As someone who loved Alienation (even got the platinum trophy), I was excited to see what Housemarque would do next. Sadly, Returnal is a massive letdown. Sure, the graphics and sound are decent, the controls are tight, and the combat starts off feeling like a full 3D Alienation. But that initial excitement vanishes quickly. The roguelike design kills the fun. After every death, you're back at the start with a basic pistol, running through the same levels, fighting the same enemies. Six hours in, and I was still doing the exact same thing. There's almost no real progression, no variety, just repetition. It feels like a never-ending flu dream—confusing, exhausting, and ultimately boring. There’s barely anyone playing online, and no cross-play between PC and PS5. It all feels empty, and soulless like a single demo level. I really wish they made Alienation 2 instead. This isn’t it.
As someone who loved Dead Space, I had high hopes for The Callisto Protocol. Sadly, this game is a poorly made mess that I couldn’t even bring myself to finish. Despite the hype and familiar sci-fi horror atmosphere, it lacks everything that made its spiritual predecessor compelling. The controls are numb and unresponsive, making the character feel clumsy, slow, and honestly, drunk. Navigating the environment is a chore, and the constant sluggishness kills any sense of immersion or urgency. The combat is mostly hand-to-hand, which might sound intense but quickly becomes repetitive and frustrating. There's no variety, no tactical depth, just endless dodging and melee that gets old fast. The story is a cliché-ridden slog with no interesting twists or originality. The characters are so poorly developed and emotionally disconnected that they might as well be cardboard cutouts. I never felt invested in anyone’s fate – not even the protagonist's – because they all seem detached from their own experiences. Gameplay boils down to walking down tight, dark corridors, grabbing the occasional loot, and enduring a rinse-repeat cycle of shallow monster encounters. The level design feels lazy, the pacing is dull, and the atmosphere—while trying to be oppressive—just ends up being monotonous and uninspired. Even the audio-visual experience, which could have redeemed some of this, falls flat. The graphics are generic, the music forgettable, and nothing about the game's presentation stands out. No innovation. No variety. No compelling story. No characters to care about. Just mindless, boring drivel. The Callisto Protocol is an absolute waste of time. If you're hoping for another Dead Space, do yourself a favor and skip this entirely.
Sub-Nautica Below Zero is a solid sequel for the original subnautica game. The graphics and gameplay are essentially the same, but there is a new large location to explore and a new story. The story itself makes no sense, but it helps to guide player to the new locations. There are minor improvements to crafting, new flora/fauna, expanded land exploration and new vehicles to control. The game is just as good as original subnautica (if no point are taken out for the silly story). I wish they would introduce new gameplay features and give players a reason to stay on the planet longer. After all upgrades are crafted and all locations explored – there is not much to do in the game. There is no multiplayer. Below Zero feels like DLC or mod rather than a new game. But it is still worth playing, especially for people who enjoyed original game.
I really wanted to like this game. It looks gorgeous, and sounds incredible (much better than original). There is a strong female character which is a positive for me, since I prefer to play as female if game offers the choice. However the game is heavily scripted and feels one-dimensional. Characters voices are decent but dialog is written by 10y olds and therefore devoid of any charm or drama. There is very little meaningful character development, and story is dull. There is too much focus on scavenging and entering pin codes which needs to be obtained by reading the notes. The first game was essentially a survival combat, but second is all about meaningless scavenging for supplies. I wonder if some people complained about too much violence in the first game so they replaced it with scripted dialog and item pickups. The whole game is about walking along heavily decorated 1D corridor, picking up notes and ammo with occasional shooting and simple platforming. The game map is basically a 1D corridor. Everything is fully scripted, there is almost no need to touch a controller (unless the game needs you to enter to pin code) - it is like watching a movie. The game has more pin code doors and lock boxes than actual enemies. Part 1 was incredible, but part 2 feels like a big let down. I am very disappointed, it could have been so much better. I played all uncharted games (and last of us part 1)- this is the worst game this developer produced. They wasted time of their games developers and players. It could have been so much better.
This is a true masterpiece. The story is great, the characters are interesting and well written. Visuals and sound looks decent even in 2021. Voice acting is incredible. The game is very polished and thoroughly tested. I did not experience any bugs, crushes or any issues whatsoever. The game is somewhat similar to the uncharted games, but has much more violent and darker atmosphere. It is one of the best games I ever played. The combat mechanics is very slow and stealth based - this might not be for everyone (not a doom style zombie shooter).
It is not a bad game, but feels rushed and unfinished. The flight and fight mechanics are simple and easy to learn. Space to planet transitions are well done. Fights are addictive. There are some fights in space, but most of the fighting takes place on the surface. There are seven planets (and one moon) and all are memorably different. There is not a lot of boring grind and pointless mining for resources. But the game true potential is ruined by corporate greed. Campaign is too short, economy and planet management aspect is reduced to occasional fights with legion and outlaws. After campaign ends (which is really just an extended tutorial for the game), there is absolutely nothing to do besides defeating regularly spawned primes. There is split screen multiplayer, but no playing over the network. The graphics looks dated by PS4 standards (looks the same on PS4 Pro).
The game has a very deep and engaging combat mechanics which is very stratifying to master. However graphics looks dated, the loading is painfully slow and there is very limited progression system. The story mode is just a disgrace - basically you flip thru few powerpoint slides before the fight. They need to improve interface and make single player progression and stats better. I need to know what characters I already mastered, how many fights this character won/lost, best times, etc. Multiplier interface is even worse - no wonder almost no one is playing this game online. Bottom line is that great game mechanics ruined by horrible interface, slow loading and poor graphics
The game is a blast. It is like Diablo on steroids with aliens. Graphics and sound are amazing. It plays well either as single player or online. The game is simple but does have tactical depth and takes time to master. It is the best twin stick shooter for PS4.
