Recent reviews by Ɀeus ⁧ ⁧ ✠

the "half-life: source" of portal. the grungy concrete and rusted metal æsthetic of portal is replaced by a wet-slick overly shiny style, ruining the original feel of the game

also it runs like arse

(disclaimer - bought at discount for ~₤3)

if steam had a "meh" vote i'd select that. it's better than just cause 3*, but significantly worse than just cause 2. the map is more interesting than jc3, the missions are more varied, the new grappler mods are more interesting. but it's still not as fun as jc2.

*though some cool things from jc3 are inexplicably missing; such as allies operating the mounted gun if they're passengers in a vehicle, or driving you to a waypoint. also npcs just will not get in helicopters as passengers anymore, unless the mission is scripted for it.

yes it's derivative of dark souls (1), but it's an homage to dark souls and and influential games in general

it's short*, satisfying, mostly entertainingly written; all in all, very good. thoroughly recommended

*ng & ng+ took me a total of ~30 hours

the only thing i will say is that for a game that targets dark souls fans: if you've played a decent amount of dark souls, this will feel very easy in comparison

only played for a short while, so far i'm incredibly impressed:

POSITIVES:
· the reaved weapons system is really good
    · it means you get to try out weapons before switching to them
    · it encourages switching/using all weapons, like botw but not annoying
· the combat is varied, responsive, fast but predictable
· boss designs are varied, and good
· the art direction is gorgeous
    · the executions are flashy and satisfying, but not so long they get annoying
    · environments are engrossing, and visually distinct
    · corvus' design is really cool
        · though i think they've misunderstood the point of a plague doctor mask
    · unfortunate noticeable unreal "sheen", though
· lots of little attention to detail
    · some enemy placement, e.g. woman kneeling over an emasciated corpse
    · stronger enemies have "artifacts", depending on the environment
        · e.g. branches for sea of trees, crystals for royal gardens, etc.
· localisation is spot on - i didn't realise it was chinese until i saw the credits

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NEGATIVES:
· the game in some ways feels like a beta
    · to select an option w/ controller, you have to move and then move it back
        · and if a menu has only one option, it's completely unselectable
    · skipping a cutscene doesn't skip the whole video
        · it skips to half a second before the end - why?
    · lots of unnecessary invisible walls
        · why stop me 2 metres before the geometry? what's the point?
        · if i want to jump of a ledge to kill myself, let me
    · the fonts don't match
    · the buttons are squished in the menu, and stretched in the tutorial
    · the title screen is boring
    · some of the icons are really low resolution
    · lorem ipsum on some posters
· i can't drop off ladders; why?
· it can be a bit difficult to dodge away, rather than circling round enemies

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NEUTRAL:
· ‏everything gives info in exact numbers
    · some people might like this, but i find it unimmersive
· everyone compares it to bb, i think it's more like demons' souls / sekiro
    · combat is fast/aggresive like sekiro, but not shιt like sekiro
    · the visual æsthetic is more des-y
    · travel to and from hub with endgame wooden thing like demons souls
    · enemy placement is very des
        · enemies feel like they're in the best tactical position for them
    · demons' souls style shortcuts are back!

ignoring the unfortunate art style, actually a really good and original souls-lyke
/!\ not completed yet

Pretty good game, but you know that already. However, easyanticheat makes it nigh impossible to mod, meaning no QoL mods such as nintendo-style button prompts; or community fix for the current [major] performance issues / crash at godskin apostle

a little short (and this is coming from someone who thought portal was exactly the right length), but probably the best souls-like i've played apart from ds1

a rare example of a souls-like with meaty feeling combat, an interesting & original twist on the formula, and a great setting/atmosphere

Really short, but a fun little souls-like that's -though a little buggy- great for a student project

Very short, arguably to the point of it's own detriment as it doesn't really get to explore it's own narrative fully; but very imaginative puzzles and and a great little world to explore. A fun ~4 hours.

As someone who's not a fan of horror games, this is one of my favourite games of all time. Well worth playing, and its sequel as well.
Avoid the DLC though. It's also really good, but the animations are often broken, the AI will stare at/run into walls instead of following you; all round it's a bit of a tedious experience unfortunately