Metaphor Refantazio, Oct 17 (Xbox Game Pass)-Phew this felt like a marathon I tried to sprint. 100 hours over 25 days but I got there eventually. The game is excellent with just a small low point at the end when you have already leveled up your friendships and completed all the quests you're going to do but still have several in game days of downtime. At that point I tried grinding for higher levels and it was a slog. Otherwise the voice acting was good, the story was interesting with some unexpected twists, and the combat and game mechanics were fun. I do think they introduced the last companion a little late but they can be pretty effective if you can master their Royal Archetype. One of the best games I've played this year.

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Strange Brigade (Steam)

This was a Steam code that came with my old RX580 GPU purchase years ago. Finally got around to playing it. It's made by Rebellion of the Sniper Elite games and seems to use their usual in house engine. That means it runs extremely efficiently like all of their games, but maybe it doesn't look cutting edge. It's looks okay to me though- clear and sharp.

Gameplay is third person shooter, and you can tell it was made with co-op in mind and that manifests itself in the encounters tending to be "horde mode" survival affairs. The missions are well designed though. The theme is Indiana Jones style 30's pulp adventure novel stuff- raiding ancient tombs and the like. It nails that feel quite well, especially as the game has a snarky narrator that comments on how you're doing.

Overall, it's okay but I'm not a fan of the boss encounters which all fall into the gimmick variety- run around shooting stuff until you can make the boss vulnerable then target the one and only hard to hit damage spot. It's 15 hours long though, so not long enough for the annoying boss fights to drag it down too much.

Deus Ex: Revision

what a game. So much fun. do recommend it.

Shady Part Of Me, Oct 20 (Xbox Game Pass)-A short little puzzle game utilizing two characters (personalities?) to solve puzzles and progress. Its got some interesting use of light and perspective towards the end.

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Ys 7. Ys goes fully 3D and you have a party system added, so Adol and Dogi can finally team up, along with several other people. You get up to three people active at a time, controlling one while the other two will generally attack whatever you're going after, and they're usually pretty good at not getting hit when you're not controlling them. Even if there's a huge area attack, they'll magically slip out of it without taking a scratch, like how characters on the GI Joe cartoon always managed to parachute out of massive explosions that should have killed them instantly. The system works pretty well overall, adding something new to the series without sacrificing the Ys hack-and-slash feel.

I have mixed feelings about the graphics. I guess I got used to them after so many hours, but they're a bit on the squeaky clean side for my tastes, since I tend to prefer a bit more edge in my fantasy worlds. The 2D games are also very colorful, but they also usually have sections that seem effectively creepy or foreboding, which this game doesn't manage as well. Also, Dogi is supposedly to be this really burly guy but his 3D model makes him appear slightly tubby.

My biggest complaint about the game is its pacing. You start out having to find five magical stones that are tied to the plot, then you have to go back to the places from which you got them and battle dragons associated with each stone, so there's a certain feeling of repetition there. As usual with Ys/Falcom games, you need to be at a certain level to really scratch the bosses, but for the most part you will be sufficiently leveled if you just don't skip past enemies. Until you get near the end of the game, though, at which time you're likely going to have to grind both your experience and for materials so you can *shudder* craft the best weapons and amor in the game. Instead of feeling anticipation at finishing the game, I started to dread playing it because I knew I was probably just going to grind a bit, take another shot at the final boss, and then die after like 20-45 minutes of combat. Which brings up how spongey the bosses are in particular. Unless you're for some reason over-levelled for them, it's striking how little damage you usually do to the bosses even with your special moves, like you're a stream eroding a stone instead of hammering down an enemy, so the encounters can get absurdly time-consuming for what's supposed to be an action game. Another irritation is how you farm the enemies: You beat them up and they drop a bunch of stuff, which is fine, but if you want ALL the stuff you have to pound more cash out of the carcass two or three times. This doesn't take long in the immediate sense, but when you're doing it with almost every enemy in the game, it starts to nag at you how much time you're spending on beating up corpses.

Overall, I thought the game was fine despite my complaints, but I'm also a bit fatigued with Ys, so it might be a while before I pick back up and check out 8 and beyond.

The Evil Within (Epic)

Always wanted to replay this one at some point because the Xbox version I originally played was pretty crappy- bad frame rate and very low graphics settings. Totally different to the sequel where the Xbox version played on Xbox Series console is actually a great way to play the game. They were both free Epic Store games of course. Unfortunately, the PC version has an issue- it probably won't even start! I think it depends on how recent your hardware is. You initially just get a black screen after the intro logos. What you have to do is Ctrl Alt Del a few times and just hit escape and with a bit of luck you will finally get to the menu where you can reset the resolution to what your display device is. After that the only issue is that setting the game to its 60 fps mode with V-sync (the games only mode apart from 30 fps) simply doesn't work as expected. If your hardware is powerful, then it jumps the 60 fps cap and free runs- for me it ran at 120 fps. That's mostly a good thing...except when it isn't. A few places with high reflections cause the frame rate to drop from 120 and that causes stuttering- I think the 60 fps cap tries to kick back in. Anyway, 95 percent of the game ran fine, so I just put up with the few problem spots rather than using an external method to cap to 60.

A bigger issue with the frame rate not capping correctly is one chase scene where the closing speed seems tied to frame rate, making it impossible! For that I had to set to 30fps to pass- at least the 30 cap works.

With all that out of the way, the game looks quite good and is a dream to play at 120fps even if it wasn't made for it.

As for the game itself, I think it's better than any Resident Evil up to Resi 7 and Village. It's a tough game- I died 50 times, mostly to that broken chase scene that appears tied to frame rate and other instant death scenes. It's worth playing though and you shouldn't skip it and go to the superior sequel because the story follows on.

Last year I finished my GOG freebie copy of Somorost 1, so I finally got the chance to complete the series when Epic gave them away as their weekly freebies.

Somorost 2 is shorter, but it was indeed an improvement in storytelling. I had a good idea what I was doing and what I was supposed to do. Somorost 3 got a longer and coherent storyline with the trumpet act as guidance. But the problem in Somorost 3 was the puzzle. In puzzles like the fish one or the bubbles in the same problems persist, you have to randomly try stuffs to figure it what you supposed to do.

Did I eventually enjoy them? I would say yes. But if anyone asked me would I buy them in GOG just to get the drm-free installer? I would say no unless it's a basement clearing bargain deal.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

I enjoyed my time playing this game, as Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the best in the trilogy gameplay mechanics-wise, but collectibles-wise, this game got the short end of the stick. These collectibles ruined the story for me. Not that the story is bad, but the collectibles just made it harder for me to digest the story. Let me explain in my points below, starting with the pros:

Pros:
- Stealth. I have to put it here, as the devs have just improved its stealth mechanics even further in this third installment than what was already possible in the second game. Starting with the mud, Lara can now cover herself in mud and camouflage herself to the muddy walls around here. Not only that, she can now pull enemies up to her level in the tree canopies using her bow and arrows. These additional elements to Lara's stealth allows her to lurk between enemies undetected with even more creative freedom in regards to how should Lara approach her enemies. Even better, Lara can now re-enter stealth after being detected if she got far enough and found cover fast enough before her enemies could notice. This wasn't possible in the second game (if I remember correctly), let alone the first game. This, in my opinion, is one of the more welcome improvements in the game, as I always prefer the stealthier approach when playing games
- Swimming! Yes! Swimming! Lara can now freely swim and dive to whatever depths she desires
- Puzzles and tombs. Just like the second game, the puzzles and tombs in this game do not disappoint. The addition of swimming with complete freedom also allowed the devs to incorporate that feature to the way the game's puzzles and tombs are designed, adding more variety and complexity to the puzzles. And I thought Rise of the Tomb Raider's puzzles couldn't have been refined even more
- Sceneries. I'm not sure about you guys, I enjoy the sceneries in all the three games in the Survivor Trilogy, but I think I like the ones in this game better, with the second game taking a close second spot
- Side quests. Unlike the second game, the side quests are much more diverse here. And some side quests even take you to explore secret tombs that you otherwise might not have stumbled upon had you not taken the quests. Heck, one of the side quests even made you help the investigation of a murder lol
- Story. I was at quite a bit of a predicament in deciding whether I should've placed this game's story in the pros or decent side of my review, but I've finally chosen to put it here. Although not as engaging as the second game, this third game also isn't without its merits when it comes to its storytelling. To be more specific, I really like how the conversations/dialogues were written between the important characters of the story, be it between themselves, or between them and Lara. How despite the villain being the evil person that they are for the bloodshed they have committed, we also got to know the story behind them and how some of the hard decisions they'd taken were forced upon them to make, in order to protect what they hold dear. Moreover, the villain was also pretty reasonable in this game too, and how the good side characters were also willing to listen and have normal discussions with the villain
- Game's performance. This game is by far the most optimized compared to the other two games in the trilogy. I've never once experienced a crash in this game, and no freezings, something that happened quite a bit in the second game

Decent:
- Combat. I don't think much has been improved in terms of combat when it comes to this third installment
- Graphics. It's clear to me that the texture details for the character models definitely experienced a downgrade, especially Lara. Back in the first and second games, we would see dirt, mud, or other grit in general to give Lara that more gritty and serious look to her. However, she no longer has those said details, and her expressions kinda look a bit dead to me most of the time. Only during cutscenes do I see those details appear the most, and during stealth whenever I let Lara cover herself in mud. Could be a deliberate choice from the devs to really emphasize the difference between when she's in her clean mode vs dirty muddy stealth mode. That said, I don't believe them to be mutually exclusive, and do very much prefer for the devs to have kept both

Cons:
- Collectibles. This game really embodies the perfect example of quantity over quality when it comes to its collectibles. Why? It's apparent to me that the devs tried to make the player explore and learn about the cultures and polytheistic religions of the Maya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations through its collectibles. I actually appreciate the devs wanting us to study these things through gaming, but doing it through collectibles entirely is just not the right choice to make in my opinion. Imagine all those civilizations' information packed into collectibles and spread throughout the game's map for you to search. You know how many of them can there be? Too many. And this affected my immersion with the game's story because I couldn't quite pinpoint which of the information I got from the collectibles actually had anything to do with the actual main story, because there were just so many of them and how you got introduced to the numerous deities from each civilization made you feel that you need to remember them as they might be important to the story and only to be disappointed afterwards as only a portion of them turned out to actually matter. Again, I thank you Crystal Dynamics for this enlightening journey, but why not just make the whole literature an extra that you get upon completing the game which you can access anytime (again, after you've completed the game) from the main menu. That's a much preferable alternative than the current one. That way, you (the devs) could've focused more on making use of the collectibles to allow the player and Lara to explore more about the Maya civilization and Trinity instead, thus fortifying the story even further as support blocks for whatever information that were not clearly explained through playing the main story alone
- Save game bug. I still don't know what caused it, and couldn't find a solution online. So I tried solving it on my own, and I did. If you're lucky, you might never have to encounter this bug, and that's great. But if one day the game suddenly resets and you can no longer click continue and load game, know that there's a good chance your save files are still there in your PC/laptop. Just open Document/Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and you'll see two folders named with numbers only. There's only supposed to be one, but the game would somehow make a new folder with a new profile. So what you need to do is just open one of the numbered folders that has the save.dat files in it, and copy and paste those save.dat files to the other numbered folder that only has a profile.dat file in it. Open the game again and you should be able to continue from your latest progress
- (NITPICK) I kinda wish the devs could've stuck with the older format where the individuals' journals would be read by the people who wrote them instead, hehe. Hey, Lara needs an extra pay for reading all those people's journals you know! And if they're no longer with us, who's gonna pay her huh?! Some of those journals are at least four hundred years old, you know!

This game has the best gameplay mechanics in the Survival Trilogy, and the worst collectibles in the trilogy, with the first game taking the close second spot (that game's individuals' journals had their own problem which I've explained in my previous reviews for Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider). Overall, Shadow of the Tomb Raider could've been a better game, but a great game nonetheless.

Magic Pussy III (Steam)

Three games in and I still haven't seen a magical cat anywhere...or even any cat at all for that matter. For some reason the third part is done by a different developer and publisher, and it shows. The first two parts were set in a Harry Potthead sort of magic university with mini games. The third part is a more standard VN sort of affair and not set in the magic school at all.

I haven't finished the game yet myself, but I agree with a lot of what you write. I'm currently on my second attempt to play through it, and just like the first time I've already lost quite a bit of motivation again in the second half. And the reason for that has a lot to do with these collectibles, I think, and also some other mechanics that feel rather tacked on, like the crafting.

I keep feeling compelled to press the special view button so that I don't overlook any of the collectibles and crafting materials, and that kind of ruins the immersion for me, when the beautiful green environment turns to grey every five steps. I catch myself doing it and think: what am I even doing that for? The collectible stories and infos have little to do with the game's actual story most of the times, and the crafting materials are useful for upgrading Laras weapons, but you get to use these weapons so rarely that you will hardly even feel the difference that makes. It does not really seem to matter - you can kill the 3-5 enemies the game occasionally throws at you in specific little "arenas" with stealth or whatever hectic brute force you can apply. You don't need top notch upgraded weaponry or even refined tactics.

I also have to say though, without the highlighting button I'd probably get stuck on puzzle even more often, because sometimes I just can't find out what the game expects me to do (although Lara often reveals puzzle solutions much too soon, but mostly for puzzles that would have been obvious and easy anyway, while she keeps silent about the more obscure ones). And areas can be quite dark, too, making it easier to overlook things.

Apart from that, I'm enjoying the game, and I also agree with all the positives you mention.

Oh yeah now that you mentioned it, all the three Tomb Raider games in the Survivor Trilogy has caused me to use the "survival instinct" almost a little too frequent for my health's liking lol. And I also do agree with you about the crafting part of the game, especially for the weapons. As the stealth only got better with each game, the guns blazing approach to combating enemies just became more and more redundant for players who prefer to stealth their way through the game. Personally, I guess a better alternative for this would be to remove all of Lara's non-silent weapons (but please keep the pistol and its silencer so it wouldn't appear as if Lara did come unprepared for adventure with only a bow and arrows), and have Lara simply salvage her enemies' weapons, either by killing them first or by forcing them to unhand their weapons while in close combat.

With that in mind, if the devs are still stubborn on making crafting a pivotal part of the trilogy, then it'd be nice if the focus of its crafting is directed more towards the herbs that Lara could consume to help her gain an edge in combat. So far, there's only three different types of herbs that Lara can use (the ones you activate using the function keys if you're using a keyboard): To heal Lara, to enhance Lara's awareness towards crafting materials around her, and to improve Lara's defense against enemies' attacks (like some kind of defense buff, and I believe you get this through a skill upgrade. All I remember is that I got this ability nearing the end of the game). Seeing that this trilogy focuses more on survival (hence the name Survivor Trilogy), I don't see this shift in the way crafting materials are used as a bad alternative, especially knowing how Lara has endured a lot more injuries in this trilogy alone compared to Crystal Dynamics' other Tomb Raider LAU trilogy. Therefore, having Lara in the third game being more proficient in herb crafting as opposed to weapon crafting isn't that far fetched as it wouldn't be implausible for her to have tried to study more about herb medicines in between the three games. Of course Lara could still craft some improvements on her bow and arrows as well as her melee weapons such as her climbing axe and knife.

I also agree with you about the game being quite dark. Moreover, I think the problem lies in Lara's use of her flashlight. I don't know for sure, but compared to Rise of the Tomb Raider, I think the tendency of Lara using her flashlight in the third game is a bit less frequent. There were times when I felt like the younger Lara would've turned on her flashlight when entering a certain dark area whereas the older Lara here would wait and venture on deeper until the area gets a lot darker and then use her flashlight. But it could be just me though lol.

Lastly, apart from the tombs that you can access through the main menu, I think it'd be great if Crystal Dynamics were to add stealth levels (which you can access from the main menu) that you can complete to earn high scores, like in the Batman Arkham games if you've played them. The stealth is just too good in Shadow of the Tomb Raider in my opinion hehe.

P.S.: And I think I know why she stays silent during the harder puzzles. She's just as confused as the player lol.

Good point XD

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare has strong nineties feeling despite being released after turn of the century. In short, it is really good game. Original AITH inspired Resident Evil, whereas RE2 inspired The New Nightmare. Game has two playable characters with its unique story with some new location for both of them. It is generally easy, so some tweaks could make game harder. For example there is too many saving talismans, so you can basically save too often. Scarcity of ribbon tapes in RE added a little tension. There are some minor bugs like some items cannot be taken or some monster can hide in death corner, so you must go to open space to be able kill them. Although game is easy it make you to become better player with some small challenges. If you die, you will continue three times faster in comparison with first attempt. Like resident evil in this game practice makes perfect. Finished game for both characters and like it more as Aline, since game for Carnby changes a genre close to end, where is too much shooting for me. Either way, I can recommend this game and first game in series (2nd and 3rd games are bad).

Little Nightmares 2, Oct 29 (Xbox Gamepass)-Ugh well at least I didn't buy this one. I had much lower expectations going in after really not liking the first game and I still feel rather disappointed. Biggest gripe is not knowing if you didn't solve a puzzle because you didn't have the correct solution or if the game didn't recognize your button press. Second biggest gripe is regularly dying because you didn't line up a jump correctly especially during some of the longer chase sequences. Special annoying gameplay award goes to the fight with the two hands.

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