Recent reviews by eagleflo

I've been a fighting game casual ever since I first played Street Fighter II on SNES & Mega Drive back in the mid-90s. This game finally pulled me in all the way -- what a genre! It's so much deeper than I first thought.

There is a very robust single player mode called the World Tour that's an excellent way to ease into playing Street Fighter little by little, unlocking the movesets for different characters over ~30 hours of gameplay. Once you finish that you're ready for real battles online. The tutorial modes are very well made. You can choose between two different control schemes, Modern and Classic. Modern is simpler, but sacrifices some damage for being able to do specials with a single button -- I started with Classic right away, as that's how we used to play it on Mega Drive's six button controller.

The characters are quite well balanced and have lots of variance. There is a good mix of classic characters and new entrants. There is great depth to the movesets -- it takes a lot of time to get good with even one character. I see this as a really good thing for replayability. That doesn't mean that you can't be effective with a character early on, just that there's more depth available once you really put in the hours.

I was also really happy that there's a Battle Hub with tons of old arcade games included -- I just love to give these a go every now and then. I miss arcades.

If you've been staying away from fighting games because they seem too hard to master, give this one a try. You might be pulled in like I was.

Despite multiple playthroughs, apparently I never dared to write a review. In the hopes of catching one of my friends looking at this game tentatively over the upcoming Steam Sales, here goes...

This is the best narrative-driven CRPG in the last 25 years.

The writing feels so alive, every word of it. The art is evocative, as if Hieronymus Bosch reincarnated and painted a triptych depicting our modern broken world. The soundtrack by British Sea Power fits the game perfectly. The story and characters pull you in right away. The combined vibes are just off the charts. This is a real work of art.

The game gives you tools to shape your character with a one-of-a-kind skill system. In addition to typical skill checks it provides additional internal dialogue interjections and options. Thought Cabinet gives you further bonuses and maluses as you choose what kind of thoughts to internalize. These systems are mechanically perfect for this style of game. As in any good RPG, you roll a lot of dice. The failed rolls are often funnier than the successful ones. If you can't accept the outcome, most of the rolls can be retried later. Trying again fits the theme of the game perfectly. There are tons of hidden modifiers unlocked by exploring the world and engaging with the game. The game consistently rewards exploration and engaging with it.

The game lives and dies by its script. Over one million words, now fully voice-acted in The Final Cut, with delightful acting throughout. The game doesn't hesitate to be real -- it isn't at all afraid of confronting and calling out the player. Some of the topics it deals with are incredibly heavy, and not often encountered in games. There is a lot of black humor weaved in. It's very Estonian in character, something I bonded with right away as a Finn. The failures of communism, socialism, capitalism, fascism and centrism are all explored here in depth. The game gets crushingly sad at times, yet nonetheless it is permeated with a sense of vague hope. It can be a journey of healing.

The only reason to skip this game is if you're not a reader or suffer from attention span issues. The full voice acting only helps up to a point. It demands attention and rewards patience.

The only relevant point of comparison is to Planescape: Torment, an obscure CRPG from 1999 that was previously my uncontested favorite CRPG of all time. It is a similarly word-heavy story, with a similarly amnesiac main character, but if we are being real, Planescape suffers from its Dungeons & Dragons engine and combat. The setting is completely different and the story being told hits completely different beats. Clearly Planescape: Torment served as a faint inspiration, but the comparisons don't do Disco Elysium justice.

I'm frankly surprised that five years after release, this style and the mechanics haven't been copied by other games. Perhaps that is for the best. This is a unique masterpiece, and unluckily for us the studio that made it has disintegrated since, in a very Disco Elysium fashion. (Most negative reviews you see are kneejerk reactions to what went down.) Life imitates art.

The real game begins when you reach the end credits.

The near endless replayability combined with the addictive gameplay and game design that just *gets* it is a dangerous combination. Just one more round...

Exactly what it says on the tin. This is a collection of all Zachtronics' solitaire games over the years, topped up with one brand new solitaire, Fortune's Foundation. If you like solitaire, there is nothing better on Steam.

Awful cash grab, already completely obsolete. There is nothing of value here.

This one is a straight 10/10. I love how well this formula works in a shorter, streamlined format. Not every game in the series needs to be 100+ hours long.

Akame was such a good fixer. First Summer Uika elevated every scene she took part in. Such a thick Kansai dialect!

The ending got me real good. I completely shattered in the end where Kiryu's hands are shaking, with futile attempts at stifling the sobs. Kuroda hitting it out of the park, best performance we've ever got from him.

It captures the feel of D&D. In fact, it does so better than its distant ancestors Baldur's Gate I and II. While I love the Infinity Engine games, it lacks as a storytelling engine, whereas this one excels. The frequent skillchecks are exactly what let you tell *your* character's story.

Not too far into the game yet, so these are just initial impressions. I'll update the review once I get time to really experience this game to the end.

Er... Excellent deckbuilder here. For fans of card games. You know, Magic: The Gathering and the like... cool retro graphics. No need to read up more about it, if you like the genre you will love this. Good chance you will like it even if card games are normally not your thing. (Please don't read more about it, just go in blind. Right now.)

What a delightful roguelite with an *amazing* soundtrack and art direction. Great way to make RNG fun.