shaneo632
2018
Not gonna lie, this game was hilarious despite its obvious shortcomings.
First and foremost the whole PUA shtick is just super lame at best and calculated/misogynistic at worst. Even if you accept this game is made for awkward men to pick up women, advice like "angle a girl away from her friend so it makes her less likely to bail on you" comes off as very predatory.
That said some of the options are super funny, and the game is shockingly vulgar at times. It's fun trying out the cringe options and watching the PUA fail.
Also the acting is pretty decent throughout - bar a few dodgy performances most of it comes off as quite natural.
Technically it's kind of a mess, though - dialogue often cuts off early and I had like 4 crashes on a 3-hour playthrough.
This is a guilty pleasure for sure.
First and foremost the whole PUA shtick is just super lame at best and calculated/misogynistic at worst. Even if you accept this game is made for awkward men to pick up women, advice like "angle a girl away from her friend so it makes her less likely to bail on you" comes off as very predatory.
That said some of the options are super funny, and the game is shockingly vulgar at times. It's fun trying out the cringe options and watching the PUA fail.
Also the acting is pretty decent throughout - bar a few dodgy performances most of it comes off as quite natural.
Technically it's kind of a mess, though - dialogue often cuts off early and I had like 4 crashes on a 3-hour playthrough.
This is a guilty pleasure for sure.
2018
On the plus side this clearly has a much larger budget than the first game and at least tries to be a little more progressive and inclusive with more non-white characters and a female "co-host", but it's still packed with thermonuclear levels of cringe. The levels where you can spike a woman's drink and hit on one of your employees are especially rough.
Yet in many respects the "fun" of the game lies in trying out the most piggish options and seeing how you're rejected for it.
Making Richard less the center of attention in this one was a shame though, as the new protagonists are definitely a mixed bag.
Yet in many respects the "fun" of the game lies in trying out the most piggish options and seeing how you're rejected for it.
Making Richard less the center of attention in this one was a shame though, as the new protagonists are definitely a mixed bag.
2023
This has neat atmosphere and I really dug the visuals, voice acting, and musical score, but gameplay-wise it's also a bit tedious and the way the story is presented isn't always super engaging. Would've benefitted from being an hour or two shorter and cutting a lot of the busy-work backtracking/driving around.
Bailed after five chapters. It's a totally OK visual novel but the lack of voice acting is a shame and the combat gets really tedious after a while. Couldn't bring myself to slog through another 2-3 hours of this.
2023
Tried this on Steam out of morbid curiosity as someone who grew up with the original. It's pretty terrible.
Clunky combat, generic gameplay, repetitive "missions," awful motorbike driving, cringe dialogue. Generic visual style that feels nothing like the original game. Avoid.
Refunded after about 30 minutes of play.
Clunky combat, generic gameplay, repetitive "missions," awful motorbike driving, cringe dialogue. Generic visual style that feels nothing like the original game. Avoid.
Refunded after about 30 minutes of play.
The gunplay is actually surprisingly decent but otherwise this is a mess. The roguelike structure is more annoying than fun and the generic mission objectives get repetitive suuuuper fast. Feels like a Payday clone with some roguelike elements slapped on it and not-terribly-enthusiastic celebrity appearances.
2023
The core platforming is actually pretty fun but this game is ruined by the absolutely atrocious boss fights.
It's not so much that they're difficult but that they're long and tedious with no checkpoints. It's no fun getting cheap-shotted and having to play the whole fight again while sitting through the unskippable animations between phases. It's excruciating, enough that I dropped the game about half-way through the campaign. Life's too short to get this pissed off about poor game design.
It's not so much that they're difficult but that they're long and tedious with no checkpoints. It's no fun getting cheap-shotted and having to play the whole fight again while sitting through the unskippable animations between phases. It's excruciating, enough that I dropped the game about half-way through the campaign. Life's too short to get this pissed off about poor game design.
I loved how streamlined this was - low on the bloat that defines a lot of the Yakuza/LAD games and pretty damn to-the-point, but still offering up a ton of worthwhile side content.
Really dug the combat and character work. Story is nonsense as per usual for the series even if it hits a decent emotional high at the end.
Really dug the combat and character work. Story is nonsense as per usual for the series even if it hits a decent emotional high at the end.
2023
Played through the Story Mode Kampaign. The story is nonsense as usual for the franchise but the cinematics are really gorgeous, even though the dialogue does feel a bit MCU-ified and some of the VA doesn't really fit the character designs (especially Shang Tsung).
Gameplay is fun as usual for the series and the level designs are super colourful.
Nothing groundbreaking but I had a fun time playing it.
Gameplay is fun as usual for the series and the level designs are super colourful.
Nothing groundbreaking but I had a fun time playing it.
2023
Bailed after 5 hours. I was so bored by the story/characters/world (Baby's First Game of Thrones), the grey/brown/green aesthetic is dull to me, the combat doesn't have much sense of threat so I just feel like I'm going through the motions. I also think it's too visually busy and often I can't even tell what the hell I'm looking at during chaotic fights - just a shitton of particle effects and blobs flying around.
My only positives would be that graphically it looks great even if I don't like the aesthetic, the score is really good, and the voice acting is solid (especially Ralph Ineson as Cid).
But I'm not not engaged with it at all. I didn't love FF15 but at least that had charm through the party interactions. I just feel nothing about anyone in this game except maybe Cid. Can't do another 25 hours of this so I'm bailing. Time to pick a new Christmas game I guess lmao.
I love this franchise so it's a huge bummer tbh. At least Rebirth will hopefully get the taste out of my mouth in a few months, but if this is the direction for the mainline series moving forward I might be getting divorced from FF.
My only positives would be that graphically it looks great even if I don't like the aesthetic, the score is really good, and the voice acting is solid (especially Ralph Ineson as Cid).
But I'm not not engaged with it at all. I didn't love FF15 but at least that had charm through the party interactions. I just feel nothing about anyone in this game except maybe Cid. Can't do another 25 hours of this so I'm bailing. Time to pick a new Christmas game I guess lmao.
I love this franchise so it's a huge bummer tbh. At least Rebirth will hopefully get the taste out of my mouth in a few months, but if this is the direction for the mainline series moving forward I might be getting divorced from FF.
2023
Once the charm of the Harry Potter license wears off, this thing falls off HARD.
The first few hours exploring the world are super fun, but once it becomes clear this is basically just a generic Ubisoft open-world game with an IP skin pasted over the top, it becomes a lot less enjoyable.
The quests are super formulaic and forgettable, the story and especially the villain are meh. Level-gating quests is a blatant way to pad out the main campaign.
This is basically a pretty good 15-hour experience padded out into an OK 25-hour one. It does look nice, though.
The first few hours exploring the world are super fun, but once it becomes clear this is basically just a generic Ubisoft open-world game with an IP skin pasted over the top, it becomes a lot less enjoyable.
The quests are super formulaic and forgettable, the story and especially the villain are meh. Level-gating quests is a blatant way to pad out the main campaign.
This is basically a pretty good 15-hour experience padded out into an OK 25-hour one. It does look nice, though.
2021
Love me some FMV trash but this was just terrible. The lighting and camerawork look so cheap, the edits been clips are super disjointed and the plot is just nonsense. The acting was mostly OK which prevents it from being a total disaster.
2023
I didn't do enough research before playing this and that's on me. I was expecting a cosy, straight-forward indie but this has a time limit, health management, rain mechanics, and a total lack of hand-holding which wasn't really for me.
It looks absolutely beautiful though and the music/voice acting are fantastic, so I can't bring myself to score it below 3 stars. It just wasn't the chill game I was hoping for.
It looks absolutely beautiful though and the music/voice acting are fantastic, so I can't bring myself to score it below 3 stars. It just wasn't the chill game I was hoping for.
2021
As FMV games go the production values are relatively decent, but this is still a thoroughly gross PUA sim that probably isn't a healthy thing for any romantically impaired guys to take tips from.
That said it is pretty damn hilarious. They're clearly leaning way more into the meme-worthy nature of the series this time around with silly gag options both offensive and ridiculous.
Despite being banned from Steam for being too risque, this "uncensored" release is incredibly tame. Nothing here more than unmotivated close-ups of thong-clad behinds and bras ad nauseum.
At least the ladies are good looking and it's quite funny, both intentionally and not, I guess.
That said it is pretty damn hilarious. They're clearly leaning way more into the meme-worthy nature of the series this time around with silly gag options both offensive and ridiculous.
Despite being banned from Steam for being too risque, this "uncensored" release is incredibly tame. Nothing here more than unmotivated close-ups of thong-clad behinds and bras ad nauseum.
At least the ladies are good looking and it's quite funny, both intentionally and not, I guess.
2023
Went into this totally blind and that was definitely the right choice. As visual novels go this is super smart and ambitious, taking the notion of player choice and flipping it on its head in a super interesting way. Great art, music, and voice acting too.
It didn't fully come together for me at the end, but still a great game.
It didn't fully come together for me at the end, but still a great game.