Heretic is one of my all-time favs. It might not be the most ambitious FPS ever, but it's a great shooter which still plays very well today. Hexen... well, let's just say the game was "ahead of its time" (aka too clunky and obtuse by way of the limits of the then-current tech). BUT, and here's the great thing, this remaster actually makes that game enjoyable by doing some slight rebalancing and adding actual guidance to where you're supposed to be going! And, as per usual, the additional episodes are pretty great, too!
Individually, none of the elements of this game - perhaps other than the art direction - stand out. But put together, it's a compelling game with some repetitive activities but A LOT of character and charm.
It's Doom!
I have only ever played a demo of the PC version way back when, so I have no idea how true this is to either the Sega Saturn or the PS1 versions. To be honest, I'm not sure it should matter. I liked the game initially - a bit basic, but unique-feeling old-school shooter. The ammo system bugged me from the start, but I sort of accepted it. Same goes for the checkpoints. Heck, even the general game structure grew on me, though personally I think the "metroidvania" elements of the progression did the game absolutely no favors. Heck, at least two of the powers you unlock just aren't particularly well designed and the rest isn't all that interesting. So really a linear progression through the levels - from what I understand, what the non-remastered version does - would be perfectly fine here for my money. But what really killed the fun for me was the rather poor level design in the latter half of the game. There are at least two levels that you can basically fail by running out of ammo for one of the weapons. Once that happens, go ahead and restart the checkpoint. Can't gather any ammo because it drops from enemies randomly? Restart the whole level and hope for the best. Doesn't sound great, huh? Let me stress, they don't do it once, but multiple times. And as far as I gathered, there's a single point in the game where you HAVE to grenade jump. Which is an entirely ridiculous thing to include in a game's critical path - may I remind you, you might not actually have ammo for it, or the health level necessary to take the hit. If not for all of that, the first two or so hours with the game are fun enough, but I would argue that the game is just too expensive to only be fun for half of its already somewhat short span. I just can't say I'm happy with my purchase, even though I got it at a discount.
Elderborn rocks, with its pulpy fantasy aesthetic, kick-ass soundtrack, varied weapon selection and design that pushes you forward. My biggest complaint is that it takes some time to get used to some of the weapon ranges, which seem to be longer than the visual would suggest. It's also a pretty difficult game - the lowest difficulty level will still be quite challenging, and - at times - a bit frustrating to a more casual player. It borrows some stuff from Souls-like games, and I feel like those elements are not the key reason why Elderborn works. But, if you're open to some frustration but would like to otherwise hack and slash your way through enemies with some excellent art direction in an intriguing setting, Elderborn is a great choice.
DethKarz has been a staple of my collection of gems since around 2000 when I got it from a Polish videogame magazine. I've revisited it many times since, always enjoying it a lot. It's fast-paced, has a good soundtrack, and physics balanced towards high speeds and arcade-like action. It can seem a bit lackluster in its content - just 12 different tracks set on 4 "worlds" of varying difficulty + only a handful of powerups - but it makes the most out of it and never feels boring. Strong recommendation for this one!
Night Call is an interesting experiment which blends an interactive novel kind of gameplay with some additional systems, and puts you in the shoes of a character who needs to solve a mystery as he does his job as a taxi driver. It's a compelling idea, but it's not all there gameplay-wise. While the writing is strong and the stories of your passengers all pretty unique and authentic-feeling, there's a bunch of problems with the UI and the underlying systems. The whole investigation part of the gameplay seems almost like it's a side activity, but the plot makes it play a huge role, so that makes the carrying of passengers feel like not exactly the thing you maybe should be doing. They tried to achieve a balance here, but I don't think they quite succeed. On top of that, there are some control / presentation issues that make the game feel janky. Like short cutscenes while you're talking, which you later realize are just there for flavor. Or how you can get two clients spawn on a single space and you're not sure who you're going to pick up. Or the fact that you can randomly get another client in your cab and you need to deal with that, even though that can technically mean you lost crucial time and will trigger a game over when you run out of money. And then there's a couple of bugs I encountered that forced me to reload the game. And that I still don't understand how the game counts your end-day cash balance. There's a lot to love here, though. The atmosphere is spot on, the music is good, the characters feel like real people and the conversations are pretty realistic. I just feel like the game wants to be two things at once and doesn't manage to strike the right balance for it. I recommend playing it on the Story difficulty setting, because frankly this should be a narrative experience first and foremost and I feel like the gameplay elements that are there are weighing down what could've been a really unique game.
I'm very happy to say that Amid Evil gets 90s gaming right. This FPS is true to form, fun to play, and doesn't force an arbitrarily high difficulty level on you. You get to choose one of three difficulties (think Quake, they even do that thing where the way to a gate will be different based on whether it's Easy, Medium or Hard), and I'm happy to report that Medium is a perfectly sensible balance, with Hard being just harder enough to feel somewhat challenging but not unfair. If you were longing for a trip down memory lane, but with a modern twist, Amid Evil is well worth your attention.
