Recent reviews by FierachUrechi

A very fun and frantic addition to the Warhammer 40k universe. Speaking as a Vermintide veteran, I absolutely adore the hybrid combat, the classes, the enemies, and especially the music, and I look forward to new weapons, and hopefully new classes added to the game and continuing support.

The crafting system however leaves something to be desired. The monetization system (which is cosmetics only) is even worse. These are not deal-breakers for me, but I would be among many players who'd urge Fatshark to revisit and improve upon these aspects of their game. Darktide has come a long way from the release, which I avoided given the company's record in Vermintide and Vermintide 2, and I hope continued support would make the game truly great. Ultimately, 7/10.

Edit: As of 6/13/2024, I am changing my review to a negative. The penance update helped greatly, and added increased life and longevity to the game. I hope the upcoming update with a new map and weapons will as well.

However, not only is the cosmetic store predatory it is also incompetent. It's inconsistent updates drive this review update. It's one thing to rip players off, but to be inept at it really annoys me.

Seriously Fatshark. Have some standards when you fleece me for cosmetics. Warframe does!

Fierach's Reviews:
Tl;dr: For Honor is a flawed, but gorgeous game. Worth buying if you like the premise, and are into fighting games. If not, pick it up on sale.

The Good: It is the age-old playground question. Who would win in a fight? A viking, a knight, or a samurai? The devs at Ubisoft Montreal have crafted an absolutely beautiful game. Anachronism stew though it may be, it is clear that they paid close attention and detail to both fantasy, and real life tropes for the characters depicted in For Honor. You feel the weight of the Lawbringer's poleaxe, the calculated swift strikes of the Orochi, and the savagery of the Raider in every step, swing, and animation. The devs have crafted a uniquely compelling fighting system, the Art of Fighting for their interaction. The game boosts a short, but meme-worthy and fun single-player campaign that is just the tutorial for the multiplayer, where the game really begins. Online there are a variety of modes versus players and versus AI opponents (who differ enough in strength that they can give veteran players a run for their money), earning wargear and customization options to personalize any of the heroes you picked to fight as. Modes range from the single, and honored 1v1 Duel, to more chaotic 2v2 Brawls, and 4v4 deathmatch-like Elimination and MOBA-like Dominion modes.

The Bad: This is a fighting game, and Ubisoft has never really made a fighting game before. Balance isn't the best. Some ideas put into the game (for example, such as polearms and larger weapons taking longer, and with a slight delay on rapid guard switching), might sound okay on paper, but can prove frustrating in practice. Their peer-2-peer networking scheme causes problems for some. While I also experience disconnects now and then, it is a matter of opinion whether this is a dealbreaker or not. Do be aware that p2p will not go away however, and will not be replaced, since it would need a total overhaul of the game's netcoding.

The End: For Honor has had many problems at its start. Much like the other Ubisoft title, Rainbow 6: Seige, For Honor has had communication issues, connectivity issues, and well, almost any sort of problem you can think of, it had it. However, the game overall is stable now, barring a few disconnects by salty players in the larger 4v4 modes possibly dragging the rest down. The developers host a weekly talk and showcase to talk about upcoming updates and current issues brought to light by the community, and the game is much improved from its release thanks to several updates focused on balancing, bug fixes, and improvement of the netcode. Could it still be better? Absolutely. There's still work to be done on adding more features, expanding customization, and balancing certain heroes, but the community and devs work hard, and work hand in hand to bring new content and address issues on an at least biweekly basis.

If you enjoy fighting games, or just running around as a badass Viking, Knight, or Samurai, you owe it to yourself to consider buying this game.

Do you like Left 4 Dead?

Do you like Warhammer?

Do you like killing scores of ratmen in visceral melee combat?

Then buy and play Vermintide.

The game has some bugs, features a frustrating loot system, and is unforgiving if you do not work together with your teammates. Vermintide also suffers from a little bit of repetition, but gameplay is solid, and every moment and move is crucial. Vermintide will receive continuing support from its ambitious Devs, and so I am proud to support and play this game, and recommend it highly.

First of all, I do recommend this game.

Lets start with its problems. Day one DLC is one big problem that I think TRS should fire its entire marketing department for. Much of it was poorly worded, and gave the wrong impression to gamers. The skins that are avaliable generally don't change the look of the characters that much, although given the complexity of the character models I'm not surprised, just disappointed. However, TRS does intend to keep supporting this game, and I will back them on that.

Balance problems. Wraith is a balance problem. TRS has stated they will release a balance patch, and given that the rest of the game's balance is almost perfect, I trust that they'll do well with the balancing act.

Complexity. This is a mixed bag. The monsters and hunters are all easy to learn, hard to master completely. To an inexperienced eye, the maps can feel the same, but the veteran can pick out engagement locations, suitable arenas that favor hunter or monster, common feeding locations, and places to find buffs for an advantage. This is not going to be a casual gamer's game. To win as the Hunters, one requires adequate knowledge of not just their own role, but the roles of their partners, and to coordinate with them. To win as the Monster, one requires knowledge of the limits of their creature, and the ability to outthink not one, but four enemies.

Story. Evolve does not have a traditional campaign, but the banter between the characters hints at a rich lore and universe behind the game. The casual player or team who picks the same characters over and over again may be bored by the repetitive banter they come across, but if you branch out just a little bit, you can find ancedotes, tales, and tidbits of story that flesh out each character beautifully and tantalizingly. I fully expect the story to grow and expand, and I look forward to it.

Yes, Evolve has its problems. It may not be worth its 60 dollar price tag, it may be the same repetitive crap over and over again in a game (in the opinions of some), but let me ask you this. Have you really thought about it? How much money has the common gamer spent on "free to play" games like League of Legends, Planetside 2, Warframe, Mechwarrior Online? Aren't the activities in those games just as repetitive (and don't get me started on one of the most-played FPS games of all time, Counterstrike, and its maps de_dust and de_dust2).

Ultimately, Evolve is uniquely in a category all of its own. TRS has created one of the best assymetrical battle systems ever in a game. Like any uniquely new game, it will have growing pains, but from what I've seen, I look forward to its growth.