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Gradevor, Expedition 33 Didnt know what i was getting myself into. i approved to go and start an adventure i never expected to be experiencing. At the beginning i felt a bit lost, maybe even frightened as i was wondering how everything would work out, how things would change.. how i would change. When starting my first fight, i felt right at home: turn-based fights. I love these! Take your time to plan, select what to do and smash those critters out of this world! Expect wait, what? Realtime dodging and parrying? Oh. Oh no. ...expect i got hang of it pretty quickly - and it is awesome. Even the most difficult opponents would get swiped off by constantly parrying their attacks. At some point it started to make "impossible" enemies to fall just because i studied their patterns. Which might have caused some unbalance to some fights, but oh well. No matter. I like feeling like a god. I wasnt alone either; there were likeminded adventurers who would join my expedition to face the otherworldly creatures and gasping sights to behold together. They all felt like they had their story to be unfolded, told and listened to. They all filled the void there otherwise would have been, sharing their grieves and events that have made them who they are. Though not everything went as smoothly as i was hoping. We have encountered losses, felt and relived connections once forgotten, cursing some odd patterns that felt like they were straight from demons pit.. almost crying when it came to platformer sections. Luckily latter were mostly optional, but darn i felt like my feet were painted with some slippery oil whenever jumping a wee bit higher to the platform. For some reason i had and urge to roll myself into the abyss every. Single. Time. Dont know what it is with myself. Expect that my head made itself pretty familiar with desk. Well. Eventually i got over it. Instead i started more carefully investigating all the pictos, skills, weapons and outfitting myself and companions to look like we are having nice summer vacation. A bit of laugh, until i felt like face-smashing myself again into the abyss. In the end, i loved every second i have spent in here. Watching it all to end made me sad, felt the mixed feelings everyone had there. I wouldnt change a thing though. I feel like this was the finale i had to have closure as. As who we are, where we are, when we are.. we eventually see it again. For every one of us.. tomorrow comes.
So basically header says it all. This is rather lengthy visual novel (took me around 100 hours trying to do everything) with some RPG mechanics and lots of rather well done CG. World of Evenicle is full of rather disturbing events, which might be "too much" for some. These events however also play crucial role in the story. For people with weak stomach, i suggest just trying to get over it and otherwise enjoy well done experience. There are lots of side quests, which will open up possibilities for better items and/or new scenes. They tend to get locked after reaching next chapter, but you can activate them again after completing main storyline. So nothing "missable" in a sense. If you know anything about Alicesoft, then know that this will be quality time you will gain that is true to Alicesoft skills.
Basically as header says. There might be occasions when game remotely gives you Resident Evil vibes, but gameplay wise this is extremely far from it. Unless you think RE4 or other action game, then maybe. So you got SMG and shotgun to blast through enemies, but also thing called Frostgrip. It allows you to freeze enemies through mines, beam, ballistic and you can destroy enemies as they are frozen. Story tries extremely hard towards the end to throw some emotional rollercoaster at you, but since story does not seem to be heavily focused or at least that well done - it kind of fails. It is okayish to play through. Just dont expect survival horror.
For starters it is worth to note i have never before played any Alone in the Dark games, so i dont have any earlier experience to compare this with or nostalgic glasses. Okay, so how is the game... Game is rather pretty looking. Too bad it keeps stuttering, bugging out and being rather demanding for its provided quality. Story is so-so. Voice acting is somewhat average, though for this game they are also the best part, which is a warning sign for overall experience considering their quality. Combat feels like it was afterthought or if it wasnt, it was done awfully. Sure you can try to sneak your past some enemies and situations or distract them with throwables. For the parts were combat cannot be evaded however, it is atrocious. It is all clunky, unsatisfying and really brings this all down even more. Also for people suffering from "completionist" virus who want to have at least every collectibles/conversations/lores, this is nightmare. Oh, but by using walkthrough you will not miss any and can just play it once through and be done with it? Hah, you wish.. See, there are 2 characters you can play as - and you must play with them BOTH to get all aforementioned collectibles. So, suffer through this all AT LEAST TWICE to be satisfied with collectibles. This truly is horror experience.
This is some fine point-and-click adventure, probably one of the greatest ones i have played and enjoyed through in years! Puzzles are not out-of-this-world, tho couple caused a bit head scratching. VA is extremely well done, story fun and light-sided but constantly progressing and well built. Music and tone fits overall atmoshpere greatly. While ending kind of knotted the ropes, i really hope to see someday continuation for the trio here. They all contributed to the enjoyment game gives out and it would be shame if we wouldnt get more of them in the future.
Game is visually stunning and gorgeous, hands down. I had Studio Ghibli vides all the way while playing through the game, loved the music and way story unfolded. Experience takes around 10 hours and never feels like a dull moment, so you will certainly love it also. Then whats up with the 3 stars? Controls. The. God. Awful. Controls. It feels and acts all very junky, like trying to go through some tar and mud. Game also likes its platforming sections every once in a while and darn, controls get very quickly rubbed into your face with how gummy they feel. While i am simply going forward, listening to conversations, watching visuals theatricalise in front of me.. i felt so drawn to the experience. Everytime i had to anything else that involved controls, i was so irritated. You definitely should play this through for all the beauty in it. Just remember to first take some painkillers so you can actually play it through without losing the momentum.
I was having a good time with the game, even tho it tends to get repetitive and samey after a while. The overall flow works and blends well however, which is why i managed to beat last boss in the final difficulty. Story/characters/voiceover is slightly on the cringier side and definitely aint the reason to play the game. You might feel intrigued at the start, but it wont take long for you to realize whats the appetizer here. And you are a bit allergic for that. But hey, for the gameplay and strategic combat alone it is definitely worth it and would recommend to anyone already interested in turn-based roguelikes.
..and oh how much i did enjoy my time nevertheless. Game shines with its action packed adventure through the world. While you only have 3 weapons, you have multiple skills (essence stones) to switch and utilize to fit your own playstyle. While there is not exactly a lot to modify your character with, it is enough for adventure this size. Definitely recommended for some action-packed fun.
What we have here is basically inferior version of "God of War" were fighting is taken against vampires instead of gods. Combat being most crucial aspect in these kinds of games: it feels fluent, there are couple of options for fighting and skills. You will get couple upgrade possibilities for arsenal, but not that many. Game is challenging on normal difficulty, but aftter you grasp the mechanics the only challenge remaining is how awful HP sponges enemies are and how long each fight begins to last. Seriously, i was getting bored during last half of the game because of how long fights took. Voice acting is kind of funny, in a good way. VA fits the characters but there is certain clumsiness noticable out there. You will most likely enjoy the cutscenes. Story? "Lets kill vampires since they want to destroy humankind" basically. You are welcome. Sure, they tried adding some background emphasis on characters and bring deeper meaning on matters, but that didnt really work. In the end, i paid 7,50€ for this game and feel like it was just the right amount. I fail to understand the praises for this game by others, but maybe i just am not the correct audience.
Really enjoyed my time in Eastward. Adventures of John and Sam will take through many places and never felt that game stayed over its welcome. While this is adventurous game, it has its cutscenes which some of them have length. I love cutscenes and getting more invested into story, so for me that is simply a plus. One of the more pleasant experiences i have played through in a longer while.