Even though this is not the strongest Bloober offering in my estimation and the last act is a bit weaker than the rest of the game, it's still a very good game and showcases how Bloober are masters at achieving oppressive, dark atmosphere and keeping the tension thick without too many jumpscares or chase scenes. If you prefer more adrenaline driven chase sequences, this might not be all too impressive to you. If you prefer sampling from the platter of terror in your own time, get this! Worthy of playing.
The least intense offering by Frictional in all respects, but still fun to play. The game flerts with terrifying and intriguing concepts but they don't quite come through as they could have in my estimation. No need to go out of your way, grab it on a sale.
I must confess that I have underestimated this game...it's actually FLIPPING BRILLIANT!!!
There is a lot about this game that is utterly brilliantly done: I loved the 3D binaural effects and the voicework in general (especially Zynbel), the bizarre effects and game sections portraying the mental torment, the dark and grim depictions of characters and places, loved the story and all the different mechanics that propel it, thought the panic and the unsettledness was very well portrayed, didn't mind the combat (safe to recommend starting on hard), was OK with the puzzles - some of them were quite cool in fact - and all of that is really the important bulk of the game. The absolute biggest gripe about the game that I have and the most likely reason why some characterize the game as a 'walking simulator' is the backtracking and general confusion with the maps. Was not in love with that one bit, the maps look gorgeous but were super unintuitively done, I kept running in circles and missing turns and corridors, kept stuck at intervals with no end. Nothing that would be missed were it excluded from the game because it's literally finding your way back from whatever it is you were doing and the general confusion by the map design did not enhance the experience for me but broke the immersion. For how linear the game is (not a bad thing in itself) the maps demand way too much time just to be able to traverse or find your way around different puzzle bits. One of my least favourite things in games is searching for doors, paths or corridors and walking aimlessly just in order to be able to progress further. I would be excited about another game in this vein any time but please for the love of god and the devil no more of this. Without those empty walking sessions it would have been a 5 star from me. To mention one other thing I was not in love with, the facial close-up drama was a bit too emphasized perhaps, the facial motion capture was a bit uncanny valley for me. All in all, a game worth experiencing. If you see it on a sale, grab it for sure!
DISCLAIMER: My actual assessment is three stars but I'm giving it five to provide some counter balance. A lot of real life politics and references that I wouldn't even have minded were they done in a solemn and grim way, like PP, this was mostly plain goofy. Gets tedious after a while because the game is long-ish, maybe a bit too long for what it offers. Let me stress that I do not mind the topic, I most definitely think it's fair game. 'Not Tonight' is not particularly hard and I found myself rushing through checks many times, often to good effect. A big gripe that I have with the game is that the clientele will never make a correction and offer an updated document; if there's an error in one of the things they need to display, that's it - so long, goodbye. Another incredibly silly oversight was offering drinks in the DLC and keeping the money (presumably the customers are keeping the drinks) even if you then bar the customers from entering for whatever reason (sometimes because they are underage for the venue!). Another gripe that I have is that the names are completely random, Slavic flags with British names and it's all a big mishmash etc., I would have much preferred it if the names fit the flags. As a huge fan of PP I still enjoyed this to a degree and would wish for more of its kind, but with hopes that more attention be paid to the details in the future.
The game is very cinematic, it's not focused on mastering the gameplay and whatnot but on following along & experiencing the story. What gameplay & mechanics there are is definitely plenty fun and engaging for the duration of the game, new patterns and shenanigans being introduced at intervals to keep things interesting & gradually more challenging. Some puzzles, not difficult & not terribly important to the overall experience. The characters are charming, very distinct & very well done. The voice acting (English) is fabulous, really supports the narative because the characters constantly chat & quibble amongst themselves, or to themselves. The text in my estimation is fantastic, never once was I annoyed by the dialogue or thought it out of place or breaking the immersion. The score is really powerfull & boosts the mood in an incredible way. The game looks very good and the environment is very well done. The general atmosphere likewise really creates tension or relief in proportion to whatever's happening in the story. Quite lovely, make sure not to miss this!
My very first Arkane Studios game was the mind blowing Prey with it's DLC so it made me want to check out their other offerings & I'm happy to say they also proved brilliant. Love the setting, love Dunwall, the silent & masked protagonist is excellent, the story is intriguing, the assassinations are satisfying...just play it already if somehow - like me - you missed it until now.
Pretty fun game, looks and sounds good considering that the retro pixelated look is actually quite chunky, in moments I wasn't beeing able to easily distinguish between what's what (especially the fly-through-tunnel levels). I was not impressed with the controls, felt quite awkward playing on the controller having to do a 2 button forward roll instead of just a single button roll etc. The game apparently has 4 characters which are really only 2 characters with different make-up on. The boss rush mode I didn't really care about & the 'mirror mode' can't really be clasified as replay value - it's the same thing but from right to left. So, 5 missions and a little boss finale + boss rush mode is all that you get. If, like me, you are a fan of these Contra like run'n'gun games definitely get it - but on a sale.
Plays smooth, looks fab, sounds fab, what more can you want out of a game? Ah, yes...that it was longer! :) I hope more is coming.
I don't typically buy games in developement or pre-orders, but in this case I made an exception - even after purchasing Trudograd and the supporter pack I still feel the first installment was a steal! Heaps of good fun, especially for the fans of old Fallout games. There are some minor complaints that are drastically overshadowed by the good stuff and the game is definitely worth it despite a few shortcomings.
