011_Sentionaut

Hellblade is the best game I've played in years (despite the rune puzzles). A beautifully crafted, deep, narrative driven game with spectacular combat mechanics. Graphics were mezmorizing. The gameplay changed pace quite a few times and kept the game feeling fresh. It's a great deal for $30. I loved the clean, minimalistic menu interface, no HUD, no fetch side quests or collectibles, and I especially love that there was no time wasting tutorial. It tells a compelling story and doesn't include useless run-around segments for the sake of making the game longer than it needs to be. It was beautiful, fun, and told a great tale. My only criticism would be some of the rune puzzles which could bring the game's pace to a schreeching halt at times. The quality of the rest of this game more than makes up for that. I can imagine I'll replay this game many times. Pros: Amazing graphics and detailed world, compelling narrative, great combat mechanics, somewhat interesting puzzles, great soundtrack and voice acting, and low price. Cons: Rune puzzle game progression.

Echo is a beautiful, challenging stealth game with an array of fresh, new and impressive gameplay mechanics. Stunning visuals, and voice acting by Rose Leslie and Nick Boulton. Interesting level design for stealth gameplay. However the AI's ability to learn from my play-style did not force me to change my tactics as I had hoped. Instead the AI simply mimicked my actions rather than develop counter tactics. Otherwise its an interesting stealth game. I was drawn into the lore of the universe and En's story but the game did not reveal the details of the narrative I had hoped for. I did enjoy my playthrough and appreciate Echo for it's unique aesthetic and fresh approach to the genre. I had a lot of fun with game mechanics that I've never experienced in any other game before it. Unfortunately Echo offers very little replay value.