So incredibly engaging, so rich to soak in. Citizen Sleeper easily ranks in my top games ever, next to The Witness, Stray, Analogue: A Hate Story and Cyberpunk 2077. Whle there are similar elements with all the games in some ways, it's equally as unique. The gameplay mechanics add such a well-balanced approach with a perfect blend of randomness, strategy and planning, and sidequests. Nothing felt overdone or overstaying. I used a controller, and it was perfect, good default layout, never even thought about switching up keys, but almost all eventually get a home on a 360-style controller. I suppose there are many endings to this story, like Analogue, but I don't know if I'll ever play it again. And I say that to mean that is absolutely re-playable, but I got an ending with characters that was so close to my heart, I just want it to sit there forever right now. More sweet than bitter, but somehow touching on similar elements to the end of the Red Dwarf book and Bicentennial Man with Robin Williams. I also laughed out loud when I found a moment reminiscent of the game Stray. I will say that up front I felt confused about what to do, what mechanics were in play, how to make good decisions and feel like I wasn't missing anything or messing up off the get-go. But it felt amazing after playing for a bit, and honestly, I feel like that actually is a benefit now, as I found myself making decisions as myself, rather than as a character or ideally of what I thought would be good to play. That led me to an ending I can't imagine being better, though I could feel other possibilities that would have been great as well, just ended exactly where I wanted it to. I really wanted to play through this one before picking up Citizen Sleeper 2, but now know I absolutely will. Fantastic, just fantastic.
I've had the first 5 or so games for so long, but never opened them up. But as I moved my entire library from Steam to GoG and Switch, I've found myself playing way more than before, actually making time for all of these games. Y's I has been fantastic! Part of me feels like I wish I'd played it sooner, but it feels very good right now, and I'm greatly looking forward to working my way through the rest of the series. I find the attack mechanic really unique. For the first couple of levels, it is very challening not dying. But after that it becomes like butter, and at least with a thumbstick controller, almost how I imagine swinging a sword in a game should feel. Have not encountered anything like it before. I will say as a con, the game can be pretty brutal, at least on Hard mode, the third option with only Nightmare harder. Part of it is just in some of the creatures, but it's also challenging to know if you're missing things and where to find them. I found the Mask particulary questionable, as I had no guidance on it's use until further in the game, and so found myself running all over with it trying to figure out what it might reveal ... by the time I realized what it was for, I had actually already used it without knowing it trapped myself in an area with a boss I didn't know how to defeat for quite a while. Had to warp out and try again. Still, the game is rewarding, exactly what I would have wanted out of a classic without feeling overly like a classic. I did choose the 2009 version of the playthrough rather than the 2001 Complete. Complete mode felt wrong on crisp monitors somehow, but the 2009 PSP version has been great.
The first time I played Dead Cells, I gave up after a few runs. It did not seem fun, it did not seem to progress well, and I died a lot quickly with seemingly no good path forward. I'm not a souls-like fan; I like a good challenge in my games, but not brutally difficult play for the sake of brutally difficult play. However, a bit like Risk of Rain 1 and 2, once you do start to find things and build on the character permantently, then start to find secrets and details in the game, it becomes very fun. I'm enjoying it a lot, looking forward to getting all the way through and seeing what else comes up along the way.
I avoided this game after the first recommendation, but picked it up after it was recommended a second time from a different source. Wow. Great game, highly engaging, fun to explore and figure out pieces. Great work, was a good challenge, gets a lot of things right, captivating enough for me to play all the way through, and intersted in making different choices on another run through.
