Recent reviews by Azzak

This game is simply amazing.
For info : I have played both solo don't starve and this one with friends.
Never touched PVP nor played with strangers.

PROS :
- A very Tim-Burtonesque atmosphere you're all going to love. The game universe feels good ! It's lovely, funny, dark and somehow poetic at the same time.
- Graphics are simple yet pretty. Soundtrack is good too.
- A true survival. You're going to die. And retry. And die. Again.
- With friends ! Wohoo. Dying with friends is always fun.
- Combat is simple, hit and dodge enemy hits. It's not a game about mastering fighting stances or anything.
- Mechanics are overall easy to grasp, but you might have to pay a few visits to dst wiki.
- A good community and devs that bring more and more free updates to the game.
- Finally a game you can play with your girlfriend and let her die in terrible sufferings.

CONS:
- May get repetitive, especially the beginning.
- Unbearable to play with lags as you're going to take a lot of damage (and probably die).
- Some mechanics can be frustrating (heat and fires for example), especially for new-comers.
- Can be quite difficult for beginners, don't forget to wear armor !
- Time consuming, be prepared !

Conclusion : RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE (as long as they don't mind dying and retrying or learning fast). Better with friends.

It is very hard to create a proper review of this game, as your experience may be completely different from mine. It really depends of the server you'll settle in.

I have been :
- co-leader of a small village, part time soldier for the king
- second in command of an entire kingdom after my friend seized the throne by cunning and diplomacy
And done :
- building, farming, crafting, terraforming, hunting...
- fighting PVP as archer in both field battles and sieges, and also militiaman against raiders
- organizing a guild, recruiting new members, dealing with ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ situations
- A lot of Roleplay involving weddings, meetings, diplomacy, wars and back-stabbing.

PROS
- A very nice medieval atmosphere. Realistic, yet fun.
- You'll meet awesome people (and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but that's the case in every online game)
- Recommended for Roleplayers and adepts of politics/diplomacy : if you choose the right server it could be an amazing experience. It definitely felt like a Game of Thrones !
- Building your city is more than just it looks (posing blocks), you need some creativity to make it beautiful.
- Addictive.
- Gameplay combat is better than most survival games...

CONS
- ... but combat is mediocre compared to mount & blade.
- PVE aspect is non existent.
- PVP is sometimes unbalanced (poisons, some weapons...)
- Performances sometimes suck, and especially during massive battles.
- Devs focus on MMO and do not fix bugs of LFYO as fast as they should.
- Requires a lot of farming. bring your friends ! Definitely not a solo player game or someone with short gameplay time.
- ♥♥♥♥♥♥ admins are legions, abusing power or simply not enforcing rules. Unfortunately there is little players can do other than leaving and trying another server.
- Servers lifespan are on average one to three months : don't expect to have anykind of "persistant" cities, and be prepared to start over again a lot.

Conclusion : if you find a good server with a nice admin, then this game is amazing. If you don't, it sucks.

FOR :
- fans of middle-ages
- fans of RP and backstabbing diplomacy
- fans of... farming stuff and building stuff.
- fans of medieval warfare that do not mind some bad performance.

NOT FOR THOSE LOOKING :
- for a survival game. It is not.
- for a quick experience or a solo game : you need to spend a lot of time on the game
- for PVE : there is no real danger from beasts after a while and fighting them is not interesting. The true aspect of the game revolves in Building/PVP/RP

I'm surprised this game gets mixed reviews.

No bugs so far, awesome graphics and gameplay. I'll do a proper review once I'll have finished a campaign but it looks promising.

Disclaimer : I took this game only for its multiplayer.

Basically gameplay is solid, graphics are nice. However it would be enjoyable it multiplayer was balanced. ATM it is not fun at all, which is why I stopped.

Unfortunately it also seems there is too little content.

I would advise against buying this game before some more patch and content addition.

Multiplayer doesn't work at all. Fix this.

Otherwise great solo game, but i don't want to spend time reviewing a game that doesn't work.

{No Spoiler}
Ok, where do I begin ?
It's an amazing piece of art. I didn't know anything about Life Is Strange before trying it, but the numerous positive reviews (and the humble bundle) compelled me to try. Oh gosh !

Pros
- I hate useless drama. This isn't about useless drama. Story is great, characters are great, music is great, graphics are stylized and nice.
- You are going to be probably broken by this game. But broken in a positive way. Trust me.
As a matter of comparison, telltale games didn't really touched me that way that life is strange did.
- Attention to details is excellent. Immersion is total. Small piece of papers, objects, characters, everything is made to feel real.
- Did I told you characters were amazing ? Even though they are merely pixels we get really attached to them. And they're going to get through hell with us.
- Excellent price. I mean for this amazing thing 20€ is a very good price, and you'd want to replay once to do all the stuff you've missed.
- Superb voice acting, minus 1 or 2 secondary characters.
- Did I told you the music was brillant ? It really sets up the mood. Would buy the soundtrack.
- If you are or know someone who is into art, this game will definitely speak even more for you. And brings back sweet memories.

Cons
- The ending is a bit previsible. But don't worry, it's not a disappointment.
- Sometimes they might talk a bit too much.
- Sometimes lips syncro is out, or bugged. Not frequent, but might happen. Not a serious issue for 99% of the game.
- Technically graphics are also a bit simple, but the lightning and art design are perfect. So it's highly subjective here. For me it didn't bothered me at all. That said facial expressions are sometimes not very vivid, however the voice acting more than make up for that.
- We need more. Seriously. Make season 2.
- Episode 1 is really... calm compared to others. If you tried it and thought "meh this is just high school drama", I still advise you to get the rest of the episodes when they're on sale. The story really picks up toward more epic action later on.

This game is about story, characters, intrigue. If you don't like talking, exploration... you probably won't like it. Still, take it more like an interactive movie than anything.
And of course if you don't care about people, this game won't do much to you. This game is about the connexion the player has with the characters, if you don't care about them the magic won't operate.

Final verdict : must have. For me it's a 9,5/10. This is not even a game, that's freaking art. Get it.
The title can not be more fitting : this is about life. And life is strange ! But ehh this is just a review so I won't get into philosophy here. Enough said that this game will make you think. You won't forget it.
Just to add to my point, they put a support page about suicide on their website.

Now you'll excuse me I have to replay it.

First of all : this is not a Total War game ! This is a medieval city-builder with some battles elements, designed for phones. If you're looking for a total war skip this and go play total war arena instead.
Does it make it a bad game ? No. Well. Depends what you're looking for.

Pros
- Nice atmosphere. Immersive and relaxing.
- Fun city and terrain management. Nothing complicated.
- Batte system is great once you understand how it works.
- Not P2W, but....

Cons
- Takes forever to get gold by playing. If you are duelling other players you'll be at a disadvantage until you get a good economy.
- If you want things done fast... don't play.
- If you want a deep total war battle system or campaign, don't
- if you want deep city management, don't

To sum it up : if you want a relaxing little game where you build cities and battle, then it's good.

Brillant !
For fans of military adventures in the age of muskets this interactive book fulfills every dreams. I won't say anything about the plot and let it be for you to discover. Suffice to say the military atmosphere has been completely respected, the different plots are well done and there is great replayability.

One thing that bugs me though :
- "choose your own adventures" games are always about maximising some stats and use them correctly in battles. Once the pattern has been discovered, it lose some of its charms. However the game is still able to make the mechanics behind it plausible.


Still, a gem for the price. 9/10
Would like the possibility to save for an upcoming title. Otherwise, keep up the good work and thanks for this !

Naval Action Early Access Review, Grade : Captain, written at around 350 hours of game-time.

Pros

- An unique open sea battle simulation. The (few) naval battles games that exist can't get close to the gameplay, realism and beauty of this game.
- Combat is really well done. Every tactical option is here : 3 different ammunitions, crew management, advanced sails management with wind direction, different kind of canons, different kind of ships and possible strategies...
- Very enjoyable with a group of friends, large or small. As it is a PVP designed game, you'll enjoy the thrill of naval action together. If you don't have a group though.... you'll get ganked !
- A very large map. It easily takes half a day of sailing to get through one point to another !
- Devs are very engaged on this game, and close to the community. They often reply on the official forums. Tired of AAA game devs ? Here they're really awesome.
- Port battles are going to be awesome once they'll release... forts. But from the previews it'll be epic !
- No subscription, no cash shop ! It's basically a MMO like the first guild wars, Buy to Play. Price is OK for the content.


Negatives

- Open sea mechanics are still new, and not very well designed. Trouble to find enemies that don't run, trouble to find missions... ports are conquered way too easily etc... That will change but the actual state of the open world is bad.
- Grind is real. I didn't grind much, as I like to experience quite a lot of different things in the game, and after 350 hours I'd have thought to have end-game ships. Not really ! I am yet to unlock constitution and 3rd rates. So brace yourselve if you're a casual player that don't like grinding, you might never experience the end game anytime soon.
- The game is a sandbox, and is definitely unbalanced on small servers. Choose your faction wisely if you don't like to fight with unfair (impossible) odds.
- Crafting system is terrible as it is purely based on RNG, but hopefully it will change next patch.
- UI is awful, as it is a placeorder. This will change before release.
- Customisation is missing : no character or portrait, no ship cosmetic customisation. But that will likely change before release.
- You keep combat XP forever, but devs will maybe/probably reset everything else before release. You've been warned. Nothing is final yet.

Overall : 7/10 if you have a group of friends or meet nice players in game. If you are also a fan about ships of the golden age of sail it gets to 9/10, THIS GAME IS FOR YOU. If you're a casual solo player : 4/10. Unless you want to play in group on a regular basis, this game has not much to offer to you.


Final verdict : Recommended

The game is unique in its genre and should definitely be in your library if you like simulation of early 19th century sea battles. I repeat, this is not an arcade games and it is realistic to a certain extent, while not being a full simulation. The pace is slow, but needs skills. If you like or don't mind simulation-paced games, then consider the followings :

The open sea mechanics are bad, but the excellent combat mechanics more than make up for it. Open world is still recent though, and the game will only get better until release. Devs seem to be very engaged at keeping work on this game, and don't really care about money.
Also, this is a PVP game before everything, and to enjoy it you need to group and grind at least a little. If you don't mind both of these requirements, then it is definitely a good game. It is still far from being perfect, but worth it even right now. Then, if you're a fan about naval battles don't hesitate. You'll probably love the game.

If the devs fix the open world mechanics and keep putting more content, I'd recommend it even for casual players.

Guns of Icarus Review (Level 18, 68h) :
+ Pros
- Unique game in its genre. Play as a crew in a steampunk ship ! Be either the captain, the gunner, or one of the two engineers.
- Graphics are very good, although a bit dated. The art direction is magnificient, it's a pleasure to fly through the different environment.
- Combat is really well done, although you need to get some knowledge on how it works to fully understands it. Spend time to experiment etc.
- Usually good community.
- Good price for what it is
- A freaking lot of achievements for those who want to grab them all !
- The cash shop is purely cosmetical, and it allows to customise your character (a lot) and your ship (very little).

- Negatives
-You need friends and a voice communication to get a good experience. Playing alone or without voice com will make you bored, frustrated and angry.
- Not much content. 5 ships, a good variety of weapons, but you're quickly going to get through everything. However mastering them takes skill and time, and of course a good crew.
- PVP only so far, so brace yourself. Alliance DLC is coming soon though with PVE and more content.
- Small but dedicated playerbase. You have to learn quickly or you'll get stomped by veterans.

Overall : 9/10 with a full 4 player crew, 5/10 without.
The game offers an unique and incredibly fun experience if you can get 3 of your friends on it. If not, then you'll quickly lose interest in it, as you can not put advanced strategies and likely get stomped in loop.
The Alliance DLC might be a life changer though, as a PVE experience could bring a lot of new players and be quite enjoyable even withotu a full crew on vocals. We'll see !

Final verdict : Excellent game, for casuals or pros alike, provided you have 3 or more friends with you.