Recent reviews by dashima

Is Dark Souls pleasant? No.
Is it one of the best games I've ever played? Absolutely.
I'd give anything to be able to experience this for the first time again.

If you haven't played Dark Souls yet, I encourage you to give it a try. Watching a playthrough won't cut it either- this is something that has to be personally experienced. It just might surprise you and become your new favorite genre of game, as it did for me.

Tl;dr: Buy this if you're a brand new player or if you're a nostalgic PTDE owner who wants a stable, active online community. If you already own PTDE, the 50% discount will stack with other sales, for up to 90% off. Not free, but $4 isn't horrible.

Pros
✅ Immersive, focused worldbuilding and gameplay
✅ Best interconnected world design of all the Soulsborne games
✅ The difficulty of the game is extremely fair and not artificially hard with the exception of 1.5 bosses (Bed of Chaos, Seath's first phase are gimmick fights)
✅ Rewards individual skill and thorough exploration
✅ Fun and customizable - lots of weapons, armor and spells
✅ Lore so obscure you might not pick up on it the first time (could be a negative, but I enjoyed the subtlety)
✅ Interesting NPCs, enemies and locations
✅ With an overall beautiful aesthetic and soundtrack, Dark Souls just bleeds atmosphere. Such a memorable game.
✅ Very high replayability

Cons:
⛔ The UI is awful
⛔ You'll probably need to look stuff up (google search: poise)
⛔ One really obvious section where content was cut (back-to-back bosses) and the last portion of the game may seem rushed (Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith). Otherwise an almost perfect game.
⛔ Bed of Chaos might be the worst Soulsborne boss



When you browse the annals of history in an art museum, you get a sense of the grandeur of the age it existed in, the culture, the people, how large their gods might have been. It might occur to you that none of it would be obvious if it weren't for those little placards that told you who made it, why and what the context of the piece was.

Dark Souls is similar experience. It's like walking through a massive history museum but without any of the context, and you're left to piece together how this world came to be as it's falling apart around you. The gods have abandoned their thrones but you can feel something greater in this world, even in the wake of its death and all its vast emptiness and its winding, black corridors.

The world of Dark Souls is unfriendly. Yes, you will die. At every turn, you will find something that wants to kill you. Enemies, NPCs, other players, the environment, you name it. You could describe this game as navigating multiple maps of hundreds of enemies trying to kill you, all so you can get killed by a massive boss, again and again, until the last one is dead. It's as if the world is trying to crush your spirit, but then, as you finally pick yourself up and drive your sword through the last tidbit of health on buffed Dragonslayer Ornstein, there's a catharsis there that makes all of it seem worth it. You made it, you're stronger for it, and there's a real, however brief, reprieve from your suffering. This is what makes FromSoftware's games so popular. Their fanbase is dedicated unlike any other. This is the game that birthed a whole genre of its own and if you fight long enough in Dark Souls to see it through, you might see why. Don't be afraid to touch this game. You can always recover from death and you can always find a helping hand, whether its through the NPCs or community. The Soulsborne genre is a magnum opus and if you're even remotely interested in the concept of video games as art, you need to try this game.

Why love Dark Souls 1 in particular? Aside from being a classic, no other game has replicated the flood of joy when meeting Solaire in Lordran. Dark Souls 3 is amazing, but it's such a vibrant and beautiful game that the theme of having a genuinely bright NPC in contrast to a depressing, lonely world is lost. Dark Souls 3 does have an easier starting curve but none of it will make sense without the lore of DS1.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1746788764


I'd like to think that most gamers have at least heard of Dark Souls or seen games being compared to "Dark Souls difficulty". If you're not familiar, Dark Souls is a game with one difficulty where how quickly you advance through the game depends on individual skill level. A lot of it comes down to learning enemy movements, your own weapon's movements, your stat limitations, and the invincible dodge roll.

It's not as sadistic as people make it out to be. Dark Souls is known for being fairly hard, but I make the distinction that it is fair AND hard. 9 times out of 10 a death in Dark Souls could have been prevented. It rewards careful, deliberate gameplay and experience. Part of the challenge is not being in the know, but once you discover a failproof way through a map, that knowledge will benefit you for however long you play Dark Souls. This is why there are so many challenge runs of this game- because nothing is impossible in this game with practice and the game makes it fun to try.

One of the biggest pros is that Dark Souls capitalizes on playing the way you want with build and gear variety. If the game is too hard, you can make it easier. Conversely if the game is too easy, you can make it harder. Struggling players can always take a break to level up first, summon NPCs or co-op partners, or simply run past. If you are out of humanity in order to summon, you can help/invade other players to get it with no loss to you. While it's thematically more appropriate to play solo, jolly cooperation is intended gameplay. By extension, pvp will never die so long as other players are co-oping/summoning.

For firsttime players, I highly suggest looking up builds before you start as there is no respec in this game. Level vitality first for a better beginning experience. The stats aren't explained well in-game, so it can be confusing what you should level.



Criticisms on the Remastered version:
✅ Password co-op, 60 fps, 1080p
✅ More active co-op/pvp community
✅ Works out of the box

⛔ Bad anti-cheat. Anti-modding. Highly recommend backing up saves.
⛔ Not great keyboard/mouse support
⛔ The same game as PTDE, just less of an awful port. Bandai Namco cash grab.

The negative reviews are mostly from longtime DS1 fans who were upset Bandai slapped a $40 pricetag on an older game (without changing the actual game) and Bandai's awful support, but they are NOT criticism of the actual game. Remastered got a lot of flack when it first released because it should have been a free patch, but unlike PTDE it runs out of the box and co-op actually works as intended WITHOUT having to install mods. Besides that, you get passwords for co-op, 60 fps and a more active pvp/co-op community so it's silly to recommend PTDE over Remastered to new players who own neither. If you already own PTDE and only ever intend to play solo or use a lot of mods, by all means, install DSFix and play away.

As a final note, it's highly recommended to play with a controller. I have played through both 1 and 3 with a keyboard (and still do) so it's doable, but seriously, use a controller. You'll only ever get controller prompts and will have to learn 10 more keys than anyone else.

Written for Alexander's Club Curations. Check out the curator for more detailed reviews!

Pros:
✅ Has 3 defined romance routes you can switch between as you please
✅ Freedom of choice in romance (polyamory, bdsm, vanilla, etc)
✅ Queer-friendly characters
✅ Great flowing conversation mechanic
✅ Some replayability

Cons:
⛔Story-based game but the main story is lackluster
⛔Main character is a bit boring
⛔Wasn't a fan of the art direction
⛔At times, seems to want to be deep but comes across edgy

Other Factors:
👉 Adult only
👉 There is nudity (breasts) but no other genitalia is shown outside of underwear
👉 One playthrough is about 2 hours long depending on your reading speed
👉 Main audience is queer readers and people who like VN romance.

For all its exploration of occultism, sexuality, and nonconformity, Knife Sisters is a fairly simple slice of life visual novel. This game tactfully ventures into topics that many VNs would never touch with a ten foot pole, with writing mature enough to back it up. It follows a well trodden path: a middling protagonist, plot linearity, and love interests who inexplicably fall for the protagonist character. I'd best describe it as palatable enough for someone diving in for the romance alone, but not so different as to potentially alienate readers. It's not formulaic by any means but the the game seems to hint at a darker, more intimate story and never quite takes the leap. You won't find any mindblowingly deep stories or characters here (as the game's moody synopsis might suggest) but this is first and foremost a game catering to romance enthusiasts. On this front, it delivers realistically well. Tl;dr: people wanted adult scenes, and by god, they did it.

If you are looking for a decent romance novel and are wondering if this is worth a try, the short answer is yes. Knife Sisters is created by queer writers specifically with queer readers in mind, so this is the specific audience I recommend this game to, aside from the most savvy of romance VN connoisseurs.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1786902442 New girlfriend, get!

Spoilers ahead.

Throw yourself headfirst into the shoes of the young nonbinary protagonist, Leo. One part self-insert, one part cardboard, you wonder why the game didn't just let you choose your own character. Leo isn't inherently dislikeable but they add nothing to the story save for being a vessel for you to experience the game in, AKA "protagonist syndrome".

Shortly into the game, you're introduced to a suspicious character, Dagger... is this the occultist you've been warned about? She goes out of her way to be untrustworthy, so you wait out the conversation until an appropriately skeptical reply can be chosen. This conversation mechanic is a quality of life change from the usual "A, B, C, D" or timed TellTale-style dialogue. It helps structure the game around conversation flow. Waiting out dialogue rewards you with new responses, which allows you to choose what you want to say (or omit) as the thoughts run through Leo's head. It's a great feature, one that hopefully catches on in future VNs.

However, it unfortunately doesn't matter what response you pick and it won't for the entirety of the story because it IS the story. The game will have you go through a blood ritual whether you like it or not. This illusion of choice undermines the freeform dialogue mechanic, leaving you to wonder why it's so important in the first place. Dagger isn't a good person, and in the end, she has nothing to do with your character. There's no grand scheme, no dark secrets to capture the senses, and it leaves you baffled. Sure, it's a slice of life but it's almost anticlimactic. The game gives you no reason to care about Dagger yet you're forced to play along with her... for what reason?

Since there's no opting out, you might as well experience the "lore". Inexplicably, everyone in the club is attracted to you but you aren't complaining. There is no inane gift giving or heart meter system and some of the most passionate writing in the game come from these romances. You can really tell that the writer put effort into making characters distinctive with their own likes, dislikes and outlook on life. The fact that you can potentially get two of your partners to meet (and from there leave one, both, or enter a threesome) is quite frankly novel. There is a lack of strong character arcs so it can be challenging to connect beyond what feels like one-night stands but those who enjoy romance/slice-of-life will get a kick out of the replayability these dates can provide. Freedom of choice is most prevalent here, as you can choose not only which love interest you'd like to see but also what you feel comfortable with in a love scene.

---

So, Knife Sisters... I'd classify this as a "passable" visual novel and a decent romance short story. There were a lot of things in this game that didn't click with me, but overall it wasn't bad and I know for sure a lot of people would love to experience this kind of game. If I could, I'd give a "neutral" recommendation, because it wasn't bad but I didn't outright love the game.

If you've been looking for more games that lovingly feature queer characters, trans/nb characters, and sex-positive romance, add it to your wishlist. Try it on sale maybe. It's a short game and one playthrough can take less than 2 hours depending on how fast you read (5-6 hours for completionism), so it'll at the very least be an interesting way to spend a couple hours if you're bored of the usual.

Reviewed with a developer key for Alexander's Club Curations. Check out the curator for more detailed reviews!

Pathologic 2 is a special kind of nightmare, like a fever dream from which there is no escape and no solace. When you inevitably wake up, you won't be able to explain it, save for a lingering feeling of despair. You'll tell yourself: This isn't the ending I hoped for. If only I had more time... Trapped by this game's brutal machinations but intrigued by glimpses of the macabre ingenuity lurking beneath its surface-- you either love it or you don't. It's a depressing artistic masterpiece.

Pros:
✅ Excellent, intricate story. Choices matter.
✅ Graphics are a huge upgrade from the original
✅ Dynamic, immersive world and interesting writing to boot
✅ Some replayability due to RNG and endings
✅ Healthy length
✅ EDIT: Updated difficulty modes!

Cons:
⛔ Combat is clumsy, guns are all but useless
⛔ Micromanagement simulator
⛔ Performance issues
⛔ No manual save

Other Factors:
👉 Text-based dialogue (unvoiced, lots of reading)
👉 Story content can and will be missed
👉 1 of 3 chapters of the whole game
👉 Walking simulator

🔎 What is Pathologic? 🔍

You play as Haruspex, a surgeon who gets off the train to his hometown in the Steppes, only to be besieged by turmoil, plague and death. Each day tests you emotionally and psychologically and it's up to you to save the others. Your goal: survive 12 days and find the cure.

There's a lot to love here. Pathologic features a realistic, sprawling town as it slowly falls apart. It avoids the pitfalls of being a basic, murderspree machine video game without substance or style. It's a survival psychological thriller steeped in personality-- occasionally slogged down by grueling micromanagement and RNG.

It has some of the best world-building I've seen in video games to date, but this isn't the type of game where you will get a ending you're happy with. The survival mechanics can be overbearing. It's not so much that it's hard than that it potentially subtracts from the game's vision. You might love the story, but how many times would you be willing to replay for it? I believe that with the upcoming difficulty sliders, more people will be able to experience Pathologic 2 for all it has to offer.

Pathologic 2 follows Pathologic Classic as a remake, so you don't necessarily need to play the original in order to play this as they're alike. This is tagged as a horror game, but it has no jumpscares or overtly scary aspects; it is merely suspenseful, absurd and dark.

Please note: this game only contains 1 of the 3 original playable character routes, the latter two of which are intended to be released at a later date. Currently you can only play as Haruspex. His route takes around 20-30 hours to fully complete.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1754488250Pathologic's surreal art direction


⭐ Story is a luxury in this game, both figuratively and literally. You will only be able to fully engage with the story if you are not dying. However, the content that exists beyond is great. It is a surrealistic slow burn experience that will keep you on edge.

One of Pathologic's best features is its seamless, atmospheric world. The way that the plot presents itself to you naturally, sometimes uncovered through different methods, is on par with some of the top tier narrative-driven games I've played to date. The UI supports the plot in every way, enhancing the game through web-like quest lines.

Characters firmly exist in the world, rife with purpose and personality. The writers of Pathologic 2 have masterfully studied these characters and their relationship to the main protagonist. Being able to go from rivals to friends with multiple NPCs was well-written and a special moment for me.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1754495484A strong, narrative-based game with brilliant character writing


⭐UPDATE 06/07/18: The devs have added difficulty modes! This can potentially help gamers who are unable to progress or those who are not interested in struggling with gameplay. Below discusses the "intended difficulty":

⭐ Deaths strongly favor cruel RNG over the fault of the player. As mentioned before, this is an excellent game, but it hides behind a GIANT BRICK WALL called gameplay. Unfettered, the gameplay stirs desperation, encourages vigilance and pushes you to adapt to bad circumstances. Sometimes things go wrong. Gamebreakingly wrong.

It is entirely possible to completely break a save by dying too many times due to bad RNG.

Let me explain: In this new Pathologic remake, your overall death count is recorded PERMANENTLY and penalized, making your playthrough harder each time you die. This can potentially cripple you until it becomes impossible to play. Even if you reload a previous save, that death penalty will apply to the rest of your playthrough forever. For those who get the short end of the stick, the game can seem downright unfair. It IS possible to play without deaths, but you have to "get lucky" or have a fast trigger finger on that pause button. Even so, it forces you to replay large amounts of the game occasionally and it gets annoying fast.

This does not take into account how many NPCs can die due to bad rolls, but I consider this a positive feature as it fits with the intent of the game and isn't gamebreaking.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1756452808


The timed micromanagement is sometimes a positive feature of the game. The balancing act between multiple survival meters, "respect" meters, and inventory management really pushes you to familiarize yourself with gameplay mechanics, such as trading. While potentially tedious, it provides a real sense of the struggle to survive in a town besieged by plague. You can't do it alone.

For some, these mechanics can be overbearing. I note that the hunger meter definitely needs to be looked at, as it's not physically possible for a person to eat 3 full steaks a day and still be capable of dying of starvation within the next 8 hours.

One of the easiest ways to survive in this game is to quite frankly kill others at night, loot them and steal their organs. Unfortunately, the combat is clunky and awkward. Our protagonist, Haruspex, definitely does not have the grace of a surgeon while he is wielding butter knives on the streets.

Aside from that, the guns are all but useless in this game. Considering the cost and scarcity of ammo, the fact that a regular enemy doesn't die from a headshot is unrealistic. You can comically watch corpsmen shoot enemies more than 10 times and lose.



I run a Ryzen 2700x and 1080Ti graphics card with 16 GB of memory. This game puts almost as much pressure on my PC as it does for massive triple A video games, such as Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and more than better optimized triple A games such as the Witcher 3.

I experienced some framedrops and bugs and this can possibly be a problem for those who have weaker systems.



✅ Yes, if the niche aesthetic appeals to you.

Pathologic 2 is an overall interesting game that rejects the norm that video games should be casual and fun. It's thought-provoking in a way very few games are. Considering the budget and team size this game initially had, Pathologic 2 is a huge leap forward for IPL and deserves respect.

Written for Alexander's Club Curations. Check out the curator for more detailed reviews like this one.

And a cookie for anyone who managed to read the whole thing. Thank you!

Yakuza 0 is to video games what Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is to anime.

You should go into this with 0 expectations because whatever you're thinking this game is like, it isn't. It's not like GTAV, it's not even like Sleeping Dogs. Sometimes I feel like so many games (even JRPGs) take after each other so much that everything just feels the same. This is an exception. It's not an open world game, but the characters and story of this game are so encompassing that it feels larger than life. There are also large shifts in mood that I want to praise because it frankly wouldn't have worked in any other game. One moment your boss is trying to kill you, next second you're singing karaoke and playing a racecar minigame to impress a group of 7 year olds. Yakuza 0 is a game that knows how to have fun.

The Yakuza franchise is underrated, especially on PC, so I highly recommend you to start from this game if you're even remotely interested in checking out the franchise. Everyone's support here on steam might encourage SEGA to port future installments on PC, so please, please... experience this at least once. It's worth a try.

Pros:
+ Excellent PC port and smooth controls
+ Dramatic storyline and some of the best characters to grace the JRPG genre.
+ Dual protagonists with unique gameplay
+ Combat feels fresh thanks to "heat moves" and is fun to watch
+ Understated soundtrack that adds to the experience
+ Tons and tons of minigames, sidequests, and more. You'll never not have something to do.
+ Many minigames are complex and require mastery. Cabaret Club is almost more fun than the actual game.
+ Emphasizes fun and substance over sticking to a melodramatic crime thriller, and it works.
+ Yakuza installment with the highest amount of content. Excellent price-to-content ratio.
+ Unique game that you won't be able to experience in any other franchise.

Cons:
- Third person mode only and limited camera options
- The map is same throughout all the games (Kamurocho). This can be a dealbreaker for some who might get bored running through the same city for hundreds of hours.
- In addition, lots of backtracking and running to-and-from quests.
- Lots and lots of cutscenes may turn off some audiences.
- Lack of FOV options
- May be considered a button masher
- Massive number of collectibles required for completionism, which may turn some people off.

Wow... I think I'm in love with the Borderlands universe.

There's just something really special about this game: the way the characters grow on you, the explosive atmosphere, the compelling story, the weird but incredible way they weave heavy moments and introspection in a game filled to the brim with humor, gore and internet memes. I feel like this game is the best it can get, or at least until Gearbox or some other developer comes up with something even better. With such a diverse cast of characters, I find it hard to imagine NOT being able to relate to at least one of them despite how extreme their personalities can be. It's not all haphazard extremeness either and each is endearing in their own way. The game is very inclusive of queer characters and neurodivergent characters. They follow stereotypes, they break stereotypes, and their differences are natural and introduced as such. Handsome Jack is on par with Pagan Min as my favorite antagonist. Every character feels alive and has defining dialogue and the areas you can explore are often beautiful. Pandora is a harsh yet vibrant world that you will blast through over and over until you finally come out on top. The FPS genre generally isn't very memorable but here's a game that smashes the rules and brings out its own style.

Gunplay is the heart of Borderlands and there is a huge number of quests you can complete to gain better guns, loot and experience. I found levelling and looting enjoyable and the skill trees are decent but slightly underwhelming as a lot of them become useless if you grind to endgame difficulty modes. It goes without saying... there's a lot of grinding in this game and a couple "fetch" sidequests. Especially early on when you're stuck with some really low level equipment. But once you get past that initial slow start, the game really picks up and you'll find yourself shooting electricity out of shotguns and facing more challenging opponents with better rewards. I think the only gripe I might have with the gameplay is that some bosses felt poorly designed-- sort of same-y with almost all of them having unavoidable area-of-effect attacks. Until recently the drop rates for legendaries was notoriously difficult but has been fixed. Minor bugs exist but with the rest of the game being completely incredible I found them more funny than annoying.

There are four playable characters (plus two more in GOTY edition) that each have their own perks and quotes. No matter who you choose you'll have a good time while they rattle off at enemies or make it to second wind just in time. There's Axton, Pandora's most handsome (next to Jack!) but smart-mouthed bisexual man, who makes a great tank and support. Maya, an ace siren, is my personal favorite with her phaselock ability and makes for a nicely balanced offense and support unit as well. Her background ties her in somewhat with the going-ons of the game and playing her can involve you more in the story. Zer0, my other favorite, is your key "outsider" nameless, mysterious type. He recites haiku and displays emotes on his face.... which is honestly more adorable than it should be. You just can't quite put your finger on him but that's probably part of his charm. It should be noted that although he's an assassin class, there's no stealth (this is not a subtle game!) but over time he can become a very specialized, powerful character. Sal is the only one I haven't tried out yet but from what I've heard his skill tree makes him one of the most OP tanks in the game. Sadly there isn't a lot of backstory on the protagonists but there's plenty on all the other NPCs you'll be dealing with.

UPDATE: I've finished playing all the characters to OP8 and Sal is the pure definition of this game. EXPLOSIOOOONS! Gaige and Krieg, the other two characters included in GOTY/season pass as dlc, are fun, fast-paced power tanks. Highly recommended.

This is an attractive game full of creativity and it's clear upon playing that the people who made this game really put in a lot of effort and attention (and also memes) into it. Aside from the characters, small details like occasional ECHO logs and the differences in gun part brands add depth. The landscapes and cartoony art are great and perfectly suit the game's action-savvy theme which creates a unique combination of lightheartedness and gore. I loved the day-night transitions and many areas make for some beautiful, detailed scenery that are nice to look at while you're in or out of a fight. The world is literally blowing up with fun! And despite some really tough mobs you'll crawl through, you might find yourself coming back for more because there's nothing quite like it. For a game that makes a million jokes, I copped lots of feels and it somehow really touched me.

If you have the time and energy to spare, I strongly recommend the GOTY edition. Tiny Tina and Captain Scarlett's DLC that are included with it are some of the biggest, best DLC I've seen to date. There are many ways to play the game and trying out new characters or difficulty modes lends itself to some high replayability. On days you just want to sit back, kick some butt and feel like a badass, this is the perfect solution for everyone and anyone. Now excuse me while I write a love letter to gearbox.

You carry a life-sized hologram of Handsome Jack inside you and if that isn't incredible, I don't know what is.

A fascinating little game from Klei, the creators of Don't Starve, with a beautiful cyberpunk/espionage style that instantly had me buying. The game still feels barebones and needs plenty of improvements, but the partial content so far is impressive.

What stands out positively is its stylish hand-drawn artstyle along with decent UI and gameplay. The characters and their personalities are fun as well, but I can't help but to hope for a little more interesting & diverse cast by the time the game is published. Or perhaps to learn a little more about them in-game as the intro text is all the description you will ever get on both the characters and the world they live in.

In terms of gameplay, like in most rogue-like & perma-death genre games, there is a steep learning curve and while it is entertaining, levels can quickly become devastating. It offers a very tense, challenging experience but I wish there was more context for some of the game's attributes, such as the passive "alarm level" timebomb or the purpose of "reputation."

I'll have to add more when newer builds get released, but I think this has the opportunity to become a brilliant game and I hope it suceeds. Good luck klei!


Update after the final release:

Pros:
+ Any complaints I had about combat attributes are nullified with the addition of customizable gameplay options. You can pick and choose how challenging you'd like the gameplay to be.
+ Addition of even more characters and stylish cutscenes
+ More voiced lines breath some life into the world
+ Procedural generation seems to be somewhat improved, which leads to high replayability.

Cons:
- I can now firmly say that the game is really a stealth topdown simulator with very little story content.
- Still very luck-based depending on what gets randomly generated for you, and time-based, which takes away some of the tactical aspect of the game.
- Not as atmospheric as I'd hoped, but still very excellent.

Overall, I recommend this game to those who appreciate stealth and rogue-like games, but only if you are willing to be patient. It appeals to a specific subset of gamers who like challenging turn-based gameplay, so those who come hoping for an experience because of the noir/detective aesthetic may leave some disappointed.

If you're coming from Klei's other games like Don't Starve or Mark of the Ninja and you enjoy the technical aspects of that game, it's worth giving this game a shot. First time players should be sure to play it without the Contingency DLC as it adds difficulty intended for players who have already mastered the game.

Significantly entertaining regardless of whether it's with friends or with total strangers. The base game was already great, multiplayer made it greater.

The amount of love and skill that went into this game is incredible.

As a person years late to Bastion, Transistor was the first game I experienced from Supergiant Games. I decided to finish both games before writing this review and personally I feel that this game is more favorable even though its story is more linear in comparison. It is absolutely worth every penny.

The artwork, Jen Zee's work, is fantasic. The soundtrack for this game among the best I've heard and I highly recommend buying it if you can. Voice acting felt intimate and natural and the hidden array of diverse side characers were an interesting touch. All of this gave life to the otherwise enigmatic and vaguely-defined world of Transistor.

Furthermore, the combat system in this game is very rewarding and can be made difficult for those who want the challenge. The developers really tried something new with this game and it worked. It's a unique experience I highly recommend everyone to try out.

Pros:
+ Artwork, visual quality
+ Excellent dynamic soundtrack
+ Complex gameplay
+ Easy learning curve
+ Good controls
+ Adjustable difficulty
+ Can be played both tactically and in real-time
+ Gameplay allows different approaches to fights
+ Interesting, yet subtle, story and worldbuilding
+ Unique approach to the sci-fi genre

Cons:
- New Game+ mode isn't as engaging
- Lore requires you to read text in a menu, which is somewhat obscure
- Linear game
- Can be considered somewhat short (10 hours to beat just the story)

If you like hot wolf dads, this game was literally made for you.