Recent reviews by Cantwell

DJKA or KAI should play this game

Man, Lethe - Episode One is so good, especially if you're really into Frictional's games. This game is obviously inspired by Penumbra or Amnesia, from the story, the gameplay, and everything. But this doesn't make the game feels like a copy or a fan-made game based on Amnesia or Penumbra. Instead, Lethe - Episode One is a decent horror game.

The lore is similar with Penumbra 1. After losing his dad, our character discovered more information about his late father and decided to pursue it into a mine. Although it sets off with an interesting premise, the story feels not alive. Like many other indie horror game out there, the player will learn about the lore through documents scattered in the game. Sadly, without a proper "title" for each documents, it feels confusing to follow the story, as it is later goes further than a son trying to find more about his dad into an otherworldly power.

You can grab object in Lethe (similar with the rest of Frictional's games), but there is a catch. The number of object that you interact with is limited, and they're not as "flexible" as Frictional's games. Nevertheless, Lethe was made by a small team, and this is already amazing! Especially the sound design. Yup, a hidden gem of horror game.

There are some scary moments, but this game is not really that scary. The level design is mostly the same with many similar assets. It will get boring in mid game because the pacing is a bit slow combined with a bad lore.

if we put the story aspect aside, I'm going to give Lethe - Episode 1 a 8/10, but considering the story and the pace, 7/10 should be enough. Can't wait for Episode 2... if it ever comes out.

I love Life is Strange 1 so much. I waited years and hold myself tight for a day I could get a better device so I could play this game when I heard DONTNOD announced LiS 2. The day has come and I finished the story of Sean and Daniel Diaz now.

I love the graphic update. Everything look so much better now compared to LiS 1 and Before the Storm. Although the game received a better visual, DONTNOD still brought the same LiS' styles in this sequel. Not only the visual, but the game mechanic is better now. Instead of the big-text-choices style in LiS 1, now we got a much simpler and smaller choices box (for less impactful), and bigger yet contrast between each choice (for a more impactful choice). The game also features inventory mode now and collectibles that let you customize Sean's backpack, although this one is not a really big thing in the game, it's nice to have something new like this.

In terms of choices and impacts, this game is far better than its predecessor. Instead of having Max with her rewind ability, now we have Sean (the player) and Daniel Diaz (the one with the super power). While going through stuff, Sean needs to be the father figure for Daniel, and this makes things harder for us because we need to be a good example for Daniel, while also doing the "right" thing. Every actions that Sean takes will have consequences in the future; either impacting Daniel's point of view of what right or wrong or shaping Daniel personality. In terms of story, I love LiS 2 more because it feels "bigger" and more serious. After playing this game, I feel like the Diaz brothers had gone through a lot than Max and Chloe. Making it feels like the first game is just a child's play when being compared of what the Diaz brothers need to face.

This game feels like a road trip rather than something that takes place in one setting. It feels like we are following Sean and Daniel Diaz's journeys, and each episode is introducing us to new people with their own stories that will be a lesson for Sean and Daniel.

I know that many people said this game feels too politic, but I don't think so. I think Life is Strange 2 is showing us what is going on in the world. LGBTQ+ is not politic, it's just loves. Immigrant is not politic, it's a real thing that people need to deal everyday. Racism too, it's not politic, it's something that is happening everyday. People are afraid to see these things in their game, but I feel we should see these more often. People need to know what is going on and how these groups must feel. Life is Strange 2 is not a game that is trying to be woke or spreading the LGBTQ+ movement and supporting immigrants, it is a game that is telling stories for us to hear.

This review would not justify my true feelings to the game. But if you're reading until this point, please buy the game and experience it by yourself. Of course, buy it from Life is Strange 1 first.

10/10

Heavy Rain is probably a good game for console, but not for Windows, or at least, for those who play with controller. Disclaimer: this review is subjective and heavily based on my opinion.

I bought this game because I love narrative-choice-based game so much, and when I heard they ported Heavy Rain to Windows, I put it into my wishlist. I would say Heavy Rain is like 13 Reasons Why, but darker and more depressed. The sky is gray all the time, and it's raining all the time. Man, there is no happy moment at all. It's all sad and gray. The pacing is also a bit slow. They made you care to the characters, then wrote some stupid ♥♥♥♥ to the point where you get tired, and detached your emotional attachment to the characters.

The ending is... well, a good twist I would say. Lmao, I didn't catch it at all. The game got me gasping at the killer real identity. But I do believe there should be a build up, a reason, and many more to give a better hint of who is the real killer. A good twist should come with hidden hints, not an invisible hints that only the writer could see. There are some lose ends in the story, but I don't know if it's because my choices or not.

The thing that really drove me nuts is the QTE. Oh boy, if you hate QTE in some of TellTale's games, this one will frustrate you even further. I think they used motion censor for this game on console, but when they ported this game to Windows, they made some adjustment with the mouse and keyboard setting. QTE in Heavy Rain ruined my experience, especially the camera angel, the mouse-controlling, and everything regarding this game control. I probably would have a better experience with a controller, but oh well.

One thing that I like about this game is how they made our choices important. Unlike the same game in this genre, choices in Heavy Rain are impactful to the story. No matter how small it is, perhaps by failing your QTE or simply just refusing to do the QTE. There is no, "you're dead, please retry". Whatever happens, you need to go on with the story.

TL;DR, buy this if you have a controller.

I don't know what Shiver Games thought when they make this game. They said that this game will back to its original roots again, yet the game feels like it belongs on the early access category. The town feels empty, the raven (fast travel option) is not optimized properly, the graphic is worst in the series.

I bought this at 90 percent sale and I regret it, after experiencing it for an hour, I decided to ask for a refund. This is not how Lucius should be. Although it's a common knowledge that the Lucius series had gone downhill since the second game, Lucius III is unacceptable. Go to hell with the Satan itself, Shiver Games.

After all the years between Dreadout and Dreadout Keepers of the Dark, it seems like Digital Happiness learn nothing at all. Warning, this review contains anger, frustration, and a bit of stupid hope for this series.

Believe me, I love horror games, especially horror games based on certain culture or region. Dreadout 2 is the long awaited sequel from the first big game developer of Indonesia, yet I never really enjoyed their games. Digital Happiness is really creative, I guarantee you that, but when it comes to execution, they are the worst of the worst.

This game shifted from Fatal Frame inspired game, into I-have-no-idea-anymore. It feels like a combination between Fatal Frame and Silent Hill, but the developer have no idea what they were doing, and how to properly combine those ideas into one game. There are many stunlock during the fight, mostly in melee combat. Linda's attack speed is too slow compared to most of the enemies, and it's almost impossible to get away from a stunlock condition. Three enemies in front of Linda? Maybe it's time to restart your progress! Stunlock has been an issue from the first game, yet nobody in Digital Happiness seems know how to fix it.

Story wise, this is Dreadout, don't expect huge story or a rational explanation of what is going on. You need to read the comic to fully understand the lore in Dreadout. Yet the comic is left unfinished. Although the story is stupid, I can see it as an improvement from the first game. I'm not going to write further regarding the story, cause honestly, who cares? The developer doesn't even care.

The graphic is the biggest improvement! Say all hail to Unreal Engine 4. It's not the best, and probably not the stablest performance, but I love the improvement from the PS2-looking-graphic. The sound design is good enough. It gave me many creepy moment through out the game, and there are some recycled sound from the first game (I don't know if this is bad or not, but I have no complain). Speaking of sound design, I have many issue with the voice acting. Who the hell made the decision to use many language in one game? There are Indonesian, Sundanese, English, and some don't even have a voice actor! What a downgrade from the Dreadout 1. Probably the reason they went this direction was to give an "Indonesian" atmosphere for people, yet I think it's unnecessary.

Boss fight is still as ♥♥♥♥♥♥ as the first game. Especially the final boss. ♥♥♥♥ that boss battle, ♥♥♥♥! I have a feeling this game never went any test quality before it launched in Steam. I also want to mention the "search for the right coffee" session. This is really unnecessary. Didn't bring laugh to me, but anger and frustration.

Well, at least the game feels more fluid now. It feels smoother, the graphic is nicer, and they finally took the lore more seriously. But all the flaws outshine the improvement. Sadly, I can only wish the best for this series. Perhaps Dreadout 3, if there's any, could be better. Please fix the stunlock, and for the love of God, go back for being a horror game.

Score: 1/10

Buat orang Indonesia, tolong jangan kasih review bagus hanya karena ini game tanah air dan harus didukung. Dukung dengan memberi review jujur biar game ini berkembang. Capek liat review yang cuman muji-muji doang, alhasil game developer ga ada niat buat kembangin game mereka.

i played this on my old computer; the old windows xp computer with the thick monitor. everyday after i finished my school, i would turn that pc on, and launched zuma. a few dollars for a nostalgia trip? why not.

gw bisa mencium wangi warnet dari game ini, ga nyangka bisa main grand chase lagi👍

This game brought so many emotions to me. Especially the ending. I can't decide if I like it, or I'm just so emotionally invested in the game to the point where I feel... disappointed.

Firewatch is a game about Herny, who has an issue with his wife. You'll get to know the issue later. Henry becomes a fire lookout to get away from his issue. The premise is simple, but you'll uncover more as you explore the wood. Firewatch's story is okay. Not mind-blowing or full of twists. But its simplicity is what I love. So simple. There is hidden lore too(?)about letters from Dave and Ron, not sure the connection to the main lore.

The game feels like many walking simulator games, but well, it's not only just walk-to-the-ending-from-the-start. There's some movement, navigation, action (although just some space bar and left-click). I wish we can be freer in exploring the map. The ability to jump wherever and whenever we want would be great.

When I started this game, I thought I'll write a review about how relaxing Firewatch is. I feel like I'm hiking on my own, and it feels nice (the situation in my country is still bad, and you know the protocol during this pandemic). But as the story progress, things feel more intense. You started to question who, where, what, and is this our imagination? I love that the developer uses the fire as the "progress bar" of the game. In the beginning, it was peaceful, green scenery and no fire. But as we reach the peak of the story, things turned orange, and you know the rest.

Firewatch is amazing, and I wish I pick it up sooner. It's 9/10 from me.

i played this game when i was a kid in my friend's computer. it was so fun that i remember i did not want to go home. back then i did not have a computer. now i'm in college and it's on sale! omg, i love popcap's games so much. glu glu glu glu glu