tortwah
2020
Technically, I started this game in 2020. Played ~5.5hrs, got a little over half way, and stopped on 08 Nov 2020.
And I see why I stopped! God, I hate this game lmao. My least favorite of the amnesia games I've played. That being said, it isn't bad. There are puzzles I enjoyed and areas I liked exploring. But wow. Darkness in this game is oppressive, and the number of large, pitch black rooms they throw you into with zero direction.... evil. Also the sanity mechanic is annoying more than anything in this game, as well as the insanely limited light sources you are given. I appreciated that it added to the survival horror feelings, but it become cumbersome and annoying.
Also... what was even the point of laudanum? I don't think I ever used one or even picked one up after the start of the game. How did health even work? Why is button mashing what determines if you die or not if you get caught?
Just so many weird choices. I also didn't jive with the themes of this game. I just don't think it worked. At all.
Wish I had just watched a playthrough instead of picking this game back up three years later lol
And I see why I stopped! God, I hate this game lmao. My least favorite of the amnesia games I've played. That being said, it isn't bad. There are puzzles I enjoyed and areas I liked exploring. But wow. Darkness in this game is oppressive, and the number of large, pitch black rooms they throw you into with zero direction.... evil. Also the sanity mechanic is annoying more than anything in this game, as well as the insanely limited light sources you are given. I appreciated that it added to the survival horror feelings, but it become cumbersome and annoying.
Also... what was even the point of laudanum? I don't think I ever used one or even picked one up after the start of the game. How did health even work? Why is button mashing what determines if you die or not if you get caught?
Just so many weird choices. I also didn't jive with the themes of this game. I just don't think it worked. At all.
Wish I had just watched a playthrough instead of picking this game back up three years later lol
2022
This is a really cute and fun game. My biggest issue is that I felt like I finished my cult and was totally self-sufficient before I had finished the actual story, and so by that point I wanted to just rush the ending. But then once you beat the game, idk. I know they added a lot of post game stuff, and so now there's decent replay value. I think I'm just burnt out, or I just don't feel the need to keep playing... for now at least.
Overall tho, absolutely loved playing this game. This is def my fave take on the farming/ combat/ life sim style games that have been repopularized over the last decade. Besides stardew ofc. Combat feels good, cult building feels good, rewarding combat/ base management loop, visually fun to look at. What more could you want.
Perhaps its good I put the game down now, and then I'll feel like picking it up at some point in the future. But I did beat the main story, and I got all the devotion, sermon, ritual, and stone slab unlocks. So yeah, no need to do post game rn, esp since its basically ng+ and I do feel a sense of completion w this game.
Overall tho, absolutely loved playing this game. This is def my fave take on the farming/ combat/ life sim style games that have been repopularized over the last decade. Besides stardew ofc. Combat feels good, cult building feels good, rewarding combat/ base management loop, visually fun to look at. What more could you want.
Perhaps its good I put the game down now, and then I'll feel like picking it up at some point in the future. But I did beat the main story, and I got all the devotion, sermon, ritual, and stone slab unlocks. So yeah, no need to do post game rn, esp since its basically ng+ and I do feel a sense of completion w this game.
2022
This review contains spoilers
One of the most visually striking games I've ever played, this game is truly stunning in every regard. Beyond obsessed with the H.R. Giger influences and design choices, it was giving Alien in the best way possible.
Love how not hand-holdy this game was too. They truly said "ok! you're alive, now go! do what you gotta do, and be alive!" and then nothing else. I do partly wish there was more concrete story, but I also don't really mind how it was. There's enough world building and environmental context to let our imaginations fill in the rest. The only thing I truly wanted more context for was the ending, which.... 🙃 idk yalllll. Very nihilistic. No clue what we were trying to do at the end in that room, it seemed like we were trying to ascend/ reach enlightenment only for us to ditch that and keep moving forward? And then the parasite coming back? Eugh. Just nihilistic. Fitting for the themes of the game tho haha, so maybe thats the point.
In terms of gameplay, exploration and puzzle solving was 10/10 so fun so interesting. Not too hard, not too easy. Not much to say. Combat tho??? God, it was horrible lol. I wish they had just cut the idea of this game being a first person shooter. I like that there are physical threats, but it was not executed properly. Dodging projectiles felt impossible, switching between guns and reloading was clunky, and waiting for the jackhammer gun to go off cooldown while trying to kite the creatures was so tedious and annoying. Just plain dookie. And for the most part I felt like the jackhammer was the best weapon, I just saved my ammo for when I'd get swarmed or there were multiple bulls. Just unfun I'm so sorry. I ended up running past enemies whenever possible lol, its not like fighting things mattered.
Overall, I already want to replay this game... but then I think of the tedious combat and am left with a feeling of dread. I can't not rate this game highly tho, it truly was a work of art and one of my favorite games of the year even with its flaws. Just. EUUUUUUUGH. Bittersweet idk.
Would def recommend playing it tho if you like environmental puzzle games.
Love how not hand-holdy this game was too. They truly said "ok! you're alive, now go! do what you gotta do, and be alive!" and then nothing else. I do partly wish there was more concrete story, but I also don't really mind how it was. There's enough world building and environmental context to let our imaginations fill in the rest. The only thing I truly wanted more context for was the ending, which.... 🙃 idk yalllll. Very nihilistic. No clue what we were trying to do at the end in that room, it seemed like we were trying to ascend/ reach enlightenment only for us to ditch that and keep moving forward? And then the parasite coming back? Eugh. Just nihilistic. Fitting for the themes of the game tho haha, so maybe thats the point.
In terms of gameplay, exploration and puzzle solving was 10/10 so fun so interesting. Not too hard, not too easy. Not much to say. Combat tho??? God, it was horrible lol. I wish they had just cut the idea of this game being a first person shooter. I like that there are physical threats, but it was not executed properly. Dodging projectiles felt impossible, switching between guns and reloading was clunky, and waiting for the jackhammer gun to go off cooldown while trying to kite the creatures was so tedious and annoying. Just plain dookie. And for the most part I felt like the jackhammer was the best weapon, I just saved my ammo for when I'd get swarmed or there were multiple bulls. Just unfun I'm so sorry. I ended up running past enemies whenever possible lol, its not like fighting things mattered.
Overall, I already want to replay this game... but then I think of the tedious combat and am left with a feeling of dread. I can't not rate this game highly tho, it truly was a work of art and one of my favorite games of the year even with its flaws. Just. EUUUUUUUGH. Bittersweet idk.
Would def recommend playing it tho if you like environmental puzzle games.
Played the first hour or so in Oct '22, and finished it up a year later. Honestly a really fun game (besides the choir room which I did use a map for bc fuck that) that I wish had been a little less annoying in a few ways. I do think the sanity mechanic, while cool, is cumbersome and doesn't really add to the game. Its a bit gimmicky imo. I also think that the areas with tangible monsters are actively worse, as they almost take away from the tension and make traversing the areas more annoying. But overall this game is a classic for a reason, and I can still appreciate it over a decade after its release. Ngl, I know this is a controversial take but I am willing to say I enjoyed A:MFP more than this game, if only for the differences in the light/ dark sanity measurement. Maaybe I'd say they're relatively equal, but I preferred the story of MFP more so.... idk
2023
This is a really fun game that might not be for me idk. I really enjoyed the standard re elements but the insanely large amt of enemies annoyed me more often than was fun for me personally. I did also play this game for the first time on hardcore, but tbf I have experience within and outside of the franchise that I thought would translate. So idk. Overall I did really enjoy the experience, and I'm looking forward to a ng+ playthrough at some point bc I'm hoping it will be easier with all my upgrades, etc.
i get why this game was revolutionary, but this game doesn''t hold up the best and has a lot of flaws imo. Particularly, the boss fights were terrible, the areas feel pretty linear and esp after the first main house fall off quite hard, and this is one of the only re games i feel has practically zero replayability. Also the illusion of choice with zoe and mia was bad imo, since that choice does have one singular consequence but the game is entirely unchanged otherwise.
Haven't played the dlc yet so once I get to that we'll see if my opinions get more positive of this game lol
Haven't played the dlc yet so once I get to that we'll see if my opinions get more positive of this game lol
2017
Its kinda funny, my thoughts on this game are similar to my thoughts on the dishonored games (1+2) .....
1 is superior in every way besides gameplay
2 is superior in gameplay alone
The story of this game was def more grounded, which isnt bad but isnt as interesting to me at least. I loved how insane the first game was, and that things didn't make perfect sense, it felt so trippy and fun. Whereas this game's story was uninspired and dragged on (esp the beginning and the ending which were waaaaay dragged out)
But like overall this game was more fun to play for sure, I loved the areas and the gameplay itself was super fun. I do wish it was a bit more gorey and visceral horror like the first but the change wasn't bad per se.
Would recommend even tho it lost some of its artistic flare of the first imo
1 is superior in every way besides gameplay
2 is superior in gameplay alone
The story of this game was def more grounded, which isnt bad but isnt as interesting to me at least. I loved how insane the first game was, and that things didn't make perfect sense, it felt so trippy and fun. Whereas this game's story was uninspired and dragged on (esp the beginning and the ending which were waaaaay dragged out)
But like overall this game was more fun to play for sure, I loved the areas and the gameplay itself was super fun. I do wish it was a bit more gorey and visceral horror like the first but the change wasn't bad per se.
Would recommend even tho it lost some of its artistic flare of the first imo
2022
wow. stunningly beautiful. such an engaging and interesting story, such perfect pacing, and amazing character development. gameplay wasn't really the focus but the gameplay that was present was fun puzzle-y point and click standards, and i think it was utilized well. this kind of game truly transcends the genre and is pure interactive art and storytelling. would absolutely recommend.
(knocked off half a star for the "combat" gameplay which felt ehh kinda unnecessary but not bad. thats honestly my only complaint tho)
(knocked off half a star for the "combat" gameplay which felt ehh kinda unnecessary but not bad. thats honestly my only complaint tho)
This is objectively not a bad game, but I simply cannot give it a good review. It had the potential to be fun, and I think if you abuse the more op character roles it certainly could be fun but.... wow. My least favorite game experience of the year and I typically love this style of game.
Needlessly difficult but not in the fun dark souls way, more in the "everything you do, from the movement to the combat, feels like shit" way lol. Story is entirely meh. World is a chore to travel through. Portcrystals were a super cool concept that utterly fail bc you have to use them as the only fucking fast travel points outside of the two citites - like who thought that was a good idea??? If they were like bonus fast travel spots then it would be rad, but alas. Enemies were a chore to fight, esp as a physical dps (rogue--> assassin) and the fights themselves weren't even engaging. You kinda have to grind in this type of game but yeesh is it a tedious task.
Now, if anyone is actually reading this review (lol) then you're prob thinking my poor experience w this game is entirely my fault for picking those classes but... why the fuck are those classes built to be so bad???? im sure they could be good at the post-game level but i dont see how anyone could see theyre good for earlygame let alone midgame. And how is someone going into this game blind supposed to realize this. At every level of the game my pawns would do more than i could. Even after i switched to sorcerer late game out of frustration, my pawns 10 levels lower than me did more damage than i could with a 7/9 vocation level bc I didn't have all the necessary core skills from that class + mage.
I just dont get this game!!!! What was the point!!!! its so insanely "of its time" and not in a good way im sorry. also visually, this game is cute enough. but the armor choices for men were beyond abysmal, they were all nasty uggo drab sacks and I hated it. Why are you forced to be ugly for 95% of your experience playing this game if you choose to play as a man. And locking all the good clothing to fem models and giving only fem models fanservice-y clothing was an insane choice.
Also don't really get the romance aspect to this game, it felt so shoehorned in at the end lol. I DID end up getting gay married, so tyvm for that at least i guess that's iconic for a game this old. But still lowkey a weird feature to include that felt like the game ticking off a box of things it had to do.
Idk. I should probably rate this game lower bc of how scathing my feelings towards it are. By far my least fave game of the year thus far. I get the love to an extent, i see the potential and the class system is rad, but some of yall are just delusional and desperate i stg lol.
Needlessly difficult but not in the fun dark souls way, more in the "everything you do, from the movement to the combat, feels like shit" way lol. Story is entirely meh. World is a chore to travel through. Portcrystals were a super cool concept that utterly fail bc you have to use them as the only fucking fast travel points outside of the two citites - like who thought that was a good idea??? If they were like bonus fast travel spots then it would be rad, but alas. Enemies were a chore to fight, esp as a physical dps (rogue--> assassin) and the fights themselves weren't even engaging. You kinda have to grind in this type of game but yeesh is it a tedious task.
Now, if anyone is actually reading this review (lol) then you're prob thinking my poor experience w this game is entirely my fault for picking those classes but... why the fuck are those classes built to be so bad???? im sure they could be good at the post-game level but i dont see how anyone could see theyre good for earlygame let alone midgame. And how is someone going into this game blind supposed to realize this. At every level of the game my pawns would do more than i could. Even after i switched to sorcerer late game out of frustration, my pawns 10 levels lower than me did more damage than i could with a 7/9 vocation level bc I didn't have all the necessary core skills from that class + mage.
I just dont get this game!!!! What was the point!!!! its so insanely "of its time" and not in a good way im sorry. also visually, this game is cute enough. but the armor choices for men were beyond abysmal, they were all nasty uggo drab sacks and I hated it. Why are you forced to be ugly for 95% of your experience playing this game if you choose to play as a man. And locking all the good clothing to fem models and giving only fem models fanservice-y clothing was an insane choice.
Also don't really get the romance aspect to this game, it felt so shoehorned in at the end lol. I DID end up getting gay married, so tyvm for that at least i guess that's iconic for a game this old. But still lowkey a weird feature to include that felt like the game ticking off a box of things it had to do.
Idk. I should probably rate this game lower bc of how scathing my feelings towards it are. By far my least fave game of the year thus far. I get the love to an extent, i see the potential and the class system is rad, but some of yall are just delusional and desperate i stg lol.
2021
shes cute but idk. the actual dungeon gameplay left much to be desired, it felt basic and just kinda mediocre. crafting felt wholly unnecessary. i appreciate the creativity this took in stepping away from traditional romance novel gameplay but idk. it didn't really feel like a real game outside of those elements
2016
I will never do perfection again, honestly for the money grind alone. It just isn't worth the time and I got so burnt out. That being said tho every other requirement for perfection was so fun to complete, and I finally feel like I did everything this game has to offer. And I didn't even technically do everything! I still need to do the late-game community upgrades, and I never got around to decorating the interior of my house either since the catalogue is kinda pricy and I was on a budget. And I also didn't beat the arcade games bc fuck that, they are so unfun and hard for me at least lol. So maybe I'll go back and completely finish this file one day, or work on some of those other small goals. But for now, I miss when stardew was a simple and fun lil life sim. So I'm gonna take a break and see how I feel abt maybe doing an expanded playthrough.....
2017
stunning, dark, horrifying. really amazing storytelling experience.
2019
So... this game is really good. Like really good. Like I'm kinda obsessed. Its just so fun to play. I've never felt the need or desire to do a challenge run in a game mode before and yet here I am doing an S+ Leon A run just for funsies bc I don't wanna be done with this game.
I prefer Leon's A + B routes but I'm also super biased towards Leon bc hes my favorite twink ugh something about RE is that they really make good men.
But yeah. I have nothing new or insightful to say abt this game. It real good.
I prefer Leon's A + B routes but I'm also super biased towards Leon bc hes my favorite twink ugh something about RE is that they really make good men.
But yeah. I have nothing new or insightful to say abt this game. It real good.
2020
This review contains spoilers
Wow what a downgrade from RE2 Remake. The areas were so linear and generally rather uninteresting, the combat was underwhelming, and the dodging mechanic is horrible imo. Maybe my brain is too wired to dodge like its a dark souls game but it felt so insanely inconsistent and bad.
This game did look really good though I'll admit. For the most part. Some of the areas got kinda drab and boring. I also really enjoyed the nemesis chases (besides that first scripted one) because they actually felt terrifying and difficult unlike tyrant from RE2 remake.
The only other positive of this game for me honestly is Carlos, who might be the most attractive man in any video game ever. I never wanted to stop looking at him, if I could have gotten a mod to replace Jill w Carlos I would have, and my rating might have honestly gotten up. So I will say I enjoyed his sections but I am also entirely biased and just really liked staring at his ass lmao.
Also maybe this is just bc I didn't enjoy the gameplay but it felt like there was absolutely ZERO replay value, like it doesn't feel worth it at all to try in a harder difficulty. Thats super disappointing tbh.
This game did look really good though I'll admit. For the most part. Some of the areas got kinda drab and boring. I also really enjoyed the nemesis chases (besides that first scripted one) because they actually felt terrifying and difficult unlike tyrant from RE2 remake.
The only other positive of this game for me honestly is Carlos, who might be the most attractive man in any video game ever. I never wanted to stop looking at him, if I could have gotten a mod to replace Jill w Carlos I would have, and my rating might have honestly gotten up. So I will say I enjoyed his sections but I am also entirely biased and just really liked staring at his ass lmao.
Also maybe this is just bc I didn't enjoy the gameplay but it felt like there was absolutely ZERO replay value, like it doesn't feel worth it at all to try in a harder difficulty. Thats super disappointing tbh.
2021
Wow. Really fucking cool game. Honestly the most fun card game I've ever played, and it worked in every iteration. I want full versions of each ngl. So fun.
Still playing Kaycee's mod bc I can't get enough, but I did finish the story mode so I feel like even without the bonus content, this game is worthy of the 5 star review and feels like a complete game.
Still playing Kaycee's mod bc I can't get enough, but I did finish the story mode so I feel like even without the bonus content, this game is worthy of the 5 star review and feels like a complete game.