Recent reviews by TuFaN

After spending 30 hours with Anno 1800 and completing the campaign on normal difficulty, I’d rate the game a solid 7/10. The variety of building options is impressive, offering deep and rewarding gameplay as you manage cities during the Industrial Revolution.

However, while Anno 1800 excels in its complexity and visuals, it doesn’t surpass Anno 1404 as my favorite in the series. The medieval-inspired setting and art style of Anno 1404 felt more timeless and charming to me.

Anno 1800 is still a great experience, but its industrial theme may not appeal to everyone as much as earlier entries.

Resident Evil Revelations fails to deliver a satisfying experience, feeling more like a chore than a compelling survival horror game. The gameplay lacks excitement, with dull and unintuitive enemy design that makes encounters feel uninspired. The constant need to scan environments for items quickly becomes tedious rather than engaging, and the puzzles offer little challenge or enjoyment. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect is the horrendous user interface, which is clunky and poorly designed. Overall, too many elements feel off, making this entry a disappointing misstep for the franchise.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 is a much stronger entry than its predecessor, addressing many of the issues that plagued the first game. The gameplay, while still clunky in movement and animations, feels more refined and enjoyable. The enemy variety is a major highlight, with a clever evolution in design between Claire and Moira’s campaign versus Barry and Natalia’s, showing the passage of time through decayed, skeletal foes. Combat also introduces interesting mechanics, like Natalia revealing enemy weak spots and detecting invisible threats, adding a layer of strategy.

The tedious scanning system from the first game is gone, replaced by Moira’s flashlight and Natalia’s sensing abilities, making item discovery feel more natural and optional rather than a forced chore. However, puzzles remain underwhelming, with only a few standout moments, like the eerie graveyard puzzle as an example. Unfortunately, the user interface is still a mess, feeling just as clunky and outdated as before. While not perfect, Revelations 2 is a far better experience than the first, with enough improvements to make it worth playing for Resident Evil fans.

Path of Exile 2 Early Access has been an incredible experience, delivering the challenging gameplay and scarce loot drops I was hoping for. While the game is currently a solid 8/10 for me, issues like poor HDR implementation and frequent PC freezes during loading screens are frustrating. Despite these setbacks, I’m excited for the full release in 2025 and can’t wait to see how many hours I’ll sink into it by then!

First off, I must admit I had serious doubts about this remake, much like many other longtime fans of the series. I couldn't imagine Bloober Team successfully handling such a monumental title. I've always held the first three Silent Hill games close to my heart, with Silent Hill 2 standing out as the best of the trilogy.

The Silent Hill 2 remake by Bloober Team delivers an impressive take on James, with his character design and voice acting standing out as exceptional. The game's visual fidelity is stunning, bringing the eerie world of Silent Hill to life in ways that surpass expectations. Akira Yamaoka's music and sound design are masterful, once again creating a haunting atmosphere reminiscent of the 2001 original. Though the fog isn't quite on par with the original, I personally found it to be far better than anticipated and a great addition to the remake’s overall atmosphere. I also found the redesigned UI to be sleek and incredibly customizable, a nice touch for modern players.

However, it's important to note that this is not a flawless remake. My biggest issues lie with the character designs for Angela, Laura, Maria/Mary, and Eddie, which are far from satisfying. The voice acting, too, is a major letdown, which nearly detracted from the overall experience for me. These two aspects alone could have brought any other game down to a much lower score, but because Silent Hill 2’s story remains so deeply compelling, they don’t drag it below a 9/10 in my eyes.

Bloober Team exceeded my expectations, and despite my gripes, I enjoyed my 101 hours with the game.

If the Discord server I am on didn't vote for Dusk as our monthly game, then I most likely would not have heard about it.

This game gave me old-school DOOM vibes, just with a scarier world and a way more horrifying enemy design. The weapons at our arsenal feel, sound, look, and play amazingly. Even with its old and pixelated graphics, Dusk manages to maintain an incredibly eerie mood throughout. The game's phenomenal soundtrack and sparse use of lighting contribute to an eerie atmosphere.

Dusk also has an HD-remastered version. Once you start the game on Steam, you get to pick between the original and HD versions. I have to admit that the original version was more pleasing to my eyes. I think it looks way better than the HD version of the game.

While playing the game, make sure to keep your eyes out for secrets and hidden places. There are some hilarious Easter eggs in the game. Without giving anything away, all I'm saying is baby faces!

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon earns a solid 8 out of 10. The game excels with its fast-paced combat, offering thrilling and dynamic mech battles. The extensive variety of parts for customizing your mech allows for a deeply personalized experience. Visually, the game impresses with stunning graphics that bring the mechanized world to life. Additionally, the engaging story adds depth and intrigue, making it a must-play for fans of the genre.

I remember vividly playing this game nonstop with my siblings back in 2001. It was one of the very first FPS we played with a gamepad. We used to spend countless hours in the multiplayer map warzone, playing with and against each other.
I've finished the campaign multiple times, and I have to say that the gameplay still holds up really well. This magnificent game is worth checking out and is definitely still enjoyable, even in today's gaming environment.

This game is a classic and will forever have a special place in my heart.

If you decide to play the Steam version of the game, make sure to use an app called Dash Faction. This app will fix a lot of game-breaking bugs and deliver an overall more enjoyable experience.

FromSoftware has outdone themselves with Shadow of the Erdtree, turning an already phenomenal game into an absolute masterpiece. This DLC expands on the world, lore, and combat of Elden Ring in ways I never expected, adding depth and challenge that perfectly complement the base game. Thanks to this incredible expansion, Elden Ring has vaulted from my personal top 20 games all the way into my top 10. I can’t thank FromSoft enough for creating such an unforgettable experience.

Quite a few of my friends who played Last Epoch for the past few years were gushing about how amazing the game is and that I have to try it as soon as possible. As someone who has played many aRPG's and has 15 thousand+ hours spent in Path of Exile, I have to admit that it was quite difficult to hold back and not try the game prior to its launch. But I was patient enough to wait for the official release of the game, for the 1.0 version. I didn't want to play the game in an unfinished state and probably lose all my motivation and excitement I had for it. I'm glad I've waited this long.

Now, after almost 200 hours of gametime in Last Epoch since its release, I can confidently say that this game is a very good aRPG.

It is a very good aRPG because:

- The €34 are well spent, you get your moneys worth, it is a one-time purchase without any Pay-2-Win elements. I had 200 hours of fun with it, and I am looking forward to the next time I am going to play the game, when it has more endgame content to offer

- It has a well functioning and fun class system. There are 5 main classes to pick from and each main class has 3 sub classes also known as Mastery Classes with active and passive skills only obtainable with that Unique Mastery Class. Every single one feels quite different from the other and has distinct gameplay features

- Itemization is great. Searching for the perfect exalted item to combine with a high Legendary-Potential unique item is a fun endavour

- Stats on items make sense, no bloated stats like in other aRPG's (never thought I'd have to write a sentence like this... thanks to Diablo 4 for showing us what real bloat can mean)

- The campaign you play through is nothing special, but it is not bad at all. I like the great variety of monsters you fight and the vastly different scenery you play through. Traveling back and forth in time is also fun. Finishing the campaign gives you +1 to all attributes. That is nice to have if you wanna finish the campaign, nobody forces you to finish it though. You could also shorten your campaign experience on your second character to jump straight into the endgame grind. Having two options to pick from is great. I hope it stays this way in upcoming cycles (seasons)

- Addictive, straightforward and fun endgame loop. The Monolith system is the main endgame activity where you grind for better blessings and higher corruption levels to get better rewards. The dungeon system, on the other hand, as of right now, has three different purposes; they serve either as gold sinks, unique vendors or the ability to create Legendary items. Arenas are the third and last endgame activity where you push your character as high as you can. You defeat stronger and more challenging waves of monsters in arenas to either see how far you can take your character personally or to compete on official leader boards with other players.

- The system I love the most by far in Last Epoch is the guild/faction system. The game lets you choose between two different ways you can acquire your gear more easily. To put it short, if you join the Merchants Guild you can sell and buy items from other players, if you decide to join the Circle of fortune, you get more loot than usual. I'd love to see this system in all other aRPG's

Having mentioned all this, you still have to know what you're getting yourself into and be fully aware of the fact that this is the very first project of an indie studio and the game just got released. So expect to encounter bugs and online/server issues.

I'd love to see more endgame content in upcoming seasons. There is a lot of room for improvement. This is a successful release but what's more important is how they maintain the game and build on what they've created. It most definitely has the potential to be one of the best aRPG's ever.