistent in the ways it presents its themes through the gameplay and sometimes the movements and puzzles are just boring, repetitive, or easier solved by trial and error. And there are so many moments that are just dumb. Are you really telling me that the guy who spends hours easily jumping across abandoned facilities cannot climb over the fence or roadblock, swim, survive a 2-meter jump, or just break something? You don't have to be Gordon Freeman to be able to do that. This feels weird considering the number of times he straight-up breaks in and trespasses on someone's property, but I digress.
Why is it so long?
At some point I started thinking, "Is this some kind of office clerk's idea of an adventure?" And kinda yeah, that's exactly what it is. Dungeon crawling, solving puzzles, exploring creepy places, but in real life and as a part of a job. Yet there's still something really strange and frustrating about this game that I can't really put my finger on. It's definitely unique, it doesn't feel like other walking simulators or puzzle games. I wish there was no score to this review because I don't actually hate it. There definitely was a vision and I respect that. It just left me really frustrated. Make of that what you will.
Why is it so long?
No, really. The question is not even out of annoyance. I actually don't think I've played a linear, almost seamless game that long. Especially when you consider how all events happen during one single day, the game feels like it purposefully drags time. Howlongtobeat says it takes 22 hours to complete it, it took me 18 hours, but I was just skipping a lot at some points, so the truth must be somewhere in between. There are some walkthroughs on YouTube that are 5-6 hours long, but that's just bullshit.
Why is it so long?
Lots of things that made you enjoy the game in the beginning become more and more annoying as time goes on. Source is great for such environments, yet the more time you spend underground, the more painful it is to look at. The game regains some of its momentum in the latter chapters, but again, you spend a lot of time in the dark. This is actually part of a bigger issue I have with the game...
I kinda hate the protagonist. His obsession with undeground sewers, tunnels and wasting time becomes more and more obvious the further you play, because why the fuck is he even doing half the stuff he's doing? Why is he so reluctant to just go back to the office? I generally don't like when games put you in situations where there's obviously an easy way out, but it's not achievable due to gameplay or story limitations. That's just bad design. You could've avoided doing that as a developer, but you still did. There were at least 3 or 4 times where the protagonist was LITERALLY outside and could just get the taxi or walk to the office instead of wasting everyone's time, but noooo. He has to climb back to the sewers while the city is falling apart (partly because of him, btw). It's actually crazy. Why are you doing all this??? Just go to the fucking office! You can literally climb over the fence or break the glass door. Instead, you just have to go back underground and waste time doing god knows what. "I don't get paid enough for this shit!!" my brother in Christ, YOU can't get your ass back in the office and prefer to crawl through the sewers. You're in a prison of your own making. And probably smell like shit. The epitome of that is the moment in Chapter 9 when Mark's colleagues just took a helicopter while he was crawling through some trashed and abandoned buildings (once again) and reached the power plant faster (and cleaner). Though the point can be made that he's just THAT bad at his job, always doing anything but what's really necessary. Or that his colleagues really do hate him that much.
And what's with the voice? Sorry, I know it's really subjective, but the guy's voice is fucking obnoxious. Almost uncanny. Even at the start of the game, it feels like everyone talks normally, but he sounds like he just learned to talk yesterday. Or like he's a robot. He is overacting, his emotions sound so fake, and for god's sake, why do you have to make all these comments and "witty" remarks about everything with your annoying voice shuuut the fuuuck uuuup!!!
Why is it so long?
There are obviously thematic reasons for such a slow pace. I guess. It touches on lots of stuff like corruption, the government's and executives' lack of accountability, the divide between white and blue collars, ecology and the importance of proper maintenance. There are moments when you enter a really long hallway, and it becomes obvious that the slowness and tedium are there on purpose. In fact, I kinda like that, it works. But the game is inconsistent in the ways it presents its themes through the gameplay and sometimes the movements and puzzles are just boring, repetitive, or easier solved by trial and error. And there are so many moments that are just dumb. Are you really telling me that the guy who spends hours easily jumping across abandoned facilities cannot climb over the fence or roadblock, swim, survive a 2-meter jump, or just break something? You don't have to be Gordon Freeman to be able to do that. This feels weird considering the number of times he straight-up breaks in and trespasses on someone's property, but I digress.
Why is it so long?
At some point I started thinking, "Is this some kind of office clerk's idea of an adventure?" And kinda yeah, that's exactly what it is. Dungeon crawling, solving puzzles, exploring creepy places, but in real life and as a part of a job. Yet there's still something really strange and frustrating about this game that I can't really put my finger on. It's definitely unique, it doesn't feel like other walking simulators or puzzle games. I wish there was no score to this review because I don't actually hate it. There definitely was a vision and I respect that. It just left me really frustrated. Make of that what you will.
2019
The quantum-breakification of SCP
2008
More like OOF
2013
This game is such a product of its time. It falls perfectly in this category of late 7th generation AAA games, where everything is gritty and dark and the characters are in dire situations or struggle more than usual. They are very "serious" (because games are serious now), very "cinematic", use all these camera effects, absolutely unnecessary long cutscenes and (of course) QTEs. Max Payne 3, Hitman Absolution, Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us etc etc. And the problem is that all these games do these things reeeeeally badly and unnecessarily. Long cutscenes work only if the story is interesting and characters are not just action guys (and even then there's time and place for them), the ugly shaky-cam aesthetic peaked in Kane & Lynch 2, and QTEs are shit, oh my God, you don't need them anywhere but in Telltale or Quantic Dream games. But all that aside, the game is pretty good, a bit clunky at times and a bit over the top, but I enjoyed it. Platforming still doesn't really fit this kind of game, but it was alright.
2021
Very fun game, challenging enough, but doesn't overcomplicate things and solving puzzles feels rewarding. Environments and objects are very nice to interact with and it should be even more fun in co-op.
2024
Kind of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand it suffers from what every fan-made portal puzzles suffer: they're either too primitive or too overcomplicated. As a result, the game varies between being too simple and being extremely tedious and clunky. The plot is also messy, it relies too much on repeating the Portal 2 formula, but the pacing is completely off, you spend too long in the first act and rush through the other two, and the ending is... yeah. And in terms of originality, though it may be not too honest to ask a fan made mod to reinvent the game but after Portal Reloaded the experience feels lacking.
On the other hand, the voice acting is really fun and well done, I enjoyed the part of the game with Emilia specifically. I also really enjoyed the locations, especially the surface world. It looks really refreshing for a Portal game. Music also fits the game very well and I could easily mistake it for the original Portal soundtracks. And at the end of a day it's still a game with portals and it's hard to ruin that.
On the other hand, the voice acting is really fun and well done, I enjoyed the part of the game with Emilia specifically. I also really enjoyed the locations, especially the surface world. It looks really refreshing for a Portal game. Music also fits the game very well and I could easily mistake it for the original Portal soundtracks. And at the end of a day it's still a game with portals and it's hard to ruin that.