Recent reviews by BinarySplit

It's remade but not improved.

Do I recommend it? Yes, but only because the original was already great and this version is faithful to it.

Am I disappointed? Yes, because this had the opportunity to go so much further, either updating the game design to make it more fun, or going full ham and making the gameplay even clunkier in a tribute to the original. This version is essentially an HD mod of the original.

TBH I recommend playing System Shock Enhanced Edition first. Even though it's objectively harder to play (horrific mouse controls), the retro style let my brain overlook all the jank and I actually found it more immersive, scary, and fun.

It has very few actual puzzles. The few puzzles it has are very straightforward. Nothing builds upon knowledge you gained from previous puzzles. Many of the puzzle-like scenes actually just require you to brute-force something to figure out the sequence. I think only about 20 minutes of my playtime required my brain to wake up.

The vast majority of the game is pointless interactions, and they're not even satisfying in a The Room kind of way. It's very linear - there's usually only one or two things to do at any point in time. You don't feel like you're exploring, the game just hands you key-like objects one at a time and you have to figure out where to put them. The limited camera angles force you to only look at relevant places. It's just busywork.

I enjoyed THoDV1, but this just felt like a completely different game. As if they streamlined it to push the story, but in doing so cut all the fun parts out.

If you're looking for mental engagement here are some games that do this style of puzzle box/escape room interactions better: Gordian Rooms, Machinika Museum, the First Class Escape and Escape Memoirs series, and The Inheritance of Crimson Manor to name a few.

Incredible Immersive Simulation. It's so much fun looking for clues, figuring out ways to track people down, burglarizing, messing with people and sneaking around.

I'm really looking forward to the mod support - it's already a very fun game and worth its full price, but it's also such a great sandbox that could be taken so much further.

About 90% of the puzzles were fun, and 10% were either annoying (exact color-matching - was tedious with full color vision, probably impossible for someone with colorblindness) or I couldn't figure them out even after seeing the hints (the 5 stars - how do they indicate quadrants?). But the important thing is that there is a good in-game hint system, so you won't get stuck for long and will get to enjoy the 90%.

The story's pretty unique, most of the puzzles are good, it's free, takes about 90 minutes to play. Definitely recommended if you like this sort of game.

It's short, but good for a free game. Fun puzzles. Took me 40 minutes to beat.

More great puzzles from 0 Deer Soft! Every puzzle seemed to sit at just the right level of challenge - just as I thought I was running out of ideas I would try one last thing and get it.

I completed the DLC in 2 hours but did not collect all the collectables.

How do you improve upon perfection? Psychonauts 2 somehow did it.

If you haven't played it already, Psychonauts 1 still holds up - it's an insanely creative story-driven platformer adventure. Psychonauts 2 continues the formula with even more completely new minds that will make you think "how do they even come up with these ideas?" (in a good way). Play both.

The writing is phenomenal. I don't remember why I bought this game, but I know for sure what kept me going. The twists kept me on my toes, the satire kept me laughing, and the realism actually hurt. An Outcry was an experience I won't forget.

Everyone is flawed and it's actually good writing. The characters speak & act like they're in the moment, not like they've had a room of writers spend hours considering every sentence and plot point. It's quite refreshing.

I'd probably only recommend this to people who have experienced trauma and understand how it makes you act. I haven't had my empathy exercised to this extent by a game since Super Columbine Massacre RPG (2005). GN, P will linger in my memories for a long time and I'm grateful for the experience.

It's a cute story with kobolds and good voice acting.

As the store page and other reviews mention it's pretty short. If this worries you, I recommend starting with the dev's previous game, Dragon Audit, which has much more content for its price.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/594380/Dragon_Audit/