Rincemac

I did not get spoiled by anything, did not read any hype review, I just wanted to play a good new Bethesda game - since they are so proud of the fact it's the first truly new IP in 25 years, I hoped they'd really deliver on it... since I started playing their games with Morrowind, I had some hopes they'd make it. Sadly they did not. TL;DR: They did a Fallout 76 on their "Space Skyrim" - OR: The Space Skyrim that never was. If you are a fan of Sci-Fi and "Open World" - which works in the strongest sense of the word in this game since the vastness the game simulates is humongous... however it feels almost like an empty shell when you get to explore. Much like No Man's Sky, it only gives the impression of being big and exciting, with great variations. The systems are a chore - even worse than Oblivions "use a Skill 100 times to advance in level" system, this game makes you work for even being able to Sneak, Lockpick and steer bigger space ships. It would all be acceptable if the grind wasn't that downright dull, if the Characters you meet in your first stretch of the journey weren't that kind of empty and one-dimensional-feeling and the Ship / Space mechanics weren't that "Elite Dangerous" kind of level. This way, you get the worst out of 3 genres and all mashed into one humongous - albeit good-looking on Xbox X, game - on PC better prepare to have a huge graphics card budet that'd buy you two Xbox Series X likely and a year of Game Pass. Maybe that's what Microsoft/Beth wanted? Sell those Xboxes... it might work initially but boy, when the people get to playing this they just might be regretting that decision. Bethesda seem to really love their "random number generator" engine - it drove many of their Elder Scrolls and the new Fallouts to new heights - but back then these games had a Soul infused in form of a major storyline, exciting characters to meet all across the Wastes or the vast action-filled mysterious world of Tamriel. If they have the "whole of eternity" to work with, it seems the previous ingenuity of Bethesda seems to get dulled and stretched too far. This game has an inkling of the brilliance that was the first 5 hours of most any Elder Scrolls Game or Fallouts 3, New Vegas and 4 - but once the vacuum of Space **** at your brain when you realize the first 5 hours of this Megahyped Game do not reach the old heights but are a downright borefest it's a bit sad.

I did not get spoiled by anything, did not read any hype review, I just wanted to play a good new Bethesda game - since they are so proud of the fact it's the first truly new IP in 25 years, I hoped they'd really deliver on it... since I started playing their games with Morrowind, I had some hopes they'd make it. Sadly they did not. TL;DR: They did a Fallout 76 on their "Space Skyrim" - OR: The Space Skyrim that never was. If you are a fan of Sci-Fi and "Open World" - which works in the strongest sense of the word in this game since the vastness the game simulates is humongous... however it feels almost like an empty shell when you get to explore. Much like No Man's Sky, it only gives the impression of being big and exciting, with great variations. The systems are a chore - even worse than Oblivions "use a Skill 100 times to advance in level" system, this game makes you work for even being able to Sneak, Lockpick and steer bigger space ships. It would all be acceptable if the grind wasn't that downright dull, if the Characters you meet in your first stretch of the journey weren't that kind of empty and one-dimensional-feeling and the Ship / Space mechanics weren't that "Elite Dangerous" kind of level. This way, you get the worst out of 3 genres and all mashed into one humongous - albeit good-looking on Xbox X, game - on PC better prepare to have a huge graphics card budet that'd buy you two Xbox Series X likely and a year of Game Pass. Maybe that's what Microsoft/Beth wanted? Sell those Xboxes... it might work initially but boy, when the people get to playing this they just might be regretting that decision. Bethesda seem to really love their "random number generator" engine - it drove many of their Elder Scrolls and the new Fallouts to new heights - but back then these games had a Soul infused in form of a major storyline, exciting characters to meet all across the Wastes or the vast action-filled mysterious world of Tamriel. If they have the "whole of eternity" to work with, it seems the previous ingenuity of Bethesda seems to get dulled and stretched too far. This game has an inkling of the brilliance that was the first 5 hours of most any Elder Scrolls Game or Fallouts 3, New Vegas and 4 - but once the vacuum of Space **** at your brain when you realize the first 5 hours of this Megahyped Game do not reach the old heights but are a downright borefest it's a bit sad.

I kicked a squirrel today with my Half-Elf Ranger and it felt really gorgeous and as it should be in a Baldur's Gate - nuff said.

TL;DR: is it good? I’d say yes – but it depends if you like the series and want the backstory. If you expect “grandeur” action gameplay, this is going to disappoint you. It’s also too short by far - EP 1 takes about 1-2 hrs max. Mind you: We’ve only seen EP 1 so far - It might get much better during EP 2-5 and Bonus Ep in Deluxe Edition. Long: Get this if you enjoyed Camina Drummer's Belter drawl and see where her fierceness comes from. You'll get a kick out of this telltale games ... Expanse of the Expanse's storyline (yes, I am proud of myself). If you are expecting a good old time "Walking Dead telltale", sadly it's not there and maybe never will since you know... they went bankrupt and just got "revived" by selling their tech. This new showing of grandeur past is initially gorgeous, with its 4K graphics shine on the next gen consoles and PC, the sound design is minimalist, which is apt for a “Sci-Fi” genre game – since no one can hear your Dolby Surround in Space. Music has been licensed from the series and the Acting is quite decent – if maybe a bit generic by some of the voices, but that is well based on the script and material of the Series as well as this storyline. It was on and off also in the “old” games mostly, if we’re being honest. And while we’re being honest, let’s talk about the actual gameplay: Since the revival would give the new telltale the true chance of redoing some of the core systems and improve on some QoL changes, sadly, in this regard they failed. The new game does work exactly in the same way as the old ones – if a bit flashier in execution - they still have the same “Quick Time” aka “press a button or fail” events – which to be fair now you can extend the time to “infinite” taking the pressure off a lot. The new studio has tried to mimic what made telltale games so good in the first place, namely the very narrative-driven, dramatic "choices" - which in the end, sadly, never made that much of a difference to tell you the truth. But they were excuted in a grand way that gave you satisfaction and a hell **** story most of the time. Does "The Expanse" do the same? I think you can see the first inning of what could potentially be a very cool, albeit very short story in the "Expanse" universe just before the Amazon Series storyline picks up in full force. You'll follow the life of Carmina Drummer, a hard-ass "Belter" who's been around the deck as they say - and who is a member of the so-called "OPA" - something that gets hinted on bascially immediately - which basically is a terrorist faction within that Sci-Fi Universe that made it a point of hating "Earthers". The rest of the game”play” consists of a Space Walking/flying simulator with banter in-between the main characters, of course the usual twists and betrayals plus the “choice” making which consists of the occasional banter in-between characters with good to OK acting by the cast – Carmina Drummer stands out, as well as the Captain and the Ship’s Medic, the two goofy sidekick “Belters” are just like in the series – hard-ass but not smart-ass loose gun types, a job well done in scripting and acting. All of these characters have their “motivations”, although you’ll only know if you pick your choices and see the usual “XYZ will remember that” when speaking to them or interacting with things happening as they unfold, taking some tough choices along the way. Whatever it means when you see “they’ll remember that” stays shrouded in mystery as per the telltale formula. To be very honest, I actually think most of these have, if at all, only minor implications outside of a few changed voice lines likely. And that is the core of the main flaw, one the new telltale kept from the “old telltale”: what these games are usually good at is giving you the momentary illusion of making a huge choice – but when you dare to replay to see the “other side” of that outcome, it usually disappoints by showing you it’s ending (almost) the same way, no matter what. You might kill off one of the others, but guess what, it barely mattered outside of a few standout changes in TwD series games. I’m not spoiling anything here, but be prepared that choices seem “bigger than they are”, just like in your rear view mirror. Since the story has just started it's unsure if her OPA past is coming to hunt her, but it certainly looks like exactly that is going to happen in the 5 Episodes and the Bonus Episode for you Deluxe Edition buyers. I went Deluxe, because I could not stop myself wondering if telltale legacy can be revived and I’ll stand by to make my final calling after all Episodes are out sometime in September likely – they are saying a new Ep every two weeks – which would probably be the most dramatic change from the “old telltale” which had issues releasing Episodes in a timely manner. Which is what ultimately killed them.

A beatuiful, almost wordlessly told story about loss, new friendship, mystery with a gorgeous art style and a coherent orchestral score to condense into a perfect 3h playable puzzle adventure. Recently the entries into the "indie" scene in adventures and story-driven games were a dime a dozen - but a rare gem like this comes around once in a while to satiate your adventure appetite. The game leaves you with the protagonist (Lana) on who's planet you'll be the witness of a very mysterious alien attack, for lack of a better word, of mechanical beings preying on your fellow village friends and family - after a harrowing loss of a loved one and a chaotic escape to follow the same fate, you end up stranded, alone in a magically beautiful hand-drawn world. There, you seek to find your lost brother and quickly make a new friend in the form of "Mui" - who seems to be a world-dwelling species much like a cat - after rescuing Mui from a hairy situation with the new overlords of your world, you quickly become interdependent friends - and friends help each other, as we all know... so Mui becomes an integral - and mysterious - part of your journey and search for your lost brother, by adding capabilites to reach tight spaces or out-of-reach things at first and, no spoilers, adding somewhat more mysterious skills to help you out in this strange world. Since we are talking about a "physics type" puzzle game, expect a lot of pulling, pushing of stuff to get to places - and later on you'll even learn a nifty new skill that helps you to intervene with the machine intelligence seemingly seeking to enslave your planet. Traversal of the character is flawless, the controls are fluid and our little friend Mui is not only cute, but has in itself some pretty fluid controls which you need to master, either by letting him stay in place, quietly, or reach for switches just at the right time. The progression and difficulty curve is just in the right amount of upwards slope so you can learn the ropes before they ask you to climb it and swing. Due to the foreign language, the few spoken words, the game intentionally makes you fill in the dialog and you get the gist of it quickly - less words leave you to drawl at the beautiful landscapes the creators hand-drew and the beautifully fitting orchestrated soundtrack. The journey overall takes you about 3 hours tops and the only side quest item would be to find hidden "shrines" - that if you do tell you in a mysterious way what your invaders might be or where they come from. Planet of Lana is one of those rare gems that will resonate with you after you finish them. The game and its story are beautifully made and leave you with this satisfying feeling after watching the end credits.

A beatuiful, almost wordlessly told story about loss, new friendship, mystery with a gorgeous art style and a coherent orchestral score to condense into a perfect 3h playable puzzle adventure. Recently the entries into the "indie" scene in adventures and story-driven games were a dime a dozen - but a rare gem like this comes around once in a while to satiate your adventure appetite. The game leaves you with the protagonist (Lana) on who's planet you'll be the witness of a very mysterious alien attack, for lack of a better word, of mechanical beings preying on your fellow village friends and family - after a harrowing loss of a loved one and a chaotic escape to follow the same fate, you end up stranded, alone in a magically beautiful hand-drawn world. There, you seek to find your lost brother and quickly make a new friend in the form of "Mui" - who seems to be a world-dwelling species much like a cat - after rescuing Mui from a hairy situation with the new overlords of your world, you quickly become interdependent friends - and friends help each other, as we all know... so Mui becomes an integral - and mysterious - part of your journey and search for your lost brother, by adding capabilites to reach tight spaces or out-of-reach things at first and, no spoilers, adding somewhat more mysterious skills to help you out in this strange world. Since we are talking about a "physics type" puzzle game, expect a lot of pulling, pushing of stuff to get to places - and later on you'll even learn a nifty new skill that helps you to intervene with the machine intelligence seemingly seeking to enslave your planet. Traversal of the character is flawless, the controls are fluid and our little friend Mui is not only cute, but has in itself some pretty fluid controls which you need to master, either by letting him stay in place, quietly, or reach for switches just at the right time. The progression and difficulty curve is just in the right amount of upwards slope so you can learn the ropes before they ask you to climb it and swing. Due to the foreign language, the few spoken words, the game intentionally makes you fill in the dialog and you get the gist of it quickly - less words leave you to drawl at the beautiful landscapes the creators hand-drew and the beautifully fitting orchestrated soundtrack. The journey overall takes you about 3 hours tops and the only side quest item would be to find hidden "shrines" - that if you do tell you in a mysterious way what your invaders might be or where they come from. Planet of Lana is one of those rare gems that will resonate with you after you finish them. The game and its story are beautifully made and leave you with this satisfying feeling after watching the end credits.

TL;DR: A shooter. 5/10. Controls ****, Music is basically just bleeps and bloops, it feels like it's been programmed in some country that had to hastily pack up as the invasion happened... but it has some Rick and Morty talent (if you believe they're talented) involved in voicing the characters. As a shooter, sadly medicore but fun dialogs and "fresh" story if you think that aliens snorting human DNA to make them high is fun. Hey, and again, it's made by those geniuses that came up with Rick and Morty... if that is enough for you to get moist enough to drop your controller because of how moist that makes you, dive right in! It has some nice funny dialog, some wacky (Roiland style) TV Shows and some more wacky stuff to keep morons like me entertained, but still a 5/10 sadly. Long read: Of course, you MUST play this if you are one of the "R&M fanatics" who thinks anything done by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon MUST be good by definition, moronic critics like me be damned (oh, the downvotes, yes, I am very interested in you denying me my much-needed affirmation on metacritic.... boohoo). If you're one of the above, then you're also a pro in lying to yourself - and even worse, others - that the controls of this game are Halo-like (in fact, Master Chief can go **** an alien dong, what good did he ever do or even say?). You'd rationalize the talking gun sidekick in High on Life is not getting on your nerves 10 minutes in and the dialogs, though fresh at points and obviously not "shootery" at all are getting tired a few hours in - add to that mediocre graphics and utterly crappy "music" (that R&M fans will tell you HAS to be like that or it would not be funny) - then go ahead and dive right in... The Rick & Morty-Verse is clearly divided into people that think "Anything done by anyone involved in R&M is pure gold, so everyone who doesn't like it clearly has no PhD in intelligent humoristics and the counterside is populated by haters (insert the opposite and something like "I find it a bit trite and too hard-trying") I sit right in the middle - the game itself, mechanically speaking is - very sadly - utter crap. Period. Controls feel gooey (for a shooter-type game, that's bad, people...) and the Morty-voice-talking-gun sidekick gets so very annoying as the game progresses - and R&M fans will point out that this is made exactly because of that and you NEED to love it, if you think it's annoying, you're annoying, fartknocker. The good side of the title definitely are the very funny undertones, outside of the try-hard gun talk bits, too much "alt humor" in my taste. The "story" if we want to call it that could be that of any R&M type try-hard show or even an episode of the very same... it's generic and the strewn-in humorous undertone is trying to shovel enough funny over the dirtpile that is the engine and the very medicore "shoot anything that's moving if it has a red reticule" gameplay in-between the dialog bits. The game is definitely not interesting outside of the story - even worse, it plays about as well as Postal 4 does (another try-hard failing to reclaim old glory days). Swap out the story and Justin Roiland's grating Morty-style voicework and you'd have a pure non-sale. It's good enough if you can overlook the really bad controls, lazy level design and being swarmed with hundreds of generic aliens and other blobs of graphic that try to paint over the fact they're badly designed by spouting "funny" things at you - and to add to that of course your talking gun comments on your shooting ... which is funny and fresh for the first 2 hours and then you wish there was a big effing sticker to put on that gun's Morty-mouth.

TL;DR: A challenging, visually and narratively compelling Survival-Horror game and spiritual successor of the old day's "Resident Evil" type games. Get if you're into hard-ass and "weird" experiences, enjoy the glimpses into this strange universe with socialist-fascist undertones. Very worth it if you like a good challenge. I played this on Xbox, to be totally clear, so I recommend using a controller if on PC. As Signalis is in Game Pass right at launch it was a good chance to pick up and get into - and it sure was a hell of a positive surprise! Signalis throws you right in your "Replika" body without any big fanfare. You don't know who you are - literally as the unit you are playing, and figuratively as the player - you just know you have to find your partner unit who misteriously vanished, leaving only a photograph as proof it ever existed. And so you go down into a mysterious base, very much driven by a strange urge to find your partner - since you are a unit of exploration and support, as you find out by reading up on your tech specs - and discover a derelict base full of dead units walking, afflicted with a mysterious disease, or whatever you would call it on machine-human hybrids. The mystery gets deeper and deeper as you progress, at first slowly, then at an almost breakneck speed in the middle stages of the game, as puzzle after puzzle gets thrown at you. Weapons are sparse, as is ammo - so you'll need to think before you shoot. Sometimes that is not at all possible and the game will set you up to fail. Saving is done in true Resident Evil style, at red glaring monitor stations - there is no auto save. So when you fail one hour after your last one, you will have the pleasure of re-doing everything. Strong points of the game: Narrative - the weird, fascist-germano regime that seems to be controlling this part of space will probably make you shake all by yourself, reading the strange suppressive messages strewn all around the base as you discover more about yourself and the world. Graphics - they are a weird, intentional pixelated mess, throwing you back to what gaming used to be ca 1995-2000 roughly. The game artfully masters to render into this 90s pixel filter. Sound - it's dead quiet most of the time, but the game masters audio cues to clue you into "danger close" moments. The atmosphere is seriously dark. The bad: Aiming mechanics are finnicky and hard to control - the auto aim does sometimes lock on to the wrong enemy without much control for the player. Inventory - the game keeps the inventory to 6 items max at every point. There actually is a short narrative bit explaining it to the player, but that doesn't make it any better. The game would benefit from giving you means to expand your inventory. The back-and-forth tracking due to this at later game stages is very annoying. Overall, super strong game with great narrative and a serious challenge. If you can work with the finnicky aim mechanics and the "no guide given" outside of the narrative - you'll have a blast.

Let's review the "Call of Duty" Checklist: Evil, over-the-top Russian? Check. Some "Middle Eastern" (but pathetically placed in a fake country, like.. say Urzikistan?) Check! A stolen top-of-the-class weapon that only the world police should own, not all the others they are policing? Check. Overpaid Hollywood B-Listers in Cut Scenes, delivering adequately patriotic and evil banter? Mike Check. Is there a Multiplayer with 12 yo dominating the chat and screaming in your ear if you forget to mute all? Ouch. Are there Kill Streak Rewards for bumping the already strong players and punishing their cannon fodder? Double Check. Is the single player riddled with the same "run to point X and the enemy respawns will stop" trigger type maps? Oh yes! Is there a level where you have to jump from car to car, while driving a car yourself, shooting out enemies and obstacles while driving and then jumping out of the car before it explodes to hijack another car driving at full speed - a level which is so painstakingly maddening that its designers should be bumped down to replay it for all enternity to see how dumb that design is? You betcha! Well, ladies and gentleman, you have yourself a COD! 6/10 for insanity, graphics and well.. it's COD, so it cannot be rated below 6/10 - duh!

If you like the big budget "blockbusters" of decisionmaking titles like Supermassive's Until Dawn and The Quarry you will enjoy the story of this mystery caper. This game plays on the remote "Glory Island", a lonesome but beautiful spot used by some Yogi-meditative types. You're stumbling on the island through invitation but after the first night you find that you got a bit more than you can sensibly chew in one bite. The island is haunted by a strange interdimensional force called the "Gloom", and with it come a plethora of otherworldly beasts and waves of insanity befall your fellow meditators. It seems you are the one that is the least affected in mind, but you are being hunted actively by an interdimensional being that seems to be made of ... bees and a huge chunk of your conscience lashing out at you. The gameplay is more like a Silent Hill or Resident Evil of the "old times" and can be quite bothersome since survival-horror games are by definition making you "fight all the way" with sparse resources, and this game is no exception. With the combat and mechanics being as repetitive as they come and resources as far in-between finding them as ever, the story is what carries this game to the end. The visuals are not a big budget production but good enough - facial expressions etc. are wooden when compared to espcially the two I mentioned, but it would be very unfair comparison since those also cost double of what The Chant is asking you to dish out. The good:

TL;DR: A challenging, visually and narratively compelling Survival-Horror game and spiritual successor of the old day's "Resident Evil" type games. Get if you're into hard-ass and "weird" experiences, enjoy the glimpses into this strange universe with socialist-fascist undertones. Very worth it if you like a good challenge. As Signalis is in Game Pass right at launch it was a good chance to pick up and get into - and it sure was a hell of a positive surprise! Signalis throws you right in your "Replika" body without any big fanfare. You don't know who you are - literally as the unit you are playing, and figuratively as the player - you just know you have to find your partner unit who misteriously vanished, leaving only a photograph as proof it ever existed. And so you go down into a mysterious base, very much driven by a strange urge to find your partner - since you are a unit of exploration and support, as you find out by reading up on your tech specs - and discover a derelict base full of dead units walking, afflicted with a mysterious disease, or whatever you would call it on machine-human hybrids. The mystery gets deeper and deeper as you progress, at first slowly, then at an almost breakneck speed in the middle stages of the game, as puzzle after puzzle gets thrown at you. Weapons are sparse, as is ammo - so you'll need to think before you shoot. Sometimes that is not at all possible and the game will set you up to fail. Saving is done in true Resident Evil style, at red glaring monitor stations - there is no auto save. So when you fail one hour after your last one, you will have the pleasure of re-doing everything. Strong points of the game: Narrative - the weird, fascist-germano regime that seems to be controlling this part of space will probably make you shake all by yourself, reading the strange suppressive messages strewn all around the base as you discover more about yourself and the world. Graphics - they are a weird, intentional pixelated mess, throwing you back to what gaming used to be ca 1995-2000 roughly. The game artfully masters to render into this 90s pixel filter. Sound - it's dead quiet most of the time, but the game masters audio cues to clue you into "danger close" moments. The atmosphere is seriously dark. The bad: Aiming mechanics are finnicky and hard to control - the auto aim does sometimes lock on to the wrong enemy without much control for the player. Inventory - the game keeps the inventory to 6 items max at every point. There actually is a short narrative bit explaining it to the player, but that doesn't make it any better. The game would benefit from giving you means to expand your inventory. The back-and-forth tracking due to this at later game stages is very annoying. Overall, super strong game with great narrative and a serious challenge. If you can work with the finnicky aim mechanics and the "no guide given" outside of the narrative - you'll have a blast.

A solid showing in the "Arkham" (in "extended" universe sans Batman) Gotham City. Play the "New Guard", Batgirl, Red Hood, Nightwing - and everybody's favorite since the 60s: Robin! Scour a narrative-driven, open world Gotham with random (read: grindy) tasks to take Batman's baton - and hit it repeatedly over the bad guys girls and diverse underground reps committing felonies across town, all the while finding out why the heck Batman had to die by the hand of a supervillain. Go for it if a DC hardcore fan at full price, wait for a sale if a 3rd Person Open World fan with AAA branding. The Good: Graphics! Gorgeous and far-sighted views of Gotham and fluid enough on PS5 (but: not 60 fps mostly since the views are far and wide...) ... but... [see "bad"] Easy to traverse Gotham - ascend and descend buildings, go on patrol on your Bat Cycle etc. Open world - go anywhere you want, beat anyone you want over the head... live with the consequences Story is well-done and voiceovers are AA (not movie style, but well done) The "New Guard" of heroes is pretty different in skill sets and specialisations - although... [see "bad"] Rocksteady tried to mix it up and give you some "crime scene investigation" gameplay ... but [see "bad"] The bad: [Open Gotham...] is big! Which means a huge world to traverse and most of the time getting from A to B to do just some menial "random task" (insert: beat up bad underground mobs) - guidance is only given for the main plot + some "premediated crime" sub tasks - the rest is just grind... literally repeating the one and same sub-missions to get your favorite new DC Knight that next skill. [Open Gotham ct'd] - no 60 fps, leave alone more than that. They still couldn't manage to make Robin cool - not on them, but if you'd rather play Nightwing than Robin... 'nuff said. [Crime Scenes...] - they are just some screwed-on-top "point and click" style adventures - where you often will end up "just clicking stuff and combining random things" to get it over with... not well done at all, but a nice touch. The ugly: The story might not be your cup of tea, glass of beer, bottle of Kombucha. It is "new guard" / extended universe - sans Batman, sans Commissioner Gordon etc. pp. Does get grindy the more you get into it... in a repetitive mediocre way. "Stealth" gameplay in a non-stealth environment - always was, is and will always be a bad idea... badly executed and kind of gimmicky at best here.

A solid showing in the "Arkham" (in "extended" universe sans Batman) Gotham City. Play the "New Guard", Batgirl, Red Hood, Nightwing - and everybody's favorite since the 60s: Robin! Scour a narrative-driven, open world Gotham with random (read: grindy) tasks to take Batman's baton - and hit it repeatedly over the bad guys girls and diverse underground reps committing felonies across town, all the while finding out why the heck Batman had to die by the hand of a supervillain. Go for it if a DC hardcore fan at full price, wait for a sale if a 3rd Person Open World fan with AAA branding. The Good: Graphics! Gorgeous and far-sighted views of Gotham and fluid to boot on Xbox Series X (however, it won't keep the 60 fps it looks like) ... but... [see "bad"] Easy to traverse Gotham - ascend and descend buildings, go on patrol on your Bat Cycle etc. Open world - go anywhere you want, beat anyone you want over the head... live with the consequences Story is well-done and voiceovers are AA (not movie style, but well done) The "New Guard" of heroes is pretty different in skill sets and specialisations - although... [see "bad"] Rocksteady tried to mix it up and give you some "crime scene investigation" gameplay ... but [see "bad"] The bad: [Open Gotham...] is big! Which means a huge world to traverse and most of the time getting from A to B to do just some menial "random task" (insert: beat up bad underground mobs) - guidance is only given for the main plot + some "premediated crime" sub tasks - the rest is just grind... literally repeating the one and same sub-missions to get your favorite new DC Knight that next skill. They still couldn't manage to make Robin cool - not on them, but if you'd rather play Nightwing than Robin... 'nuff said. [Crime Scenes...] - they are just some screwed-on-top "point and click" style adventures - where you often will end up "just clicking stuff and combining random things" to get it over with... not well done at all, but a nice touch. The ugly: The story might not be your cup of tea, glass of beer, bottle of Kombucha. It is "new guard" / extended universe - sans Batman, sans Commissioner Gordon etc. pp. Does get grindy the more you get into it... in a repetitive mediocre way. "Stealth" gameplay in a non-stealth environment - always was, is and will always be a bad idea... badly executed and kind of gimmicky at best here.

"Annoying Kid Shouting Amicia!"-Simulator in its second iteration. Terrible frame rate issues on especially Xbox X (not up to what you'd expect) + A strong narrative with great voice acting (sans aforementioned annoying kid) - with gameplay hampered by the same old and trodden mechanics that were part 1's weakness - along a hefty difficulty curve, as was the case in Part 1. The gameplay mechanics did not change from the first iteration, in all that's bad and good about them - they are repetitive "escape the rats with casting light on stuff" riddles that become increasingly complex. The graphics are the high part of the second showing, as is the voice acting. And yes, Hugo still has the same annoying kid voice as in the first part. Amicia is playing the role of tough strong female and has some new tricks up her sleeve - but many of the old mechanics are regurgitated ad nauseam. You'll find yourself looking desparately for what the devs must have thought obvious places to advance in a room (hint: most of them are not obvious) - voice cues should give hints but some are confusing even more as to what the solution might be. That said, it's a strong story with a mystical element as to what the sickness really is - and how to get rid of it and a strong narrative is presented throughout the same stale gameplay mechanics that were making the first part frustrating for many, me included.

"Annoying Kid Shouting Amicia!"-Simulator in its second iteration. Terrible frame rate issues + A strong narrative with great voice acting (sans aforementioned annoying kid) - with gameplay hampered by the same old and trodden mechanics that were part 1's weakness - along a hefty difficulty curve, as was the case in Part 1. The gameplay mechanics did not change from the first iteration, in all that's bad and good about them - they are repetitive "escape the rats with casting light on stuff" riddles that become increasingly complex. The graphics are the high part of the second showing, as is the voice acting. And yes, Hugo still has the same annoying kid voice as in the first part. Amicia is playing the role of tough strong female and has some new tricks up her sleeve - but many of the old mechanics are regurgitated ad nauseam. You'll find yourself looking desparately for what the devs must have thought obvious places to advance in a room (hint: most of them are not obvious) - voice cues should give hints but some are confusing even more as to what the solution might be. That said, it's a strong story with a mystical element as to what the sickness really is - and how to get rid of it and a strong narrative is presented throughout the same stale gameplay mechanics that were making the first part frustrating for many, me included.

Pausable RTS-style gameplay that plays great with a controller but suffers from Generic Fantasy Story A syndrome. Avoid at normal price, go for it on sale if you’re into RTS & Fantasy. Strengths In-battle visuals are A+ with finely-tuned depth of field effects for additional eye candy. Challenge curve is going upwards steadily, as are the skill sets of your units, additional challenges in optional mission goals to improve your EXP/Rewards if met Level-up system based on RPG Skilltree development - develop your units in a certain direction that matches your playstyle Fast-paced battles and in later stages some alternative decisions to be made. Weaknesses The controls are not totally perfect. Direction-facing attacks are only adjustable when you move your archer for example. Ie no pointing your archer to a place since they might end up facing the wrong direction. Can only be mitigated by setting waypoints to turn them around. The real time Strategy Battle system, an adaptation likely from RTB coined by Final Fantasy, does not allow you to simply hit pause. An oversight for this title were in the heat of battle you actually just might want to do that. You can pause quickly by issue a command to all units for which there is an actual shortcut button. There is a similar function, however this zooms out on your current view to give you a view of the battlefied instead... one were you cannot issue commands, too. This is a messy point. A simple pause the action button would make it very much better. Enemies try to challenge you mostly by overwhelming you in numbers or by overusing their skills. Skills which you need to take care to stop in time, countering them with skill use of your own. Maps and scenarios are pretty generic, as is the story - the typical JRPG kind of lacklustre with overdone characters and lazy voiceovers. I'd probably give it a wide berth at normal pricing but a very interesting and fun title for satisfying that strategy itch in a different scenario and on console with a controller, which is rare enough.

Pausable RTS-style gameplay that plays great with a controller but suffers from Generic Fantasy Story A syndrome. Avoid at normal price, go for it on sale if you’re into RTS & Fantasy. Strengths In-battle visuals are A+ with finely-tuned depth of field effects for additional eye candy. Challenge curve is going upwards steadily, as are the skill sets of your units, additional challenges in optional mission goals to improve your EXP/Rewards if met Level-up system based on RPG Skilltree development - develop your units in a certain direction that matches your playstyle Fast-paced battles and in later stages some alternative decisions to be made. Weaknesses The controls are not totally perfect. Direction-facing attacks are only adjustable when you move your archer for example. Ie no pointing your archer to a place since they might end up facing the wrong direction. Can only be mitigated by setting waypoints to turn them around. The real time Strategy Battle system, an adaptation likely from RTB coined by Final Fantasy, does not allow you to simply hit pause. An oversight for this title were in the heat of battle you actually just might want to do that. You can pause quickly by issue a command to all units for which there is an actual shortcut button. There is a similar function, however this zooms out on your current view to give you a view of the battlefied instead... one were you cannot issue commands, too. This is a messy point. A simple pause the action button would make it very much better. Enemies try to challenge you mostly by overwhelming you in numbers or by overusing their skills. Skills which you need to take care to stop in time, countering them with skill use of your own. Maps and scenarios are pretty generic, as is the story - the typical JRPG kind of lacklustre with overdone characters and lazy voiceovers. I'd probably give it a wide berth at normal pricing but a very interesting and fun title for satisfying that strategy itch in a different scenario and on console with a controller, which is rare enough.

TL;DR: The Quarry features ultra-crisp graphics, a nice "horror" story and some gruesome visual shocks along the way. The game is virtually identical to its predecessor Until Dawn, down to the "teethy" overacting prevalent in these motion capture capers. The decisionmaking mechanics are often split-second forks in the same road at a push of a stick or button with vastly different outcomes - you botch it, and it's snuff time pretty quickly in some encounters - no second chances unless you replay later. The story lasts around 8 hours if you take care to seek all evidence and collectibles and probably 5 if you rush it. $70 is a lot to dish out - I'd fully recommend it at $30 level, so wait for a sale if you're unsure. The bad: Outside the still great visuals, soundwork and atmosphere, The Quarry suffers from some unclear and downright confusing quick time event style sequences that will affect certain characters' survival and future interactions with each other. It will be frustrating to find out that the thing you just did will screw you later on. The collectibles are one of the major pain points since especially Tarot cards are obscure to almost impossible to find in some cases - since they're dependent on nudging characters just so they stand in the right spot - so the then-angling camera will show you a card somewhere up a tree or other obscure places. Audio queues are supposed to help but without a spatial audio system present will be more confusing than helpful. The story is certainly not as bad as some make it out to be and there are twists you won't see coming, so the suspense keeps at a good pacing. Some of the characters, obviously as teens go, are annoying and some feel like a 40+ yo tried their hand at replicating what a 16 year old might spout these days. The somewhat star-studded cast of voice actors does their darndest to fill the awkward lines with life, while some of them cannot be saved. As conversations go, some feel forced to achieve a certain dramatic outcome or to make your decisions more of a "well, she had that one coming" type of thing. Overall a solid showing, at a much too high asking price at lauch - it will be a great game for bargain in a future sale - as was Until Dawn back then.

TL;DR: skip this abysmally buggy "remaster" and dust off your original. It's a messy cash-grab that deserves to not be bought until it's fixed. Unfortunately, somehow, in this case "Remaster" seems to mean: we introduced a swath of graphical and technical glitches into the (brilliant) original that will kill any and all enjoyment you might have had with the game otherwise. Literally, there are eye sores like T-Posing Characters in dramatic, emotional cut scenes, "flickering" bugs that are supposed to be a graphical improvement, and other niceties like missing technical features in menus that the original had. And to round it all off you won't even be able to realize the improvements of supposed 4K textures outside of searching for them with a magnyfying glass next to the screen. This is an abysmal money grab by the Overlords of Square Enix, who seemed to have Deck Nine at gunpoint and rushing them for a quick cash infusion to make up for their failed Marvel Avengers adventure most likely. PS: one point for story and engaging you to use your other senses. Fun game: If you close your eyes, you won't see the graphical glitches and will tickle your imagination instead!

TL;DR: skip this one and dust off your original. This is a buggy, messy cash-grab that deserves to not be bought. Unfortunately, somehow, in this case "Remaster" seems to mean: we introduced a swath of graphical and technical glitches into the (brilliant) original that will kill any and all enjoyment you might have had with the game otherwise. Literally, there are eye sores like T-Posing Characters in dramatic, emotional cut scenes, "flickering" bugs that are supposed to be a graphical improvement, and other niceties like missing technical features in menus that the original had. And to round it all off you won't even be able to realize the improvements of supposed 4K textures outside of searching for them with a magnyfying glass next to the screen. This is an abysmal money grab by the Overlords of Square Enix, who seemed to have Deck Nine at gunpoint and rushing them for a quick cash infusion to make up for their failed Marvel Avengers adventure most likely. PS: one point for story and engaging you to use your other senses. Fun game: If you close your eyes, you won't see the graphical glitches and will tickle your imagination instead!

Oh, Master Chief, the things you had to go through to arrive at this desolate "Zeta" Halo... they jettisoned you into Space (several times), just to be deep-frozen and then found again to be reactivated as the pinnacle of UNSC's forces, a shining beacon of hope for the troops thanks to your almost wordless performance as a human-formed tank, protecting the most sophisticated AI from falling into the enemy's grubby hands/claws/tentacles or whatever it is the manifold multi-racial gang-up on humanity are featuring in the limbs department. The premise, once again, is a lone Master Chief floating in space, being picked up by an Antonio Banderas-type lone surviving the latest onslaught of the Aliens vs. Humanty UNSC pilot - who Master Chief will find out more about during the story, and again with the typical non-talking attitude most seem to love about the almost silent Hero of Halo. At the outset, it doesn't look too good for UNSC and the rest of Humanity. They seem devastated by the latest attack of the "Banished" on Earth and the defending forces. With that premise, Master Chief and the lone pilot team up, unwillingly on the Pilot's side, to disover they're near a Halo Ring named "ZETA". Of course, no Halo can begin without a huge Warship being brought done by Master Chief himself on his lonesome, so that's how we do it again, crashing on the Zeta Halo as a result. On there, we find ourselves in an open-world type situation where Master Chief can roam freely after doing some initial missions, and then to discover that potentially a Rogue AI that he might know very well and which since their last meeting has kind of went insane is still around. Master Chief was originally tasked with "deleting" Cortana, said Rogue AI, but has catastrophically failed to do this at the end of the Halo 5 story arch. Being provided with a new "Set to Kill Cortana" deletion routine, which miraculously looks like her target as a hologram (and has the same one-size-fits-all-AI voice acting) they set out on the lone and partially deactivated and destroyed Zeta Halo to find out what's going on. Not only is the Halo on the brink of being active again - and that is never a good thing with Halo Rings, as the avid player should know - but it's also swarming with "Banished", a ragtag team-up of the Aliens who originally set out to to kill humanity for what seems like Religious reasons - always a great reason to start a war, really! Is the open world any good? It depends on what you like about Halo. If you like killing all sorts of Aliens with different kinds of Weapons while roaming on a "free" scenario instead of following invisible tunnels while doing it? Then this is your kind of Halo! Do you like teaming up with dumbass AI Marines you have to "free" from being captured by the Aliens strewn about the Halo Ring in different locations, and the more you free, the more will be roaming around, trying to help you reclaim the Halo and prevent it from being fired? Well, I'm glad to say, this is your Halo! If you, like me, however care about Weapon Balance, a semblance of a coherent story, smart AI colleagues that do not get frequently crushed by Warthogs you call in at various bases by running right below the area they're being dropped on to... I am sad to say you will not like that Halo experience. As that is exactly what you're getting. A loosely clobbered together Halo on an open-world Setting that you can traverse within 5 Minutes or so on an aircraft - which you will unlock very late in the endgame to help you reach those far-out places where the legendary Skulls are hidding which help you unlock even more hardcore settings to make the game harder. Talking about hard: the enemy AI is not that smart, but it's as usually balanced out by kicking things up a notch. I got the distinct feeling that the "normal" setting is the new "hard" in this iteration of Halo. And I finished all of them on Legendary difficulty. Some of the patterns of attack just are there to annoy you and make the game frustrating, like the snipers being perched kind of everywhere, and with rifles that will disable your aircraft in mid-flight... not sure making a single player/coop game frustrating is the way to go, 343 Industries. Oh, and a fair word of warning at the end: There are small and bigger bugs aplenty in this one from the get-go and no patches in sight (December, 2021)... like "Speed Lines" options you disable but which don't stick and you have to disable them again and again when you restart... If you're an old-school Halo player like me, you'll get your 10 hours of enjoyment out of it, but in my case I have to say: begrudgingly so!

Disregard all these "below 0" ratings, they're not deserved. As are the 10/10 undeserved (at this stage of the game, late 2020, v 1.06) TL;DR: Don't believe the hype nor the hate. Get it if you like Cyberpunk in general and can live with "clunky" FPS controls for shooting. Build a non-DPS char (Netrunner) if you, like me, prefer the non-lethal or non-personal approach to conflict! First, a preamble based on my humble opinion on game ratings: No game outside one bearing the "... ZELDA" in the title or maybe "Super Mario..." deserves a 10/10, let's keep it real, shall we? And Metroid (pick any) and maybe Castlevania SOTN to me would be close to a solid 10, just to put this to perspective. CP2077 is atomspherically and graphically astonishing - if your PC is somewhat modern, let's say Nvidia GTX 1070 upwards or AMD equivalent RX57XX. The Characters are all superbly laid out, as is the music well-selected and crafted to create a dense, believable sprawling moloch of a miserable "Night City" for you to explore and maybe make your oyster. Keanu is a nice bonus, I couldn't give two craps if it's him or Daenerys Targeryan talking to you from out of your head, it just adds a nice second layer of why you do what you do in the game with the cards that are dealt to you. Story-wise this is a solid 8/10 for me so far, with believable characters a well-paced main story and countless ways to do your tasks, based on your build. More on that shortly. As for Dialogs, this is a sour note for me. In a nutshell, they tried way too hard to make it "cool". Main example for every second line? Missing personal pronouns. I'll never get what makes dialog "futuristic" or edgy when you leave out the "I" from "... want to tell you". It just makes it clunky and unapproachable, CDP people! Aside from this minor gripe the story is delivered by great actors - the male voice of V seems to get more dislikes than female in the almighty internet, but I think both are fine. The game lets you do whatever you want, that can be great, if you just want to drive around and take in the sights, or it can be a curse if you're badly OCDing on blinking pointers on maps, like I sometimes do. You'll quickly go down the rabbit hole here, also by the game spouting countless (and pointless, I might add, outside of XP gain!) side missions at you - constantly! It's amazing at how much your "Journal" fills up when you drive around for 10 Minutes. It's way too much clutter. If you ignore that BS and just concentrate on the main mission, this game gives you a great 20 or so hours if the internet is to be believed. I'm at the 10h point currently and satisfied so far! Speaking of Progression: the XP system takes a lot of getting used to. It‘s a mix of Elder Scrolls, aka a skill will develop when you abundantly use it (which makes sense), but not really and not only,,, as that is a different experience bar... of which you have one per skill type. To make it more confusing, your main talents are skill based, and depend on how much of your hard-earned skill points (or here: perk points) you invest, Perk Points are independent of Skill points, which you use to invest in your „main“ skills in order to unlock higher „talent“ grades (and generally making that skill line more „powerful“) -> ie you want to build a one-man-army? Invest in Brawler/Annihilation skills, for which you need to develop your „BODY“ main talent tree, Not only does the game let you do the exploring of that system, it does lock you in as there don‘t really seem to be re-skills available atm in game. Go figure. It took me a bit to get this, and I‘m a veteran RPGer. Choose carefully! Pros: + Story + Characters + Graphics (on PC upwards of Nvidia GTX 1070) + Sound / Mix / Atmosphere + Vast array of (moddable, craftable) weapons Cons: - Bugs abundantly - The game overburdens you with "side quests" to the point of overload - Dialogs seem too "tryhard", and "forced" at points - Progression System can lock you in a build (and explains too little) - ... and additionally the game does not do a great job of explaining Progression choices too well - The mods and weapons are level based and the crafting system is also a mess atm, especially gettting the necessary „parts“ to craft high end gear.

I was super excited for Super Meat Boy (taking) Forever to hit EPIC Store on Dec 23. So I made the leap of faith and just bought it without knowing anything about it outside of loving part one immensely for its challenging but always very fair gameplay. So, should you be excited for Super Meat Boy Forever? It depends on if you can live with the controls! First, the good: they kept the original comical over-the-top humor of the first Super Meat Boy, down to the last charming sharp line art, graphic settings can go up to 4K natively, making this super crisp. A perfect fit for the comic style art. The music and atmosphere are a great continuation from part one. It's super challenging again - read: throw your controller at the screen - hard (again). Levels are procedurally generated. Yes. No Sawblade will ever be the same on all your playthroughs. Controls are sharp and responsive.... ... but you can only control jumping and ducking... the game does the "running" for you! It's an auto runner. Meaning you cannot control the direction nor even the speed of your meaty protagonist. Outside of being stopped by a straight 90° wall, there's no stopping. After trying to overcome my sincere dislike of this for an hour, I put away my controller in disgust. Seems I just cannot like the "Auto" anything genre, outside of its use on mobile phones with limited input options, and even then it's a big "meh" for me. A mobile iteration is which is what was intended for the game originally as far as I gathered, but losing the ability to directly control the protagonist on the "big platforms" with an actual controller kills the game outright for me on a controller-based platform like console or PC. I do like it's a side scroller now, and procedurally generated, too... but not being able to be in the driver seat here is just not for me. Sorry, Team Meat. I'll be getting this refunded for now.