If you loved Hollow Knight, and are ready for a significant increase in challenge, this is the game for you. If you've never played the original, definitely start there... this game's difficulty is higher in almost every regard (think 4th or 5th pantheon bosses, but some are much harder). This is the Sekiro to HK's Dark Souls. It's much faster, requires much more precision, your personal skill will be pushed to the extreme, but when you overcome the challenges they feel that much more earned. There are so many amazing areas, so many things to explore (even more than the original game), so many great boss fights/set pieces, touching moments, etc. A lot of criticism that I've seen stems from some extremely difficult sections, and while there are ways to use tools/tricks (like in HK), this game will still demand a high level of technical skill. Perhaps in the future they will implement easy and easier modes (similar to Lies of P) so they don't have to nerf the current experience, but just be aware that this game will punish you if you refuse to learn and adapt (unlike HK where for 85% of the game you could get away with some degree of brute forcing through the game). HK was a 10/10, and I'm happy to say that Silksong is not just a fantastic game in its own right, but a worth successor. Just be ready for a fight. (100% completion on 1.0.28714)
I loved SH2 (original), so I was excited to try this. Sadly, now I see why this game is rated the worst in the mainline -- so unless you are a playstation fanatic with nostalgia (see reviews here), you should avoid this game, there are far better horror games for your money. As a port, it's functional, but even with customizable key bindings, the controls are very rough. Navigating menus, selecting/equipping weapons, very cumbersome. Combat has no real challenge/excitement, just equip a weapon, spam click until the autoaim kills the monster. It's very clunky even by standards of its time. Various prompts constantly break up gameplay. Terrible indicators on what can/cannot be interacted. There are some scary monsters, but they quickly lose their shock when they are constantly spammed. The HUB world is a pain to navigate (cool idea though, going back to a room you're trapped in, I wish there was more to interact with here in this appartment). The writing/story is AWFUL. Unrealistic characters, weird horny stuff (I'm not a prude, but it's like a pre-teen wrote some of these things), a contrived plot of "dark religious cult" (feels like a parody almost). The environments have great ambience, but once you start backtracking you'll get frustrated quickly. Also, it has an extremely boring "water prison" level (why is it always the water level). As far as sound goes though, they couldn't even get footsteps synced. SH4 doesn't hold a candle to SH2 or SH3, it's a bit surprising how much worse it is. There are some good ideas, but nothing really pays off in a good way. Gameplay is frustrating. Writing is bad. And the worst offense -- it's not scary. I was laughing AT the game more than moments of even slight "creeped out" feelings... If you want to relive your Playstation childhood, this game will be exactly as you remembered it. Unfortunately, the game itself really doesn't hold up -- and I would warrant that it never did given that it came after some real masterpieces.
As someone who fondly remembers grinding through Myst as a kid -- writing down information tidbits, creating maps, etc (as there was no internet/walkthroughs to lookup), and then Riven, I was extremely happy to see Cyan coming back to make Obduction in that older style. I wanted that nostalgic feeling of being alone in a "safe" empty world and free to explore and unravel the mysteries. I'll just be direct, this game is quite bad... and it disappointms me greatly to say that. The Good: There are derelict worlds for you to explore, and the game includes the janky live action recordings of people talking to you -- a nice touch. The environments are scattered with strange things for you to consider. The game generally looks nice. The Bad: The performance of the game is absolutely awful. You will notice the loading times when you jump between worlds. The carts you have to ride around in the Myst games is generally tedious and frustrating, and this game relies heavily on a cart. Moreover, the cart's controls, are frustrating and slow... the game in general feels slow to navigate. Sometimes you know what you have to do, but you have to waste a ton of time just walking around. What about the puzzles? There are too few of interest that require critical thinking, and too many that are simply "connect the pipe, and hit the switch". Unlocking curious baubles and thinking outside the box to open ancient sealed doors is what makes myst great, but there's not much of it here. Conclusion: The game is slow and frustrating to play through -- not because it's too obtuse to solve the puzzles, but because of the performance/controls, and planning of the overall world. I didn't get any "WOW" or "AHA" moments like I did from Myst/Riven. Other people really like the game, so maybe I just wasn't in the mindset for it to click, but I'd recommend you skip this and just play Myst or Riven if you haven't already. Or try the Witness, Talos Principle, Baba is You, Stephen's Sausage Rolls...
I played Asylum first, and loved it; it was a love letter to Batman The Animated Series. A tightly crafted game. A finely crafted experience with a great blend of exploration, detective work, direct combat, and indirect (sneaking). Then City came along, and raised the bar. While it took things in a more open world direction, it really improved on most aspects. Origins isn't terrible but for me the weakest. It borrows a lot from City, but does everything lesser. Not a bad game, it still hits the Arkham beats, but by comparison, it falls flat. Origins has a cool concept: Black Mask is pulling something big on Christmas Eve, and has hired 8 assassins (the more obscure villains) to kill Batman. I'll just list my gripes in no particular order: - The overworld and environments feel blander and the areas lack the variety that the previous games achieved. This leads to things feeling stale - Something feels off about the combat: blocks not registering, leading to lost combos is extremely frustrating - The new mechanic of the "power gloves" ruins the whole flow of the game... if you can just punch through everything, it feels like cheats, and becomes quite boring - Riddler has no riddles or perspective puzzles, and the "collectathon" feels way less inspired - The "crime scene investigation" while a good idea, wasn't well implemented and really tends to drag. - A lot of bugs that can lead to soft locks - Cold Cold Heart DLC was nowhere as good as the Harley/Robin DLC from city The new voice actors did their best, not as good as originals, but they're fine. I did like addition of enemies that required you to counter multiple times, but again, city had that as well. While I would still recommend it (still the Batman saving Gotham fantasy you want to experience), I just wanted to explain as a fan of the Arkham series why it's the worst of the series for me. It kind of feels a bit more like an Assassin's Creed, and I suspect it's because things start to feel bland/repetitive.
How would I rate the Rusty Lake games? Roots >> Paradise > Hotel Hotel, my first experience with this franchise, was a quirky title that relied on its absurd situations and dark humour. The puzzle aspect felt a bit weak, with more reliance on trial/error, and storywise, felt like it didn't know where to go after the initial weird murder/mystery premise... just finishing on a cliffhanger ("we'll figure it out later" route). I really enjoyed roots. Small segments, with story elements that built on each other, and had self-contained mini puzzles that hit more than they missed. Also, they took a far riskier approach to the overall tone. So if you've played those two, and are wondering if you should get Paradise, I would say yes -- it's very cheap, and if you like the franchise, it delivers more of that. I'll just list some thoughts, since the game for me is really a mixed bag (with respect to the franchise and what the games are as a whole -- the flash game, point and click, light-puzzle game). Great premise: revisiting the same area again and again with a new plague. However, this wasn't explored all that well, and felt more like a gimmick, where few worlds really felt like they were designed around the theme... rather, the theme often felt tacked on later, perhaps with some minor adjustments to make it fit. Great artwork again (altho the characters still have that cheaper flash look), and the audio was well done (very atmospheric). This is consistent with the franchise. While exploring variants of the island was a good idea in theory, this fails in comparison to Roots. There is a lot of back tracking, and getting from place to place can feel clunky and tedious, when compared to everything being nearby. Also, the puzzles in Roots were generally more interseting, with Paradise kind of dragging early on, and only having some more intersting tasks later on. So overall, I'm a bit disappointed after Roots, but still worth a play for fans of Rusty Lake.
I purchased Rusty Lake Hotel because of the whimsical looking art and cheap price. I enjoyed it, although I found myself a bit bored, with its puzzle solving a bit on the easy side... however, the weird characters, and the dark humourous absurdity of it overall left me with a positive impression. So going into RL Roots, I expected something similar, and was pleasantly surprised that it was way better. Although the weird animal people were gone (mostly), substituted was a darker tone that definitely took some risks. Now, the game isn't so shocking that it breaks the overall tone of the series, but it's definitely ... more... than Hotel was. You'll follow the story of a family through their generations, and the game has 33 mini sections that are overall quite satisfying. The puzzle solving is never so taxing that you won't be able to figure it out, but it's not trivial enough that the game becomes a pointless clicking simulator. Especially towards the end, you'll have to think about some things. Also, after the game there is an optional quest that you can take, which adds a little bit extra for those who wanted something more difficult. Now, I gave this a 5 stars for what Rusty Lake is... it's still a point and click game that is quite slowly paced. However, I liked this so much more than Hotel. Full of creepy and weird things, decent to interesting puzzles, nice graphics/audio. I would 100% recommend this if anyone enjoys Rusty Lake (but you've likely already bought it). If you enjoy puzzle games, and point and clicks, then also, a recommendation. You'll definitely get your money's worth. I completed this in an afternoon in between other work and chores, and for that, it was perfect.
(Owned on Epic) I love my slow burn games, I love story driven experiences (when written well), I love games that make you reflect on your own life... This game, just missed the mark for me. Firstly, THIS IS NOT A PLATFORMER as it's sometimes alluded to. And as far as "point and click goes", there's not much puzzle solving going on. This game is more akin to a walking simulator (just in 2D), where you explore the world and meet various characters. So how is the story? For me, it was an exercise in boredom. I love complex stories of any genre, but this game just felt very ... hipstery. It's like a version of real life, but even more boring. "Mom and dad look older", "that guy I didn't know in highschool lost his job", etc. There is plenty of quippy and quirky attempts at humour, which just made me roll my eyes. I had to quit after the 2 hour mark or so. The story elements they later throw in to spice things up were too few, and just not interesting enough. So maybe I missed some major payoff later on, but I honestly don't care to commit myself to more curt dialogue. If you like that "I'm so special, so I act really mundanely, and am sarcastic about everything" type of writing, you'll enjoy this. Perhaps if you're in your late teens, this game will strike closer to home for you, as it has a very "young adult finding their place" feel, but the execution of this "slice of boring real life" storytelling was just not for me. Clearly many people liked it, so if this looks like your thing, give it a chance. Maybe I'm just playing this game at the wrong time in my life. I'm not a lonely early 20s person just who failed out of college, and is looking to find their place in a boring medium sized town. But if you find yourself bored after the first hour, it doesn't really get much better, so you may want to get a refund at that point.
As far as point and clicks go, this one is good... it has issues, but there is a lot to like. I don't know if this is a title I would replay multiple times (like Machinarium), but it was a nice experience first time through. While the stark contrast between nightmarish imagery (a hallmark of DevolverDigital) in a children's show looking backdrop may have caught your eye, this game has more going on. The nightmarish imagery almost seems more like a marketing gimmick, since it's really not that important to the game. The game has a wonderful artistic style, detailed environments, and detailed characters. It's very remniscient of Tom Bunk's artwork, and I'd be surprised if he wasn't a direct influence. Who is Dropsy? With his freaky clown exterior, you find out he's just looking to spread positivity and make the world a better place -- a truly endearing and heartwarming story. This is where the game starts to actually reach real emotions. While the game is full of jaded and depressing characters (and some genuinely real/depressing moments), Dropsy's persistent will to make everyone happy makes you think about your own life, and reflect on being a better person. The game has no text/dialogue, only vague images... this goes with the theme of someone with the mind of a child, just trying to make sense of things. This game is more 3.5 stars for me. The gameplay is just ok. This is definitely a slower paced game and will require a lot of trial/error and walking around. On top of that, there is a day/night cycle which complicates things. There's a lot to explore, things to collect, but nothing really important. And then the game seems to suddenly end with a final sequence that ties everything together. I should also mention that the soundtrack is actually fantastic... in that Taxi Driver sense. It is performed by real musicians, and fits perfectly to set the mood of each area you enter. Overall, a nice title which P&C fans should definitely consider.
