Once again, I have to say I absolutely loved another game from the Ys franchise. And while it is not the absolute best of the best, it is right up there with it. In fact you can clearly see a lot of what made Memories of Celceta so great got it's start here. Yes, that game balanced it out better, but the formula was great from the start and I can only hope to see more of this as we go on. Another phenomenal game in the series!
This game pleasantly surprised me. From how good it looked and sounded to even what kind of gameplay it expected out of you, nothing was what it seemed... and yet that is somehow fitting for a game of the mythos. Honestly if you like horror games in first person and enjoy the build up as much as the intensity of the payoff, you should absolutely give this one a shot! And if you have a taste for Lovecraft in particular, welcome... make yourself at home.
I wish I could say this was a good game, but it was not. Frankly this is a terrible pile of jank trying poorly to clone a much better game along side a lackluster clone of a much better story. I can not recommend this game and while it wasn't so bad to drive me away from finishing it, there is just nothing here to be worth your time.
I don't normally play this kind of game so you should probably take my score with a grain of salt. However, I walked away having seen some very nice looking scenes, chilled out maintaining a ranch to raise slimes, and even get excited for a little bit towards the endgame of Hobson's story. I will admit I would have liked to see that adventure go just a little bit further, but I see the point the author was making. It screams of a personal touch like the author dealing with personal regrets and doing so very well. I just... really wanted to see the next place. What is here is pretty good overall, but I am happy to finish as the credits roll. I can see why others would want to go on, however and max out that ranch itself. This is a very solid title and if chilling out on your own little place in the frontier of space sounds good to you, you may just want to check it out.
After my time with the last two games in the set, this outing was just disappointing. Yeah there was definitely fun to be had, and I found myself enjoying a little extra time after the story was finished when I was showing it off for Extra Life, but it just pales in comparison to what we have had so far. I can honestly say it's descent in it's own right, but that is not much compliment for a follow-up to the highs that were the last two titles. If you need more Saints Row, it's worth playing, but you've already seen it at it's best. It's all down hill from here
In the end, I have a feeling this remake will be fairly divisive to those who like it and those who don't. It's very old school and things we take for granted like a quest list to keep track of our goals or auto-notes for important details being kept by the game simply do not exist. The game will not stop you from doing things that will screw you over and get you stuck for hours (like toss key items into dark corners and forget about them without knowing they are key items yet). It will demand your attention like few games made today will. And yet these are traits I can see some gamers who are tired of modern games holding their hand every step of the way seeing as a breath of fresh air and drinking in that freedom. But the moment to moment gameplay is absolutely fantastic with snappy controls, enemies to learn and gunplay that just makes sense and is a lot of fun. Add to that some logic puzzles and some dips into cyberspace for floating combat like we haven't seen in ages and this is the real deal. If only the game gave you more inventory space it would have been even better. If it had not made you watch the same 15-20 second death sequence every time you died to a boss (which are rather challenging) before you loaded up to figure out what you did wrong and try again, I would have rated it even higher. This is simply put so close to a masterpiece it's painful.
Due to how much this title relies on the previous one, it makes comparison in the end inevitable. On the one hand the game refines the activities of the world around you, making the actual open-world side of things that much more fun. But on the other, the side missions have been replaced rather lazily by assigning you to take on these same missions.. enough so that if you do them all you will basically do everything in the map. Just about every car from the previous game is here, but you won't need to use them long after you start getting super powers. On the same note while the gunplay is good and offers a variety of choices and customization, you will find yourself pretty much relying on only one or two in the off chance your powers are charging or in a simulation where you don't have them for a few minutes. In short I think overall it's an improved game from the previous one, but it's stutteringly so... every 2 steps forwards comes with 1 back. I cant help but think this was great, but could have been even better if just given a little more refinement.
I have to admit, I played this as game given away on Epic Games, but that is not the first time I touched it. Steam had this in one of their indie demo days, and that release did NOT impress me. Also admittedly, it was still early access, and I was trying to use it with a controller on a PC REALLY not up to par to run it. So I did not come in expecting much. BUT I'm glad I did! I have to say this was probably one of the better games I have played in a long while. Yes, it was far from flawless, but it oozed atmosphere and the story telling was absolutely top-notch, enough to allow even "Pete" of Disney fame's voice to be menacing before seeing him for the first time (and solidifying that menace). This was simply a great game, and it's a shame it's flaws came through particularly on the absolute last act, souring the end. If this game's gameplay itself was tightened and polished just that much more, I would have something I would have to argue with myself about marking as the first 5 star of the year. As it stands though it is still an VERY solid title which I would recommend anyone with a taste for the horror of the mind itself give a go.
A solid game wrapped in over-the-top insanity. This is a combination where the elements are a lot harder to come by in the modern day, much less as one cohesive unit, but this game comes through! From a killer soundtrack expertly used, absolutely insane events (in game and in story) and as fully customizable as any game this side of slider-bars and meshing faces (even as in many cases, those are only skin deep), this is the kind of experience you just don't see too often anymore: a truly open world that is entertaining from start to finish. I honestly enjoyed just about every second playing this one, and as long as you can handle the humor without being offended, you will too.
While not the original game 4 in the franchise, this is a title that has taken everything the series has done and learned from it to create the best release I've played in the series yet. Ys II has officially been dethroned.
