Several reviews are saying that Solasta is the best representation of Dungeons and Dragons 5e in video games. When it comes to combat, they're right. Solasta has a strict adherence to 5e rules and the new subclasses they created feel like they could easily be pulled from the game and used at a table. Not only are the rules the same but the developers are top-tier encounter builders. Every battle I've played has been a blast. Exploration is also a joy with great maps, hidden secrets, and treasure to be found all over the place. I would recommend turning off Solasta's encumbrance rules, though, and sticking with normal 5e rules instead. Fortunately, there is an option to do this in the game's settings and it will make finding that treasure actually enjoyable rather than an exercise in inventory management. The role playing is where Solasta falters. The game feels as though it was just a bit too ambitious with what it hoped to accomplish. While most of the game is played from an isometric perspective like Divinity OS2, Pillars of Eternity, or Baldur's Gate 3, dialogue goes into a more cinematic camera angle, showing you your party directly and the NPC you're speaking with. All dialogue is fully voiced as well. That said, Solasta simply doesn't have the resources of Larian so these scenes are incredibly awkward rather than engaging. The character models are rough and having everyone stand in a line to speak feels forced. The dialogue itself is also pretty jarring, rarely offering the player any real choices about what to say. I can't help but feel the game would have been better served if it stayed isometric during dialogue and stuck to text rather than the huge resource sink that is complete voice acting. Solasta is an amazing achievement for the team but it is a bit overambitious, causing a few missteps. If you want great 5e combat though, you can't do better.
Myst is a phenomenal game. Full stop. The only reason I rate this down is not because of a problem, per se, with Myst: Masterpiece Edition but it's just that it's no longer the best way to experience this game. Unless you specifically want the nostalgia of pointing and clicking, play RealMYST. It's the same game but with improved graphical quality, slightly more content and the ability to free-roam. It is easily the best way to experience Myst unless, as I said, you specifically want to point and click for some reason.
Star Wars: Dark Forces came out at a time when FPS's were almost all referred to as Doom clones and looking at the screenshots, it's pretty easy to see why. However, Dark Forces changed things up by adding a story throughout the game instead of just book-ending the story at the beginning and end. They also made puzzles an important part of the levels, making players figure out how to get through each area. For the time, these were great innovations for the time but now, it's old news. I'm going to guess that if you're considering buying this game in the 2010's, you are probably wanting to buy it for the story of Kyle Katarn, and to be honest, it just isn't really worth it. Yes, for the time, it had more story than most FPS's but that's not saying much. While Kyle Katarn became one of the most beloved Extended Universe characters in Star Wars, it really wasn't from this game and you'd probably be better off just reading the Wikipedia on this one and then starting with Dark Forces 2, as that's when the series really started taking off. If you are one of those folks that has to play through every entry in a series and just needs to play through this one too, it's not a bad game. It's just not that necessary for the story of Kyle Katarn nor does it do anything particularly interesting with the FPS genre in today's gaming environment.
Far Cry 2 is the sequel to 2004's Far Cry although you wouldn't know it by playing it. The guided island locales filled with pirates who kidnapped your friends has been replaced by war-torn Africa. The main story is interested but the main character is simply boring. Whereas in the first game, you have a personal stake in the mission (free your friends and escape the island), now players are thrown into a war that has no meaning to them against a bad guy we're not sure why we care about. The developers attempt to give players a stake in the mission by giving the main character malaria but this only serves as a repetitive annoyance where the screen wigs out. Still, most shooter fans don't play shooters for the plot and that's fine. This takes the standard shooter gameplay and gives it a huge open world to run around in. Guns can be picked up but are usually purchased from a store via diamonds found throughout the world. Aside from the main plot missions, there are several side objectives like taking special assassination missions, clearing out safe houses, searching for said diamonds and saving companions who may save your life in the future. Despite the wealth of things to do, most of your time will end up being spent driving a car from point A to point B. Roads are confusing and you will find yourself checking your map constantly. As if the roads weren't enough of an obstacle, random checkpoints are set up almost everywhere which contain enemies that shoot at you for no apparent reason. This can be frustrating especially since these encounters feature little to no reward and simply waste your time. The game isn't all bad, the missions, when you finally get into them, can be a lot of fun. One mission that has you assaulting an armed fortress gives an amazing sense of power and intelligence as you figure out the best way to pick off the several soldiers. Even the standard, run of the mill missions can be a lot of fun as you get to test out the weapons you spent your hard earned diamonds on. It's unfortunate that these missions don't make up the bulk of the game. Much of your time will be spent rummaging around for diamonds that seem to take forever to accumulate since you only get a couple at a time. And most of your time will be driving around roads hoping against hope that you will actually be able to make it to the mission instead of being stopped by pointless battles. If you are starving for a shooter to play, Far Cry 2 may satiate your desire but it's more likely to feel like a tedious trudging through awkwardly implemented gameplay.
I know people don't spend a lot of time reading these reviews so if you read nothing else, read this: Treasure Adventure Game isn't just one of the best free games available today, it's one of the best games available period. "Metroidvania" games, as they're known colloquially, are a dime a dozen these days. Even freebies like Cave Story are readily available. What Treasure Adventure Game does differently is truly allows you free reign. After about an hour into the game, you can go anywhere across the entire world. While it's not the largest game world out there, it's still quite large and is packed with exciting opportunities. The guided section in the first hour or so is just enough to give you a wonderful introduction to the game and allows you to see several of the areas that you will be able to reach later on in the game. There are plenty of items to collect throughout the game world and each allows you significant advances in where the player can go. For example, Boots allows the character to jump higher and therefore access new areas. Some aren't as cliche as that, however, such as adding a cannon to the boat which lets you shoot down switches and fight enemies on the high seas. Aside from searching for power-ups, your goal in the game is find 12 treasures scattered across the world. These would be nearly impossible to discover if not for maps similarly lost. The maps are usually in fairly obvious locations although they aren't all easy to get to. The maps then lead to secret locations for each of the 12 treasures. There were times I felt aimless but they were short and usually accompanied with an "ah-ha" moment that felt satisfying and rewarding. The dungeons are often large but manageable. They never felt so huge that I felt lost but they also weren't over too quickly either. The bosses are also appropriately epic and a lot of fun to fight. Not all of them are classic but all are fun and well worth the playthrough. The plot isn't the greatest you'll ever experience but for a free, indie game, it will probably surprise you. The story has twists and turns, some you'll see coming and some you may not. Considering how great the rest of the game is, the ending is a bit of a letdown with a bizarre and out-of-place final battle with a rather anti-climactic ending that seems to lose faith in the quality of the game. Still, by this point, you're probably already feeling like the game was well worth the price of entry and some may find the ending amusing or even exciting. Overall, Treasure Adventure Game is a wonderful game, made only better by the fact that it's free. Do yourself a favor and don't assume that just because it's free means it's not worth any cost.
