Recent reviews by Tenjen

Hi Fi Rush suddenly dropped in our laps with zero expectations or marketing. It had great rhythm combat, an entertaining story and very charming characters. It won multiple awards in the process.

It deserved to have a sequel but I guess executives chasing infinite profit margin growth is repulsed by good games being made by game studios because it was shut down despite being a massive success out of nowhere. Followed up by tone deaf statements from microsoft the next day "We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards" which Hi Fi Rush fit to a T.

This isnt the first time Microsoft has conducted mass shut downs of successful and profitable studio's with beloved IPs that it only just acquired. The same thing happened in 2015.

The system is broken and game publishers are a bane on the industry. Stockmarket companies wearing the skin of game companies.

Helldivers 2 is a fantastic 4 player coop game with an amazing variety of weapons, barrages, bombings and gear to call down to enable you to slaughter an army of different enemies from (currently) two factions on different fronts. All on different planets with different conditions, weather and natural disasters.

It is the concept of these fronts which creates a wider game. You have a galaxy map and the player community is constantly in a war of territorial control against the bots and bugs. Major orders come in shaping the overall story of the game as the war campaign continues, one which is defined by the communities choices, success and even failures. Defining what new gear you may unlock or how the enemy army might be bolstered or gain new units.

the 3rd Combat (with optional 1st person aiming) feels great after some adjustment to weapon drag mechanics (heavier and longer weapons take time to catch up with your reticle and recoil is a factor) and the build variety is wide and wild to suit your tastes and allow you to adjust to a variety of planetary conditions and enemy variation. By which I mean, while there are a set number of enemy types, the quantity of each type can vary from day to day on a planet. The strategy to handle 40,000 jumpers vs a dozen of bile spewing bug titans is quite distinct. Team work, cooperation and support is a key aspect of this game. Just keep in mind that so is friendly fire.

Where to even begin. I hold this as one of my top gaming experiences. Magical really.

I wont spoil anything, so I'll just say the game was amazingly bugless and smooth. I can't believe how onpoint the entire clockwork system of the solar system was with zero loading screens. You could stand on on one planet and look at the progressive state of another from across the celestial arena.

Don't be put off by the claims of the ship being hard to fly, you will learn to adjust to the (softened) nuances of space flight and gravitational forces. You'll even learn how to use the autopilot without it crashing you into the sun. A couple other things might seem frustrating but the payoff for figuring out how to get past them is worth it and very emotionally impactful.

All i can say is. Be patient with yourself, Its the sort of game you will only get to experience once, so pay attention to everything it has to say and show you whether its dialogue, writing, environmental story telling or the slow subtle build up of interconnected clues as they all come together to make you realize whats happening.

was playing multiplayer. Used an inspiration point for a 5% chance roll with an intelligence check on my rather not very smart character. Failed both times. Friend chewed me out for wasting inspiration points. Told me even if we were 4/4 that inspiration doesnt grow on trees. The very next thing I did gave me an inspiration point from a tree.

10/10 game.

Played the original back in the day multiple times over every few years since it was released.

This game inspired so many other games which came after in terms of story telling, structure, ability and power progression, weaponry and mods, that you can consider it the great granddaddy of modern gaming.

The devs who made the games which inspired the games you like played this game as kids and it still holds up as a great game. Though if the dated visuals are hard to get past, there are texture packs and other mods to make up for it.

Just when you think you have the game in hand and settle into rhythm it throws something new at you which makes you feel like it did at the start again.

This has been one of my most solid gaming experiences from start to finish.

Be a nuisance and trick supposedly higher evolved apes to achieve your avian goals. Ruin their days not just from whats listed in the game, but whats hidden too and in ways the devs didn't even think of!

Terrorize this village of people who just want to live their best life, cause thats hat living your best life as a duck means.

Honestly what a solid gameplay experience from a title released WAY WAY ahead of its time.

This can be the greatest experience of your life if you find the right gaming community. Unfortunately its no longer at its peak and most of the one's out there are so bonded, you will feel like an outsider.

Still plenty of random lobby's for crazy games though. Garry's Mod can be anything it wants to be.

Created a 2h axe wielding character with spell casting. Saw the elemental affinity spell which reduces spellcost if you stand in the associate spell element. Immediately took it. leveled up Pyro and witchcraft.

Got fire resist armor and talents. Now she literally explodes setting her enemies, my coop partner and HERSELF on fire. Does she care? No. Her fire resist is above 100%. She heals from being bathed in flames.

Standing in fire and blood make her more powerful and there is always plenty of both to be had on the battlefield with every swing of her axe.

She is terror incarnate. An avatar of flame and guts seeking her next opponent.

Tldr. This game allows for some crazy combinations. The "classes" are just a base path. You arent choosing a class, you're choosing your starting gear while customising your starting stats and spells. You dont choose your class. You build your class in this game.

But dont restrict yourself, combine abilities, talents and stats for each of your party members and pull off some CRAZY spell combinations. Things interact in this game to a ludicrious degree. If you're smart, you can figure out how to use the enemies abilities to your advantage.

That is what divinity offers ontop of a long and great rpg story.