Hoardz of gamez Mskotor’s profile
I try to get rid of my hoard of unplayed games. It's not much, but still it's some kind of backlog, right?
2016 | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||||
2017 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2018 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2019 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2020 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2021 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2022 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2023 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
2024 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Other | Driving | Sale | NES | Sale | FF XIII | Sale | Sale | Sale | Sale | Sale | Sale |
⭐️⭐⭐⭐☆ - game I enjoyed, but has it's visible flaws that can make gameplay annoying. Or games with solid gameplay and good story, but without **this something** that would make me really enjoy it
⭐️⭐⭐☆☆ - starting point. Neither good or bad. Average story with average gameplay
⭐️⭐☆☆☆ - when game has average story, so I could beat it to see plot but it didn't make me want learn more about characters or universe. Plus gameplay is so bad it make whole experience terribly annoying and irritating
⭐️☆☆☆☆ - only one type of games will get lowest note. Games that are unplayable or barely playable due to devs laziness. And their story is not interesting enough to push me into spending hours on the internet, finding a way to make it work. If game would be playable, but I wouldn't enjoy plot or it'd have bad game mechanics it'd get 2 stars
October | Princess Isabella: The Rise of an Heir, Fairy Tale Mysteries: The Puppet Thief, The Beginner's Guide, Ether One, Her Story, Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition, Fallout 4 |
November | Regency Solitaire, Chroma Squad, Broken Age, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut |
December | Mad Max, Undertale, Paladins, Sakura Beach 2, Qbeh-1: The Atlas Cube |
January | Crime Secrets: Crimson Lily, Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala, The Secret Order 4: Beyond Time, Anna's Quest, Plantera, Oxenfree, Far Cry 3, HuniePop, TRISTOY |
February | ABZU, Contrast, The Turing Test, Victor Vran, ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West |
March + April | DARK, Mushroom 11, Evoland 2, Event[0], The Journey Down: Chapter Two, Castle of Illusion, Tales of Zestiria |
May | Aragami, Gods Will Be Watching, Unravel, Orwell, Beholder, Pony Island |
June | The Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams, Tibetan Quest: Beyond the World's End, Melissa K. and the Heart of Gold, The Room Two, The Swapper, Jotun, SteamWorld Heist, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 |
July | Adam Wolfe, Toby: The Secret Mine, Hollow Knight, Sniper Elite 3, RAGE, Alone With You, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky |
August | Tales from the Borderlands, Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star, Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter, Risen 3 - Titan Lords |
September | Witcher 3 GOTY |
October | INSIDE, TitanFall 2, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, The Technomancer, Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, Shadowrun: Hong Kong |
November | Mass Effect: Andromeda |
December | Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Milkmaid of the Milky Way, Secret World Legends, Deadpool, Seasons after Fall |
January | Valley, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, Sword Coast Legends |
February | Tacoma, Quantum Break, Dex, OwlBoy, The Whispered World Special Edition |
March | The Walking Dead: Season Two, Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout |
April | EARTHLOCK, Styx: Master of Shadows, Rise of the Triad |
May | Alpha Protocol, Lara Croft GO, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided |
June | Finding Paradise, AER Memories of Old, Dreamfall Chapters, Stories: The Path of Destinies, RUINER, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris |
July | The Sexy Brutale, Renegade Ops, Dying Light, Final Fantasy XIII |
August | Firewatch, Dungeon Siege III, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, A New Beginning - Final Cut |
September | Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, DOOM |
October | Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Figment |
November | Ghost of a Tale, Pillars of the Earth, Fe, Path of Exile, Rakuen |
December | RIME, Wuppo, Orwell - Ignorance is strength |
January | Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, GRIS, Outland, Zombie Army Trilogy |
February | Valiant Hearts: The Great War |
March | A Way Out |
April | Angels with Scaly Wings |
May | Ticket to Ride, Witcher Adventure Game |
June | Nothing |
July | Heroes of Hammerwatch |
August | The Room Three, Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2, Psychonauts, Red Faction: Path to War DLC |
September | A Hat in Time, Magicka, HoH: Pyramid of Prophecy |
October | The Escapits, Reprisal Universe, Godus |
November | Nightsky, Castle Crashers |
December | Little Nightmares, Wolfeinstein: The Old Blood |
January | Borderlands 2 |
February | What Remains of Edith Finch, Pillars of Eternity, Q.U.B.E. 2 |
March | Prey, The Council, Cat Quest |
April | Resident Evil 5, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Bayonetta |
May | Age of Wonders III, The Evil Within |
June | Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Evil Genius |
July | Dead Cells, The Outer Worlds, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 |
August | Children of Morta, Darksiders III, Halo: Master Chief Collection |
September | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, The Division |
October | Heat Signature, Strange Brigade |
November | Dishonored 2 |
December | Degrees of Separation |
January | Vikings - Wolves of Midgard, Disco Elysium |
February | Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Resident Evil 6, Super Hot: Mind Control Delete, Shadow Warrior 2 |
March | Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince, Night in the Woods, GTA V |
April | Remnant: From the Ashes |
May | Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain |
June | Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Guacamelee 2 |
July | Spiritfarer |
August | Control, FrostPunk, The Journey Down: Chapter 3, The Surge, Hypnospace Outlaw |
September | Tell Me Why, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken [Co-op], Void Bastards |
October | Rage 2, Unravel Two |
November | The Elder Scrolls Online, Jurassic World Evolution |
December | Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger, Elex, We Were Here, Far: Lone Sails, Warhammer: Chaosbane |
January | Trine 4: Melody Of Mystery, Steamworld Dig 2, We Were Here Too, Death's Door |
February | Heavy Rain |
March | Vampyr, Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden |
April | Generation Zero, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition |
May | Sniper Elite 4 |
June | Tyranny, Total War: Warhammer |
July | XCOM 2, Nine Parchments |
August | Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Beyond: Two Souls |
September | Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos |
October | Serious Sam's Bogus Detour |
November | Second Extinction, DAEMON X MACHINA |
December | Spirit of the North, Orcs Must Die! 3, Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition |
January | STAR WARS: Squadrons, Underhero, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, Cat Quest II |
February | Mad Experiments: Escape Room, Anthem, Costume Quest 2, Death Stranding |
March | Shift Happens, Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG |
April | Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales |
May | Hue, Kao the Kangaroo |
June | Diablo III |
July | Operation Tango |
August | Star Wars Battlefront II, Quest Hunter |
September | Unravel Two |
October | The Talos Principle 2 DEMO |
November | Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, KeyWe |
December | Mass Effect 1 LE |
January | Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition, It Takes Two, Bound By Blades |
February | Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition |
March | Superliminal, Manifold Garden |
April | |
May | |
June | |
July | |
August | |
September | |
October | |
November | |
December |
February 2024 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition (Q2 2021) ⭐️⭐⭐⭐⭐
RPG, Story_rich55h | 38 of 38 (100%)
- It's possible to start game no on insanity difficulty, which saves one whole run for the achievement
- Companion pathfinding is greatly improved over ME2
- Combat is superior to ME2 in every aspect, especially in terms of power combinations
- Companions have way more interactions, both on the missions and on the Normandy
- Addition of weapon mods, which add depth to weapon customization, without need for resource grinding for crafting (like in DA: Inquisition)
- A lot more freedom when it comes to movements - dodging, running between covers, moving up/down ladders
The bad 👎
- Game can randomly crash for no reason, especially during the start-up when EA app is opening
- Reapers chase are just annoying, good there are mods for that
- It's really obvious some background animated objects are rendered in 30FPS. Those nightmare pigeons on the Citadel for example
- Ending where they threw some content to plug plot holes (like Normandy landing to pick up crew, and reapers kindly wait for them to leave) still feels awkward
- Journal is a bit messy and doesn't have much in terms of useful update. Like we can already have the object, and it will still show "travel there and look for". Mods do fix that, but better journal should be in vanilla game
Conclusion:
This is a great end to the trilogy, minus the ending. Gameplay is improved a lot over ME2. Feeling of urgency when we fly around, scrambling to make a device that could defeat the Reapers. Sadly, all the nice hints that show plot connections to dark energy from ME2 or Illusive Man being crazy from whole ME3 gets kind of threw out of the window, and we get Deus Ex ending. Pick a color, decide on fate of the galaxy. Would be better if the choice we make is more connected to what we did in game. Not only to how many war assets we accumulater over time.
Details
☐ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☑ Good |
☐ Boring ☐ Average ☑ Good |
There is only the "core crew" left. Liara, Garrus, Tali. Plus Vega, Prothean and 2 characters that could be spoilers to mention. There are no companion missions per se, we can hang out with people but not chase quest for them. Which makes the game paced better, it doesn't feel like one long "help me Shepard" side mission. There are optional missions to scan a system and retrieve items, or do some short N7 missions. But the main focus is on the priority missions. |
☐ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☐ Magic / powers ☑ Advanced combat |
Combat from ME2 has an additional layer of combinations. Either technology or biotic. Priming the target with one power, and releasing the combo with another leads to an explosion that damages nearby enemies, and can set them on fire / freeze them / throw them in the air. Cover system is improved, with ability to move between covers fluidly. Shepard also learned how to jump across and climb ladders, which adds more depth to otherwise "flat" combat behind cover. We can now go to higher ground, and aim for enemies that would be hard to hit otherwise. Abilities are the same as in ME2, with a similar skill tree. Only difference is that now ability upgrade 4-6 gives a choice between two versions. E.g. incinerate ability can deal more damage per shot *or* bump up our clip size. Throw can seek 2 targets *or* hit a single target with more strength. It allows customizing our play style a tiny bit more. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☐ Adequate ☑ Fluid and enjoyable |
They are better than in ME2. Bug with camera lock on aim is gone. Moving around the battlefield is more fluid. Active pause is snappy and companions don't require micromanagement to navigate the environment. |
☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
There is no inventory. We can upgrade weapons on Normandy station, and weapon loadout/ mods are set before the mission. Menus are easy to navigate and not overloaded. Only issue is with journal, that could have more updates on our quest progress. Not only information we get quest to find a relic, and then info it was completed after we deliver. |
☐ Boring and generic ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Great |
Improved in a good way over ME2. Weapon mod addition to make gunfight more "personal", power combinations for this satisfying pop when enemies fly away in biotic explosion, new enemy types to force us to move around the map more. Not just camp behind the cover for the whole encounter. In general, we will fight Cerberus and Reapers. Cerberus has a mix of foot soldiers, engineers, snipers, agile assassins and heavy mechs. While reapers transform abducted races into foot soldiers. Turians as foot soldiers that can boost batarians armor. Rachni as walking cannons. Asari as a creepy teleporting nightmare that can one hit kill if they get too close. |
☐ Brain dead ☐ Really basic ☐ Average ☑ Smart and responsive |
Like I mentioned, both our companions and enemies are smarter. Enemies have specific roles - to flush us out of cover, to break our shields, to kill us from up close, to limit our movement around. It makes the gunfight a bit more strategic than simple sticking to cover in ME2. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☑ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☑ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☐ Nothing to remember ☑ Good voice acting ☑ Good weapons & effects ☑ Good OST ☑ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☑ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
- I did give a lot points to the music, but it is deserving it. It fits well into loss-filled game, with uplifting hero moments here and there. |
January 2024 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition (Q2 2021) ⭐️⭐⭐⭐⭐
RPG Story_Rich58h | 46 of 46 (100%)
- More dynamic combat than in ME1
- More interesting companions
- Weapon damage and defensive / offensive stats are updated per weapon type or character class, no need to browse through piles of really similar equipment to find something better
- Last mission is great, with visible impact of decisions taken through the game
- Game has all DLCs, including a comic
- Planet scanning speed is increased
- DLC armors and weapons are no longer dumped on us at the start of the game, like in the original
The bad 👎
- Prevalent bug where it's not possible to move camera around for a couple seconds while aiming
- Miranda's butt shot during conversation is removed xD
- There is more hub areas, but they feel smaller than citadel hub in ME1
- Companions can have bad issues with path finding, to the point they get stuck 2 rooms earlier, and we need to babysit them forward
Conclusion:
ME2 improves on ME1 in pretty much any way, except for using thermal clip as normal ammunition. Instead of mechanism where weapons cool down. It had bigger sci-fi vibe. And legendary edition improves on some annoying features of the original, making annoying bits more smooth and less irritating.
Details
☐ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☑ Good |
☐ Boring ☐ Average ☑ Good |
Game is filled with our companion loyalty quests, instead of fetch quests from ME1. Which makes gameplay way less tedious. There are few main missions, a lot of companion missions, and some deliveries of quest items that we find along the way here and there. There is no hard point of no return, but there is soft one. Where delaying progress in the main missions will lead to death of some NPCs. But if we do side mission before progressing with the main one it will not happen. And if you rush through main missions in games, and ignore all (even major) side quests it's your fault! It is war, we must prepare for the fight. |
☐ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☐ Magic / powers ☑ Advanced combat |
There are fewer abilities and the skill tree is easier to navigate. Instead of having to invest x points into an ability, before we can unlock something we want (like investing in first air to unlock neuron shock) we add points directly into specific abilities. All passives are part of the class tree (instead of being spread out among other trees), there is no armor restrictions. Abilities also have one common cool down, which means we don't keep from using them "for later" or use them early and having nothing for a bit later in an encounter. We can decide if we want to use weaker abilities more often, or less of strong ones. Like spam throw which can stagger enemies and have recharge of 2-3s, or use carnage that regenerates for 10s but deal a lot of damage. Experience is given for beating a mission, not killing enemies or doing side objectives. Which makes it impossible to level up mid-mission. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☑ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
Controls are less stiff than in ME1, but still not great. The cover shooting mechanic can be a bit lackluster, there is this annoying bug where we get stuck aiming at one point (which means instant death on Insanity difficulty...). Only type of movement we can do is walking (and sprinting for short distance). No jumping, using ladders, dodging. |
☐ Basic ☑ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
The fact that we don't pick up junk weapons along the way, and just upgrade stats for a whole weapon class, allowed devs to get rid of the tedious inventory management from ME1. We just pick up a weapon category (there are weapon restrictions per Shepard class, e.g. as sentinel I could at first use only heavy and submachine pistols) and upgrade it in the Normandy research section. There is no inventory screen during missions, we adjust everything before the mission. Rarely there are weapon lockers on the mission, which allow us to change weapons mid-way. Most of the time after we find a new weapon. As for the armor, we either pick a set (that we need to buy first most of the time) but it has disadvantage that it's not possible to remove helmet for cut scenes as they are one-piece. Or we adjust individual parts (torso / helmet / arms / legs / shoulders) with parts we find during gameplay. It allows having option to decide if we want to have stronger shields, weapons, melee, biotic etc. |
☐ Boring and generic ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Great |
I do think it's improvements over ME1 for the reasons described above. Sadly, the really basic cover mechanic makes it less flashy and fluid. Enemies to respond to our action, try to flank us, or use abilities effectively. One funny thing is that in this game, enemy rockets are not homing. So it's possible to walk towards the enemy with a rocket launcher, and just side step incoming projectiles. Rockets in ME3 are faster and do follow us, so it's not a viable option anymore. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☑ Few collectibles / easy to get ☐ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☐ One checkpoint, frequent ☑ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☐ Nothing to remember ☑ Good voice acting ☑ Good weapons & effects ☑ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☑ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☐ No map ☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
- Game is made for co-op, it's not just an element someone added later on
- Story is a typical "relationship breaks as people don't have time for each other", but shown in a way how it can be rebuilt. Not just putting blame on the other person for all the issues
- Most of the levels are well thought-through, and have interesting puzzles
- Game split screen is made in a good way, and camera is never an issue
The bad 👎
- Game is played through EA desktop (aka Origin) and keep having server issues
- Some levels are clearly less polished / more rushed than others
- There is a super cute (and huge...) jumping spider that we can ride on. I see how people with arachnophobia could freak out because of it though
Conclusion:
It is a solid co-op game, a step up from the devs previous "A way out". Not a simple "two players get the same tools to solve the puzzle" approach. Each character has different abilities, and this "forces" them to co-operate in order to get to their goal. And the story shows some simple truths about building a relationship, that we often forget in our busy lives. But at the same time game focus on "relationship rebuilding" may make game out-of-focus for people who would just search for another player online to "beat" the game.
Details
☐ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☑ Good |
☐ Boring ☐ Average ☑ Good |
It is a mix of simple mix of exploration and puzzles, that do work together well. There is not much side tracking to lose eyes from the next objective, and puzzles don't require a lot of thinking. Each map have its own mechanic. E.g. on garden map one character can turn into plants, and other water down plants; on "inside crazy squirrel's tree" map one character shots matches, while other covers items in flammable sap. There are some easy but well-designed boss fights at the end of levels, really basic enemy encounters on some levels. There is no hub area, we are teleported between maps by Hakim's book. |
☑ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☐ Magic / powers ☐ Advanced combat |
Each map has unique abilities tailored for cooperation. One character shots nails that are used by another to swing around. Other time one character transform into plants, when other can water them down promoting growth or use scythe to cut down weeds. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☐ Adequate ☑ Fluid and enjoyable |
Controls are crispy. No collision problems, no timing issues. Even flying sequences are fluid and natural. We can walk / run / use grapple hook. And then we get accessories that allow us to use map-specific abilities. |
☐ Boring and generic ☑ Average ☐ Good ☐ Great |
There are some combat sequences, abut it's not a combat focused game. They work fine, are flashy and fluid. But nothing complex. Like combat with scythe dumbs down to pressing LMB. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☑ Few collectibles / easy to get ☐ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☐ Nothing to remember ☑ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☑ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
- It works?
The bad 👎
- Grindy. Takes 2-3h to beat the game, but would need additional 10h to repeat the same couple battles to get 100%
- Backgrounds look like they were made in HD (or less...) and then just stretched to fit FHD
- "Cutscenes" are drawn in really lazy way, that try to spin it as being "artistic". Bad lines and contours, and colors that look like person who made it not care they move out of object bounds
- Really generic and dumb story
- There is an issue with statistics where they go up and down, no matter how many points we invest
Conclusion:
There are many good games out there, so go and play something else. It's not unplayable, but also don't have any good points. Games like this make me wonder why Steam doesn't have "neutral" option for review. Positive reviews do say that the game is not good, but also not bad. So they gives it thumbs up?
Details
☑ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☐ Good |
☑ Boring ☐ Average ☐ Good |
We pick up a boss (from a board in a village... not even a overmap), run around it on a small grid to kill it, appear back in the village to use boss drops to craft better loot. Rinse and repeat. Each boss has their own set, and it's necessary to kill it 2-3 times to get enough materials to craft a full set. Crafting a better set is basically the only way for us to get more powerful, so it's necessary for progression. |
☑ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☐ Magic / powers ☐ Advanced combat |
We can run around, and have light + heavy attacks, and dodge. As boring and basic as it gets. And same goes for combat. Run around on a grid to avoid boss attacks, spam LMB when boss have break to deal some damage. There are 5 health potions per boss, and we will use them a lot, as our health and defense is made from toiler paper. |
☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
Inventory allow to equip previous gear sets (but who would need to do it...). Not possible to sell stuff, so we just sit on a pile of junk. Normally we just go to smith to craft better sword, and forget about all other menus. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☑ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☑ Can run on potato ☐ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☑ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☑ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☑ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
December 2023 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition (Q2 2021) ⭐️⭐⭐⭐⭐
RPG Story-rich39h | 38 of 38 (100%)
- ability to mark junk and sell it at once
- still easy to mod (unlimited sprint, changes to exp, credits etc.)
- clear visual improvements
- game automatically starts from the hub launcher, no need to open ME1 menu and then pick to choose a game
- possible to skip news and squad members banter to speed up elevator loading times
- addition of photo mode, previously it was possible to have similar effect through console commands
- there is more light in the scenes, so everything is not so dark
- running in hub areas is fixed and Shepard actually runs instead of having just camera shake
- Enemies in this nearly 20 y/o game can be smarter than in modern games - they hide, use powers effectively and try to flank us
The bad 👎
- not possible to respec character
- planets and dungeons are really repetitive
- remaster introduced some errors, like lack of blinking hints on the galaxy map (solved by community mod patch)
- Shepard can still run for 2s before he's panting (solved by mods)
- game is short without doing side quests
Conclusion:
It was a good revisit of ME1 after a couple of years. Enough to make me forgot some details, but not enough to make me forget the dialogues ;D
Details
☐ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☑ Good |
☐ Boring ☐ Average ☑ Good |
The game was released nearly 2 decades ago, so it's not a massive open world game. It is instead a semi-open corridor shooter. We can diverge from the path a bit, but not much. Levels have clear start and finish, and it's impossible to get lost. The game has (rather repetitive) exploration component where we land on some desolate word to scan some junk or kill few bandits. Going to worlds to complete main missions, which are well-written and interesting. Time between missions is spent either on ship chatting with companions, or going to the hub area (Citadel) to sell junk and buy some useful armor or weapons. All side missions can be ignored, and while it will limit our max level, it will cut all the busy work. And is entirely manageable if we want to beat the game only on normal difficulty. If we don't want to go to the hub area to sell junk, it can be transformed into omni-gel. And later used to automatically open locked doors and chests. |
☐ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☐ Magic / powers ☑ Advanced combat |
There are three main classes. Soldiers who focus on gun damage. Adept (biotic) which is basically a mage. Engineer, who is a support class focused on healing and debuffing enemies. And three derivative classes. Sentinel (biotic / engineer), vanguard (soldier / biotic) and infiltrator (soldier / engineer). Each main class has unique powers, and mixed classes can access some basic powers from both, but not the more advanced ones. Sentinel can use throw and warp from adept class, but not singularity. There are no strength etc. statistics, leveling up gives ability points to increase power level. Each power has 10 levels, so it does take a bit to unlock most of them. It's not possible to respec in this game, but points are abundant, so it's not possible to mess up the build. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☑ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
They do feel aged, especially in comparison to ME2/ME3. We don't always stick to cover properly, it's not possible to easily move between covers. Like in rest ME games, it's not possible to jump. We can only walk and run. Many people may not like the mechanic where space bar is used to interact / run / go to cover. But I did get used to it, as a series design choice. |
☐ Basic ☑ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
Inventory windows are still small, but legendary edition added the ability to mark items as junk and either sell them in bulk or change them into omni-gel. Which is a QoL update. The original version spent too much time just selling junk one by one. Weapon and armor stat comparison is clear and easy to do. Command menu get update to look more like in ME2/ME3, but it's just aesthetic. But there is a bug where game does not register properly, we left the command menu. Pressing the weapon trigger immediately after turning it off leads to us "clicking" on the medi-gel, which basically we waste it when our squad does not need it. |
☐ Boring and generic ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Great |
Cover shooter with enemies coming at us in waves. We can either close the distance and finish enemies directly, or stay in the back and pick them slowly with powers and long range weapons. I don't know how well the direct approach would work on insanity level (I was dying after 3s if not covered) but it's surely a playable approach at lower difficulties. There is a big variety in weapons (heavy pistols, SMGs, assault rifles, shotguns and sniper rifles) and they all feel distinct. One big difference between ME 1 and the rest of the trilogy is that here powers all have individual long cool downs. Using all powers on easy enemies can leave us struggling with tougher ones. |
☐ Brain dead ☐ Really basic ☐ Average ☑ Smart and responsive |
Enemies are responsive, use cover well and try to flank us. The big downside of our companion AI though, is that they can be quite brainless (I keep struggling why when enemies don't have problem with path finding). They will go under enemy fire, or just not be able to follow us around. So we may need to micromanage them in narrow passages. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☑ Few collectibles / easy to get ☐ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☐ One checkpoint, frequent ☑ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☐ Nothing to remember ☑ Good voice acting ☑ Good weapons & effects ☑ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☑ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☐ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☑ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
Side note
That’s late December update. I get sick thorugh Christmas (similar to a lot of people at work) so everything I was supposed to do during break had to be done in January.
I have beaten Mass Effect trilogy so many times already. Getting 100% in legendary edition feels like a good way to say bye to all those amazing companions, while making tons of screenshots with better textures and movies ;D
November 2023 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
- game has a couple neat ideas that evolve as game progress, so it doesn't feel too repetitive
- it is possible to disable time limit to complete story missions
The bad 👎
- game can de-sync which forces players to re-start the level
- some levels feel more like competition between players than co-op
- there is a fair bit of jumping, and platforming is not the best with frequent clipping through objects
- not possible to rebind keys
Conclusion:
I did like it, but it can be frustrating at times. Not because of high difficulty, but average platforming (and there is A LOT of jumping in this game) and some annoying puzzles variants. Like typing machine that keep changing key layout. I don't see how it's supposed to encourage or enrich cooperation.
Details
☑ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☐ Good |
☐ Boring ☐ Average ☐ Good |
There are few types of levels. Send message through typing machine (run around trying to find right letter and butt-slap to type it), pack items into box and send to right destination (run around to find correct labels and post codes and butt-slap them on the box), sort letters and packages (push boxes into correct destinations and send letters to correct people), create letters from newspaper scraps (words are scattered around, and we need to pick them up and then put on paper sheet with a butt-slap). Each level has some variation to it, thought it's difference between newspaper words being stationary, moved around by wind or covered in ice. It does keep the game interesting for longer, but also it does feel repetitive. |
☑ Clunky and stiff ☐ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
Sadly, controls are not the best. For a start, they can't be adjusted. And then jumping can be interrupted by us clipping through objects, collision detection not working properly, or our butt-slaps (which is basically how kiwis are interacting with objects) don't register properly. Like having few newspaper words next to each other, and we keep picking up not the one we were aiming for. |
☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
There is no inventory really, just a separate menu in the main menu where we can add some unlocked cosmetics. Cosmetics are either bought by in-game currency (for level completion) or unlocked by finding specific objects on levels. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☑ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☑ Average ☐ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☑ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☑ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
Some synchronization problems which should not happen in time-sensitive game |
- I like that overworld is more like a general map, which makes it faster to move between actual quest locations
- Enemies design is more interesting than generic bandit, mutated dog, robot and zombie from B1 and B2
- Playing as dragon class allowed to rely more on the melee and abilities than purely on weapons, while in B1 and B2 I felt abilities are there for a show, not to actually mow through enemies
- Clap trap is limited in this game to an absolute minimum
- A lot of customization options during character creation and later
The bad 👎
- System where loot quality depends on exploring the map (finding dices scattered around map boost luck when opening chests) may annoy people that don't bother with exploration
- really long unskippable credits
- I know it's not a story-driven game, but plot is just uninteresting and generic
- Game crashed couple times due to memory issues
- Game "optimizes shaders" each time it's started
- DX12 is selected as a default, and can lead to random game crashes that are absent in DX11 mode
Conclusion:
I did like it more than Borderlands 1 and 2. Mostly due to the lack of big empty map that need to be traversed to reach the objective, no Claptrap, and ability to use melee effectively. It is a nice game for Borderlands fans, but if you're tired of the formula, then this game will not be a revelation.
Details
☐ Bare-bone ☑ Average ☐ Good |
Tiny Tina is the game master of a board game. We as "newbie" create a character and play a role in a board game session. Generic story of evil Dragon Lord wanting to take over the world, and we're there to stop him. There are a lot of board game terms or jokes which I did not catch most probably, as I never played those. And a lot of rather bad puns. | </table>
☐ Boring ☑ Average ☐ Good |
Go to place, kill all enemies, go back to quest giver. It can't be more generic. Keep loot, which is rarely better than what we already have, and sell the rest. I see how people may like this kind of mindless enemy killing, but I think I'm a bit tired of this formula by now. Hoped that this board game spin on series will introduce more ideas. |
☐ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☑ Magic / powers ☐ Advanced combat |
Same as other Borderlands games. Leveling up gives skill points to level up our tree and ability points to slightly boost some passive stat (health, crit chance, ability cooldown etc.). Around level 30 we unlock the secondary tree, so we can grab a few skills from another class. There is only one skill we can use, we are not given a 2nd active ability. Spells are like secondary abilities on a timer. They can be anything between casting a fireball, small meteor shower or jumping jelly. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☐ Adequate ☑ Fluid and enjoyable |
Controls are fine. The addition of basic parkour (which came from Borderlands 3) do help to make the game less stiff. But we still bump into invisible walls all around, which breaks the immersion. |
☐ Basic ☑ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
Exact copy-paste of previous games. Menus are ok to navigate, but inventory is 2x5 (or 6) scrollable list of items, and it's obvious why it's a problem when we have 50 or 60 items. It's not possible to sort by type (just level, rarity or worth). To have a list of say rings, we need to click on the ring slot. But then the list does not get auto-scrolled to the top. If we were at the bottom and clicked ring slot to browse rings only - we need to go and scroll all the way up. There is so much screen space available, and they keep this bad, time-consuming system around for no reason. In a game focused on finding better loot. |
☐ Boring and generic ☑ Average ☐ Good ☐ Great |
At least weapons are re-invented from the B1 and B2. Not just copy-pasted with different texture, like most of the game. They are designed to look more medieval, with weapons looking like various crossbows. There are things that couldn't be really re-invented (like rocket launchers) but in general it fits within the theme. But the combat itself is meh. Enemies die fast and don't have much strategy. They just charge and try to kill us. Raising the level only makes them bullet spongy, which leads to tedious gameplay. There was only one good boss, that did not die after 10s, and it was some sub-boss in a side quest. Otherwise, bosses are mediocre and disappointing. |
☐ Brain dead ☑ Really basic ☐ Average ☐ Smart and responsive |
Same as in combat. Enemies are brainless and have no strategy. We also don't need any strategy, as enemies are killed without any hassle with elements, or weaknesses etc. We can have a companion pet that can deliver some damage, but it can't be controlled. It runs / flies around and attack random enemy. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☑ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☑ Average ☐ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☑ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☑ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☐ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☑ Minimap ☑ Fast travel |
Textures are as basic as they were in B1 Invisible walls keep popping up Voice acting sounds forced sometimes |
October 2023 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
The Talos Principle 2 DEMO (Q4 2023) ⭐️⭐⭐⭐⭐
Puzzle4h | No achievements
- Game crashes with cute image of robot being disappointed in a cat
- Demo is 4h long, and include half of levels from first and second world
- Graphic is visibly better than in the original
- So many configuration options. There are even options for different kinds of color blindness
The bad 👎
- Game looks quite resource heavy, I was getting drops to 10 FPS with 3600X and RX 5600 XT
- Demo was removed after game release. Kind of pointless as now there is no way to check game before buying
Conclusion:
I downloaded the demo, as I was craving for a good puzzle game, and Talos 1 was a masterpiece. And I was not disappointed. I was surprised they allowed to play that much of the game in the demo. More games should be like this. I will wait to see if people complain about plot or optimization (I did get a random stutter). But I'm tempted to buy it when it's 50% off. Demo introduces two new mechanics: teleporters and RGB beams. Both feel like natural extension of the previous ideas (red/blue beams and playback).
There is a short recap at the start of the game, after we beat the very first training world, from Talos 1 plot. So if you did not play the original, I would advise to not play 2nd game. In theory, we can pick if we want short or long summary, but not sure how many spoilers there are in the short version.
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☐ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☐ Medium requirements ☑ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☐ Nothing to remember ☑ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☑ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☑ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☑ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
September 2023 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
- It is cute and graphic is nice
- Controls are responsive
The bad 👎
- Puzzles are basic and not really interesting
- Game looks fine for kids, but later has more tight platforming than puzzles and exploration
- Story is bare bone
- Game is unplayable on older hardware through remote play, due to movie and performance issues
- Only couch co-op is supported
- Game tends to pan out quite a lot, and it makes it hard to see details (such as yarn anchor points) on the TV from the sofa
Conclusion:
While Unravel 1 could be a nice game for kids, Unravel 2 focus way more on Ori-like platforming. Which is not a good thing to play it with a kid in co-op. I had a problem with some sections as an adult, where I had to replay it multiple times.
Details
☑ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☐ Good |
It's this kind of "artistic environmental" stories, where we follow ghostly silhouettes of kids fighting with big bad adults (that are just puffs of black smoke). It did not make much sense to me, and looked like a story where kids go through some locations and break stuff. Which would not make it weird adults try to stop them. Wikipedia page (maybe written by game authors xD) says that it's a story of kids running away from an abusive adoption family. Nothing during the game really indicates that. I think the game would be actually better without this background, and just focus on more interesting puzzles. |
☐ Boring ☑ Average ☐ Good |
Start map, do some easy platforming and puzzles (followed by annoying chase sequences) and reach the end. Fact that we teleport to level from some lighthouse does break the pace a bit, and make it feel that what we do on screen is disconnected from what is happening on the screen as a story. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☐ Adequate ☑ Fluid and enjoyable |
We can wall jump and swing on yarn lassos to move around. Usually it's enough for one player to get past the section, as 2nd can use yarn to climb. But some sections require both players to do jumps in sync. There is no problem with collision detection, but sometimes it feels that jumps while running are not registered properly. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☑ Few collectibles / easy to get ☐ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☐ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☑ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☑ Average ☐ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☑ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☑ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
Background graphic is nice, but close up of Yarny shows how harsh everything is Game was unplayable on older hardware due to some weird movie codecs issues |
August 2023 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
STAR WARS Battlefront II (Q4 2017) ⭐️⭐⭐⭐☆
FPS Multiplayer12h | 0 of 43 (0%)
- Good map design
- Good weapon balance and feel
The bad 👎
- Initial monetization model was awful
- Can take a bit to find players, as it's an old multiplayer game
Conclusion:
It was fine to grab it for free on Epic to try, but I would not buy it myself. But I'm also not a competitive multiplayer player. There is a room to upgrade abilities of the characters we like, and learn how to use them effectively. Characters are leveled up per class (e.g. both imperium and republic assault unit will update at the same time) and NPCs like Yoda or Luke are upgraded individually. Which makes it easy to boost general characters, and then focus on a few NPCs we want to play. It is a bit grindy but gives "something to do" except for replaying levels infinitely and boost ranks. Weapons are good, level design is interesting.
Details
☐ Bare-bone ☑ Average ☐ Good |
Single player acts as a tutorial. The story shows how the imperial elite squad sees how corrupt and wrong the imperium is, and decides to help the republic. It's as generic and predictable as it goes. There is a DLC, but it's really short and as predictable and generic as the main story. |
☑ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☐ Magic / powers ☐ Advanced combat |
Playing levels up the hero and skill points, that can be used to unlock or upgrade abilities. We can have 2 or 3 equipped at the same time. They are either passives (slower stamina drain, more health etc.) or active (change how default abilities work). |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☑ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
Basic controls. There is no parkour or platforming. Just run around and try to kill enemies. |
☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
There is no real inventory, we set up everything before the match per class. Game menu allows to only follow our score, and pick non-basic class to play if we have enough points gathered. |
☐ Boring and generic ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Great |
The combat is good, but it heavily depends on our squad. Obviously, as for the multiplayer game. Sometimes games are more equal and more fun, and sometimes there is some pro player with high level Jedi on the other side, that will mow through our team in no time. But in general, classes feel balanced, and none are grossly OP and abused. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☑ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☑ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☐ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☐ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☑ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☑ Advanced graphic settings ☑ Adjustable HUD ☑ Accessibility options |
☐ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☑ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
Mtx were removed from game after initial fiasco, but peremium currency stayed. And does nothing. |
- Bugfree?
- Works well for couch co-op. Loot is picked up individually
The bad 👎
- Combat is stiff and uninteresting
- NPC dialogue box can have bright background, and text is also bright.. which doesn't increase readability
- Puzzles are more like annoying roadblock than challenge
- Dungeons are really repetitive and have one or two floors
- There are no choices, all replies always end in the same result
Conclusion:
I went to the game Store page to check tags, and saw the promo vid. First 3 (co-op, exploration, character customization) are true. The rest of this movie is bogus. Or more like just mentioning such thing is in the game, but digging up chest with random junk is not revolutionary. Good to beat with a kid, but I would not have high expectations for like adult co-op.
Details
☑ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☐ Good |
Someone stole the sun and our ship crashed on the island. And it's on us to save the world and find the source of light and happiness. Plot is basically "go to this person and ask them for help. Do something for them, so they can build a house or a boat, so you can progress". |
☐ Boring ☑ Average ☐ Good |
Go to location pick up some junk to complete fetch quest, kill enemies on the way. There are some random encounters on the overmap that can be ignored by leaving the encounter map. We collect quite a lot of crafting materials, that are (like usual) just a fodder. The only useful upgrade is backpack capacity. We find better weapons and armor by beating the next levels, not by crafting. |
☐ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☑ Magic / powers ☐ Advanced combat |
There is only one attack type (smash the button type). It's also possible to use shield, but not parry or dodge. And shield is quite useless in general, stamina runs fast, and then we're back to button smash. There are few abilities (lightning, meteor, freeze, energy shield, power strike) on a timer. Most of them are really average, but freeze is a must. Especially early in the game. Enemies don't have smart strategies to attack us, they just hit really hard. So being able to freeze anyone and then beat them senseless is the only viable strategy. While things like lightning or meteor don't deal a lot of damage, but work well to clear a path from trees and stones. Can equip up to 3 abilities at a time. They are unlocked with levels and need to be upgraded with gems found as drops. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☑ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
As generic as it can get. Control with stick or WSAD, pick attack with buttons and quick inventory slots (health items) with cross. |
☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
I kept mixing up buttons to start the mini map and to enter the inventory. Menus are made for game pads. Inventory is clear and easy to use, and weapons or armor have only one stat, so it was not hard to make it clear which piece is best on comparison. Rest of items are just junk that is not really worth attention, we need it only for rare upgrades. So it kind of just stay there. Journal look overcomplicated with how little plot is in this game. |
☑ Boring and generic ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Great |
Like I said in the abilities part. Combat is brainless and smashing. The only thing that enemies can do is chase us when we get in their detection range. They have one attack and always behave the same way. Even bosses are just overgrown base enemies. Later on it's actually better to equip run ability (yes running is ability on the timer) and run past all enemies, as it's waste of time to kill them. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☑ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☑ Can run on potato ☐ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☑ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☑ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☑ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☐ No map ☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
- Enemy sounds are awfull. One enemy sounds like devs went to record pigeon coo. - Textures are blurry |
Side note
Friend sent me a teary message that rabbit died with a link to a facebook fanpage. I get a bit confused, as she did not have the facebook page for her rabbit, so I did not know if it’s yet another scam. Turned out she was sad as some “famous” rabbit from the internet died. “The only rabbit that could play basketball” she said. I went to yt to look for it, and saw video of IMO rather poor Ameraca God Talent performance of guy trying to make the rabbit do stuff, and rabbit just didn’t. If you compare it to what people training dogs or cats can achieve…
And then (following yt rabbit hole) I went to videos that show dog agility competition, and that is a good content. Speed, grace, trust to the person who trains them. Not a rabbit that can’t understand what to do next. Rats are more intelligent, and can be as much cuddly as rabbits are.
July 2023 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
- Only one person needs to own the game to play
- Interesting and not too repetitive puzzles
The bad 👎
- Single pass takes around 3h so it's quite short. My 6h play time is because I played as both agent and hacker, so beat the game twice
Conclusion:
Not many good co-op puzzle games out there. This one has a regular discount of "only" 50%, but as only one person needs to own it, it makes it basically 75% to play in two (second person doesn't play after all). Some puzzles are a tiny bit messy, but otherwise everything is fine. Surely worth checking if you have co-op buddy.
Details
☐ Bare-bone ☑ Average ☐ Good |
This game is not played for the plot. Action takes place in a futuristic future that would make Zuckerberg jelly. Everyone has brain implant (or just super powerful tech googles) that allows to browse internet with eye movement and hacking people identity by being in proximity. We are agents on the mission to stop the evil hacker from spreading a really nasty computer virus. The game is linear and the story is shown as short comic-syle animations. |
☐ Boring ☐ Average ☑ Good |
Missions are short, on average 30 min long. Agent walks around location and look for access points, specific people etc. Hacker interacts with a representation of the database / system present in the location. It can be surveillance camera, robot control point, drones flight patterns, workers database etc. Players need to exchange information - agent will find access code to terminal, hacker will hack it, agent will check workers shifts, hacker will copy worker identity, so agent can process through the door. Couple pick locking minigames require both player input at the same time, but in general gameplay focus on give-information-and-wait-for-new-information-to-progress loop. It can be challenging when we don't understand how other person things, e.g. when trying to describe a shape that need to be input into the system. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☑ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
Agent can walk around and interact with objects. There is no need to jump or do any sort of platforming. The hacker usually sees the IT system that looks like a desktop with a tree of folders. I did not have a problem to play as the agent, but hacker view was a bit confusing at times: how to move inside the tree back and forth, where was the information that I need etc. |
☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
Menus are really basic, there is no inventory or many options to change in general. |
☐ Boring and generic ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Great |
There is no real combat. In some missions the agent needs to move through a series of rooms that are patrolled by drones, bumping into them sends us to a checkpoint. It's not possible to play the game solo. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☑ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☑ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☑ Average ☐ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☑ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☑ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
- Game has really basic but good looking graphic |
Side note
I waited ages to try get Raspberry Pi 4: due to the COVID-19 and supply issues, prices were ridiculous. Like 3-4 times the MSRP. 200 pounds for an item that should cost 50. Another scalpers’ heaven, not just PS4 and XboX X Super Y (they really need to start naming them in normal numeric order).
Last time I checked 2 months or so back, they were having waiting lists in official sellers shops with the estimated dispatch around Christmas, and no more than one unit per customer to limit scalpers. I checked now and most of the models are in stock at 50. Meanwhile, scalpers (and Amazon…) try to show now scalping price as MSRP and base price as “50% discount”. Though some scalpers still try to sell for more than 100. Crazy.
I really wonder how Amazon can go around showing people in Europe that those Orbital electric toothbrushes have a base price of 120. When in fact its normal (not promotional!!) price for 2 years is 60. They are always “50% off”. Last chance to buy, before they are gone! In Poland, they must now slap on all discount stickers “the lowest price in the past 30 days from before the promotion” information, even Steam started to implement it. And Amazon is like “nah”.
June 2023 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
- Nice brainless hack'n'slash
- Still game where colors or transmog are not paid for or obtained via loot box
- Classes are distinct enough to play the game more than one and not get bored with gameplay
- Pet is actually useful in picking up gold
The bad 👎
- Even on very hard is too easy
- Backgrounds rendered in 5 or 10FPS
- Uninteresting companions and NPCs
- Some runs don't give any better gear to equip
- Not possible to turn off visibility of junk loot
- All weapon racks give some junk gray quality items
- All boss fights are so bad. They just die after a minute or two, and have no interesting attacks. Just spam a stronger version of whatever it's mob version is using.
Conclusion:
It is a nice game to play if you like hack'n'slash. But it's not for people who primarily look for good plot. It is also impression from single player, I'm not interested in multiplayer.
Details
☑ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☐ Good |
☐ Boring ☑ Average ☐ Good |
Reach point, kill everything, rinse, repeat. Boring. Unless you like repetitive waves of similar enemies. |
☐ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☑ Magic / powers ☐ Advanced combat |
Gaining levels unlock abilities, or a new variant of existing one + some passive bonuses. But in general there are 1-2 good variants of an ability, and rest are stuffer. With passives, higher level are better, so we swap them as they are unlocked. There is no classic skill tree, we just swap abilities. There is simple crafting system that I never used as gear we have or find is better, and it's waste of time. Unless you need to have this specific bow with this specific properties set. Then Roll the Dice. Weapon level and properties on creation are random. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☑ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
It's an isometric game with mouse controlling the hero and numeric keys which ability will be used. |
☐ Basic ☑ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
This was actually well-made. Inventory is well organized, and it's easy to compare new vs old gear. It is reasonably big, though not possible to upgrade. |
☑ Boring and generic ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Great |
It is flashy and gore, but also brainless and repetitive. We don't need to use any strategy and abilities are on cooldown. |
☑ Brain dead ☐ Really basic ☐ Average ☐ Smart and responsive |
Enemy AI can't be higher than the one given to player companions. So enemies are brain-dead, they will just come to us in straight line and attack. |
☐ None ☑ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☑ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☑ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☑ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☐ Nothing to remember ☑ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☑ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☐ No map ☐ Basic ☑ Detailed ☑ Minimap ☑ Fast travel |
Graphic is not big here, especially backgrounds are ugly. |
Side note
In Poland bus is faster than a bike. In London bike is faster, as bus needs to fight with narrow roads, angry drivers and bus stops that are every 2 minutes. Journey to work on the bike takes me 30min now (7km), with public transport it was 15min walk + 40min on the bus (7,5km drive). That’s crazy. And I know I drive slow, still not used to left hand driving.
I also don’t know how people in UK can have a bike without mud guards. Nothing like some mud on your face from your own tire. But so many people think they are “uncool”. Better to be sprayed all over with mud and water from long gone rain.
(Photo is random from the internet, but guy did not have mudguards on muddy forest trip)
May 2023 Update
Next update (works only on profile page)
- Easy platformer for kids
The bad 👎
- Didn't try different languages, but polish dubbing is so bad xD
- No use for gem pick-ups, limited options to buy skins for gathered coins
- Basically 3 types of enemies - melee, ranged, flying - that change skin depending on biome
- Even when we hit checkpoint we will not resume game there. Game defaults to start of the level on restart
Conclusion:
Is it good game for adult? Yes if you have nostalgia towards old Kao games, or don't want challenge. It's also good for kids - easy, no MTX, no padding. But it's not for an adult that would look for challenging platforming or good combat.
Details
☑ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☐ Good |
☐ Boring ☑ Average ☐ Good |
It is quite repetitive. But also easy enough for kid to digest. Move from hub area into level, jump through easy platforming part, beat up some enemies, go back to hub area. |
☑ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☐ Magic / powers ☐ Advanced combat |
We can jump, roll, slam as a base. Later on we unlock the ability to use grappling hook, activate crystals (that turn ethereal platforms solid), throw bumerang. Addition to old games are elemental powers for gloves. Ice to freeze water geysers and make ice tracks, fire to melt ice and start engines, and wind that work like a force pull. They are used to solve really easy puzzles. |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☑ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
The game does not have ideal controls with camera that sometimes clip though textures and occasional problems with ledge grapping. But I did not encounter too many issues described in other people reviews. So looks like most of problems were patched. |
☑ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Over complicated |
Literally no options here. There is one menu to track collectibles, and each hub has a shop area where we can buy extra health or costumes. It's not possible to change costume mid-level. And cutscenes are pre-rendered, so we keep jumping between having "our" look in game and "default" in cutscenes. |
☑ Boring and generic ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Great |
Literally kid level. Each enemy (except for bosses) take approximately 3 hits to die. And they can't really punch back in an efficient way. There is a lot of time to roll away from attacking enemy, they drop hearts to replenish health quite often. Hitting the enemy 4-5 times without getting hit builds up a charge that is used to perform one hit kill aerial attack with bit of AoE. Bosses are quite easy. Each has a different approach we need to use to defeat it so it doesn't feel samey. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☑ None ☐ Story progression ☐ Few collectibles / easy to get ☐ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☐ Can run on potato ☑ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☑ Average ☐ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☑ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☐ Resolution, volume only ☑ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
Graphis is really basic and some textures are clipping though |
- Puzzles are interesting and there is a good variety of mechanics
- They did not forget about colorblind mode in game that focus on color
The bad 👎
- Plot is some science mumbo jumbo
- It looks at first like a nice kid game, but later timed sequence may be too complex for them
Conclusion:
It was all right game. Well-designed levels, no bugs. It starts pretty easy and up until last level don't give much challenge. And then there are few levels with tighter timing sequences that were bit frustrating at the end.
Details
☑ Bare-bone ☐ Average ☐ Good |
Whole world is gray and people can't see colors. Scientist worked hard to make a ring that allows to see color, but it was shattered and woman who created it get stuck in some other dimension? And it's on her son to pick up the ring pieces and save her. |
☐ Boring ☐ Average ☑ Good |
Levels are short and quite small. Game starts with one color. There are various colorful boxes, balloons, lasers, box-color-changing gel guns etc. When we change background color, items with the same color disappear from the view. Which means we can walk through walls, boxes, avoid lasers or make boxes connected to balloons drop down. We enter level, beat it and leave through exit doors. There is no map or level selection to pick up collectibles, or shortcuts between maps. Hub area leads to 5 zones, and each zone has the number of linear levels. |
☑ Basics (walk, jump etc.) ☐ Magic / powers ☐ Advanced combat |
We can only walk, move boxes and change background color |
☐ Clunky and stiff ☑ Adequate ☐ Fluid and enjoyable |
They are good enough. Sometimes jumping feels slippery, but I get used to it. |
☑ None ☐ Skins ☐ "Time-savers" ☐ Direct purchase ☐ Custom currency (gems etc.) |
☐ None ☐ Story progression ☑ Few collectibles / easy to get ☐ Grindy collectibles / hard to get ☐ Require multiple playthroughs |
☐ No saves ☐ No saves, progress carries over ☐ One checkpoint, too rare ☑ One checkpoint, frequent ☐ Manual saves |
☑ Can run on potato ☐ Medium requirements ☐ High requirements ☐ Too low for what is visible on screen ☐ Optimization disaster |
☐ May look good 10 years ago, but not now ☐ Blurry textures / geometry problems ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Beautiful |
☑ Nothing to remember ☐ Good voice acting ☐ Good weapons & effects ☐ Good OST ☐ Music flows well with the action |
☑ Resolution, volume only ☐ Basic graphic settings ☐ Advanced graphic settings ☐ Adjustable HUD ☐ Accessibility options |
☑ No map ☐ Basic ☐ Detailed ☐ Minimap ☐ Fast travel |
535 | games (+1 not categorized yet) |
1% | never played |
0% | unfinished |
63% | beaten |
26% | completed |
10% | won't play |