I've always had a thing for sci-fi exploration games and retro-futuristic settings. So NMS tickled my fancy - I'm really digging those graphics. Alas, I can't get over the start of the game: - as soon as the game starts, everything is in red alert: "environmental protection is falling" (shouldn't that have been "depleting" instead of "falling"?) - I need to hurry and panic-find some "yellow plants" which contain oxygen, with which I can "straighten up" (?) the fallen-over environmental protection - then I find my spaceship - but I'll have to repair that too - while finding the materials for ship repair, my mining tool depletes and the game tells me to "recharge technology" (Shouldn't that have been "tool" instead of "technology"?) - then a deadly storm hits, I jump into a cave for protection, only to find there is absolutely no way out. And that's that, I can start over from the beginning. That's a terrible, terrible first impression. A tutorial that ends in a game-ending condition even before I got off the first planet? That's a hard no, and I honestly don't think I'll play any more of this.
I've been playing this game since it's release, and for the longest time it was my favorite space 4x. Once in a while I felt an urge to play, and usually one game was not enough to satisfy my urge. However, I recently bought a large 1440p monitor and I must say that I cannot enjoy GalCiv II on this behemoth. The interface that I once liked now feels clunky. Some screens have me scan from left (where the label of a parameter is) to the right of the screen (where the value of that parameter is) and I have to move my head in the process. It feels... old? Also, I was never really bothered by the graphics or the music in this game, but since I recently got into Stellaris I have found that on both accounts, GalCiv II is finally showing it's age. Speaking of Stellaris, after many tries I finally understood how to play it and I'm sorry to say there's no comparing these two games. Stellaris is much more modern, atmospheric, detailed, sophisticated and artistic than GalCiv II. The learning curve is a lot steeper, but IMO totally worth it. TLDR: until Stellaris came along I would have recommended GalCiv II to everyone looking for a space 4x. Now, I'd recommend that you watch some gameplay of both Stellaris and GalCiv II before buying. And if you already have Stellaris, I don't think this is gonna offer anything that you don't already have.
Much as I wanted to like this much-applauded game, I couldn't get past the opening scene. The game has a WASD control scheme for QWERTY keyboards, while I live in a country with AZERTY keyboards. The game doesn't allow for key rebinding, so I'm stuck with awkward, illogical and unfamiliard keys for movement. No thanks. Luckily I got the game for free, but otherwise I'd surely have asked for a refund. Sorry if you expected a review of the game, I just wanted to warn those of us who do not have a QWERTY keyboard.
As much as I looked forward to playing this game, I could not get past the first hour before giving up. I have a European AZERTY keyboard and the key bindings for Obduction are QWERTY. The key bindings cannot be changed. It does allow for using the arrow keys, great! But unfortunately, the run key is still the LEFT shift key only, making it very impractical to run. Also, no strafing - Q&D or left and right arrows rotate the camera, which is something I couldn't get used to. So, I tried the point-and-click movement scheme, but I got tired of that really quickly. Not only because I couldn't get my character to run, but the game puts every spot you can move to at about three to five paces, whether or not there's anything of interest. So on the point-and-click scheme you'll find yourself moving three paces to a new spot, looking around at nothing but rocks, moving three paces to a new spot, look at rocks, etc. ad infinitum. That was not a good method for me so I decided to call it quits right there. Luckily I got the game for free - if I had spent any money on it I would have asked for a refund on the basis of control scheme alone. I'm sorry for not reviewing the game itself (I can't because I didn't really play it) but with this review I just thought to warn other potential players who hate a lack of key rebinding.
Torchlight II is an action RPG in a fantasy setting. Choose a class (Mage, ranged, DPS or tank) and level it by accepting quests, clearing the map and running dungeons. The game never ends: after finishing it you get new game plus modes, with higher level enemies, and a vendor that sells maps to random dungeons. The loot is endlessly varied, coming in various rarities and has randomized stats. There are vendors, enchanters, alchemists, gem savers, and even a gambling shop. To manage all this loot, besides the inventories of your own and your pet, you have access to a personal and a shared stash, so you can even transfer items between your different characters. While the genre has quite a few legends (The Diablo series and Grim Dawn foremost) this game is the one I have played the most. I love it because the visuals are colorful, the music is enchanting, the atmosphere is game-y rather than grim and serious, and the tone is light and funny. The gameplay is absolutely addictive (gotta collect all the sets and the best unique items), the fights keep me on my toes (try the higher difficulties or even hardcore mode), the builds are very diverse and finding out which ones are good enough for elite difficulty is as challenging as you'd expect from a game in this genre. I bought the game twice, once on Steam and once on Gog, because I really think this game is a classic. Honestly, I don't understand why the developers went bankrupt, given that they made a true gem like this one. If you like aRPG's I think you should really give this a try.
