Recent reviews by Hypersleep

Honestly I rarely try early access games for fear of burning out before they are feature complete. Plus it's just another way to kind of filter the staggering amount of games your average steam user owns or is interested in. But a friend gifted me this and I thought why not, I'm waiting for another release anyway so I might aswell kill time with this.

Anyway, this game has blown me away. Naturally the comparison is Stardew Valley and I think it's fair, though I understand this also has a more retro inspiration, early Zelda games I assume but haven't personally played. The art style took a little to grow on me, just the environment really. I love the character portraits and sprites generally, although it can be a bit hard to discern who is who from their compressed heads on the map. That said, it's still a feature that I'm glad it has. It's something I mod into Stardew every time. While I'm on the characters, I love them. The writing is fantastic and charming. The side narratives they have that progress weekly and the relationships they all share to one another feels so much more evolved and tangible than other games I've played like this. Movement feels great, being able to jump and swim is so cool, it's not perfect, sometimes it is unclear where you can and cannot jump, but it's only really a notable annoyance when you're out too late and need to race home before you pass out at 2 AM.

There are some areas it falls a little short. But it's hard to tell how much of this is because of it's early nature and even just my own player flaw. It's completely playable like, there's no bugs or anything. But I feel like the game gave a handy tutorial for most features but if there was one for the archaeology stuff, it totally passed me by. Also I don't know if I can or how to plant trees. I'm sure there must be a way. Maybe being able to review past tutorials in the menu could be an idea. I've checked and if it's there I'm missing it. If you mouse over a characters portrait on the map it would be nice if their name popped up too as another handy feature.

But there are many quality of life things that again, using Stardew as a comparison I'm glad for. A big one for me is the ability to change your style and clothes frequently and for free. And new options are constantly fed and offered to you. It always annoyed me in Stardew how looking cool and being able to meaningfully customize your house was kind of gate kept to a more late-game thing. Energy seems a touch more restrictive, but there's places around the map that give you a boost to it encouraging you to visit more of the map more often and in so doing, discover or notice cool things and even for a gameplay sense, min/max your daily route. Plus as always, many options to keep up your energy via food, buffs and even spells. And a very early upgrade you can get is to boost your next day's reserve of energy if you totally drain it the day prior. It's simple but a neat way to make returning home at the end of the day feel more meaningful. Can do a bit of a cleanup before retiring for the day and leave nothing on the field as it were.

I'm still unlocking things and I haven't seen it all just yet I'm sure, although this is obviously early access so I'm sure sooner or later I'll hit that wall. But yeah, just wanted to leave a review and I'm sure down the line I will leave another. This game has impressed me and I'm glad I gave it a try out of this increasingly saturated genre. I very much look forward to the future development of this game. I'm unsure what exactly is planned in terms of features, all I know about this game is what I've played. But it's already a blast.

A flawless, lovingly crafted remake of a landmark game that still holds up today. Many truly unforgettable sequences now better than ever before. A shining example of what a video game can be and all in all a must play for fans of gaming as an artistic and interactive medium be they new fans or old. The sky is the limit for the Resident Evil franchise lately it seems. Capcom has proven they know what the fans want and they served it up to perfection. An instant classic just as it was nearly 20 years ago.

A great combination of all the DNA the FPS genre has to offer. Something for everyone. A kick-ass soundtrack, a simple but fun and easy to fine-tune weapon/ability upgrade system in which you are frequently incentivised to perfect your arsenal without any downside or loss in resources. Incredible graphics and aesthetic. I'd say about the only place it falls short is on the story. It's just kind of average for an immersive sim game. It sets up a lot of intrigue, hits a lot of cliche's for the genre at this point but it kind of falls flat trying to explain the polemic and outlandish dialogue, characters and events. Still, the bioshock styled exploration, the frenetic combat switching between weapons based on weaknesses, synergies, range and priority targets accompanied by an unforgettable soundtrack completely carry any issues with narrative beats or conclusions.

Main complaints not tied to the experience itself is the price tag (just a bit too high despite how high quality the product is) and kind of a big one but how the ♥♥♥♥ do you make an FPS game without an FOV slider???? In the year of Comrade Lenin 2023? I installed that flawless widescreen thing for the duration of playing this game but seriously. The ♥♥♥♥?

I'll keep it short to start with.

The main reason this is a no is because of the price and the current performance issues. Both making the other hurt a bit more.

If it was cheaper and ran better, it would be an easy yes. What's there is fantastic for Monster Hunter fans, but is currently too expensive and poorly optimised to be fully appreciated.

That said, neither issue has stopped me from having a blast. It's a Monster Hunter clone. If you like Monster Hunter and want more, this will scratch that itch for you. That said, it doesn't have the same magic as Capcom's franchise. The soundtrack is probably the biggest shortcoming in terms of "soul" that monster hunter brings compared to this. It isn't bad, but I can't shake the feeling that "Proof of a Hero" is about to start blasting and it never comes. But besides that, the monsters, the combat and the exploration has the same charm. And it's not without it's differences, it's a clone in the core gameplay loop, no doubts can be had there. But it does have it's deviations and innovations. No sharpness for example, but being able to set up camps and customize hunting grounds to a much higher extent.

If it was cheaper and ran better, it would be an easy yes. Again what's there is fantastic for Monster Hunter fans, but is currently too expensive and poorly optimised to be fully appreciated. There is meant to be a patch in about a week and I have no doubts the game will run better after more and more time passes, but that price won't change anytime soon. And a large part of Monster Hunter's success has been how the devs add content frequently and keep the end game fresh, inexpensive and rewarding. It remains to be seen how future content updates will work here and given that price tag, you'd certainly hope it's at the very least comparable to the positive end-game player experience Capcom gives Monster Hunter.

A short, yet memorable experience if you focus the main objectives.

Conceptually a really fun, well executed mix of ideas with a pleasing aesthetic and interesting universe. Very easy to pick up and learn.

It's decent. The graphics are really beautiful while keeping with the retro aesthetic. The levels are sprawling and well designed, looping in on itself in surprising ways. I do feel like some areas overstay their welcomes a tiiiny bit but just as varied as the retro games it harkens back to. New enemies and weapons are drip fed at a steady pace. "Secrets" vary from being intuitive for the keen eye to the Doom 1/2 method of spamming interact on every wall, floor and surface until something happens. If you like the old Duke Nukem and Shadow Warrior, you'll like this.

It's like Destiny 2 but this time there's no players in Australia ever.

-My Short History with Resident Evil-
Heard a lot about it but never played any until 5, and it was great fun if only because it was something that was co-op. As I grew older I've grown to love every bit of the franchise, no matter how varied. 5 remains special to me but like most people I consider 4 to be the best, or at least the most fun. I've played every mainline entry that's on PC at this stage, including Revelations. I've been drawn to similar games too like Evil Within. Resident Evil made me love survival horror.

-Reviewing The Game (Spoiler free)-
It's definitely less scary, while i am a veteran and i appreciate the similarities to RE4, the fact that every single enemy drops loot without fail in all difficulties removes a big question of when exactly they die. Of course there have always been other tells, audio or visual but having something so concrete removes much of the fear from the enemies themselves. Along with neatly placed documents that tell you how to kill whatever's in the next room. The franchise has always had hints like this but i don't feel like it's ever been so detailed and conveniently located. This also removes a lot of the spooks. There's some new additions to the formula with a shove ability after you block certain attacks. If you are looking for a survival horror game and not an fps with a horror dressing, play on hardcore right from the start. Obviously doing so won't entirely erase the fact that this game is more action and exploration focused. With that said, the range of environments, like most RE games will surprise you. Sometimes you will wish you could spend more time in some versus others, and a strong complaint for me in this game is just wanting more. Many of the threats you encounter are kind of isolated.

There's several notable hostile NPC's but it's extremely little the amount of internal interaction they have. When you are in X persons area, they and their particular cronies are the only threat you will face. In RE7, it felt like the family was really toying with you as a collective. There was times when it focused on one more than another but it felt more unpredictable on a first time through and even replaying it, it feels more interesting being able to see them all more often. Basically in 8, the characters are just as interesting but really not built upon as much as the Baker family was. It feels too cookie cutter. I don't think a narrative/puzzle driven game like Resident Evil could handle a "pick your own adventure" approach to which threat you went toward, but if they were determined to quarter them off in their places as they did, maybe it would've been worth trying?

But besides the quality of spooks, it's a great game. The story is great, and it's a decent sequel from a franchise that doesn't really do them. It's still funny, it's still surprising and shocking. But it's game-play at least, isn't as spooky. It feels like the combat really has become too formulaic in this entry. Even in RE4 you were dealing with tank controls if combat became too predictable. In this, to it's detriment, it's too fluid and easy. About the only thing limiting you is the fov, but even then enemies don't seem too dangerous when you can't see them.

In the end it's a fantastic entry, a great starting point for newcomers and a great continuation of the franchise and Ethan's story. While being at times both a subtle and heavy handed homage to earlier titles in a truly endearing way. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes it's meta, sometimes it's respectful and at times downright hilarious. Even without comparing it to the rest of the franchise, it's like a love letter to classic horror aesthetics (not so much thematically though, this is still Resident Evil). The references to RE4 and 5 in this make for some interesting discoveries both in the games lore and stories about the real life development of the games. The potential for dlc and a sequel is strong. Also the mercenary mode this time around features almost rogue-like combat elements. Makes replaying it more fun despite the fact it's still kind of just a time trial in a preset location from the story.

-Summary-
I love this franchise, I love this entry. If you liked 7, you will enjoy this without a doubt, but bear in mind it's differences. I have no idea where Resident Evil goes next, but you will see me there.

A genuine labour of love. Refreshing to play, pleasing to the eyes and ears. Utterly charming, addictive and rewarding to play.

-Played on the "Elderborn" difficulty, the 3rd hardest out of a list of 4-

A decent hybrid game. If you are a fan of the combat in games like Dark Messiah, Vermintide and almost the Beserker class in Killing Floor (trust me though the combat here has much less depth), you will enjoy this game. It's clunky but you get used to it, it's not very long, but it's a pretty decent time. At first I wasn't really vibing with it but once I unlocked a new weapon which didn't take very long, I started appreciating it a lot more. You essentially grow an arsenal of weapons that all serve certain roles, like a classic FPS. It goes without saying that the "pistol" you start with isn't very satisfying and gets replaced as soon as you find anything else.

It also goes for a Dark Souls style level design and experience system, with internal challenges to net you new rewards and minor statistical upgrades for your weapons. I wouldn't say the combat itself is souls like. You can block and parry and it does have that same satisfaction of learning the enemy and your own weapon timings, but there is no stamina system to speak of. You just go nuts, you can spam the crap out of the dash ability but that isn't to say it's bad. Being able to charge up a strong attack from afar, then dash in and let it rip is so much fun. Oh, and it has a simplified Bloodborne "rally" system. Attacking after taking damage will regain what you've lost.

The music too, it does market itself on the whole "epic metal" thing and the gameplay and themes do resonate with this. I thought it would get old but it doesn't really overstay it's welcome. For the most part there's just metal music playing and while it's obviously not Mick Gordon, it's fitting. It doesn't elevate the gameplay but it certainly compliments it.

-Complaints-

There are shoddy translations here and there, but it doesn't make it hard to understand what's going on. Typically just words are placed in the incorrect order sometimes. It has a story but like other games of this ilk, it's more of a suggestion than anything that guides you. To that end as well you can certainly use the limited parkour system to bypass a lot of the level design and for the life of me I can't tell if the game was intended this way or if it was an oversight. It's not a terribly good looking game but the enemies are visually distinct. The colour palette is mostly what you'd expect with bits of colour here and there, mostly on the enemies. Also there's not very many bosses at all, seriously a very small amount I won't spoil it but yeah. But I don't really mind that. Laying into a single enemy in a game like this doesn't feel very satisfying after awhile.

-What I'd Change-

2 things come to mind when thinking about what I'd fix or improve: Firstly, and this is a big one. Directional swinging. The game already has animations as if you were attacking from certain directions but Killing Floor 2 nailed this. If you are moving forward and do an attack, it's a forward thrust. If you are moving sideways, it's a horizontal strike. If you move back, it's a downward blow. Now as I said, some of the combos you can pull off in this game already have those animations. It would just be better to have more control over them.

And second: More clarity in what's going on, combat wise. The UI is pretty good as is, and the journal system is very helpful. But if you take damage while charging a heavy attack, you essentially get staggered. That's fine, that makes sense. But the problem is that the stagger animation looks like you're blocking with some weapons. Given that when people are charging an attack and take damage, they were probably already trying to block, the fact it looks similar but is functionally completely different is a big issue. Now the game has trial and error at it's core, like all games that are trying to emulate Souls. It works as is, and as I said, it makes sense to be punished for being greedy. A simple fix for this would be an audio que to know you've made a mistake. For a long time I thought enemies were just breaking through my guard or that my guard was too early or too slow to be effective. A different potential "fix" would be a combat log. "Player got staggered" or something, then you flip open the journal and look for the relevant entry to explain what happened.

-In Summary-

There is certainly massive potential here in a hybrid of this kind. And honestly I just want more Dark Messiah, and it certainly felt similar at times. I'd say to check it out on sale if you are interested, primarily because of the length of the game. I'm no dark souls speedrunner or anything but I'm decently proficient, and it took me under 10 hours. Perhaps if you play on a harder difficulty or struggle with the game, it may become more 'cost efficient'. Or maybe if they add some kind of arena mode with high scores that would be fun.