Recent reviews by Cole Ignios

Game is great, self aware from the beginning and never forgets itself.

A *really* good metroidvania in general even if you don't like the retro themes, but if you do theres a handful of easter eggs and references to Simon's Quest and other games in the genre from that era, the art is fantastic and the controls are smooth. My only real complaint is that some enemies should not have contact damage (flying enemies that just shoot stuff) and other enemies can spam a ranged attack so fast you cant really do anything about it without leaving agro range and hope the reset changed their pattern

Sore arm simulator, but good workout for those who don't really exercise; as for the gameplay, it can be frustrating at times (and the sitting mode has some issues with force registration) but the foundation is solid.
Screw the dodge-spamming skelebro's though :[

Let me preface with this; this game, in spite of its flaws and quirks is a true labor of love and it shows.

This small studio put so much work and effort into things they didn't have to, such as taking scans of the different areas it used for maps when they could have just reconstructed the area through photographs and videos like they did in Warface and most other games centered around or including Pripyat in some form; actual bullet casing physics; the voice and programming work to make the grunts of NAR seem real and surprisingly intelligent (at times, even on hard they would sometimes just stand in a spot where the player can shoot them freely or get stuck on stairs, etc); and the references 'Patrolling Pripyat almost makes you wish... you were somewhere else.'

As for the story, it is rough in the beginning and clearly inspired by STALKER and METRO, but it quickly sets itself apart the moment it throws you out of the warehouse you will quickly turn into a livable space. Following an unknown map marker may lead you to a clue that will advance a side story (which may help in a later side mission, or even the final mission) a jumpscare, or just a vision of Tatyana with some lore. Side missions are plentiful and have choices that effect later missions (it is possible to miss a handful if you make the 'wrong' choices) and your companions have input over the radio about what choice they think is better or even a choice you wouldn't get otherwise. The companions all have unique personalities and are likable in some way or another (and will leave if you piss them off enough, or you can kick them out yourself or even just not recruit them). All of this culminates in a wild tale where your choices matter and you can easily miss important lore if you don't pay attention or misinterpret something they left vague on purpose.

Also Shashko looks like a thumb and its all I could think about when I see him.

If you've been bored out of your mind for a while and got 5-6 hours to spare, pretty damn good; unfortunately its just not long enough or good enough for any other purpose. Don't blame the studio though; they seem on the smaller scale of things and few studios can make story based swordplay games work in vr with current tech. Honestly the main issue was they tried adding so many "hey look at this! cool right?" features and mechanics that it ended up detracting from each one; the swordplay is like a weaker version of Asgard's Wrath, while speech recognition sounds cool it doesnt work without cortana so I never used it, etc etc.

TLDR good for a single afternoon of entertainment if you got time and money to burn or if you are trying to get a friend into VR; otherwise hard pass

This is for people who are on the fence about picking this game up; wait a week or until you stop hearing about any issues with the servers and crossplay, then pick it up. For now it is a blast and absolutely worth the money... when you can actually get in.

On the off chance someone from SE reads this; please for the love of god make it so you can play offline, people playing solo shouldn't be at the mercy of the servers.

Souls like combat thats easy enough to get into for someone who doesn't play dark souls, tomb raider reboot style exploration and puzzles, and the same great star wars universe that made you look at this game in the first place; worth getting as soon as you have the money for it

Good moba, solid framework with a solid execution, not just all mousework like many other games like it.

All gods (characters) have a skill ceiling & learning curve, and have potential to nuke their enemies with the right build, skill, and timing.

Teamwork can make or break a match, but don't expect too much in the more arcadey/fast paced arena mode.

aaaand its free, why WOULDN'T you pick it up just to try it?