Recent reviews by Honzas4400

To me, Trine was always an amazing pastime activity. It wasn't the type of game I could (or would) dedicate a big amount of time to, but when I did play it, it was a fantastic fantasy-fairy tale mixed with great atmosphere, superb music, great platforming and relatively fun combat. The first game was amazing, the second game was pretty much flawless and then the third game - that abomination - happened. It wasn't bad, but it was far from good and a far cry from what made Trine great to me. So when I heard Trine 4 was being worked on and it would return to the 2.5D roots, I was ecstatic. Long story short, 9-10 hours later and after getting all achievements, this game is getting a huge thumbs up from me.

There's a bunch of quality of life changes that makes playing this so much more easier and one of the biggest changes in this game, and the level design, is the much greater emphasis on puzzles rather than combat. There's still plenty of combat encounters, including bosses, but there's less of them, they're considerably easier and more streamlined. It generally feels that the developer's approach this time around was to include combat as some sort of tedium-break, for the game not to become stale after a few puzzles and there was some more active involvment. While I wouldn't mind a bit more interesting enemy design, the emphasis here, again, was on the puzzles and they knocked it out of the park this time around.

The puzzles feel natural, interesting, often offering more solutions where you sometimes need to think a bit out of the box and new mechanics are introduced at a steady and comfortable pace. Moreso, each character is given one or more abilities that directly help solving the puzzles. Pontius is no longer the brute-only character, Zoya is no longer the agility character, with Amadeus being pretty much the main character to solve puzzles with. Zoya has her hook and ropes which she can use to connect two objects, Amadeus, of course, can create boxes, balls and planks and Pontius will be able to redirect light or water, among other things. Some abilities are less useful, there's at least one ability that's completely useless (Amadeu's bouncy ball), but other than that, every character is given more or less the same importance when solving a puzzle, which is great.

There's plenty of other - even if smaller - things that make this game, I feel like, one of the best Trine games. The story, while still fairly basic, seems more interesting with some actual development; collecting all the experience points and collectibles is much easier this time around with the option to reload any part of any level (and levels are now much longer, usually taking around 30 minutes to complete), etc. etc. In short, however, this really feels like proper Trine. This is the Trine 3 we should've got.

Before the game came out and before I got a review key, Youngblood wasn't really on the top of my list of "to-play games". While I enjoyed both The New Order back in 2014 and its stand-alone expansion The Old Blood, the proper sequel - The New Colossus - was, to me, an underwhewlming experience with not a very memorable story and at times horrid level design. For those reason, and some others, I didn't took much interest in Youngblood. And perhaps that's the reason why I find it so incredible in the end.

The new characters of Jessie and Zofia Blazkowicz might not be nearly as iconic as B.J. Blazkowicz himself, but they really fit the the new approach the game took in terms of its basic story telling. Instead of number of well done cut-scenes throughout the game telling the story of Blazkowicz's Nazi-kiling adventure, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, instead, focuses primarily on the gameplay, with its story being told through on-the-move dialogues and banter between the sisters.

Because of that, the game kind of feels fluid and as if you were to never really stop. That is even more apparent when you take in the fact that the two sisters always kill together. Whether you're playing solo and with a competent AI partner or coop with a real player, you're never alone, the game is twice as fast, twice as fast and there's twice as many dead enemies. Which, of course, is excellent.

The level design, which I REALLY didn't like in The New Colossus, has also been 'fixed' and massively improved. With the help of Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Prey), the game's various open-ended locations feature much more ways to approach any and each part of the level and is also much more vertical. While that might scream that stealth is now finally a viable option - especially considering the new cheesy cloak ability - it's sadly not and sooner or later, everything goes back to the mindless-Nazi-killing status quo we know, and, arguably, love.

Of course, not everything is perfect in Wolfenstein: Youngblood and I'd really love if the game was generally longer (playing throug the main storyline takes up about 8 hours), the story was more interesting, the enemies weren't nearly as dumb as they are and there were some tweaks to the new 'enemy armor' mechanic. You see, every enemy in the game now has either a light armor, or a heavy armor. Meanwhile, each of your weapons is either useful againts one or the other type. Shotgun is capable of pretty much ignoring the light armor and just destroy hordes of smaller humanoid enemies, while your assault rifle is more effective againts the harder armor worn by bigger enemies and robots. On paper, and partially in practice, it's a mechanic I really like and enjoy, giving the combat a bit more depth and forcing players to think and change weapons accordingly. The problem is, changing weapons isn't very fast (hurting the tempo of the fights as some deaf moments appear when changing weapons and you're forced to endure the enemy fire without the option to defend yourself) and not nearly as intuitive in the heat of batle.

Although it's kind of a nitpick, really, it does eventually wear the excitement down, and once you learn to change the weapons almost automatically, the combat starts to feel same-y and it goes back to status quo once again.

Through and through, Wolfenstein: Youngblood is, especially for its price, what I'd consider an excellent summer time-killer with mindless action and a little bit of story and lore sprinkled around. Fans of the new Wolfenstein series should love this, but you should not expect any kind of revolution, innovation or modernization.

As crazy excited I was for this update to Prey: Mooncrash DLC, it's just... Typhon Hunter is not really fun. It doesn't look like Prey, doesn't run like Prey, doesn't feel like Prey, it's shallow, bare-bones, laggy, missing text chat, rebind-able controls... Sigh

Having played the first game for 227 hours, I thought the second game's "the same but more" approach wouldn't last nearly as long. So far I clocked in about half the time I put to the first game and there's very little if any kind of fatique. What an awesome stealth game.

I feel like this has to be said right of the bat - please don't, just don't buy this game. You will regret it. You will.

Alekhine's Gun shown promise and an idea that, if executed well, could have been a serious competition for the Hitman released as of today [11th of March]. Could have. But it's not, since Alekhine's Gun is everything but well executed game, or at least an average game.

Story follows you, Semyon Strogov (later Semyon Alekhine), Russian agent working for CIA in the middle of Cold War conspirations all around the Europe, USA and Cuba. And while the story shows promise as well, it's boring and unispiring in every way imaginable, since characters are far from being interesting while questionable and blatant dialoques takes place right in front of you. The good thing are between-missions cut-scenes offering a nice looking slideshow-style pictures with noir atmosphere. But that's it.

And the gameplay goes even further. If you've played both Death to Spies game and (at least) Hitman: Blood Money, try to combine those game in your head and you pretty much get what Alekhine's Gun is. And while some of you might think it's a million-dollar idea, then it's not. Alekhine's Gun is struggling with everything, from level design (short and linear missions, not interesting locations, reusing assets; library in Level 3's hotel is the EXCACT COPY of one of the hotel's libraries in Death to Spies) to game design (you can't prone, most of the guns are pointless, most of the disguises are even more pointless, you can't hide yourself in closet and all you need to play this game is more or less a knife, which is insta-kill to everyone before they can even react - and you can throw it), techical direction (game feels old and outdated with audiovisualization like that from Hitman: Blood Money, which is 2006) and even the AI is more or less non existent. They can't even climb the ladder. The gun play is boring and dull, the AI kills the stealth part and you won't probably care less for the story. And while lockpicking mini-game is nice (altough it's just a little better version of lockpicking from Death to Spies series) it's obviously not enough. This game is bad. I'm sorry to say that, but it's terrible. And the price they are asking for is simply put a crime.

Stay away from this game and don't even try it, because the first level is actually not that bad and it will most probably take you more than two hours (after which you can't refund) to find out that this game is not worth even 5€. Save yourselves from this disaster. This game is NO from me.

I've finally decided what gender I want my character to have. Time for the face creation

Have you ever wondered what it's like to own a shop during those brutal medieval times? Well, wonder no more, because Shoppe Keep is here. A game that will make you hate thieves even more and broom will be your best friend. Expected to manage your own shop by ordering a supplies, changing price tags and defending it from little thieves and groups of bandits; you are supposed to be a greatest 'shoppe keeper' in the world.

This game so far offers 19 scenarios, each of them more challanging then the previous one (obviously). From selling a few potions, to supplying a town for an attack, you will be the one to profit from it all. But it's not that easy. Various people will have different requirements. While one will be poor and wants a simple health potion, rich warrior will want some golden plated shield and you'll have to satisfy all demands if you want to be good.

Not counting on the fact, that you get minimum profit from cheap items and you will not sell expensive items that easily. Oh, and taxes. Yeah, you will be charged with taxes every 5 minutes. Oh! And thieves. People will steal from you. OH! And dirt... People are unbelievable pigs, broom is literally your best friend as I said earlier. Oh, and... Well, you get the point.

As you sell various items, you will gain XP points as in proper RPG game. Next levels will give you K-points, which you can exchange for different perks. One will give you a 10 % discount for your order, while another will make deliveries come faster or makes an entry fee for your shop.

After you finish first (or second?) scenario, you'll also unlock "My Shoppe" (Free Play) mode. In here, you can build your own shop with stands and tables and simply make yourself at home.

When it comes to a graphics of the game, there are certainly few things that needs a polishing, but it's quite nice game offering this (optional) cell-shade tint with enjoyable and minimal dubbing along with some sounds that might get repetitive after a while, but it's not a big deal.

Shoppe Keeps is not a one-of-a-kind game, but it's definitely a game worth your time and money. It has its idea and it seems that the creators are going the right way. More items, more shop buildings, more detailed options and this might be a great game.

Do I recommend this game? -- Yes.
Do I think you should wait for a sale? -- Sale for 5€ game?! Don't make me laugh...
Do I think that this game is really worth your time and money? -- Well... Yeah. And after all, you can always request a refund, can't you? (Please, don't, it's really worth it)

Note: This is an Early Access pre-review of the game. Full review will come after the game's release. Eventually.

When you give me a sports game - most likely a football game like Pro Evolution Soccer or FIFA - I will take it and smack you with it. Not that I hate sports or sport games, it's just I kind of don't like it and it's not that much of a fun for me. If you give me an arcade racing game, I probably won't smack you, but I won't be your best friend either. I do like some of the racing games, but It's not exactly something I'm looking for.

And then, there is Rocket Leaque. A nightmare for anyone like me. Sports-racing hybrid. The idea sounds so bad, I simply had to have this game. And, believe it or not, it's probably one of the best game of this (or similar) genre I have played in a VERY long time. Why? Well, because it's fun, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, and that's what counts for me.

The point of the game is to score a goal and eventually win. Either in 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4 modes with 2 teams - Blue and Orange. Now you're thinking with Battle-Cars. Each of the players will have his own Battle-Car. That's... a car. With... rocket and... antenna... And a hat. You can't forget a hat. Anyway - you can score by hitting the ball into goal (I know, I know, it's a very shocking game mechanic no one could foresee). It doesn't matter, if the ball flies in the air or just sits around eating its hotdog and yelling at you "Hey! Douche! Hit me with your best shot!". If you DO score, enemy players will be angry and teammates will use the very convenient quick-chat offering 12 of different chat messages you can use instantly. And then spam "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!"

All you do the entire game is controlling your Battle-Car that offers various different things that may - and may not - help you in achieving the ultimate 'winner status'. The car, obviously, has four wheels so you can move into any direction. Yes - ANY. Next-gen at its finest. You can also boost yourself, jump, double-jump, dodge, fly or destroy other cars by ramming them so hard it will rip the time itself (or by simply moving at 88mph). It's up to you to choose your position in the team. You can be mindful attacker or needed goalkeeper - if you dare. And that's basically it. You move, you get some goals, you give some goals, you win or you lose and again. After each win, you also unlock new customization items such as said antennas, colour types, decals, booster-flame and hats... You REALLY can't forget a hat.

There is tons and tons of little details and tactics you can use. But it's something you need to learn yourself. The game also offers very detailed and intuitive tutorial. And then, there are visuals. Very colourful, very nice and very clear. You see what you need. In options, you can also find little but nice things like FOV, camera height and others, which will definitely makes everything better.
Soundtrack is also a thing that deserves noting as it is very nice and very well done.

But, there's something that no game can avoid. Something that is missing or is simply bad or worse then the rest of the game. I personally think that the problem of the game is in minimum of maps, each with basically the same standard field layout. This should, however, be changed with upcoming patches and updates as promised and siad by developers pretty recently.
Other problem could be camera when it's locked on the ball and you are under it. It's coherent to some degree, but sometimes you see nothing. In most cases, you can get destroyed or pushed by another player without knowing he's going for you, because you need to see the ball.

And let's end it with third problem - replay. There should be an option for naming them. But it's just a detail.

I could go on and on with problems, but everything else is just little things. That means that this game is really good - almost perfect - in its own way. And it's really, really, really... and I mean REALLY (like REALLY REALLY REALLY) addictive game. Really... Once you sit to this game, you will not get up. I guarantee it. You will beg the god to make this game boring, but I'll tell you a secret - there is no god! (That grants this wish at least).

And now, if you know math a little, you can very easily calculate it: Fun + low price + addictive gameplay + nice audiovisuals + free updates + my recommendation = stop reading this review and go buy this game ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! Go, go, go!

English/Czech review:

[ENG]
So, where do I begin? I really don't know. First, I would like to say, before you'll curse me how can I review a game after three hours (not counting 9 hours I got from Early Access), that I finished the game in co-op and completed all side missions (challanges).

Take everything you loved in Trine 1 and Trine 2. Nice graphics, interesting gameplay, interesting and fairy story, funny dialogs, unique puzzles... Got it? Ok, now throw it away, because Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power offers none of that. Puzzles are either very easy, or very stupid it starts to frustrate you. Graphics? Somehwat nice, but Trine 1 is most of the time nicer and more interesting. Gameplay is depleted. From 2D to 3D gameplay was an interesting choice and change, but its execution is very bad. And I'm counting in the bugs, crazy physics, in fact zero RPG elements (Character development is non existent) and the story? b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t, really. Very strict, not interesting and unoriginal.

There are some interesting things, yes. Some interesting ideas, yes (6th chapter is particularry very nice - its art style to be precise), but otherwise? If you are fans of te series, keep your hands away from this. You'll finish this in three hours, collecting Trineangles (that replaced XP points) is pointless - except for unlocking new levels you'l unlock very easily anyway - and cooperation sometimes works and sometimes not. Judging by the open ending, I expect that creators will add some new chapters in DLCs (can't say if paid or free), but nontheles, the current state of Trine 3: Artifacts of Power is VERY, really bad and I do not recommend it even in sale. After near-perfect Trine 2, this is very big dissappointment that I do not reccommend even to fans of the series. Especially to them...

EDIT: Just got 100% achievements (all levels competed, all Trineangles collected) - in 4 hours

[CZE]
Tak, kde začít? Já opravdu nevím. Zprvu bych ale rád řekl, že než se začnete rozčilovat, jak si můžu dovolit tuhle hru „recenzovat” jenom po třech hodinách (nepočítám do toho 9 hodin co jsem nahrál v Early Access fázi), tak vás úpěnlivě ujišťuji, že jsem hru dohrál, v kooperaci, a splnil také vedlejší mise (výzvy). Za tři hodiny. Ano, TŘI hodiny. A ne, bohužel si nedělám srandu.

Vemte si všechno co jste milovali na prvním a druhém Trinu. Pěknou grafiku, zajímavou hratelnost, zajímavý a pohádkový příběh, vtipné dialogy, originální hádanky... Máte? Tak jo, teď to všechno zahoďte, protože Trine 3: The Artfacts of Power nenabízí vůbec nic z toho. Hádanky jsou buď naprosto jednoduché, nebo jsou tak šíleně pos**né, že vás začnou frustrovat. Grafika? Občas pěkná, ale i Trine 1 je leckdy hezčí a zajímavější. Hratelnost šíleně ochuzená. Přechod do 3D hratelnosti byl zajímavý a relativně funkční krok, ale jeho provedení je úplně mimo. Nepočítám do toho bugy, šílenou fyziku, vlastně nulové RPG prvky (postavy už nemají žádné dovednosti co si můžete vylepšovat). A ten příběh? Neskutečná kravina, opravdu. Napsáno suše, podáno stroze a celkově je to opravdu nezajímavé a neoriginální.

Občas se objeví něco zajímavého, to hře nechám. Má občas pár zajímavých nápadů, (např. 5. kapitola je obzvlášť pěkná - především její výtvarný styl), ale jinak? Pokud jste fanoušky série, od tohohle se opravdu držet zatím dál. Dohrajete to za naprosto příšerné tři hodiny, sbírání Trineanglů (trojrozměrných trojuhelníků, které nahradily XP body) je úplně na nic, kromě odemykání dalších úrovní (všechny si stejně odemknete snadno), kooperace občas funguje a občas ne. Soudě dle otevřeného konce se dá očekávat, že tvůrci plánují přidávat další kapitoly. Netroufám si říct, jestli zdarma nebo ve formě placených DLC. Ale tak či onak je aktuálně Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power VELMI opravdu velmi bídnou hrou, kterou nedoporučuji ani ve slevě. Po perfektním druhém dílu jde o obrovské zklamání, které nedoporučuji ani fanouškům série. Resp. obzvlášť těm.

EDIT: Zrovna jsem získal 100% achievementů (všechny levely splněný, všechny Trineangly sebraný) - za 4 hodiny.