Recent reviews by Oren

Dead by Daylight is a very difficult game to pick up for the first time. It IS overwhelming, you WILL be confused. The game will feel as though it's discouraging you from playing it.
But put enough time in, and things will eventually click.

When it comes to gameplay, Dead by Daylight (Which I shall refer to as "DBD" henceforth) provides the most unique form of gameplay that others have, unfortunately, failed to replicate. It makes for some ridiculous scenarios too. DBD is the only game where you can have Nicolas Cage, Leon S. Kennedy and Ellen Ripley being chased by a large Japanese samurai with a massive konabo.

Many of the strong points of DBD come down to simply how unique a game it is. As a 1v4 asymmetrical game, of course the weaker points of the game will inevitably hurt one side of the playerbase. Sometimes, even when one side does everything correct, they may still lose because the other side is simply more efficient. It can be frustrating, but that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Though there can be issues with such things, the devs are trying their best to balance the game with each update. It may be slow, it may take a while, but they do improve problematic gameplay elements.
Unfortunately, there is one thing that can't be fixed with a patch. Etiquette.

To wrap up, I feel like DBD is a game that should be bought when it's on sale and played for at least 20 hours to get a good idea of how the game works. The in-game tutorial is pretty bare with teaching the player and as such I recommend watching videos online. There are far too many competent DBD YouTubers to name, but it's worth the time investment.

I mean, it's Cookie Clicker. There's not too much to say outside of "Click the cookie, upgrade the cookie."
Cookie clicker is an incremental clicker/idle game, much like you'd come to expect at this point. You click the cookie to earn money, you spend money on upgrades to earn money faster. It's not the most complex of games, has no real story, no "goal."

Just cookie.

So, Dark Souls III. Well, there's a fair bit to say about this game. First of which, it's Dark Souls. As expected from such a game, it's not going to be easy. You will die. A lot. But you will learn from it each time.

The first point to dive into is gameplay. Now, Dark Souls III is different from its predecessors in that it's far faster combat-wise. Enemies are faster but so are you, leading to faster thinking than in the previous instalments in the series. This does lead to a much more gradual adjustment to the gameplay if you played a previous title before this. For myself, I played Dark Souls: Remastered and then moved on to DS3. The pace took a while to adjust to, but it eventually clicks.

Speaking as someone who currently has ~500 hours in the Dark Souls series, it's clear that these games are addicting. A lot of that time was just playing through for the first time and exploring the world, but a good chunk of it is also just going for achievements. Speaking of which, Dark Souls III is pretty rough on that front. If you plan on doing achievements, be prepared to do a minimum of three playthroughs on the same file. In order to get one achievement, you'll need to play through the game all the way through to NG+2 in order to complete it.

Personally, I find it difficult to determine which of the two Dark Souls games I prefer, of the two I've played, but I think I prefer Dark Souls 3 by a margin, purely because it's more diverse. The world may not be too open like in the first game, but there are more different ways to play. More spells, more weapons, better covenants (Unless you're achievement-hunting), which all lead to more play-styles.

Overall, Dark Souls III gets a high pass from me. It's fun, it's addicting, and by god, it's satisfying to play.

One of the most satisfying games I've played in a while. Dark Souls is a classic when it comes to "difficult games," with it being the founder of the term "Souls-like" and spawning two sequels.

Dark Souls is hard. Really hard. That is, until you learn your enemies. There's something incredibly satisfying about destroying the health bars of enemies with the click of a button. Dark Souls is a learning experience. On your first play-through, it's unlikely you'll find everything since the game's structured similarly to games of old, with secrets the player needs to figure out for themselves.

But dying isn't a loss in Dark Souls. Death is an obstacle and a teacher. The game will condition players in a way where they'll learn by dying rather than winning. If you die to a certain attack, it simply means you need to watch for the tell and time your roll or shield block.

Dark Souls sets itself apart from other "difficult games" by being more methodical in terms of approaching enemy encounters. Rather than creating openings yourself, the best approach is exploiting the weakness of your enemy instead. Enemies with ranged weapons? Block their attack and counter. Slow but strong enemy? Keep calm and go for a parry and then a riposte.

That being said, your main enemy in Dark Souls is worse than any boss in the game; overconfidence is the biggest killer. Don't get cocky, because it will almost certainly get you killed.

All in all, Dark Souls is the kind of game someone could either breeze through with little trouble, or cause you to put the game down for a while out of frustration. No matter what though, it's worth it for the game's main reward: Satisfaction like no other.

Furi is a lesser-known difficult boss-rush game with fast action that requires even faster reaction.

There's no combo or scoring system, however there is an overall grade given at the end of the game that's based off clear time, times hit and times KO'd, but that doesn't mean the combat isn't engaging. Although there aren't many bosses, they're designed to each be totally unique.

If the combat isn't enough to truly get your blood pumping, the separate music tracks for each individual boss certainly will. Despite being made by a small indie company, it plays better than a lot of similar-style games, with fluid movement and attacks that feel powerful.

Furi is a pure treat from start to finish, keeping the pace up all the way through with gameplay that lends well to anyone who enjoys difficult combat games, and a quiet story for those who look for it. On a scale of 1-10, this game is an 11, and it would give itself a 12.

Bayonetta is a stylish beat-em-up with intense action, saucy humour and gameplay that's easy to learn but hard to master.

In terms of how the game plays, combat is spectacular, with disturbing enemies, large bosses and gory Torture Attacks. Each attack adds to the player's combo, with the final combo score paying out Halos, the game's currency. Higher combos, bigger points, more money. Despite having an incredibly in-depth battle system, with countless combos and flashy moves, gameplay never comes across as "unfair." If the player dies, it's their fault (Unless it was one of the few insta-kill QTEs that pop out of nowhere)

Bayonetta herself is, as it may be obvious, the game's protagonist. The story revolves around Bayonetta, a witch that was sealed away 500 years ago, searching for a way to recover her lost memory. While she may sound like a high-class woman, she doesn't shy away from the fact she's attractive, continually taunting both friends and foes. In other words, Bayonetta owns her sexuality.

To round off, if you like fast-paced fighting, challenging combat, flashy combos or just suggestive humour, Bayonetta has it all!