Recent reviews by Flannel Maniac

game is literally unplayable, even on the lowest settings, and even with me going under the NVIDIA hood and changing a bunch of ♥♥♥♥. maybe wait to pick up this game until you have an actual super computer, then maybe you can run it on medium settings

Big fan of Battle Network/NT Warrior. This game is almost a dream come true! Almost.

On the plus side, it literally feels like having your own Navi (especially if you go through the customization, I have Forte.EXE as my BIT), and the concept of dragging them wherever to start virus busting is super fun. Some of the dialogue is cute, the Battle Chips are cool and I love that there are references to other indie games in here (S/O One Step from Eden). There is clearly a ton of love put into this game.

On the down side, this is not as idle of a game as you might think. If you want to make any actual progress, you kinda need to pay attention the whole time and make sure your BIT lives. Endgame EXP grinding is a chore because you can only do 10 loops of an area max, and that only takes about an hour. As of right now, there is no way to increase the limit. There isn't really a satisfying way to customize your homepage (why would I want a front-facing door or sideways couch when literally no sprite works with them aesthetically), and at best, you'll get like a messy-server-room type look. With a bunch of random toys on the floor.

There's more I could say but honestly a lot of others have said it better than I could. I do recommend this game, buuuut you should know it's not as much of a "run in the background and check later" type game as it is a "check in every 50 minutes or else you won't make any meaningful progress" type of game. If you love Battle Network/NT Warrior like me though, then you might just be able to look past it all.

tldr; game is fun, requires more attention than usual idlers, and is a good gateway drug into the Battle Network iceberg

Edit: Very quickly got updated to 20 loops after posting this review, and it is an excellent addition. Stoked for the future of this game!

I want to recommend this game so bad. The gameplay is fun and has that "older fighting game feel" if that's what you're looking for. Cool art, music, characters, stages, really this game has so much going for it.

The issue is SNK. Promoting the new season with an AI generated trailer (they have plenty of money to hire actual artists/voice actors) is lazy and disgusting. Telling your newly-revived IP to look out over the river after just 1 season is wild work.

classic Skate player here

gameplay wise? this game is sick. feels fun to skate around and do tricks. had some fun playing with a friend and exploring the city to see what spots we could hit.

everything else wise? this game makes me sick. if you're here for a skate revival, this isn't it. the visuals, while they don't look bad, don't really fit a skater aesthetic. the voice acting and dialogue are horrendous and you miss nothing by skipping all of it. character customization is garbage. you play a couple weirdly paced tutorials, then you get loot boxes shoved in your face (with some of the worst clothing options I've seen, who would actually think these boxes are worth it?), trying to party up with a friend is an actual nightmare, and there's not really ♥♥♥♥ to do when you're in a party.

tldr; gameplay is fun but probably not worth wading through all the other bullhonky this soulless cash grab provides

it was so good it got a sequel

Played this on PS5 before playing on Steam, so total hours played isn't accurate.

This game is HARD. Not like precise platforming hard or "oh god there's too much dialogue this is hard to sit through" hard, but truly HARD. You will feel like you are truly fighting demons and blood-starved soldiers. If you do not become one with your own weapons and, by extension, your own self, you will fall again and again. If you wish to survive in the world of Nioh 2, every encounter must be approached as if your legitimate life is on the line. You are not playing a game. You are genuinely surviving a bloody, hellish battlefield, and your victories will be rewarded with more death.

Persevere. Train yourself. See the World.

When you finally sheathe your sword after you slay your final demon, relish in the breath you have been granted to take. You have survived, and you have won. But what is victory to you? Is it seeing the end credits? Is it saving every Kodama? Is it mastering every weapon? Is it 100% completion? Regardless of your personal definition, Nioh 2 will provide the tools you need to reach your victory. The rest relies on you and your personal strength. Push yourself as far as you're willing and persevere through hell, and you'll be left with a supremely satisfying experience.

TLDR; game hard but good