Not usually a fan of boomer shooters or Doom clones. This one absolutely slays.
Story and gameplay top notch. You can clearly see the Resident Evil influence in this title. The levels are less linear than RE, which is appreciated. I liked the DLC and addition of stealth as well. Replayability is pretty good - new game plus gives you extra weapons and difficulty levels. I wish there was something like Raid or Mercenaries mode, but maybe that's asking too much. Overall, well worth your time.
Great game, but there are a few issues. It's difficult to run on modern systems. To get it to launch, I spent 2 hours trying out different third-party patches and fiddling with my system settings. Eventually I got it working to a state where it has frequent visual glitches but is at least playable. Gameplay doesn't feel as good as the first one. Graphics are better and it's true 3D, but something about the way guns and enemies react feels slightly off. Especially the shotgun, which feels more like a toy than a powerhouse. It's alright, just not amazing like Blood 1. It felt like the developers left everything unfinished. After reading more about the development, turns out this actually was the case. Even with all the issues, I enjoyed the story and cutscenes more than the first one. The characters were better fleshed out and the dialogue is funny. Overall, don't get it unless you're willing to invest substantial time into getting this thing to run and putting up with the shortcomings. Needs a remaster with significant gameplay rebalancing.
I wasn't even around when this first came out. This is the first old school FPS I've thoroughly played. I dislike most standard FPS games, but this one really stands out for its unique atmosphere and gunplay. Certainly different from Doom and its clones. Pleasantly surprised and impressed, thumbs up!
In many ways better than the original. I actually preferred 2's story in certain ways. The first Bioshock overplayed the cliche of everyone betraying each other, which seems to be overdone in movies, TV shows, and games nowadays. 2's story just seemed more grounded and grander in scope. Gameplay-wise, better in almost all ways. More weapons, better hacking minigame, and you can fire weapons and plasmids at the same time now. The only subjective "downgrade" is a seeming loss of imm sim mechanics. Bioshock 1 was somewhat of an imm sim lite and allowed you to use the environment to your advantage (e.g., throwing objects, electrocuting water). 2 still has those abilities, just less opportunities to do so. The level progression also seems to be ever so slightly more linear, although that isn't necessarily better or worse. Multiplayer is fun, if you can get it working. The Minerva's Den DLC deserves separate recognition. It improved so much from the main game, both story and gameplay. Arguably has one of the best stories in a game.
This was an interesting title. All the Remedy games before this (e.g., Max Payne, Alan Wake 1) had great stories but always played too linearly. So it always ended up being more like a movie and had poor replayability because everything was so scripted. Control was where they seem to have broken out of that mentality. It's suprisingly non-linear gameplay: Metroidvania-esque level design, RPG elements, and a few imm sim-inspired mechanics. I also liked the mysterious story and how it connected to Alan Wake. Looking forward to seeing what they do with the upcoming sequel.
Got it during a giveaway - so glad that happened. It's highly experimental, an interesting mix of genres: rogue-like, boomer FPS, RPG-inspired settings and powers, etc. Full disclosure, I do not like traditional shooters. Despite that, I really enjoyed it - maybe that means something. For what's it's worth, this game was one big pleasant surprise.
One of the best and most misunderstood experimental games ever made. Story, gameplay, and level design are all top notch. No relation to Prey from 2006, which was great in its own right - they are completely separate stories, canons, themes, motifs, etc. I think one of the reasons Prey is so misunderstood (besides unfortunate naming) is that it throws the player into the action without gradually introducing them to all the mechanics. Example: later on you will have access to new mechanics but never be aware of them unless you explicitly explore optional objectives and experiment with your gameplay style. Essentially, it's greatest strength and perceived flaw are the same: a hardcore imm sim that doesn't hold your hand. I ironically see this issue in many of the negative reviews, which is really unfortunate. People commonly seem to have either gotten bored or frustrated from not understanding all the tools they had at their disposal and how they could be combined. Prey is absolutely worth your time as long as you go in with an open mind, curiosity, and the intent to explore. This game will not hold your hand, and that's where much of the fun and replayability lies if you let it.
Love this game. One of the greatest immersive sims and games of all time. Compared to the first one, gameplay and graphics are better. More powers, more options, and level design is more sophisticated. Only minor downgrade is the story. It's good, just not as great. As others have already stated, kind of a rehash of the Brigmore Witches DLC. Here's to hoping they make a third Dishonored!
Highly recommend. It's an immersive sim made by the creators of Dishonored and Prey, but from a top-down perspective. Lots of freedom in traversing levels, solving objectives, etc. Story is captivating and characters distinct as well. Unusually for an immersive sim, it is fully open world similar to Fallout 1/2. Combat should be approached differently than a standard shooter. It's more RPG-like: fight tactically and invest in skills for your preferred weapon types. Arguably more interesting actually. Aiming controls took some acclimation, but are accurate and responsive. Alternatively, there is a 3rd person aiming option and a first person mod. Stealth mechanics are good, just be aware the top down perspective can be misleading for line of sight. Only minor gripe: companion AI is a bit aggressive and cannot be ordered to change tactics or use nonlethal approaches. Doesn't affect gameplay much though. Overall, impressive game. Given how unique and experimental it is, it's definitely in my top 10 of all time. Definitely going to be following the upcoming projects from this studio.
