October 2024 report

I think it was a good sequel to the first F.E.A.R. The atmosphere is very tense, scary, and ominous. Shooting still feels good although I miss the ability to lean out… The game has a good pace with a lot of lore to be found around.

There are no manual saves only checkpoints, which scared me a little but they are quite often so I felt safe most of the time. Also, I have actually died only once at the very end so worrying about it isn't really necessary.

The ending is true to every horror movie.

There would be sometimes funny graphical bugs, slightly scary but still fun. Made a gif of my favorite one. xD

Pretty good game with a lot of possibilities in encounter solutions. Do you want to smash some heads in a brutal direct fight? Or you would rather lurk in the shadows silently taking down one enemy after another? Or are you gonna be a powerful wizard wreaking havoc among the enemies with your spells? Well, be my guest, pick whatever suits you, and even combine the three classes! Don't forget about many environmental hazards that can be used to your advantage in fights! The freedom you have is great and it's fun!

The Arkane touch is pretty clear and I felt like playing an early build of Dishonored! There are a lot of references to other games or popular media, the most apparent was probably the Master Thief Garrett. :D
The story is fine, with some nice twists leading to two different endings. The game is linear, but exploring the levels can reward you with additional weapons, armor, potions, or magic scrolls. The arsenal is vast, but the better weapons are locked behind skills, so you won't be able to use them all as you need to choose your skills carefully - you can't change them. The game looks good for its age and playing was smooth without any problems. There are lot of checkpoints, but you are free to save whenever you wish to - even during a fight!

A few complaints:
I wasn't a fan of direct fights as you can't properly feel when you land a hit. Also, you need to be very close, but enemies can hit you even from a distance you would deem safe.
Getting on ledgers or over obstacles was terrible and required a lot of tries, often resulting in falling to my death.
The loading screens between chapters contain a story summary, but you can't read it as the loading takes about a second. xD Wasn't a problem twenty years ago, I know.
The intros don't have subtitles and the main villain is hard to understand in some moments.

Overall I had a lot of fun with Dark Messiah, can only recommend it. <3

Oh well, a lot of time passed since completing the first game… 11 years. 😅 Can't say I remember the story much, only a few tidbits, but I think we have liked it.

We enjoyed this one too, the story is full of silly characters/situations and good jokes. They are mostly hit or miss but we laughed a lot. If you are thorough and exhaust every dialog option it can be a little bit overwhelming thus making the game somewhat long and slow-paced… but well, it all depends on your playstyle. ^^

Few of the achievements are tiresome and without a guide almost unobtainable.

Loved the platypus' and Ba-ba-ba-baby Goal! <3

This is such a little gem! We had so much fun. The handmade scenery is both beautiful and fascinating, it all looks so lively. The music is very catchy and suits the mood of '60. The voice acting is brilliant. Can only recommend it.

I usually manage to break the games I play in some way, did it even in this case. xD

Surprise, surprise, Dawn Harlock (or Ashmoore, who knows) is no longer the game's main heroine! This time she only appears as the side-kick who gets kidnapped and needs rescuing. xD

So, the demon huntress Dawn and her niece Lila (not sure from where she surfaced and what the hell happened to her sister?) are in Egypt searching for missing parts of a mighty artifact called Gauntlet of Horus which was sent to her doorsteps because the light is in danger… or something like that. As our aunt gets abducted by evil Seth we need to follow them into Ancient Egypt by a portal. Awaiting us there are the obligatory Sfinx with three questions and finally, a few Egyptian gods (Anubis! <3) holding the keys to releasing Horus. With his help, Lila will be ready to face Seth and save the world.

The Egyptian setting is a welcome change from the previous three mostly dark and gloomy environments. The graphics are yet again colorful and nice to look at. The music is all right. The voice acting could be better but on the bright side, we don't have to listen to our dear flat Dawn through the whole game again. The puzzles are varied and still of easier difficulty which is good as even the most hated ones can be quickly solved. Hidden object scenes are also fine. There are two collectibles to be found with an on-screen indication if collected, which is always good to have.
My biggest complaint goes to the shooting mini-game against the evil spirits - it's boring and when you miss it takes long until you are back in the right position again.

A peculiar game about a supernatural Newspaper agency. As the lead editor, you need to decide where in the city will you send your reporters. As the cases aren't anything ordinary you need to be ready for any kind of situation. You will be facing ghosts, zombies, thug gangs, cultists, aliens, barriers, and the most powerful, scariest, devilish of them all - heavy gates and hard walls! You can equip your reporters with many useful items right before you engage with an enemy (if you aren't ambushed), you just need to select the right items - it's a lot about a bit of luck too, especially at the beginning when you are low on funds. You make money by releasing your newspaper every day, the amount you earn depends on how much you investigate. Your reporter can also level up their skill over time. You can even hasten it with the right tools, but sadly they are hard to obtain.

The biggest flaw of the game is that it's procedurally generated. The cases aren't very coherent, it's just line after line of some random names and events. You won't find any real articles describing the cases when you release your issues, instead, you are presented with the same generated lines you uncovered in your investigation. You are pursuing several cases at once which makes it hard to orient in. Shame really.

When you look aside from the non-existent story and focus on the management side it's actually rather addictive. The game is only saved when you quit the game, which can be pretty frustrating on the harder runs as even the tiniest mistake can sabotage your whole run and you will have to start again. Or you can back up your save. ;)

Recommended only if you don't mind suffering. Even though there is a tutorial and a handbook you can check any time I still feel I don't understand some of the game elements very well thus turning the game into a lottery most of the time. So it feels more like a demo, blueprint, or skeleton of some bigger game. The engine is good but it's lacking the actual soul.