TwoEars

Fun and fairly original game from a small but hard hitting developer. If you haven't played Mutant Year Zero from the same developer I'd suggest you start with that one. But if you've already played MYZ this is their new and completely separate follow up game, I think you'll like it. It plays fairly similar to MYZ but the tone is a bit more serious and with new protagonists, a new world and a new story etc. The interface is good but a tad clunky in places, the combat is good but not perfect, the story is interesting but has a few tonal missteps (bathtub is all I'm saying). However what really stands out for me is the world building and level design. If you have a powerful rig and crank it up to max the world really is gorgeous to look at. Just moving around in this world and exploring the different well crafted areas is really fun and engrossing. Some maps in this game could easily have been in Mad Max: Fury Road, a new Fallout game or a new Mass Effect game. So if you're a bit of a sci-fi fan who likes turn-based games and stealth games then Miasma Chronicles is well worth your time. Plus The Bearded Ladies is a pretty cool developer in my book so I think we should sponsor them as much as we can. You can tell they don't have the budget, and last bit of play-testing, compared to some big name studios. But boy do they swing for the fences with what they've got.

Jesus Christ what a buggy mess. Just play the Skyrim mod instead, it's free.

How to brew Return to Monkey Island soup: 30% Rehashed nostalgia and familiar characters 20% Rushed development and questionable art style 15% Good puzzles and quite a few lazy ones (even on "hard") 15% Monkey Island magic and new funny material 10% Monkey Island music 10% Flat ending Let simmer in a big kettle and add a flattened skull. It's probably not a bad game but it's hardly the best in the series if you've played the previous ones, and it's not exactly a stellar standalone game for newcomers either. Probably an 8 score game if the ending had been better, and still not sure about the art style.

I have mixed feelings about this game. It's great fun to pick up and plays very much how a modern SoR game should play. Probably. The character designs are great. However I find the endgame enjoyment of this game very lacking, the more you play this game the more frustrating it becomes. Imho the game plays best on hard or hardest difficulty. When you get into mania and mania+ the game doesn't get harder... it gets cheaper. Enemies move so fast and get in and **** punch you and break your beautiful 100+ hit combo. Many enemies rely on **** punches, priority throws and many bosses have way too many I-frames. You have to play not with skill but to avoid the cheese of the enemies. I never really feel like a mastered a level or play style, even when I pull off mania+ S-Tier rank I feel like I cheesed my way through it. So a fun game to pick up, but I find the endgame frustrating and unfulfilling. My advice? Play it, have some fun. Don't get trapped trying to find endgame enjoyment, there's isn't much. Move on to something else. I also have to say I preferred some aspects of SoR2 and SoR3 over SoR4, the characters and enemies where faster and more "raw". The SoR4 characters are generally slower and more about strategic gameplay. I think SoR3 Axel is more fun to play than SoR4 Axel for instance. SoR3 Shiva is peak Streets of Rage for me.

A ultimately boring game in which the gameplay consist of holding the analog stick right to run right on the screen and occasionally performing some very menial puzzle. The story goes round and round "and then this crazy thing happened and then this crazy thing happened", but it's all the same really. Very hard to recommend even to children, the gameplay is ultimately slow and boring. Maybe it should have been a cartoon instead but as it stands it would have been a boring cartoon.

The world of King Arthur with legendary medieval knights, the battle tactics and base building building of x-com, the dark fantasy atmosphere of Diablo 2. Boy this game is a lot of fun, if you like turn-based RPG's this game is a must buy. I haven't had this much fun with an RPG since Divinity Original Sin 2. Is it perfect? Perhaps not. * It is somewhat difficult to keep all your knights equally leveled, so you tend to find some favorites and stick with them rather than experiment and change between battles. Maybe some kind of automatic system could keep the rest of your knights around the same level as you? That way you could experiment more and change knights between battles. You can do it but it takes a bit of management. * Partly because of the above many fights do end up looking the same. The enemy types do change but you will find a fighting style which works for your group, and you probably won't change it much. So some battles can get a bit repetitive. * The game doesn't really surprise you too much. In x-com you for instance had surprise base attacks where you had to fight for your survival. There are interesting developments along the main story but few curve balls overall. * The base building isn't super exciting or hard, it's not like you upgrade your defenses or help the surrounding lands much. It's mostly just get resources and trade them for rooster slots and a few bonuses and features. There aren't many trade-offs, just build sensible things until you can afford everything. * The interface isn't perfect, for instance the mini-map doesn't have a north up indicator. But overall the interface isn't as slick, extensive and easy to navigate as some other games. It feels a bit bare bones? Maybe more lore and history etc. * It would be nice if the knights' appearance changed with different gear. * The gear system is a bit of a mess. there are green, blue and relic items. But then there are also leveled gear with minimum requirement lvl 5, 10 etc. This means that at some point you're probably going to trade your awesome golden relic sword for a measly green one with min lvl 5 requirement. No one likes that. Either wait with introducing relic items until the end-game or, even better, make relic item upgradeable in the smithy. So overall this is a really awesome game, and a must play for fans of RPG's and turn-based games. But there is also room to make an even better sequel in the future.

Slow and boring, doesn't respect the players time. Can't skip cutscenes, walking pace is abysmal, save system is bad, everything feels dragged out. Spare yourself.

This review is for "Death's Gambit: Afterlife" (that means with the "afterlife" upgrade). So maybe it's actually a 9 score game but I'm going to give it a 10. Just because, and because it's generally underappreciated. This game is made with a lot of love, really a lot of love. The launch wasn't perfect, but the devs have been making up for it. If you like rogue-likes, metroidvanias, side-scrollers, action-RPG's, souls-like games etc... this is the game you need to play right now. Really, this is the game you have to play right now. This is the game the press isn't talking about. This is the hidden gem you wanted to find and which you need to play. Do you like Hollow Knight? Do you like Dark Souls? Do you like Zelda? Play this game. Really, you won't be disappointed. The beginning is pretty slow, really slow. But you'll figure it all out, you'll get more abilities and you'll get the hang of it. Thank me later, and the devs.

This review is for "Death's Gambit: Afterlife" (that means with the "afterlife" upgrade). So maybe it's actually a 9 score game but I'm going to give it a 10. Just because, and because it's generally underappreciated. This game is made with a lot of love, really a lot of love. The launch wasn't perfect, but the devs have been making up for it. If you like rogue-likes, metroidvanias, side-scrollers, action-RPG's, souls-like games etc... this is the game you need to play right now. Really, this is the game you have to play right now. This is the game the press isn't talking about. This is the hidden gem you wanted to find and which you need to play. Do you like Hollow Knight? Do you like Dark Souls? Do you like Zelda? Play this game. Really, you won't be disappointed. The beginning is pretty slow, really slow. But you'll figure it all out, you'll get more abilities and you'll get the hang of it. Thank me later, and the devs.

Stunning game, how a 12 people studio created this level of world building I'll never know. Imagine Diablo 1 or 2 but set in an alien cyberpunk universe. Must play for anyone who enjoys top down action games and cyberpunk. One of the best and most impressive games released this year, full stop. On the negative the mini-map and navigation can be quite tricky, there are multiple levels and each level also has multiple level. Keeping track of where to go, and where side-missions are, can take some effort. But it works, sort of. Expect to do a lot of backtracking along familiar routes, at least the world is stunning to look at. It can also be quite annoying to constantly get attacked by low level thugs in some areas even though you're 10 levels above them, in the real world I imagine those thugs would know better. It just gets annoying after a while. Sometimes also the game path finding takes you through patches of higher-level enemies and you'll get slaughtered, then you'll have to find your own way around somehow. The difference between low and high-level is quite significant in this game and there can be difficulty spikes if you're under-level or specced or equipped your character badly. I can see how some less experienced gamers might paint themselves into a corner if they make a few bad choices or purchases. You'll need to think ahead and spend your credits wisely or you run the risk of being under-gunned, badly specced and out of cash. You can grind it back and fix most errors but even normal can turn our very challenging if you make a few bad choices and don't pay attention to weapon damage types etc. Experienced gamers should be fine mostly but some less experienced gamers might get frustrated. There could be some kind of repercussion for killing too many civilians, like kill five or more civilians inside of a minute and some kind of bounty hunter, or police or militia comes after you. Possibly the function could be toggled on or off, or you'd have to pay off the bounty hunter or something like that. So essentially it's not perfect, but what game is. It's still an absolutely stunning game and a must play if you like Action-RPG's and Cyperpunk. One of the highlights of the year.

Lovely little isometric puzzle-action-RPG. The combat could be deeper and more nuanced, the weapons could be more varied, the items you pick up could have more functions, the characters you meet could have more to say and more quests, the end-end game could offer more reward.. there are a few things which might be improved here. But as I understand it the game was mostly made by two guys and a bunch of freelancers, and for that size of a team what they've accomplished is quite impressive. The world is charming, the characters are original and the story is well made. People who like exploring, figuring out how things work, discovering secrets and uncovering a mystery should find this game quite rewarding. In short it's a beautiful and polished little game, and it is has a great score too. If you like games such as Bastion, Hades, Zelda etc I think you'll find this one well worth your time.

As it stands it's basically a kid's game, or maybe for young teenagers. So don't buy if you're expecting another game in the style of What Remains of Edith Finch, this isn't that. Quite a weird shift for the studio. There is some story in here but it's not a lot and it comes to slow, it's nothing like the studio's first game or your typical adventure game. And the mouse clicks, holy eff the mouse clicks, no one wants to start a game like that. The start of the game felt like I had just fired up a cheap online clicker game. But at least the graphics are done in a stylistically clean way, they had a vision and they stuck to it, so some props for that. But I'm afraid I just don't think it adds up to an especially good game, or an especially intriguing story. At least not for young adults and up. It's also pretty short, maybe 1.5h, so I'm not sure it's worth the full asking price of $15. There are other short games in the same price bracket I'd much rather play for the same money. Journey, Inside or Abzu come to mind as a start.

CD Projekt finally bit off more than they could chew. As a studio they have a long standing reputation for charging headlong into problems, verging on the brink of bankruptcy, throwing crunch and "can-do" attitude at it. And it has worked for them in the past; Witcher 2, Witcher 3 and Thronebreaker are highly regarded games. As are the Witcher 3 expansions. Even Witcher 1, despite its many bugs, shortcomings and clunky control issues at the time, is mostly remembered fondly these days. But the day finally came when Icarus flew too close to the sun, when throwing crunch and man-hours at a problem wasn't enough. With Cyberpunk 2077 the studio forged into a completely new territory for them; completely new visual style, new weapon mechanics, driving mechanics, hacking mechanics, completely different lore and universe etc. The smart thing do to would have been to make a smaller, tighter story-driven game in the cyberpunk universe. Something to dip their toes while figuring out shooting and driving mechanics and how really big modern cities work. But no, that apparently isn't the CD Projekt way. Their new game was to be the biggest and boldest interpretation of a modern future city ever conceived, intended to make Rockstar look like wannabe upstarts. But sadly it didn't work, whatever the failings of Cyberpunk 2077 are they aren't to be blamed on the developers but on the outright hubris exhibited by upper management. You can't make such a big studio turn on a dime and have them develop a type of game they've never developed before. Or maybe you can but it's an extremely high-risk play and in this case here the end product has suffered enormously, the reputation of CDPR has been forever tarnished and I'm sure there are hundreds of developers who wonder if it was really worth their time. CD Projekt needs a serious management overhaul, as a studio they've grown massively over the years but they've seriously underestimated the long-term planning and steadfast vision required to run such a studio. They managed to make Witcher 3 because it was a universe, setting and collection of tools they were familiar with. But when the time came to go in a new direction they grossly underestimated the difficulty of doing so, this is not a sign of good management or leadership. I would recommend to CD Projekt that their next game be a Witcher universe game with a smaller scope and tighter plot than Witcher 3, and make it perfect and bug free. Something to get back on their fans good side again, and patch Witcher 3 with better graphics and a few bug fixes and tweaks for free. Then in 6-7 years time revisit Cyberpunk again, and this time make the game you actually wanted to make because clearly you didn't manage it this time. The new Cyberpunk 2 team should start now.

You know that feeling you got when you watched Star Wars IV: A New Hope for the first time and they walked into that bar? That feeling of something new, unexplored and unexpected? Well, here's more or less and entire game which feels like that. I've been playing adventure and role-playing games for +20 years and this has to be one of the most original and unique games I've come across in a long, long time. If you're tired of the gaming industry churning out generic copies of the last title that sold +20 million, if you want to experience something truly unique, if you want something which feels like "taking the red pill", if you've been around for a while and miss the raw edge that some older games had.. then Beautiful Desolation is for you. It's a world brimming with originality, strife, passion and memorable characters and it's a journey you won't soon forget. It's not perfect though. The puzzles can be vague and hard to complete, if you manage to complete this game without a guide.. you're a better player than me. Some of the big solutions are also very binary it feels like, choose either this big thing here or that big thing over there. Many of the conflicts in the game lack a middle-ground or truly diplomatic or pacifist solution. Which can be frustrating since these are fairly big and world altering choices to make with relatively limited information. Perhaps our role in this universe as "kingmaker" is a little too strong, we might have too much say. And while the game isn't completely linear it's mostly linear. You'll have to complete objectives x and y to open up area z and so forth, speak to person x and y then speak to z etc. This is hidden decently well while playing but in hindsight it becomes clear that this isn't an open-world game with free and dynamic choices, so don't expect Fallout 2 for instance. Approach it like an adventure game rather than an open-world RPG and you'll be fine. The story is also very ambitious, and intriguing, maybe too ambitious and intriguing. Because when the time for the big finale comes they don't really know how to tie it all together. The game has massive amounts of lore, mystique and build-up but the ending seems a little tacked on and doesn't really fit the rest of the game if I'm honest. It's not that the ending was unexpected, it was hinted at and is logical. But it doesn't really explain or resolve the bigger questions, we're mostly just left hanging. Some positive and negative points: + Gorgeous graphics + Great music (Mick Gordon!) + For me very fitting and passionate voice acting + Very ambitious world-building and lore + Truly original story and fantastic characters + Classic RPG and adventure game feel - Binary choices, maybe too binary - Unresolved ending, more questions than answers - Pretty oblique puzzles spread out over a big world - Lack of questlog or in-world hint system, if you're stuck you're stuck I think as a pure puzzle adventure game this would probably be a 7, the puzzles are only so good and can be pretty unintuitive in places. And if was to give it a completely straight score, all things considered, this would probably be an 8. But I feel that just for sheer originality and creativity I have to give this a 9. It's not often these days you stumble across something which is so unique and has a flavor all of its own, and for that alone I think it's well worth your time. If you're a jaded gamer, bored with the majority of mindless mainstream games, then Beautiful Desolation might be the red pill you need.

For anyone who wants to understand gaming history I think this is a must play, and it's also a very nice stroll down memory lane for those who played the original. I'm however not a huge fan of the overall directing and editing of the new Xen part of the game. The original Xen was pretty short; get in, kill one boss, jump around a bit, explore a bit, kill the final boss. Maybe 1h everything included even if you stopped to look around. It was by no means perfect but it was short, intense, memorable and didn't overstay its welcome. The Xen remake is much, much longer. Probably 2/3 the length of the original game and it's almost like the crowbar collective stopped paying homage to HL1 and instead started beating themselves over the chest saying "look at us, look at what we can do, look at what we've learnt to design and code!". They cut pieces from the original segment "on a rail" because they were deemed too boring and long-winded, and honestly I have no real problem with that, but then they went and added a lot of extra fluff and made Xen at least 50% longer than it really needed to be. I also feel like they were trying to do things in Xen which the engine doesn't really support. The source engine was never very precise for jumping, so if you know that why continue adding a lot of jumping puzzles and conveyor belts where a single fall can insta-kill you? It's not fun and I don't think anyone has ever asked for more jumping and conveyor belts in Xen. The source engine is also not Id Tech 7, to put it mildly, so why add such hard boss fights, and boss mechanics, where you have to have millimeter levels of control, great reflexes and side-dash jump while shooting rockets to survive like in a Doom game? For me the original Half-Life was primarily a thriller-puzzler game. Half-Life has combat but that was never the focus, not really. With Xen it's almost like they said "let's add all these Quake and Doom inspired very intense fights and that will make it better!". Well, not really. Actually I think it detracts from the overall experience and takes Half-Life in a direction it was never meant to go. For me Xen started out great with beautiful views, and what felt like a very well done homage to the original game. But then it deteriorates into a pretty repetitive puzzler with interjections of combat which doesn't really work in a Half-Life game, both stylistically and mechanically. So overall Black Mesa and Xen is an impressive achievement, but I would have preferred a "less is more" approach. I can understand that when you're working as a group of fans it's not easy to leave your buddy's work on the cutting room floor, and maybe especially if he's spent a year or more of his spare time working on it. But as a pure gaming experience I think Xen could have been improved if another game director/editor had come in at the end and said "we're going to cut this, this, this and streamline this. And don't try to create Doom boss fights in the source engine you dimwits". As a nostalgia trip: 9 As a mod/remake: 9 As a modern game: 7 Fair overall score: 8 ‎-

For me a step back compared to Doom 2016. * Limited ammo, chainsaw gets boring and repetitive * Cutscene story interrupts * We're supposed to take the story seriously now, but it's trash * Story connects badly with Doom 2016 * Doom Slayer speaks in flashbacks, serious misstep imho * Soundtrack much less hard hitting, few memorable songs * Too many jumping puzzles * Atmosphere is somehow less intimidating than Doom 2016 and more cartoony * No pistol * Many weapons lack punch compared to Doom 2016 * Can't even melee some of the basic enemies to death, Doom Slayer feels weak * Some enemies are bullet sponges * Too much focus on playing "the right way" with tactical play and enemy weak points etc. * All guns in the game are revealed right away, no sense of discovery * UI is pretty bad and intrusive * Level design is overall worse Doom Eternal fundamentally misunderstands what made Doom 2016 so enjoyable for many; sometimes you just want to use the super shotgun, kill demons, feel powerful and listen to heavy metal. And Doom 2016 was also great because, while it did have good and interesting lore, it also laughed in the face of its own story. But with Doom Eternal we're suddenly supposed to care about the story. The setting and atmosphere is also much less intimidating, in Doom 2016 we saw the remains of a Titan and were told of the epic battle which ensued between the Doom Slayer and the Titan. This was a big deal and we wondered how the hell the Doom Slayer managed to defeat such a beast. In Doom Eternal everything is much less mysterious and intimidating, great beasts like the Titans are just casually walking around. For me about the only thing better with Doom Eternal, compared to Doom 2016, is the new graphics engine.

If the way you play Skyrim is wandering the countryside, doing various small tasks, hunting, camping, taking screenshots etc then Eastshade is more or less tailor-made for you. It's essentially a mini-version of Skyrim with a few small cities, beautiful vistas, interesting NPCs, quests, some mystery and exploration etc but no fighting. Instead you're a painter out to commemorate your mother's memory by painting her favorite spots around Eastshade, and along the way you'll meet and help the local people as well. Sounds boring? Well, it's not. At least not if you're of a slightly more mature disposition, rather it's a wonderful and relaxing game which proves that you can make a great open-world RPG which isn't combat oriented. I highly recommend Eastshade for people who like games along the lines of Skyrim, What Remains of Edith Finch, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Journey, ABZU etc. Adventure game lovers, and anyone who enjoys an interesting setting and story, should feel right at home. A very memorable and unique experience overall.

A solid sci-fi detective-mystery adventure game set in what must be coastal Norway after society collapsed from an over-reliance on AI. What I like about the setting is that although it's "post collapse" it's not just doom and gloom, small societies seem to be thriving and getting by just fine. The world seems very believable, with interesting characters, and it's not just a "mad max" or "fallout" setting. The story is pretty fast-paced, engaging, relatively original and with a few nice twists and turns along the way. The game also has some interesting game-play mechanics where you can pick different dialogue options along the lines of "assertive", "analytical" and "empathetic". And depending on your choices your character will then develop in different ways, and different problem solving options will open up. So it's actually a bit of an RPG and not just a point-and-click game. This is very similar to Unavowed which also has quite a few RPG elements in it. Which makes sense since the developers of Whispers of a Machine are the the same who also made Kathy Rain, which was published by Wadjet Eye Games. And I also believe Dave Gilbert of WEG was involved in the voice work for Whispers of a Machine. So although Whispers of a Machine is published by Raw Fury, a Swedish publisher, there is definitely some heavy inspiration here from games such as the Blackwell Series and Unavowed. Fans of Wadjet Eye Games should feel right at home I believe, at least I did. All in all I had a great time with Whispers of a Machine and it's definitely one of the best adventure games from 2019. For the developers it's a huge leap up in quality from Kathy Rain, but I would still like to see even higher resolution art for the in-world characters and a slightly more fleshed out universe. Some examples of things which could be improved: There is a school in the village, but I only saw two children and no class. There is a café which we are led to believe we can go to, but we never do. There is a scene in which bringing along the local police to arrest someone would have made a lot of sense, but instead we go at it solo and get ourselves and someone else into trouble. The motivations, and actions, of the main antagonist towards the end are highly dubious and unfocused, they feel like they are placed there just to oppose the player and create drama. Then you can also drink a max of one cup of coffee a day, this is highly unrealistic for the Nordic population and even more so for police officers.. So maybe the last 10-15% of world building and play-testing is missing. But like I said, this is a huge step up in quality from Kathy Rain and if they continue like this I'd wager their next game will be something spectacular. I'm also quite happy with the recent trend of the inclusion of light RPG elements in adventure games, I think this is quite genius and really adds to the genre. Especially when it comes to detective games such as this one. The score is a "very solid 8 but not quite a 9". If you like adventure games, and you're a fan of the Wadjet Eye style of games, you should definitely play it.

The pace is slow, maybe extremely slow, and the story is incoherent and jumps all over the place. Small problems become large... but some big tasks are completed in an instance and with no explanation. The game can't seem to decide if it wants to be a logical sci-fi game, or an esoteric dream sequence game with fuzzy logic. The player can be dumped in completely new locations, via instant fast travel, and our protagonist doesn't even seem to react or care. There is a good game in there somewhere; it has beautiful graphics, good animation, nice ambient music, occasional fun humor, colorful voice acting and not a bad plot premise overall. Sadly it just doesn't add up all that well in the end, it's too incoherent and just doesn't flow that well. This game should have gone through a few more iterations of storyboard drawings before being green-lit for production. And definitely more play-testing. One of the main characters also has a bit of a schizophrenic event towards the end. To have one of the main characters so completely shift personality, and without any foreshadowing, is pretty bad writing. I think for some adventure game fans this can be a score 7 type game, maybe even a strong 7. But you have to want to play a somewhat original and slow paced game and be prepared to not think too much and just "go with the flow". I would only recommend this game to hardcore adventure game fans who have already played most games on the market, and are looking for something unusual. I believe the game can be somewhat interesting and original to hardcore adventure game fans. But if you don't normally play that many adventure games there are probably 100 adventure games your time would be better spent on than this one.

Imagine if Super Mario Galaxy was played in first person, but we give him a gun, grappling hook and jump boots. Or imagine Metroid Prime but much less serious and we place it in the wacky world of No Man's Sky or Spore instead. Then add a bit of the tongue-in-cheek humor from Portal or Stanley Parable and you get pretty close to what it feels to play Journey To The Savage Planet. It's a bit of an unusual mix but it works, and more importantly it feels fresh, fun and fairly unique. Gameplay wise the movement is fast, fluid and smooth. The controls are good and responsive, although if you play with a keyboard I think they could have done a better job of combining keys with each other, there is for example no reason that the "crouch" and "slide" key need to be different. What also is quite fun is that towards the later half of the game they essentially give you powerful enough movement options to essentially "break" the early areas of the game which you previously struggled with. I think this is quite fun game design since it makes the player feel empowered and gives a nice sense of progression. In terms of graphics it's pretty much gorgeous, the colorful cartoony style suits the game and it runs great. On a medium to powerful rig I think most people should be able to achieve close to 100fps or more. There are also some gorgeous vistas in this game with old ruins, floating islands, waterfalls, underground lava caverns etc. For me the world felt very much like Super Mario Galaxy with the graphics turned up 11, which I can only see as a good thing. The story has a fairly standard sci-fi exploration arc, but it's well done and narrated with plenty of humor. You might guess what's coming but you still want to see what's around the corner and how it plays out. There are however two things which might detract a bit from the game and they are as follows: 1) The tone of the game is fairly inconsistent early to late game, perhaps a bit more than what can be chalked down to normal progression. The beginning of the game is so easy you might initially think this is a pure exploration game, then comes the mid-game and you now have a decent mix of exploration, platforming and combat. But then comes the late game and it's now a pretty advanced platformer with quite a lot of combat and mini-bosses. It's a interesting progression but perhaps the game is also trying to be too many things at once. If someone wants to explore they would probably prefer a pure exploration game, maybe with light combat. If someone wants to kill aliens they would probably prefer a game that focuses more on that. And while the platforming is well done they might have overdone it a tad. Personally I would have preferred more unique exploration and puzzles in the late game with less enemies and combat. 2) The late game gets a bit repetitive. I think what's really missing from this game for me is a more Zelda like feel in the later half of the game. The game starts out extremely strong and the first time you see the world it feels very unique and interesting, it's a lot of fun to figure out how this world works and what the rules are. But in the later half of the game you've learned all the rules and the game now starts to feel a bit stale. There's quite a few things to collect but even those challenges start to feel pretty repetitive after a while, a bit like filler content. In the first half of the game the world felt very wild and like anything can happen, but in the later half of the game there are few surprises and you as the player feel a bit too safe and familiar. So if I was to change anything about this game I would tone down the combat and platforming in the later half of the game and focus more on exploration and story, give it some Zelda like dungeons and mystery. But as it stands this is still a fun and fairly unique game on the market, and it should work well for different age groups too. Here's to hoping we get more interesting and original games from Typhoon Studios in the future.

A beautiful, original and nearly perfect metroidvania type game, if you like these types of games you can stop reading now. You're going to like this game, probably a lot. If there are any criticisms to be made I will say that: 1) The game is a little bit of a slow starter and it wasn't until maybe 3h in that the game really clicked for me. You don't have many abilities in the beginning and at first I didn't realize how big the game was going to be, or how advanced the combat and movement would become. 2) The difficulty is quite high in places and there is no "easy mode". This is by no means a casual game but one which will force you to learn enemy attack patterns, unlock all movement options and get all the upgrades you can find. I think a difficulty selector would have made the game accessible to more people. 3) I would have welcomed the possibility to equip more "charms", maybe 15 notches or so would have been nice. It would have made the playstyle a bit more flexible so you're not locked into "either a sword or magic or health focus" type build. It would also have gone some ways towards alleviating the difficulty concerns for a lot of people. 4) Late game traversing the game world can be a bit of a chore since fast travel is quite limited. I think they're rolling out some kind of feature to fix that now but when I was playing this wasn't available. I will also say that a game controller is highly recommended, I used an xbox controller and that worked great. And if you also have a 100hz monitor or more that's even better, this game is quite fast and has tight timings so a slow TV might not be the best option.

This game is like vanilla ice cream, it's good enough and does little wrong. But it's also a bit boring, predictable and formulaic. The combat looks impressive in demo videos but it's actually pretty mindless and not very deep. Not only do you have limited amount of control over the lightsaber combat but there's a very limited set of force powers on display too. If you came here expecting something like the fluid and dynamic combat in Jedi Academy chances are you'll be disappointed. Similarly if you were expecting a well written RPG with twists and turns like KOTOR 1 or 2 you'll likely find the game severely lacking here too. There really aren't that many RPG elements, or important choices, at all really. The game plays very linearly and with very limited room to really express your own take on the character and story. Honestly, the last Tomb Raider game had better character customization and more important choices. So what we're left with is a pretty linear and mindless hack n slash game with a very minimal set of RPG elements and with a pretty formulaic story. The only people who should be impressed by a game like this are those who are so young and impressionable that they yet haven't gotten around to trying Ben & Jerry's. I will also say that I'm not a fan of the healing system, if you're going to make this kind of mindless middle-of-the-road-take-no-chances kind of game just give it automatic health regen and be done with it. You're not going to make it into Witcher 3 or Dark Souls by having an awkward healing system. Lastly i will say the average user score for this game is suspiciously high, I suspect EA has been in here meddling.

Disco Elysium is probably the most ambitious deep dive into the human psyche, and the human condition, that I've ever witnessed in a videogame. It's a real writing tour de force and undoubtedly a game which will be remembered and talked about for years and years to come. If you like games with hard hitting writing such as Pillars of Eternity, The Talos Principle, Planescape: Torment or Fallout 1 and 2 this game should definitely appeal to you. I will also give big props to the art, artstyle and music which are an easy 10/10 in my book. Pretty original and creative stuff and in combination with the writing it really helps elevate the game and give it a unique feel. I will however leave out the perfect 10/10 for a couple of things: * The Dice Roll Skill Check really messes up your playthrough sometimes, if you're a bit of competitionist (like me) completing the game without save scumming at a couple of encounters is nearly unavoidable. The alternative, if you don't want to save scum even a little bit, is to probably have to do 3-5 playthroughs to see everything. And some people probably like that but I just don't have time for it. I understand why the skill checks are there but it wasn't a mechanic I was overly fond of since they sometimes broke the immersion a bit. * The conclusion of the game ended up going in a tangent pretty unrelated to what came before, maybe they were pressed for time toward the end but in my mind this isn't overly good writing. Maybe real life is like this but fiction typically flows better when what comes next is more strongly connected to what came before. It's maybe not quite deus ex machina stuff but it's close. That's about all I can say without getting too spoilery. * The final conclusion of the game could have given more closure. Some cutscenes for our choices would have made for a fitting end to our journey. You could also have listed our achievements with some pictures (hobocop, superstar cop, recovering alcoholic etc). Maybe they were pressed for time but if there is a special edition they should definitely do this. * The game is a smorgasbord of philosophical and psychological ideas, if there is one area it stumbles a bit it might however be in the leftist vs ultra-liberal debate which isn't very nuanced. You're quite often asked to take a stand on socioeconomic ideas and the choices often boil down to 1) I'm a dyed in the wool proletarian 2) Ultra-liberalism shall concur all 3) I don't like to take such strong stances so therefore I must be a moralist.... Now, if they had left this part of the discussion out I'm not sure that many of us would have been the wiser. But since it's in there I think many of us would have appreciated a more nuanced debate. Don't let that perturb you though, as I said this game is in my mind already a very memorable masterpiece and an instant classic. If you like old school RPG's, text driven games, adventure games, philosophical games, noir games etc then Disco Elysium should be at the very top of your short list.

A very irritating game for experienced gamers who can see behind the beautiful graphics and setting. But let's cross off the strong points first: * Very nice graphics and movement, I suspect photogrammetry was involved * For me good voice acting, although I've seen that some others like it less * Good soundtrack which gives the game a nice ambience * Great choice of setting and time-period with lots of potential However if you look behind the appealing surface you'll find: * A pretty clichéd and predictable plot * One dimensional bad guys who are bad because they are bad * A ruined accurate medieval setting with the introduction of magic (black death not scary enough for you??) * Corridor like world-building which feels very handholdy * Stealth mechanics with pretty bad AI and which rely a lot on trial and error to get through * Difficultly curve a bit all over the place * Unrealistic encounters (scrawny girl with a sling defeat medieval guys in full armor, sure why not) * Rushed and repetitive gameplay, rather than exploring the beautiful surroundings, and getting a history lesson, we mostly find ourselves running through it while being chased or hiding from something This might also be a personal thing but I didn't find watching over my little brother especially fun, it's much more of a chore where he's constantly trying to get us killed in one way or another. Am I supposed to have some kind of emotional connection to him that makes up for it? Maybe, but he's kind of dumped in our (the players) lap at the beginning and is mostly a hindrance from a game-play perspective. Compare that to A Tale of Two Sons where you actually felt joy when working together and figuring things out as a team, this game is not that. As it is now I think it would have been much better if our brother had been kidnapped and we have to go on a mission throughout the game to rescue him or something like that. Also cliché perhaps but for me it would have been better than what we have now. So it's all a bit of a mess really and the tone of the game is pretty inconsistent. They picked a great setting and time-period if you ask me, there's black death and English knights coming into France. If you can't make a story out of that setting you have problems. But apparently that wasn't enough for them so they felt they needed to ruin an accurate medieval setting an introduce magic, shame. Then instead of enjoying what's left of the setting (or make some kind of magic mystery out it) we're mostly being chased through it, and we have to constantly look after our kid brother which is more of chore than anything. So essentially it's a pretty repetitive, and not very smart, corridor stealth game in which we're being chased by one-dimensional bad guys. We also don't learn anything much about the cool medieval setting and we also have to baby-sit our sick little brother who isn't exactly cooperative most of the time. Does that sound like fun to you? Then go ahead I suppose, for me it felt more like work than fun. If they make a second one I suggest dropping the babysitting chores, then slow the game down and take some time to actually explore the setting and history. And maybe at least try to give the bad guys some motivation for being bad... how hard can it be?

The real main character of this game is the dialogue system which is quite interesting; there's a time limit to most responses, staying silent is nearly always a viable (often good) option and your responses can also interrupt people. It makes it practically impossible to always say the right thing at the right time, and if you do say something you don't know what you might have missed out on in a different dialogue tree. This dialogue system is bound to leave a lot of perfectionists and completionists extremely frustrated, but on the other hand it makes it one of the most realistic dialogue system I've encountered in a game. In the real world you can't always come up with the right answer on the spot, not everything requires an answer and some things are better left unsaid. If you go in with the mindset that you're going to beat the game and "100% it" you may have a not so enjoyable time of it. For the best experience it's probably best to go with the flow and pretend that you're a semi-confused teenager who stepped into an episode of the x-files. I think the game works better if you don't try to make too much sense of it all, don't try to solve every last riddle, don't try to be friends with everyone and definitely don't act like you're the main protagonist or the focal point of the story. Other than that the graphics, audio and animations are nice but while the story is decent enough to keep us interested I think perhaps more could have been done with the overall mystery towards the end of the game. I felt like more connections could have been formed between different locations which would have tied the mystery plot somewhat tighter. As it is everything is left on a sort of vague note, this thing is here and that thing is there but it doesn't really fit together too well as a whole. Random things happen at random locations because the story needs a "magic time event" to occur. I tend to favor stories that present a solid mystery but also present solid explanations towards the end and if you're looking for definitive answers this might not be the game for you. I feel like many game designers these days wrap everything in 3 layers of mystery and when it's time to untie the knot they don't really know how so they give a deus ex machina pseudo science explanation mixed with a bit of emotion and exit left like they've got it all figured out. And, sure.. vagueness is great for mystery but it doesn't tend to give the player much in the way of low or high notes and sometimes it can be good to get a feeling of closure and progress too. Like, is this thing happening now real, should I care about this, is this actually sad or are you just pulling my leg again? Is someone actually dying this time or is this another mock execution? Vagueness is interesting but I'd like to offer the counterargument that sometimes brilliant stories are brilliantly explained and then the plot twists are razor sharp. For a universe to be believable it's important for that universe to establish clear boundaries, too much vagueness and metaphysics and everything ends up in a big quantum tangle of being a story both told and not told. In a universe where everything is vague nothing really matters and there is no point in caring about anything or anyone. Maybe it was all just a reflection of a dream of a past life in a parallel universe lost between space and none of us are really here and yada yada. Overall it's probably an 8 score adventure game but I'm going to give it a 9 just for the originality and execution of the dialogue system which is innovative and works well.

It's a lot of fun to play in the open world and the gameplay mechanics are fantastic, but the story kidnaps you and railroads you into a very strange narrative which doesn't really fit all that well with the rest of the gameplay experience. The open-world experience is quite "happy-go-lucky" and a lot like Just Cause in tone. But then you're kidnapped at several points in the story and railroaded into these serious doom and gloom religious monologues. It's just jarring, tedious, unbelievable and takes control away from the player. And the ending ****, it completely disregards any choice you've made before the ending and makes the rest of the game more or less irrelevant. And it's not exactly a good ending either. In fact, I disliked the ending so much I didn't even want to continue playing the game afterwards. Out of the 4 main antagonists the one I liked the most was faith, and her corner of the world was also the one I enjoyed the most. The dreams sequences with her, and also how the world became a hallucination, was quite fun so there was some potential here. But overall the story is a big, big let down, Far Cry 3 and Vaas is still the best Far Cry villain and story arc.

XCOM 2 is an amazing game which one year after release still feels like it never left the beta development phase, and as much as I had a blast playing it it's also really hard to recommend. There are so many parts of this game I love; the new flying base is awesome, the story has a kind of x-files vibe to it, upgrading and customizing my soldiers is kick-ass. And when you get your squad of trained marines into position and make a brilliant tactical move, or decimate the enemy using "overwatch" or "killzone"... man this game can be a blast. Pure tactical turn based bliss. So it's painful then that still one year after release this game never really comes across as "finished". Despite having the latest patch and DLC I experienced so many bugs and issues it's almost comical. I shot enemies through walls, got shot at through wall, enemies would grab me though wall, the keyboard controls stopped working, the game froze on loading screens, the mission timer is stupid and breaks the flow of the game (I modded it out), there are difficultly balancing issues early to late game, some enemies are just cheap rather than clever (hello archon king), the fps is doing roller coaster rides with anything between 20-80 fps. The list goes on. If you're already an XCOM fan by all means pick up XCOM2; you're going to have a few issues, but you're also most likley going to have a lot of fun. However - if you're new to the series go and play "XCOM Enemy Unkown" instead, and then you can play the "Long War" mod for that. It's not as good looking but it's a much more polished and less frustrating experience, and at the moment it's the better turn based game. And it's also cheaper. Currently XCOM2 is not worth its full asking price, unless they fix all the bugs and gameplay issues this isn't worth more than $20 or so. In no way is it worth the full sticker price with all the issues I had and saw. I have to wonder what the heck Firaxis is up to, it's been over a year since release and still the game is full sticker price and shock full with bugs. I'm a big fan of the series and would love to see XCOM3, but they have to step up their QC-QA and play testing. XCOM2 could have been a "Solid 9" score type game if it had spent maybe 6 months more in QC-QA and play testing.

Holy Crap. I did not see this one coming. Let's see here: * Faster than DOOM 2016 (this is one FAST game) * Great optimization, after some tweaking I got 140-160fps with a 980Ti * Great controls and options menu, you can set it up just the way you want it * Tons of weapons, upgrades and things to collect and read * You can play it either as a shooter or as a melee game, or mix and match. Great fun * Semi open world with several mini-maps you can travel to. Great level design * RPG elements with different ways to customize your character * Wise-cracking humor which doesn't take itself seriously, at all. Actually refreshing * Feels like what Duke Nukem Forever should have been * No DRM. I repeat: NO DRM It feels like they took the best parts from DOOM, Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior and Border Lands and put it all in a big blender, the game is just a blast to play. Be sure to buy the game from either steam or gog and support the developers, they deserve it. Please note: This game is FAST. You can play it at 60Hz but for the best experience I would recommend a +100Hz monitor and suitable GPU. One caveat which could be improved in Shadow Warrior 3: Towards the end of the game some of the levels are too open and aimless and I don't see why I have to kill 200 bad guys when I just want to go and chat with my floating-robo-head-demon-friend. So in such cases I just snuck past the bad guys with the (somewhat overpowered) stealth skill, but then it feels like I'm playing the game wrong. So basically the writing and player motivation in some of the side-missions needs to be much tighter. I think they took the open-world thing too far, it's too open and too generic for the content that's in it. So for Shadow Warrior 3 they should either fill the open world with more things (NPC's, vendors, towns, secrets) or just scale it back a bit towards Shadow Warrior 1. The limitations of the current open world content became pretty apparent in the later half of the game.

A work of art; and it does exactly what all works of art should do, it makes you think. Without a single line of text to be found this side scrolling platformer still hides a surprisingly deep message for those who can find it. Unfortunately I fear the symbolism will pass many by, despite what this looks like it's not a casual game. My advice: don't take it at face value, the gameplay is fantastic but it can be much more than just a smooth playing platformer if you let it. Play it alone from start to finish in a dark room.

Probably the single greatest expansion created in the history of gaming. The amount of content is such that many other developers would not hesitate to sell it as a complete game. The quality of the content is such that only the best games from other developers can match it. I dare say this expansion alone rivals the likes of KOTOR, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Such is the quality of the story telling, graphics and overall game design. I would love to see another Witcher 3 expansion, maybe in a 1-2 years or so. But even if doesn't happen all hail CDPR, may you never sell out. Can't wait to see how Cyberpunk turns out.

I'm going to say this: This game has the best fighting mechanics since Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Third Strike. I'm a long-time Street Fighter fan all the way back since the original Street Fighter 2 so I should know. The rest of the game? Short on content and with story bits cheesier than cheese dipped cheese doodles. Also can't remap keyboard controls to anything sensible, what's up with that? Verdict: Give it time. This game will shine in ranked play once they fix all the ****. The development team worked very closely with the professional players and it shows, they must have spent 90% of the development time getting the core mechanics right. It might have been somewhat at the expense of other features, but then again the core of the game is fantastic and that's what will counts in the long run. Real 2d fighting fans will come to love this game, casual players might want to hold off a couple of months.

This is a very suggestive and mature game in the style of a "visual novel", much like Ethan Carter or Gone Home also are. You'll spend 90% of your time either exploring the wilderness or talking to your fellow fire-watchman, a woman by the name of Delilah, over the radio. So it's good then that these two parts of the game really are excellent, there is real chemistry in the radio banter between you and D. and the exploration is also fantastically done. I really applaud them for going with a handheld map and compass rather than just an automatic mini-map, it really makes the game that much more immersive and realistic. I also think that the graphics and audio design was very well done for such a small studio, there is a lot of love put in here. However - the problem I have with this game (and why the score stays at a seven) is that the game pretends like there's choice and consequence, but there really isn't. No matter what choices you make basically everyone who play this game is going to have the same emotional roller-coaster and the same ending. And while I understand that branching story lines and alternate endings take time and money to create it's especially painful this time around since I think this game could have been a real masterpiece, had we been allowed to explore some different endings depending on our choices. The net effect is that rather than feeling like we've been given something decent, the feeling I have is that I've been robbed of greatness. Video games are a unique medium in that they have the possibility to allow for choice and consequence, and to not take advantage of that in this case almost feels like a cardinal sin. There is so much that could have been done here in terms of keeping quiet on the radio, or not saying certain things on the radio, or delaying saying certain things to a certain someone, or not falling for someone's obvious trap. But nothing of that ever happens or pays off, this game is a "corridor-adventure-game" for a lack of a better term. You might initially think that there is choice and consequence, but this game is sadly a lot dumber than it initially makes itself out to be. I will also say that while I personally liked the current ending I think it may be a little too realistic, mature and underwhelming for mass-market tastes. Had the current ending been one of say three possible endings it would have been stellar, but since it's the only ending I think many will find it underwhelming. I debated long and hard whether I should give this game a 7 or an 8. In the end I decided that I can't reward coming this close to greatness and then falling short of the mark. This could have been a 9, or maybe even a 10, score game with the right branching story treatment but it simply falls short, and that is indeed painful

You may think that this is a puzzle game but I'd beg to differ, in my mind this game is no more about solving puzzles than living is about breathing. This is a deeply philosophical game which takes a good long hard look at what makes a human being, or a person, and what life entails. Yes - you could play this game as a pure puzzle game and not take any note of the many texts, voice logs and metaplot happening all around you, but that would in my mind be a huge mistake. Rarely have I been this moved by a video game, if you want to talk about video games as art then talk about the The Talos Principle. This is a game which every human, or other intelligent lifeform for that matter, should play and think about. Quite simply - this is a masterpiece **** and I'm in awe of the development team for having created it. If you like philosophy and video games then The Talos Principle is a game you simply cannot overlook.

A gorgeous puzzle game in need **** story and background music. This game is going to appeal to a very specific type of player, it's a game for puzzle lovers who have no problem finding their own motivation or incentive to move through the game world. So if puzzles alone are enough motivation for you to keep playing and solving them by all means give it a try. But the puzzles themselves are not perfect either though since they feel very disconnected to the game world. If you compare to Myst or Riven there were very different types of puzzles in those games which you had to solve in varying ways. But here in The Witness it's all different variations of the same "on the screen line puzzle", it honestly gets pretty repetitive after a while. I'm sure some puzzle lovers will like this game, but I keep wondering how much better the game had been had there been a story in there for us as well. And background music, a little background music would have gone a long way. Overall this game feels half baked, gorgeous graphics, some nice and clever puzzles... but where is the story, the connection between the puzzles and the game world, the puzzle variation and music? What The Witness does it does really well, but overall it just feels lacking and shy of modern standards. Overall I think The Talos Principle is a much better puzzle game with an inspiring mix of puzzles AND story.

It's an action-rpg. Spelled A-C-T-I-O-N-rpg. It's not a bad game, it may even be a great game. Just be aware of what you're buying and that it may not be for you. If you want a deep main story that makes sense you will not find that here. If you want meaningful interaction with other NPCs you will not find that here. If you want dialogue choices that leave you awake at night pondering their consequences you will not find that here. If on the other hand you have no problems playing a mute main character and want nothing more than to bash giant monsters over the head this might be your game. Because there are a lot giant ancient monsters and there certainly is a lot of bashing. This game is a little bit like the strange love-child of Diablo 3 and Dark Souls, and if that sounds like your thing then by all means go ahead. But if on the other hand you want a story driven RPG with lots of dialogue and character interaction this isn't the game for you.

I'm sorry but this doesn't feel like a finished game, it feels more like a beta version and shouldn't have been released in its current state. There are bugs galore, no FOV slider, mouse interface is horrible with a laggy feeling to it, I can't remap keys, it runs like crap and there is no SLI support. Also - what I saw of the story and interface feels incredibly dumbed down, it doesn't feel like a game made for RPG enthusiasts. I'm going to have to refund this, it's simply not worth the money. I could make a longer review, but this short review better reflects the amount of effort that Bethesda put into making Fallout 4. Back to The Witcher 3 it is.

As a long term Street Fighter fan I have to say that this is a very childish and shallow game. SF2 is a pretty simple game by today's standard, but it was state of the art at the time and had a cool and tense martial arts feel to it. SF3A and SF3 Third Strike were more "cartoony", but both those games had incredibly deep fighting mechanics which you could spend years honing, exploring and perfecting. In comparison to these previous games USF4 is a shallow game with nerfed chains, slow animations, cheap grappling moves, stupid "revenge" mechanics and very badly balanced characters. In Street Fighter Alpha 3 each character had 2-3 super moves, and each super move had 3 different power levels which you charged up as the fight went on. This led to an incredibly deep experience with lots of room for tactical play. Now in SF4 each character only has one super available at any one time and you charge it by getting hit, that's right.. you earn the ability to unleash this single special move by playing badly and getting hit. It leads to a very stupid experience which doesn't reward skilled players. I recommend playing Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Virtual Fighter 5 instead.

Bad and broken port at atrocious price and with dlc and all. Everything that is wrong with developers and publishers today. Do not buy for any reason.

Witcher 3.... the bar has now been set. This is what passionate enthusiasts can create when left alone and given enough time and resources. The Witcher 3 is a masterpiece and it is going to be a very tough act to follow, I believe it will be a very long time before we see a game like this again. This is a truly deep and mature RPG, brutally hard on the two highest difficulty settings and requiring much, much more from the player than simple button mashing. This is a deep, complex, intelligent and mature RPG for a mature audience. The story goes to great lengths to avoid clichés, and even pokes fun at them at times. For someone like myself, who has more than 15 years of RPG experience, it is a real treat to be able to take part in this world. I don't give out perfect 10/10 easily but here is a game that truly deserves it, CD Projekt RED has gone above and beyond to realize their vision. There are few **** here and there, small things that could be improved perhaps. But knowing CD Projekt RED they will continue to polish this masterpiece a few more times before they finally call it done. If you like RPG's buying the Witcher 3 is a no brainer, it is a game you simply have to play. And when you do be sure to savour it and take your time. This is one of the finest RPG's of our generation

Little bit disappointed with how career mode works, the lack of regular cars and also the lack of upgrades and customisation. I wanted and was expecting something along the lines of Gran Turismo for the PC but with better graphics and more crips handling. But it's not that kind of game. You can jump straight into any car you want and if you want to start racing in Formula 1 you can do that... all races, championships and cars are unlocked.... and like I said there are no upgrades (but lots of settings of course). The game also focuses quite heavily on racing cars, there are very few to no normal cars. It's pretty much all racing specials and historic racing cars. I don't know... the whole experience feels kind of cheap to be honest... I took the McLaren P1 for a spin and then it's like... now what do I do? I already have the best "real world car" in the game, I can't customize it and I'm not really that into racing lap after lap just for the sake of racing. Some people (simulator fans) may like this game, the graphics and gameplay are very good. But for me as a car enthusiast coming from Gran Turismo it's just not what I was expecting. I was hoping this would be like Gran Turismo for the PC but it's not that kind of game. I really wanted to start from the bottom and work my way up and build and customize my garage along the way but the game isn't designed for that. Maybe in the future they can build the game that I was hoping this would be.

An unforgettable classic updated for the 21st millennium. Don't try to hide, no excuses, if you like adventure games and you haven't played Grim Fandango no need to think twice - just pick it up right away! Double Fine Productions has approached this classic as you would a masterpiece, that is economically and with great respect, and I think it was the right choice. The already excellent voice acting is unchanged, there is no "modern" wide-screen mode but the original textures have been repainted with higher resolution and the original musical score has been re-recorded as faithfully as possible. The control scheme has also been updated and mouse control is now added, something the original game probably should have had from the start. But what makes this game so special is the quirky and effortless writing and mood, there really are very few games like it. The way it stands apart from other games makes me think of Psychonauts and BioShock. Every now and then a game comes along that sets its own tone and just does it's own thing, regardless of the rest of the industry at the time. And Grim Fandango is certainly such a game, it's a wonderfully bizarre adventure that you won't soon forget. On the list of AAA+ adventure games that everyone must play this is certainly near the very top.

I cannot believe people are downvoting this, this is an absolutely amazing game. For me this is game of the year together with Divinity: Original Sin! FOV adjustment was added in the day zero patch, as well as SLI support. The game runs absolutely great on my rig. Granted... I've heard that if you PIRATED the game you may have all kinds of problems with shadows and crashes and what not, serves you right. Sure they have carried over a lot of the "framework" from Far Cry 3, but there was *A LOT* of love put into the story, character creation, environment etc etc. There is a lot to do and see here and it's a REALLY fun game to play. So do yourself a favor, don't believe the naysayers. Buy the game from origins, play 5-10h and see for yourself. Trust me, I'm an old-school gamer and this is a great game! I would typically have given this a 9/10 but now I have to make it 10/10 just because of all the idiots giving it 0/10.

If you liked "Gone Home" or "Dear Esther" this game is an absolute must play for you. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a supernatural detective story and by exploring the world and figuring out the chronology of events you are then able to solve ridles in the game world. But not all is what it perhaps first seems to be.... is there really evil afoot? Where did it come from? And who are you anyway? The story progression is great and mixes both subtile clues with more up front events. It also helps that the scenery is drop-dead gorgeous, I have Skyrim with about 100 mods installed and this looks better! That is no small feat! I wonder if I've ever played a more beutiful game? Probaby not. For such a small developer it is very impressive indeed. The only thing that was perhaps a bit cumbersome was the save system, the progress is only saved upon the completion of certain detective cases. So if you've half-solved one case and then fully solved another and exit the game the half-solved one will be reset to zero progress. This can certainly be a bit frustrating and it's not very clear when the game has saved your progress or not. I solved this by simply not closing the game and alt+tab-ing out of the game to take breaks instead. This method worked great since the game is very alt+tab friendly. I also experienced a bit of micro-stuttering in the game, despite having a very powerful rig. I think it has to do with texture loading and might be something that could have been fixed before launch. Overall though these are minor **** I have to say. Experiences like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter don't come along very often and I highly recommend it!

Old-school shooter with modern production values. It really is a 9-10 star game but they should have held off launching it for another 1-2 months that's all. I had to download some nvidia beta drivers from england to get SLI working, and even then I had to force the settings to turn it on. I also disabled v-sync to get it snappier like a real FPS should be, by default it was turned on. So what's we're seeing now is bunch of spoiled whiners who can't figure these things out and gives the game a 2-4 rating... probably didn't even buy the game. But it really is a triple A game. Best shooter I've played in years! Wolfenstein is back!

A big capital M *Meh*. Sure it's an indie game so it has a small budget, but can't you at least give it some voice over? The Stanley Parable showed us just how good voice over can be in a low budget game. Sure it's dark an gloomy.... so what, what game isn't these days? Don't just make your game dark and gloomy and expect it to be an instant success.... that's just insulting. So we explore some settings, we discover some new locations with our truck.... Oh Whoopie Doo.... I honestly don't see what's so special about this game and why people like it so much. The Stanley Parable or The Swapper are infinitely more deserving of our praise.

Having played and enjoyed Arkham Asylum for its mood and great character presentation I felt that Arkham City was an unfocused let down in comparison. And unfortunately I have to say the same thing about Arkham Origins. The concept no longer fresh or expanded upon, they're still doing the exact same things that was done in Arkham Asylum. But this team lacks the intricate understanding of the characters, and how to create atmosphere that made AA so great. It is a harsh verdict but I can't bring myself to see this as anything but a "casual cash-in". Go and replay Arkham Asylum instead, by far the best game in the series.