Recent reviews by sнаярfоот ★

Ambient Straftat

Okay, wow. This game is special.

From what I understand, it was made by a very small team, yet it feels incredibly fleshed out. You can clearly tell that a lot of love went into it. It really feels like a genuine passion project.

I've been a huge fan of BioShock since I was very young, and playing this game now as an adult brought me right back to those vibes.

A very talented dev team and writer. The atmosphere, the writing, the whole experience... it’s clear there’s something special here.

Good ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ job, Thomas!!!

Buy it. Just buy it. Actually insane. Also, perfect on a steam deck.

**Resident Evil Requiem** is probably the best-executed Resident Evil game in the franchise.

I've been a longtime fan, starting with **Resident Evil: Dead Aim** on the PS2, then moving on to **Resident Evil 4**, and more recently playing **Resident Evil 2 Remake**, **Resident Evil 3 Remake**, **Resident Evil 7**, and **Resident Evil 4 Remake**.

What impressed me the most is how Requiem successfully merges the two gameplay styles Capcom has been refining over the past few games. Grace's first-person sections deliver some of the most intense horror the series has seen in years, while Leon's third-person gameplay brings back the fast-paced, action-focused combat fans love.

The world Capcom crafted is absolutely incredible. From the Care Center to the ruins of Raccoon City, every environment is packed with detail and atmosphere. The graphics are stunning, but what really elevates the experience is the sound design. Every hallway, distant noise, and unsettling silence builds tension without feeling forced.

Playing as Grace has a unique feel that's hard to describe. The first-person perspective gives everything an almost analog quality, as if you're physically there instead of just looking through a camera. It makes the environments feel grounded, claustrophobic, and incredibly immersive.

The horror also deserves special praise. It's not psychological horror in the same way *Silent Hill 2* is, but Requiem creates fear in a way I honestly haven't experienced in another game. It constantly finds new ways to make you uncomfortable and keep you on edge without relying on cheap jump scares. Even after years of playing horror games, there were moments that genuinely caught me off guard.

And Leon? He's never been this badass before. Capcom absolutely nailed his portrayal. He's confident without feeling over-the-top, and every encounter makes you feel like you're playing as a veteran who has survived countless bioweapon outbreaks.

Instead of choosing between horror and action, Requiem embraces both and somehow makes them complement each other perfectly. It's the most balanced Resident Evil experience I've played. If this is the direction Resident Evil is heading, I genuinely can't wait to see what's next.

The best Forza Horizon game period.

it's great, try it.

I played the demo extensively, and as someone who has also put a lot of hours into Vampire Survivors, I came into this already familiar with many of the items, upgrades, and characters—which honestly made the experience even more enjoyable. Seeing those elements reimagined in a different format is a really cool touch.

What surprised me the most is how much depth this game actually has. At first glance, it might seem simple, but once you start experimenting with builds and decisions, there’s a lot more going on than expected.

I’ve also spent quite a bit of time with Slay the Spire, and personally, I find this more appealing. The aesthetic, the music, and especially the build variety just click more with me. That might be a bit biased since I loved Vampire Survivors so much, but still—this game really stands on its own.

Definitely worth keeping an eye on if you enjoy this kind of game.

Quick disclaimer: I’ve played my fair share of extraction shooters (for someone who doesn’t game for a living).

~3200 hours in Tarkov (before and after inertia — that matters)

~150 hours in Arc Raiders (server slam + full release)

With that context — I think Marathon is in a good spot.



//Gunplay & TTK

First off: the game feels great.

Snappy. Responsive. Gunfights are satisfying. TTK is fine.

Coming from Arc Raiders most recently, it feels good to have fights that are about positioning and decision-making, not about who stacked more shields or who has 12 seconds of sustain before going down.

And I’ll say it — it’s also nice to have time to rotate and reassess instead of getting one-tapped by a tree that speaks Russian from 300 meters away.

The pacing just feels right.



//Solo / Duo / Trio Balance

I played solos, duos, and trios.

And being able to:

Take a trio as a duo

Take a trio as a solo

Even do it playing Rook

That’s huge.

It brings me back to old Tarkov where solos were thrown into whatever lobby the system found and you still had agency. You could still outplay.

That feeling is alive here.




//The “Too Punishing” Narrative

Let’s address the elephant in the room.

A lot of the criticism I’m seeing feels like it’s coming from Arc Raiders players saying:

“It’s too punishing.”
“You die too fast.”

If this is your first real extraction shooter, yeah — it’s going to feel rough.

Arc Raiders brought a wave of new players into the genre, which is great. But let’s be honest: that game is designed to be softer and more casual.

If you think Marathon is brutal, you would not survive Tarkov.

And that’s not gatekeeping — it’s just perspective.

Extraction shooters are supposed to have tension. They’re supposed to punish mistakes.

I personally like that Marathon leans into shoot-on-sight tension instead of becoming a VOIP social experiment.

Arc Raiders’ “everyone teams up and swarms PvPers” culture killed the game for me. Trying to engage in fights without getting third-partied by Winnie Hut Jr. was exhausting.

And the TTK in Arc? Borderline ridiculous.

When shields take forever to break, chaining fights becomes impossible. You win one engagement and you’re immediately drained before the next one even starts.

Marathon lets momentum exist.



//Aesthetic & Visual Identity

This one’s big for me.

I come from a graphic design background, and visually this game is insane.

The typography. The color theory. The UI language. The environmental cohesion.

This isn’t “random Gen Z paint.” It’s intentional world-building.

I saw CohhCarnage dismiss it as just Gen Z aesthetic and say there wasn’t enough lore — and respectfully, that’s wild.

There are 30+ years of Marathon lore feeding into this.

If you don’t engage with the codex, environmental storytelling, and the deeper layers, of course it feels shallow.

But that’s not the game’s fault.

It just requires effort.




//UI & Codex (Fair Criticism)

Now — I do agree the onboarding could be better.

I didn’t even realize how important the Codex was until the second-to-last day of the beta. That’s on Bungie. It needs better surfacing.

But let’s not pretend these games are meant to be fully understood in 3 hours.

I remember learning Tarkov. It took dozens of hours just to feel semi-competent.

That depth is what keeps me engaged.

And comparing it directly to Arc Raiders — Marathon clearly has more systemic depth. Arc felt stale to me after ~150 hours. And that’s fine. It’s built for a broader, more casual audience.

Marathon isn’t ultra-hardcore.

But it’s not shallow either.

It sits in the middle — and that middle space has been empty for a while.




//Final Thoughts

There’s a weird fake beef forming between communities right now.

It doesn’t need to exist.

Both games can coexist. But they’re not aiming at the same player base.

Marathon fills the gap between:

3000-hour no-life commitment simulators

And giant social hub PvPvE playgrounds

I love what I played. I want it to succeed.

If you hate it — fair.
If you love it — same.

But let’s at least critique the game for what it is, not for what we wanted it to be.

Edit after 35 hours : Still a banger. The hate community simply didn't play the game.

Balatro is arguably the best roguelike to come out in years. In a genre that often feels overcrowded, it somehow managed to bring a genuine breath of fresh air. It takes the familiar structure of deck-building and strips it down into something razor-sharp, addictive, and endlessly replayable.

At its core, it’s “just” a card game — and yet it almost walked away with Game of the Year conversations. That alone should tell you something. If a poker-inspired roguelike that’s also fully playable on mobile can compete at that level, you know it’s doing something special.

The game is incredibly addictive. Every run feels rewarding, every build feels like it could spiral into something completely broken (in the best way possible), and the pacing is tight from start to finish. There’s no wasted time — just constant decision-making, risk management, and that classic “one more run” feeling.

Between this and Inscryption, we might be looking at the two best card games out there right now. Both push the genre forward in completely different ways, but Balatro’s pure mechanical brilliance makes it something special.

If you even remotely enjoy roguelikes or card-based strategy games, this is an absolute must-play.

StrafTat is one of those hidden gems that deserves way more attention. Made by a duo of brother developers, the game feels focused, intentional, and crafted with real passion. You can tell it wasn’t built by committee — it was built by people who love tight, competitive shooters.

The gunfights are incredibly tight. Movement is fast, responsive, and fluid, and every encounter feels skill-based. There’s no unnecessary fluff — just raw, mechanical precision. The sound design and overall ambiance elevate the experience even more. Every shot, every step, every movement feels impactful. It creates this intense, stripped-down competitive atmosphere that keeps you locked in.

The DLC is also worth mentioning because it actually delivers meaningful additions — especially when it comes to maps. Instead of feeling like filler content, the new environments genuinely expand the replayability and competitive depth of the game.

What really stands out is how responsive everything feels. The gunplay is immediate and satisfying in a way that puts massive franchises like Call of Duty to shame. There’s something refreshing about a shooter that prioritizes pure mechanics and player skill over spectacle.

Rust 1v1 used to be the standard for settling scores — not anymore. Now it’s all about StrafTat.

If you’re into competitive shooters and care about tight gameplay above all else, this one is absolutely worth your time.