Recent reviews by Keller

Mixing the interactive fiction genre with the tactical wargame genre is really compelling,

I love what this game is trying to do, and it really succeeds in my playtime so far.

The mechanics are decent and the gameplay is serviceable. I just cannot bring myself to care about anyone on this ship. I haven't finished a play through yet, but I've made it to the Habitat.

Do you want to side with the open fascists?

Maybe you would prefer to side with the fascists who pretend to be communists?

Maybe you like a little theology in your fascism?

Well, there are mutants too, but they're supremacists who think you're obsolete.

Don't like any of that? Well, everybody else is trash too. Get yours! Everything is hopeless and ♥♥♥♥♥♥ here, have fun.

This is a pretty brutal story, but one I quite enjoyed and happen to think is worth the price of admission and time invested. I don't feel the need to hold my big conclusion for the end, that's the takeaway, but I'll expand on that.

The story is complete, but leaves room for more, rather than being a nugget of a story that demands a sequel to provide any sense of resolution.

The characters are distinct and well written, interesting, endearing, whether as villains, friends, family, lovers, or whatever part they play in events. That extends to your own character, who can be competent and play an important role in events while giving you, the player, room to develop them as a person in the way that you desire.

The story makes it clear that your character has lived in the shadow of the elder heir, but at no point did I feel that their place in the story was fully eclipsed by it or that they were lacking in agency. Events unfold along a particular path, sure, but only inasmuch as you cannot control the world around you, you are always afforded agency with how you react to events as they unfold, and the choices you make feel meaningful, and have an impact on the other characters swept up in events, both in the moment and in the long term.

There were definite moments where the progression of your skills felt like they had an impact and were recognized within the world, but it never felt like a grind, and the opportunity cost of focusing was rewarding without becoming paralyzing.

The pacing of the story was also good throughout, giving you chances to breathe and develop relationships and an understanding of the world between pitting you into frenetic, perilous circumstances that reach satisfying climaxes which build as they go. Giving you time to process what happens without dwelling so long that you lose interest. The prose is engaging and always pushing you forward, being concise where needed and expansive where justified, varying between those in a way that is satisfying as a reader while also always providing you the opportunity to engage with it on your own terms through your choices.

The romances are satisfying, at least the ones I pursued, there seemed to be other options that might appeal to other people that I wasn't interested in, and I see that as a good thing.

I am very happy with this and look forward to more, whether they decide to continue with this world and character or if they try their hand at other stories. As I said before, this is very satisfying as a standalone but leaves fertile ground for a continuation, which is a very difficult line to walk that many fail at.

It's been a while since I read one of Sergi's books, and so I thought I would try again.

I will not be trying a third time.

I'm here to choose my own adventure, but Sergi isn't interested in what I want, or what you want. You're told who you are, what you do, and what you think, sometimes breaking to be told who someone else is, what they do or did, and possibly what they think, and what you think about that.

I pushed through to the end to see if the story being told was worthwhile, but there isn't even a story here, it's just the first two or three chapters of one, with an extensive codex of fanart and literal links to his other works that you can totally buy and check out so you get full understanding of Sergi's sprawling product line aka the Sergiverses. I cannot recommend doing so to anyone.

If you, like I, were drawn in by the prospect of having meaningful choices or agency in an engaging story, you will be disappointed.

Interesting characters, well-written story. Well. Part One of a well-written story. If you're expecting a climax, resolution, denouement, you will not find such things here. Just rising tension interrupted by an epilogue. Disappointing.

This is interesting but not enjoyable. The whole time I played the main character felt completely useless, passing out at every opportunity, swooning into the arms of their companions or making an ass of themself whenever they try to be useful.

It seems like they put marginally more effort into this port than the AOT 1 port. It has keyboard and mouse support!

Unfortunately it still doesnt work with the official microsoft xboxone pc controller, and the camera will constantly pan upward for no reason. Had to refund. I came to fight Titans, not camera controls!

EDIT: Since my initial review, I have changed computers and tried the game out again. The odd glitching I had before is no longer prevalent and the game has become playable, though I am using keyboard and mouse.

It's pretty clear that whoever designed this UI has never played a pc game before, menu navigation is terrible, however keyboard and mouse are serviceable in play.

I have switched my review from negative to positive overall, as the actual gameplay has been fun and bug free in this new playthrough, though it is a rough port which is obvious any time you are engaging with any of the menus.

1-Port game to PC.
2-Don't provide mouse support and don't provide compatibility for the official microsoft xboxone controller.
3-????
4-Don't profit.

It's a nice looking game. I'd love to be able to play it. Had to refund though.