Recent reviews by Tr3m0r

One of a few games that was able to rebuild trust with their community after taking them for granted in significant and overly common ways in these dystopian days of game development based on Corpo Fat cuck priorities of predatory monetization and bloated executive budgets over developmental budgets. This game is truly a pretty brilliant genre defining experience at this point that is well worth the price and time to invest in the story and world building. It's a thrilling experience from start to finish despite it's relatively linear story and progression. Upgrades and play styles now feel much more varied and diverse to play.

I definitely am not one that likes the unapologetic white knights and find them equally if not more frustrating than critics as I find critics to have more actual impressions than the same people copying and pasting early access definitions on every post.

However I say that because I do have a lot of early access games and I am not even experienced in this genre and never got into Tarkov but think this project is off to a good start. I empathize with people having terrible performance but I am older and fondly remember benchmarking every new computer over the years with Crysis. I honestly think fully fledged UE 5 games are only going to get more intensive as more studios implement the full feature set as most only will do some ray traced reflections and basic lumen as consoles are severely lacking as well.

I am fortunate to run two different systems that are very high end and in both of these the CPU will be the limited factor. Here are the specs and performance:

1. Desktop AMD 5900x 64GB DDR 4 ram (regular slower speeds), RTX 4090 paired to a 4K OLED C3 LG TV 120hz. I get max settings on epic with both frame gen on and DLSS set to Quality at about 100-120FPS. I am CPU limited for sure. I have no issues with the performance given the technology and scope of the map but of course it's in need to optimize over the coming months as the lag spikes in areas can be tough.

2. I have roughly the same or equivalent experience and performance on my Blade 18 but at 2560x1600 resolution. It's a i9 13950h, 32GB DDR 5 5600mhz ram, 4090 (or 3090 desktop equivalent) connected to an 18in 2K screen. I get around 80-100 FPS with the CPU likely the only limiting factor as well. I think the 3090 and 4090 are more than capable of maxing the game and also can understand why maybe a 3080 will be VRAM limited.

I don't see the performance making a lot of people happy with older hardware but again, I tend to look at it like Crysis and typically am most welcoming to super demanding games. It doesn't excuse poor optimization but I don't think this game is poorly optimized at this point to be quite honest.

As for the game, I am super new to this type of experience but I think it's gonna be great. It offers a lot of engagement with the 150 tasks that I haven't even really started as a solo player. I just took a few hours to test performance and to run through all the inventory and grasp some of the UI. I have only logged into the PvE for good reason or I would likely be looted in seconds! I do hope they balance the team killing issues out.

I know this is nothing riveting and long already but I really am far from a shill of any modern studio outside of Larion or Fromsoft who just execute amazing games at the fair going price without alll the monetization strategies of others. I think this game is beautiful, pushing boundaries and offering a compelling PvPvE type of experience. I hope the CEO stops with the hyperbolic comments on Twitter and they continue to act professionally and with consistency given the current success of this EA launch.

This is turning into a fantastic game where a linear story line and progression system just feels like the right design choice for this type of experience. Elden Ring was one of my favorite games I have played in over 4 decades and there are elements of LoP that scratch that itch for fantastical big set piece skillful combat and power fantasy. Then it offers a bit of that Sekiro-like parry style but less rhythmic and more precise. However the actual story-telling is Top Tier and quite engaging which I sometimes find difficult in a few FromSoft games.

The graphics are very clean, I am not running into any bugs and the performance is very smooth but I am playing on either a Blade 18 i9 13950h 4090 laptop or a AMD 5900x 64gb DDR4 ram and Strix 4090 self-built desktop which are two very powerful systems. It's a good example of UE5 being well executed without tremendous stuttering and overly expensive features dragging down performance. I don't think there is ray-tracing in the game which, if true, could really take the graphics up a notch. That would be a great addition if that could be implemented one day.

I cannot say too much as I am only in the early stages of the game but it definiteily has hooked me into the game play loop after only a few hours which is very difficult these days. I find it incredibly difficult to get wrapped up in a game that makes me think about it between sessions and excited to resume playing and this is one of those games that is able to accomplish that.

Very high praises and nothing really negative to note. Even the pace at which items and abilities being explained or revealed is pitch perfect from an engagement aspect and that is incredibly rare in modern gaming. Just perfect.

9.5/10. On sale or Not won't matter as it's more than worth it's price.

If this review gets 1,000 likes the achievement becomes an achievement that you all will play. But what achievement am I even referring to? And whose is it? Stanley’s? Mine? Jim’s? Who am I just some petulant child? Find out soon.

I finished the game in a single play through in 2.1 hours. During the sale it’s a no brainer value proposition. It’s interesting to me how interpretive each players own experience will be. Essentially you are left to your sense of sight, sound and imagination as the game just goes. No real dialogue or hand holding. Whatever you are thinking likely can be influenced by the score which is pretty decent as well as the art. Simple but profound. Very subjective.

It was the right length for me actually as it’s a limited experience and sometimes those are best consumed with the right play length. Any longer may have worked against it for me.

7/10. Worth a play through. Maybe more.

The little I have played so far is warranting of a current positive recommendation. The performance is not near as bad as I have read for me personally; although I do have high end systems. I have only played 40 minutes on my Blade 18 with mobile 4090, intel i9 13950h and 32gb 5600mhz ram. It's paired to a 1600p 240hz 500nits screen and runs maxed out with all the experimental features (lumen lighting and shadows) on. I get around 100 fps a second and the frame pacing appears to be pretty solid for how early this game is in early access. Unreal 5 games really are hit or miss when it comes to frame pacing but so far so good. Again, this is with very preliminary testing.

User interface is definitely servicable currently and the gun sounds and visual accuracy is on point. Shooting in the range even sounds accurate and I hope they hone in on the little details such as ballistic hole size and whatnot. I think this game has potential but also think it's worthy of a purchase despite not having a ton in EA. Some projects you gotta take a flier on and re-evaluate as it goes if it was worth it or not. Some developers listen to the feedback and encourage it to make better improvements for the game and others tend to be overly defensive and protective of their artistic vision to where they drown out any deviation from their ideals. Time will tell but this genre could use some healthy competition.

The best advice I can give any new player is to:
1. Watch a non spoiler review or trailer and then just play without any guides or watching play throughs
2. Accept that you won't know what's going on for a very long time
3. The average playthrough being 16-20 hours is so fake. That's with a lot of help and spoilers from the same people saying don't get spoilers.
4. This is a hundred hour exploration for the entire game, all puzzles and DLC. It will be common to ask for slight hints along the way but try to wait as long as you can.

The ending isn't the biggest surprise as it's made out to be. Again, the longer you play without spoilers, you realize that the game reveals a lot of information that helps you draw your own ideas and possibilities. Solving the actual game to get the best ending requires a lot of luck, or a mix of luck and a TON of exploration and trying ideas out.

The game is fantastic both in a freeform exploration game with great concepts that are pretty popular these days. The audio is fantastic and truly a highlight of this game. This is a piece of art but it's made to have people question themselves along the way and be insecure about what to do or even the goal is and i think that is an artistic point that gets many people to give up.

So IF you truly like exploration games and dont put too much meaning into "what progress means to me as a winner or loser" and can just appreciate the discomfort of being in the unknown, then it offers a TON of playability and entertainment. Just try to get a little knowledge here and there if you get stuck and then come back to it another day.

This is a solid 9/10. I genuinely wish the community would relax a bit on the "ending is so worth it" because it's more of the journey and the process of learning in uncomfortable foreign environments to me that is special. And that is not a spoiler but just a way that I choose to frame this game around.

This is what I consider a true passion project with active developers who engage with their community transparently and with respect that is becoming more and more difficult with modern developers. It’s hard for artists to hear negativity or feel like their art isn’t being properly viewed but with games it’s something the artists need to accept with more humility and in a place of gratitude and these developers absolutely do that.

The quality continues to improve in this very intense and realistic fencing simulation from the time periods that accurately reflect the brutality of the combat along with the skill and culture. The physics based system really is well executed and the game is reliant on proper framing of distance and tempo. Accuracy wins when coupled with patience in this game.

The graphics and animation work punch above its weight given the small size of the studio and real competence with motion capture is evident when playing. The backgrounds, dress and character design are meticulously crafted and true to life and setting.

There’s more to come and this game is well worth the reasonable asking price without discounts even. Story mode is taking time because of all the animation work being done. Well done everyone involved!

What this game lacks in shine and polish seen in bigger budget boxing titles is made up for with finesse and technicality. I will likely revisit this review once I get accustomed to the controls more as the movement in 3D is not relative to the camera angle and is absolute. I like how the punches can roll off the shoulders with well timed blocking and weaving.

I hope the game is supported and continued updates come in as there is definitely room to improve the UI. I notice when punches hit the heavy bag that it really bends the glove downward and don't know if this can be ironed out or it's just an engine issue with collision. I have noticed even in old fight night games that the glove is bent at the wrist so it could be something that's pretty complicated to fix.

Overall, the movement, pivoting, punch selection, pace of the game and value this offers is promising and fun. It's off to a good start that hopefully improves in updates.

Bought ride 5 for my first motorcycle sim and refunded to get 90% off Ride 4 with all the content. Didn't play that because I wanted Ride 5. Bought again and it will be 90% off probably in another 2 months. But take my positive review for the theoretical performance improvements I likely won't ever notice in these iterative updates.