If you are any kind of dungeon crawler fan, you need to get your hand on this title. It is easily the best “Diablo-esque” game when it came out and still stands well today. At $20, it’s a no-brainer. When you consider the game comes with it’s amazing (if traditional) soundtrack as part of the download, it’s a damn steal! I recommend playing Torchlight first, but considering how little story there is in either title really, this is not required for anything.
...and not turn based. I can honestly walk away from this title knowing I had a great time overall. Yes, it has it's warts from time to time and honestly even though I expected a slow start, this game turned out a lot different then I expected. But it was still pretty good. My only consideration here is the price. I bought the game on sale and would have a hard time recommending it any other way due to it being a full price release despite showing itself quite clearly to be a port of a game that's been around a while.
This game has a reputation for being one of the best of it’s kind. And it does live up to being a great game in it’s own right. If you like mouse driven ARPG games, you will certainly enjoy this old-school one. However, it is still very nested in the genre, so don’t expect it to wow anyone over who has no interest in the game type.
While like any puzzle based game, The Talos Principle can be occasionally infuriating, it is overall an amazing title. If you are one of the many people who loved their time playing the Portal games, I do not know how you missed this title. It is not nearly as light hearted (and in fact there are times this game can be downright depressing), but it is absolutely masterfully made and a worthy game to stand with Valve’s masterpieces. If you enjoy puzzle gaming, you need to get your hands on this title. It is one of the best of this genre and well worth your time to play thought. If you are looking for any kind of action adventure, however, this game is simply not for you.
This game is frankly a straight up shame. It promises an authentic Lovecraftian experience, but gets in it's own way with bugs and UI issues. It promises to be short and re-playable with so many characters, only the game does nothing to vary the events of the game, only offer other conversation choices in those same events. In essence this game makes a great first impression, but it quickly reveals itself to be a lot of broken promises. Avoid this one.
I wanted to like this game. For all the frustrations and proof why realistic military shooters were never my thing, I wanted to like this game. But it always was just on the cusp for me… giving me some amazing moments, but placing it between travel and severe design frustrations. If you have the patience I do not to get through that or the will to mod them out of the game, there is a lot of good stuff to be had here. I want to rate it well, because I can see all the good stuff, but at the same time, it broke on me in a pretty serious way (if one Im not sure will happen for everyone else). As such, I kinda have to go halfway on this title.
Despite the bugs in this game, I really can not sing it's praises enough. Rarely do I find a horror game that genuinely feels creepy and yet has enough there to warrant buying and playing the game for yourself at any price. Instead you usually get something more horror-themed then actually scary or something with so little you can do, you might as well youtube someone else playing it. SOMA manages to escape both fates being constantly creepy and giving you enough to do while playing that you know most are going to either see something you missed or miss something you found. If you are a fan of true horror-survival who wants the game to actually be threatening, you are in for a treat. This game will haunt you, make you dread going forward, and yet at the same time leave you eager for more every time you leave.
I really wish this game was better. When I started I was loving it moment to moment as it made me figure out how to open everything and every room with well made and thought out puzzles that had to be found and solved. But this actual gameplay runs out well before the game does. As such, I have a hard time recommending giving it a go... to anyone. There are just too many better examples to play before you get to this one.
I can not call this game a great game, but I can call it a good one. It has no issue telling you what you need to do, but what you get out of it is on you to figure out, making for a much more unique way to handle criminal cases. It also has no issue using lots of mini-games/QTEs, but does so in a way that keeps things interesting, but it understands these are not for everyone and will allow you to skip what is holding you back for better or worse. In the end, its definitely a game with some weaknesses, but one fully aware of them. I just wish the game had a better way of handling them.
Shadowgate is a prime example of how to modernize a game right. It has some flaws here and there, but the spirit of the original is alive and well, tough as it ever was, and will thrill puzzle-solving gamers who take the time to enjoy the rich atmosphere and object based puzzles. If you enjoyed the original game in any of it’s incarnations in the late 80s (or even the Gameboy Color version in the late 90s), you simply must get this one. If you enjoy object based puzzles this is easily one of the best games to offer them in recent years and you should also get your hands on it. However, if a game needs to be action based for you to enjoy it, stay the HELL away.
