Recent reviews by Rajko

Amazing, quality adventure - make friends with your fellow adventures, explore the wilderness, having thrilling encounters with classic monsters designed and animated with love and care.

The gameplay itself feels great, not as precise as Elden Ring, but not mushy either. The world feels very natural and open.

You are free to try any role out easily, without having to preplan a character build. The social element of creating a companion character and sending them off into other worlds, coming back full of knowledge and commentary, feels fresh and fun. Doing a high five after a battle with your team is somehow a thrilling reward.

I've bumped into one bug so far, I think, but generally at all max settings the game is stunningly beautiful and stable.

I'm glad to return to the world of the Arisen after all these years, and even more glad to see how well it's grown.

I've played every Armored Core title that reached the US, and this title stands above the rest. The gameplay itself feels great, with the mech customization feeling deep while avoiding some of the fussy experimental stuff they've tried in the past. Gear selection is broad, and generally all gear feels useful, which is a huge leap forward. There are definitely elements of polish that feel like lessons learned from the Souls series that show up here, particularly in the story telling.

My only regret is the lack of co-op. A wonderful experience with top notch delivery in every aspect, breathtaking, challenging, and rewarding to play.

Update 11/21

Warframe today is an amazing, complex and rich experience, with a huge playerbase, constant updates, deep and expanding story, and new gameplay coming in pretty frequently. It's really set the bar for a free to play game can be, and the quality of the two open world environments and story telling that has been released over the last year is definitely worth the time to experience.

I'm going to leave old versions of the review below, but basically if you enjoy fast paced action, a complex world, customizing your characters to get just the right look, trying out new things, Warframe is for you.

2017

Coming back to update this review since the open world gameplay was launched, and I have to say that Warframe has come together to be so much more than the sum of it's pieces. Procedural tiles, drop in drop out aerial and space flight, dynamic mission types, quests, deep story and lore, plot twists, deep customization, this game has got it all, and with the new open world element being open to players new and veteran alike it's time to get back in.


From like 2015?

Warframe, Warframe, Warframe... What can I say about you?

Before Dark Sector came out, there was a trailer for a game that was very different from what Dark Sector ended up releasing as. Warframe is that game, but instead of a single stand alone, it is a squad based (but solo friendly) co op action game, with a dystopian sci fi setting, that sees constant new and improving content.

So much has changed over the years I've played this game, that it's hard to point at any one flaw, simply because over time they tended to get fixed.

If I wanted to bring somebody in to play it who never had before, I would maybe just tell them this:

"Hey friend, there's this free 2 play game I've been playing for years that you should try. It's got bad guys I love to hate, you play a sort of mystical space ninja, and it's got an epic setting most like Saga or the Incal. If you don't like it, I'll buy you a beer, but if you do like it, I'll buy you 2 beers and you can join my Clan (we have a sick Dojo base in space).

Hope that helps, and if it doesn't ask me questions in the comments, I'm glad to talk about Warframe.

Short version:

Fractured space brings something unique to space combat games. Although it doesn't currently offer a great deal of variety in it's objectives or modes,the devil is in the details and mastering your ships and developing your teamwork is the most rewarding element.

It's well worth the hour or so it takes to go through the trainer and your first live match, and if you ever enjoyed a space opera, this is going to get your attention in a unique way.


Long version:

Fractured space is in an alpha release state, so a lot of things are likely to change. This review is a work in progress as I push through the early game and get to know Fractured Space better, and reflects a relatively new player's experience.

Fractured Space is a game focused on commanding massive spaceships in space combat.

The game attempts to deliver a massive sense of scale, with the primary player controlled asset being very large space ships. Three manufacturers are currently available, with very different looks and feels, each of which offering it's own unique role. Like other MOBA style games, the depth comes from the interaction between differently composed teams, and emphasizes teamwork, strategy, tactics and skill over anything else.

Starter ships tend toward flexibility, with every other ship being unlockable through gameplay, and offering more niche speciality roles.

So far there are no real pay to win elements, no timers, no exclusive modules or gear. Cash items currently offered are cosmetic, with the sole advantage of the few premium ships being a full team boost to cash and exp (up to 5%). The ships themselves perform exactly the same as their vanilla counterparts, while being unable to have their custom skins replaced by any other skins availabe through the market.

Fractured Space offers a crew system, with a crew being made up of 5 crew. Potential crew members each belong to a crew role, like captian, CAG, tactical officer, engineering, jump specialist, and so on. Crew currently can not be doubled up on a specific role; only one captain, only one CAG.

The current recruitment system for crew is the only randomized element of the game I've seen so far, and is probably the weakest element. The current system is a lot like a one armed bandit, spitting out a random crew member in exchange for currency earned in game, or credits purchased with cash. There is also a drop system from playing a set number of games during any given day, with 3 tiered rewards at 2, 4, and 6 games played.

The randomness of the system, and the fact that you may continue to get crew you already have, feel oddly out of tune with an otherwise very accessible game.

Gameplay:

Currently the game contains a short basic tutorial (really an actual game match with AI opponents, a UI introduction and some additional standard trainer content added). Additional tutorials are planned.

Gameplay has one released mode, a complex 5 on 5 capture the control point battlefield, split up into 5 distinct arenas. You will travel between them using a warp drive system, warping from point to point, capturing nodes, fighting enemy craft, all with the ultimate goal of capturing the opposing team's home base.

I haven't yet seen the second mode, which is currently disabled in the U.I. and called "Frontlines Mode".

In addition, there is a custom game option that lets you pack just your friends into a game, and a firing range mode that gives you the opportunity to test fly any ship in the game.

Each ship has it's own set of unique weapons and modules, speed, vulnerabilites and strengths. The variety feels pretty deep so far as I've played into, although it looks like it takes dedication to significantly open up the ship options.

The visuals and the handling of the ships do a good job conveying the size and majesty of thousand meter spaceships, and the handling end is very important, positioning plays a vital role in combat, and gets complex very quickly.

Shields in Fractured Space are a utility module for certain support ships only, with armor being the acme of defense. This for me adds to the space opera feel of the combat, where any hit on an enemy hull is meaningful.

Teamwork is the key to gameplay, with no ship being particularly good at lone wolfing it. I havent explored any voice options yet, but players seem to quickly grasp basics, and the game is flexible enough to lay traps, temp enemy groups into walking into ambushes, pound ships out of cover, expoit support craft to defend nodes, and so on.

Audio:

Music does a good job without standing out too much or getting in the way.

Crew voice overs are fantastic fun, however. Each crew member available in the game has their own deep backstory and motivations, and will chime in with frequent reports whenever something relevant to their sphere of expertise is going on.

Just drilled an enemy vessel with a crippling debuff? Your tactical officer will jump on the bridge comm, popping up a static visual of the crew member, to let you know.

Warping in? That natty nav-droid you've got at the nav station might remind you of the dangers in jumping under fire (try not to).

And on and on. With upwards of 40 crew available, the personalities you pick really change the feel of your command, and add a tremendously fun element to the game.

Weapons fire are also extremely impressive to listen to, from the shudder of the ship when you fire off your missile racks, to the droning energy discharge of certain heavy energy weapons.

Fracture Space is not a game you will want to play with the sound turned off.

Visuals / Performance:

Game performance is very good on my Area 51 Alienware rig. The ships are stunning, from attitude jets to very slick warp animations.

The feel of the game is a little down to earth, compared to many sci-fi ship games. Thrusters don't leave impossibly long visual contrails ala EVE, energy weapons are common, but most of them will not wear out your eyes with pop and flash and screen shaking. That said, there are some that do have extremely flashy effects. Overall I think it works for the feel of the game, but ymmv.

User Interface:

The main UIs do not feel particularly good or intuitive to navigate. If you've played Star Conflict or Hawken, you are going know where to go. Otherwise it will be mildly frustrating but a short learning curve.

The in game UIs are a different story. Somewhat customizable, these are extremely functional, interesting and enjoyable.

Round-up:

Fractured Space feels something like a MOBA, with a stately, tactical pace, but manages to also offer frantic firefights.

For an alpha title, the depth of ship variety and balance is surprisingly good, the audio is generally outstanding, and the in-game ui and controls feel very good.

The game elements outside of the actual gameplay generally do not yet feel very polished, and that extends to the crew system, unfortunately.

For space sim fans, Fracture Space offers a unique and very promising experience, and the existing gameplay is rewarding enough that I'd recommend investing the hour or so it takes to learn the gameplay and go through your first match.

Bought this game during the recent sale, and so far have found it to be fantastic, stressful, and difficult.

The art is all very gothic and entertaining, with the voice over narration being a huge draw that builds the atmosphere and injects a great deal of stress. The narration is bitter, hopeful, and fatalistic in turns, and compares pretty well with what the voice of the old man brought to Bastion. Narration is pretty constant, especially in battle.

Gameplay so far (in what feels like early game still) revolves around delicately balancing individual character's skills and testing out your strategy, with many environmental factors adding to the overall challenge. Each class has a particular flavor, and a stock of upgradeable abilities that can be selected, though only half the total can be active at a time. The depth of it seems to be in planning out synergy between all of the skills of the characters you have, while managing upgrades and expense against the gold you'll need to fund each expedition.

Hostile encounters can be brutal, but it feels so far to be most like Dark Souls, where the unknown is the biggest hurdle, and death teaches you a lot more than getting lucky in your first encounter with something new (which, for me, usually means I get slaughted by underestimating that critter when later on it gets another crack at me).

There is a lot of random acts of cruelty to account for. Every crate you smash, every coffin you pillage, every chest you open is a little pandora's box of blessings and horrors.

There is a stress management system that has both postive and negatives to it, along with a pretty interesting system to cope with the things your heroes encounter.

Music is good, feeling appropriate to the setting without getting in the way, but not quite as stand-out as other games like FTL (at least to me).

Taking it on the strength of the game as it is now, I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys roguelikes, gothic horror genres, and especially for anyone who thrives on challenge and adversity. A willingness to be patient and plan in advance are also important to get the most of it.

I can safely say that Darkest Dungeon is all about inovation in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Update: Since buying this game, *last week*, there have been 3 updates to it, each with small refinements and bug fixes, like adding in the ability to toggle on and off the corpse gameplay mechanic (not quite as gross as it sounds), and a toggle for the heart attack stress mechanic. That feels like a pretty quick turnaround for updates, from my experience with Early Access titles.

Leviathan is an extremely unique visual novel, with a detailed story and deep world building.

The visuals are very well done, with detailed scenery, charming pop outs and animated transitions, and animated story board elements. Even the menu design builds on the world in the story.

The music and audio feels bang on. Right at the opening credits, the music builds a dark but comic atmosphere.

One minor complaint I have is that wayfinding would be very hard without toggling on the hot point overlay. Fortunately you can toggle this one and off very easily without leaving the scene.

If you enjoy visual novels, I highly recommend checking this out!

The Fall is a splendidly atmospheric side scrolling adventure game with a dark, tense and gripping story line.

The combat is straightforward and fun, but doesn't take over. The puzzles can be challenging but make sense. Voice over work is absolutely fantastic and engaging. Animations are extremely fluid and natural and the sounds of the game world draw you irresistably in.

I was spellbound with The Fall, can't recommend it highly enough, especially for fans of titles like Flashback and Out of this World.

I'm an ardent fan of the Castlevania series, from the original titles to the Lords of Shadow releases, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Mirror of Fate manages to strike a perfect balance between the story building and flavor of the new Lords of Shadow arc, and the 2D feel of the classic titles.

The controls are a little forgiving, the combat system manages to blend the old and new very well, the audio is stellar, and the papercraft art style to the cutscenes feel like a fresh nod to all of the classics. I've been having an absolute blast with it!

If you are looking for something to scratch that metroidvania itch, I highly recomend Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD.

The controls are initially a bit challenging, but once you adjust, a breathtaking adventure awaits. The characters are astoundingly fresh and gritty, the sound of the game is amazing, and the gameplay is fun and rewarding. I highly recommend playing through this epic tale.