Twenty-five years ago, Sanitarium was an amazing game. Unprecedented atmosphere of horror and confusion, detailed graphics, fully voiced dialogues. For years, I cherished memories of the first chapter in the game - the patients' scribbles, the fire alarm, the guy determinedly banging his head against the wall amidst the surrounding chaos. Back then, I couldn't finish playing it to the end. A quarter of a century later, I got the chance to play it again. Has it aged like fine wine? Or has it turned into vinegar? Unfortunately, a bit of both. While the story continues to be interesting, it's no longer something unique - in fact, without giving away too much, it turns out to be something we've seen dozens of times in movies, books, and games. The atmosphere is still good, at the beginning. Probably, the creators of Sanitarium were pressed for tight deadlines, as each subsequent chapter is less polished, shorter, and... well, familiar. The graphics, though visibly aged, still hold up decently. Of course, on an ultra-wide monitor, you'll enjoy pixels the size of cats, but otherwise, it carries some aesthetic pleasure. The voice acting is strange. There are artists who do brilliantly, but most of them voice secondary NPCs. The main characters sound extremely artificial and devoid of emotion. The puzzles, because puzzles are the main thing in a game of this type, are excellent. They make you think, make an effort to find the answer, without being insanely difficult or illogical. The pathfinding is terrible. In other words, Sanitarium is a classic in the genre, and it's worth playing even in 2024. Just don't expect too much.
While Land Warrior is clearly superrior compared to the previous DF games, it didn't age well. That being said, if you want some old-school, politically incorect FPS fun, give it a go!
Black Legend is not a bad game, however it's not good either. The idea, combat, class system, story, "bloodborne" style - this was promising. Then we got the PS2 era visuals, bland quest, repetitive combat... The game is short and all bosses are actually easyer than most of the common enemies. Sorry, can't recommend
To begin with, this is hardly a game - you are just walking really slowly, listening to stories and there are maybe three really easy puzzles in the whole game. Maybe i would really still recomend it, as a visual novel (it's simply not a game) if it was on 50% of the prise (without discounts) - otherwise just skip it
I had Banner Saga siting in my library for few years, but only found time for it now. It's a great game - pleasant animation, good if not really innovative combat system, majestic music. The only minus i can find is that the game is a bit short - managed to finish it on normal for about 10 hours without skiping any battles.
I do like the game and i just played it again, some 20 years after the release.
Fun for the first 10 or so hours, boring and repetative after that. Can't recommend
Ok, let's start with this - i am a huge RPG fan, both for western and japanese ones, so i am always pushing for at least 10 hours before deleting a game - unfortunatelly Agarest: Generations of War is really slow, boring and repetative. If you add the bland story and generic fight mechanics, there is really nothing in this game worthy of my time. Also, based on the reviews, i really think that i will skip the rest of the Agarest games...
15 years ago when i played the game for first time, it was a blast! So many quests, so many options in the character development, so much difference which clan you have chosen (and you must try Malkavian playthrough) Now...in 2020 the game still looks nice enough, the quests and story are still good, but we have seen a lot better of both. Anyway, i would still recomend the game to anyone who loves RPG or is willing to learn more about the "World of Darkness" before Bloodlines 2 hit the stores Prost: - Good story - Graphich are good (for 2004 game) - Great music and sound effects - Enough reasons to play the game two or three times Cons: - Ranged combat is really strange, most guns are weak. Also good luck hitting something with the sniper rifle. Compared to them, melee weapons are OP - A bit buggy, crashed few times on Win 10. Also i had few FPS drops even if i am using 2080 - It seems (as all Troika games) that the developers have rushed the release. This is clearly visible in the end of the game, last two or three battles are unbalanced, the last quests are kinda bland - Some of the voice actors aren't really good
