Recent reviews by Rude Ostrich

Maybe he just likes making walking simulators

This isn't a game, it's a masterpiece.

Story games aren't really my thing, but this caught my eye and I bought Episode 1. At first I found it difficult to tune in to the game, relax into the slower pace, but I fell in love with Max Caufield and wanted to keep her from kindhearted soul from all evil by the end of it. Chloe, her polar opposite, took longer to endear herself to me but after episode 2 sending shockwaves through my nervous system [no spoilers], I realised how beautiful the bond between herself and Max was growing to be. The twist absolutely pulled the rug out from under my feet near the end and I played the last two episodes back-to-back because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't. I finished the game absolutely adoring both Max and Chloe, as well as having a fond affection for all of the other characters, both good and bad.
Also highly worth a mention are both the beautiful art style and voice talents, along with the incredibly well-fitting and emotive music. Hannah Telle does an incredible job bringing Max to life (her's/Max's voice is lovely and fits this shy, humble, kind girl perfectly), Chloe's punk-rebel character grows to be very endearing and Ashly Burch's brilliant voice talents help develop her stubborn and often unreasonable character into a loyal and selfless companion flawlessly over the course of the game.
The in and out-of-cutscene photography direction has also being done with real expertise and the script is brilliant. The level design is also super and collisions and props are put in all the right places; enough to confine you to an area and keep you occupied but not so much that they make you feel like you're walking around inside a level box. Finally, the music and licensed track choice is amazing. The songs fit the game like snug shoes and are used in all the right places, at the right times and in the right order.

Huge credit to all the directors, voice actors, modellers, scripters, animators, artists, musicians and everyone else for a story that was an absolute pleasure to play and at several points made me well up with genuine sadness and empathy. This has been put together with real love and that's something that can be hard to find nowadays.

This game just gets better and better, and I love it.

The lighting, shading and terrain rendering look spectacular, there are some really intuitive things you can now craft.

A few small building issues, please please PLEASE Facepunch fix the bug of things you've previously placed not being rotateable or demolishable - houses are now full of inward-facing walls that look horrible and if you once placed something by mistake you can't get rid of it even with the new update!

I really hope Gary and the team see this, the game has come on in leaps and bounds and the hard work is really showing. With a few bug fixes the game will be made even better. Well done!