Recent reviews by Alien Rope Burn

A cool core system strains under the weight of "Ubi-fication".

Shadow of War is, on a piece of paper, just a bigger sequel to Shadow of Mordor. It's just... more. More locations, more orcs, more orc traits, more weapons, more monsters, more skills, more, more, more. Play-wise, it's still Assassin's Creed with a touch of Rocksteady's Batman series, and has all the cool stuff associated with those basic game systems... and their flaws. Flipping around killing orcs is still a lot of fun, but no, I don't want to climb that wall, I want to go around it- no, not the wall, dammit, Tyrion, stop being distracted by your love of masonry!

Of course, the core appeal is the Nemesis system, one of the best uses of procedural or random generation I've seen in a game. Each orc warlord has his own traits, strengths, weaknesses, and personality. One of the biggest strengths of Shadow of War was that, because of this, and because of how they react upon victories and defeats regarding your character, you developed relationships with the orcs as allies, rivals, and foes. And the core issue with there being more orcs is that a lot of those relationships get washed out in just the sheer number of orcs you'll interact with. Worse yet, if you really dig into the system, you'll start to see it repeat itself in ways. "Oh, look, another guy I poisoned that now has embraced poison and loves poison now, well, that's how it goes." The system, when it works, is still a lot of fun, but the cracks really start to show.

The storyline is improved, though admittedly that's a low bar to clear considering the story from the original was something of a basic framework. Some of the stories suffer from length and the "more!" notion, having you effectively repeat content just to stretch out their running time. Overall, the game suffers from being stretched overlong, with a lot of miscellaneous missions that amount to white noise save when you're personally invested in a particular orc to claim, defeat, or bolster. And, it's too bad, because when the game shines, it really shines. Moreover, the story "works" in fitting into the Lord of the Rings themes better, even if it's likely to give purists absolute fits. The real highlight for me came with the fortress conquests and defenses, huge chaotic events you struggle to influence and control to your favor.

Overall, if available at a decent price, it can be worth a go and see if it still excites if you've been through Shadow of Mordor. You might want to take breaks on this one, to step away and go back. For some reason I kept coming back to it despite my logical brain going "but you'll just be doing the same thing" as it tickled my lizard brain for one more go, even as I eyerolled at the repetition. If you've burnt out on open-world Ubisoft-style activity connect-the-dots styled games, you may want to give this one a pass. As for the monetitization issues of the early versions of this game, I could only see hints of them remaining in the multiplayer activities - though the real-money shop got highlighted in a piece of legacy dialogue, it doesn't exist as far as I could tell within the game.

Finished on Hard, including the Shadow Wars, but not the extra-mode DLC (which will get their own reviews if played). Did full completion of all story missions and extensive fiddling with the Nemesis system.

Not good, but interesting.

To say The Witcher feels dated would have to be a massive understatement. Based on Bioware's Infinity engine - the same one that the Neverwinter Nights series ran on - the tech involved on it was old and janky at the time of release, to say nothing of looking at it a decade later. Like its protagonist, it's something of a weird, unique mutant of a game.

Though a first it seems to resemble the Bioware games of the time, The Witcher is an unusual break in that it makes you stick by those dialogue options, often with no backsies. I learned to save before any major conversation because sometimes the wrong turn of phrase could cause a sudden cold shoulder. At one point in midgame there's an investigation - and the result of that largely has to do with your dialogue options, as you determine not what you, the player, have learned, but what Geralt, the Witcher, has learned. I have both frustration and admiration for this sort of approach, as though it can be annoying in the moment, it's rare to have a game that lets you fail. While Geralt will eventually wander his way to the end of the plot regardless, it's not something you often see in American-made games these days. Mind, the stiff, glassy-eyed NPCs - most of which look like the proverbial deer in the headlights - and some conversation that's both translated and spoken pretty badly doesn't help.

The combat is ultimately a timing game where you're trying to do combos to a predetermined beat depending on the weapon and combo, and working out the right "key" between weapon and combo type to deal out maximum damage to the enemy in question. Add in signs - a small array of spells - and potions that provide boosts at the risk of "toxicity penalties", and in theory there's a lot to juggle. But about 80% of the game was me pulling out a silver sword and comboing, occasionally stunning a foe with a magic blast, and having to pull out a healing potion now and then. Though the combat starts as difficult as Geralt's numbers become underwhelming, towards the midgame the difficulty just started dropping rapidly as Geralt's leveling and equipment outpaces the monsters to a laughable extent.

With that all out of the way, there is an earnestness to The Witcher, a certain odd sincerity of design to it. All of its systems are rooted in the series' lore, and there's a clear love for the source material that really shows through, even today. It's got a wry and sarcastic tone despite the grimness of the setting, and though Geralt may be a loner, the presence of friends and acquaintances keep you from ever really feeling alone. The pacing is abysmal in the early middle chapters, with constant meandering fetch quests that will make you far, far more intimately familar with a certain patch of swampland than you ever need to be. And the game is long, an a lot of that length isn't well-justified. Ultimately, The Witcher is at its best when it's telling stories of solving supernatural trouble in small towns, or having small decisions from several chapters back haunting you later on.

Ultimately, it's an ambitious game that exceeds its reach. As such, this is a game to play because it's interesting and different in the realm of older RPGs. It's not a good or enjoyable game per se, nor is it an short game, and has a lot of compounded flaws. But it has a certain charm and uniqueness that keeps me from dismissing it entirely.

Played through to completion on normal difficulty.

Worth the wait.

While games are rarely the product of a single auteur, Iconoclasts is 7 years of effort by one designer and artist, and so it has a relatively singular vision. Iconoclasts seems like a 2d exploration game - and it is, though the spirit is still closer to the level-and-boss structure of old 2d action games, with the open world serving more as connective tissue for you to revisit areas. But you won't find yourself criss-crossing the map too much. Instead, the focus is on constantly switching up the gimmicks and tricks of each level. As such, Iconoclasts is rarely content to keep serving up the exact same gameplay, which is refreshing. The drawback is that it stumbles a few times when a given gimmick doesn't work out.

On top of rarely resting on its laurels, the animation and characterization really help Iconoclasts live. It takes a while for the characters to get their hooks in, and it seems relatively straightforward at first... but then as twists pile up, it develops nuance. The script suffers slightly in clarity due to the author not being a native English speaker, but it is still has clever turns and phrasing I might not have expected. By the end the emotional hits reached a fever pitch for me in a way I never would have expected from the relatively straightforward opening areas.

However, those who enjoy the meteoric rise of "zero to sequence-breaking hero" sometimes found in 2d exploration games may be disappointed. Most major upgrades happen at predetermined times in the plot, with the discoverables being very slight incremental upgrades to various tools and tasks. As such, while your tools do grow, it's a very modest addition of new abilities compared to similar games. I personally appreciate the fact it forces you to master your existing abilities instead of just handing you new magic key to open a new set of doors with every 45 minutes.

The real love of this game are the boss battles, each of them different and dramatic. And the music - most of the stage music is ambient and meandering, the boss music is always sharp and attention-grabbing. It's enough to make me pine for a boss rush mode, but alas, it's not to be so far.

In the end I loved, but I was primed by the designer's previous game, Noitu Love 2, being perhaps my biggest Steam sleeper hit. Iconoclasts has a payout, but it requires getting through a somewhat slow opening and a few dips in terms of gameplay along the way.

Played through once to around 70% or so completion.

What's left to be said?

The main issue you're facing with Doki Doki is that the twist takes a surprising amount of time. Expect to play around two or three hours of bog-standard, relatively low-effort VN to get to the interesting bits. The secondary issue is the fact that there's a twist isn't much of a secret anymore, so it lacks the impact it would have playing it completely raw. It's kind of a similar issue I had with Pony Island, though Doki Doki at least has a more interesting premise and theme behind the whole "EVIL GAME" gimmick.

That all being said, the initial punch of the twist is a hard one, and troublingly genuine when it comes to matters of depression. Beyond that, the returns diminish a bit, but it remains clever up until eventual end. You kind of need to have some basic computer knowledge to probably get the most out of this one; not being familiar with things like file structures could be a real show-stopper.

Overall, Doki Doki Literature Club is an interesting send-up of the VN genre. I wouldn't recommend it as anybody's first VN, because it probably has the most impact with some knowledge of VN tropes (or at least dumb harem anime tropes). If you're into dumb anime stuff and don't mind the cost of a few hours of buildup, sure, it's definitely worth the price of free. It'll be interesting to see if this as an impact down the road on American VNs, at least, or if people will continue down the road it condemns.

Played through once to the normal ending.

Well, that was a little briefier than I expected.

Refunct is a chillout platformer involving solely hopping from platform to platform, with each platform marked by a green color when you touch it. It won't take long to play through, which fits with its price point. Your goal is to make it to buttons that unlock more of the map, until the map is complete and you're done. There's walljumping and sliding, but mostly it's just simple jumping. There's also some special power that I never worked out how to use or really needed?

I wish there was a little more dramatic launching or spectacle to it, but overall it fits a little chunk of OCD where you're just trying to turn things from grey to green, and it ends before one tires of it, certainly. A thumbs up if you just wanna jump, jump for a half-hour or so.

Finished with 98% completion.

"Well, I'm glad I kickstartered this." isn't something I get to say often enough with a videogame. But I get to say it this time!

Battle Chef Brigade is very much more than the sum of its parts. Mainly combining match-3 puzzling with brawler platforming, BCB is clearly somewhat inspired by the cooking and alchemy sections of the PS2 game Odin Sphere, but... with a much tighter focus. Consisting largely of a linear series of cooking battles, you go out and slay monsters to collect their drops, which then become match-3 game pieces to use in the kitchen. The goal is to satisfy judges who prefer a particular ingredient type and color, though you can collect various other scoring goals based on cookbooks you unlock. There are two characters with their own techniques - Mina and Thrash - but you'll be playing Mina for the most part. There are also fixed match-3 puzzle segments, hunting levels where you're just assigned X monsters to defeat, and speed puzzling where you have to create certain color combos. There's special moves to unlock, and a limited number of slots for upgrades means you're forced to focus on a particular strategy or playstyle instead of just getting flatly better.

Individually some of these segments would be weak, but BCB is changing gears often enough that it's hardly a concern, since you're rarely focusing on any one particular segment. The 2D sprites and music are well-done, though the animation is more than a little lacking at points. While you're not likely to notice in the frantic cooking battles, it becomes startlingly obvious outside of them. While the voicework is generally strong, there are a few voices that sound more amateurish... though, once again, the game is often switching gears often enough that it's hard to dwell too long on the flaws. While the story is middling, the characters really do bring it to life, and I'd love to see more with this particular cast in a more engaging tale.

Largely, it feels like a great start and proof of concept, and I'd love to see the team get a sequel to flesh it out more. While it's obviously limited by its budget and scope, there's something special and fresh here - no pun intended - but once you're done with the story, there isn't too much else to explore. I'm glad to see the ambitious notion of "fantasy Iron Chef" worked out better than I might have even expected, and it's a good fun romp for awhile even if it sadly doesn't last. Still, if the idea appeals to you, this is definitely worth a try.

Completed the story mode and was a kickstarter backer, as already mentioned.

Good to see pinball still lives.

Pinball FX2 was probably my comfort game. If I needed to just purely video game, practice some reflexes, and make a score get big, PFX2 was my go-to game. While not every table Zen Studios has put out has been brilliant, they're varied and creative in ways that often call back real pinball tables, or in new ways you can only really do in a videogame. Though they can be punishing, overall the difficulty is lighter than in actual pinball, since a game like Pinball FX has no need to swallow your quarters if it doesn't have to. Granted, it's still born out of the 3-balls and you're out genre, but it's friendlier than something like Pinball Arcade, complete with a more generous ability to bump the table.

Pinball FX3's real changes are nods to the "level, upgrade, and unlock" notions that have become standard in most other genres of videogames. There are bonuses to different types of scoring you can assign to a table, as well as the ability to increase your scoring temporarily, reverse a short period of time, or slow down the ball. There are also new challenge modes like a five minute time limit, being limited to only one ball, or a "survival" mode where you have a time limit that's gets increased as your score goes up. There also now competitive modes where you try and beat people's scores in short three-minute games, but my experience with those is probably the most negative of the new features - it mostly just tests your ability to grind your competitive score and requires too much of a time sink. I love competing on the scoreboards, but even that was too much for me.

The free table that comes with the game, Sorcerer's Lair, is a decent taste and has been improved from the original version in some subtle inside-pinball ways where it's a bit easier to score on than it used to be. Most of the old tables from Pinball FX2 have returned - delightfully, for free if you already owned them - and almost all of them have seen minor lighting, engine, and texture improvements. Others have seen subtle improvements to their rules or layout. It's a real testament to Zen Studios really servicing their fans, especially when it seems like big publishers are trying to desperately wring money out of players ad infinitum.

Overall, it's a very solid platform, allowing you to buy what tables you like and leave the rest behind if you want. It's tough to recommend specific packs, as Zen - for better or worse - seems to include both their greater and lesser tables in the same pack, so you're likely to get an A-side and B-side to whatever your buy. My personal favorite tables would be Epic Quest, Spider-Man, Venom, Starfighter Assault, Han Solo, and Champions... while my least favorite are Fantastic Four, V12, Shaman, Iron Man, and Masters of the Force. YMMV, though, and you'll probably be able to find something you like, particularly if you're a fan of Star Wars or Marvel. As a warning, though, with some modern movie licenses Zen either has trouble getting the plot, soundtrack, or voices right. These kind of tables are done on a budget and restricted timetable compared to the movies they're based on, and sometimes it unfortunately shows.

In general, though, it's a great new platform for pinball, and a lot of hard work has gone into it. Looking forward to seeing Zen keeping pinball coming out for the forseeable future. If you have any interest in pinball, it's worth a flip.

So much eye candy.

Really, the thing that's the most striking was their attempt - and success - at making 3D work look like 2D animation. While anime isn't everybody's cuppa, their hard work at doing hand-adjusted animation and "inbetween" models really makes it stand out from the crowd. It's easily the best-looking fighting game in my opinion, if not one of the best looking games in general. They avoid the tendency for costume and character overdesign you see in other series, but the level of detail in outfits is striking, from little rivets to even tiny bits of text you can only spot during certain animations. It really is something else.

"But how is the game?" Well, it's a very refined high-mobility 2D fighting game that sticks to its roots, largely for good and to a lesser extent for worse. Characters have fast, big, and creative attacks, a wide variety of strategies and strengths, and are loaded with personality and visual flair. There are several ways to try and turn games around, from increased damage on supers at low life to "bursts" that knock enemies away. However, if you're not into doing half-circles followed by a direction reversal, you might find this more than a little intimidating. While it's not the worst old-school fighting game motions I've seen, there is the occassional 360 degree joystick motion or quarter-circle plus half-circle archaic notions that, unfortunately, keep games like Guilty Gear targeted squarely at their default audience. However, it does feature one of the best training modes in the genre, so if you're willing to dig in, the game will teach you some surprisingly pro techniques.

The story is pure word salad nonsense at this point, concluding the story from Guilty Gear Xrd #SIGN and the barely-played-by-anybody Guilty Gear X2 Overture. Having played the series since the original Guilty Gear game on the Playstation 1, I can only imagine what it would be like to come in at this point in the story. The arcade modes set up endings for each of the characters which plays into a straightforward anime movie / visual novel mode without any actual gameplay. And while it's pretty (and the story is enjoyable for those already invested in it), I wish they had come up with a way to engage the player better. Still, it is very, very easy on the eyes. And the soundtrack is an an amazing collection of hard rock, albeit with some questionable english lyrics at times...

While it doesn't really push the fighting genre forward at all game-play wise, Guilty Gear Xrd #REVELATOR is an extremely refined and tuned entry in the series. It's nearly the Platonic ideal of what it strives to be. If you like anime or metal and you like fighting games, get on top of this. It isn't going to change videogames, but it's a great entry in an already very original and memorable series.

Played through every character on arcade mode to completion and went through the story. Did a little online play, but not much. I'm only "good casual" or "low pro" at this sort of game, so take that into account, get gooders.

It's the first musou game I actually enjoyed.

Granted, the last time I played one was probably Dynasty Warriors 3, and the franchise has seemingly advanced quite a bit since then. Room-clearing supers, team-up attacks, and all that have added to the "run to place, fight until there is no more fighting" formula that makes up most of this brawler series. Special achievements and requirements add a little more focus and things to do, as well as reasons to grind stages over and over to unlock one more thing. And there's always more to unlock and grind for.

The special superpowers and weapons of the One Piece cast are a great boon to the rest of this game, since their variety forced the devs to make a lot of different and unique effects. Some are better at clearing areas, some chain their attacks in interesting ways, others launch themselves around the battlefield - there's a lot of different playstyles to unlock. However, what you're doing with them most of the time - blowing away droves of enemies that present little threat - doesn't really change from character to character. Kicking things up to hard or facing a stage you're underleveled for is about the only time you might find too much difficulty outside of the challenges. Mind, losing a stage is really discouraged, as you lose everything but the XP gained - and given a stage can take a good 45 minutes to complete, that can can be really disheartening.

If you're not already into One Piece, though, this is not the place to start. The story is extremely abbreviated from that of the manga or anime, and leaves much unexplained under the presumption that players will already be familiar with the series. And, to be fair, compressing 15 years of manga continuity into a single game is a herculean task, and so they've aimed for a "greatest hits" sort of summary. It's appreciated that they use new 3d cutscenes rather than just cut-paste anime scenes, but it's still by and for the fans. Still, if you like a character, you can probably play them. If you like a story, there's probably a stage for it. It services the fans well, but likely leaves everybody else in the dust. Furthermore, it just kind of ends at the point they had in the manga at the time, so don't expect a big-wrap for the series.

The grind can be a little too heavy at times - later levels seem to presume you've taken some time to grind on the side, which isn't really welcome. Granted, replaying levels and gaining new bits is satisfying, but it shouldn't have been a necessity to pad out the game's length. There's even a big endgame series of levels for those who have maxed their characters or close enough to it, though they're mostly just remixes of existing content at higher level rather than a new story or tale.

Overall, though, it's probably the best One Piece game yet, and the flurry of blowing hundreds and thousands of enemies out of the way is very true to the series' feel. If you don't mind the rhythmic repetition of the musou games, of blowing away enemies until the climax of a super... rinse... repeat... this is absolutely a game for fans of the series. It's not deep, but it uses the wide cast and lore to create a delightfully violent playground. Though it's nothing too innovative, it is a satisfying and colorful brawler to pound your way through. If you're not into One Piece and you read this far... well, I recommend reading the manga as a goofy pirate battle comic, but this game isn't for you unless you're willing to do a little homework. (Even I had to do some catching up to do before I played some of the later levels.)

Played through the whole story campaign to completion on normal, with a smattering of levels finished on hard and side content unlocked. Was gifted the game by an online friend.

Hey, it was free, right?

Not A Hero lets you go though a short adventure as series mainstay Chris Redfield, tying off a loose story thread from the main game. What we get is a somewhat more linear adventure with increased action, but not so much as to completely disconnect from its survival horror roots.

While not as strong as the main game, this is at least a perfectly satisfying extra chunk of RE7. While Chris can punch stunned enemies like in more recent Resident Evil games, its more a means to conserve ammo than the backyard wrestling antics of RE6. Special ammo necessary to take down certain enemies means I always felt on the edge of being left helpless but never quite getting there. Though a bit more B-movie than the main game, including a completely hackneyed bomb plot, at a playtime of about two hours it doesn't manage to wear out its welcome. Some new enemies and a new boss round out the package, making it a worthwhile little addition to the main game.

Some story ambiguity and ties to the rest of the franchise makes the story a bit less compelling, as the stakes and implications are decidedly unclear. Hopefully this doesn't say much about the future of this side of the franchise, because I could do without a lot of the idiot plot on display here... but it's still fun if you're willing to overlook that.

A flawed addition, but refined and small enough to be worth the short time it'll take to play though, I think.

Played to completion on normal difficulty.