I liked the original concept behind this game, and I even liked that it wants itself to be a game that you only play once. Unfortunately, the gameplay is extremely slow, and you do not actually get to do too much. In my playthrough I left my shade reading for a very long time and the timer expired 200 days earlier than it should have, quite the surprise. Soon after I got a very dry ending (but more endings are possible). Your mileage may vary. https://pixelloot.com
It takes a while to get to the difficult puzzles, but it eventually gets there. I think I quit playing while I was about halfway through, around the time the puzzles also required dexterity. Overall, it is a pleasant game that does give you a nice challenge while having some story elements peppered here and there. https://pixelloot.com
Unpopular opinion - this is an ambitious RPG that fell short of what could have easily been. The setting/premise is interesting at its core, but it was implemented in an extreme manner making it a caricature. It does have humor, but it is also harder to be immersive. The worst part is that it resembles a looter-shooter. There is loot everywhere, once again, taking me out of any possible immersion that an RPG game should have. The gun play and stealth are considerably basic. The highest level of difficulty has a lot of “difficulty by annoyance”, and there is a too big of a gap between the highest and second level. https://pixelloot.com
This game could be a great one but there are quite a few things that hold it back. From the little I played, the AI seemed OK, but not the unit AI. And here I am not adding things like - the arty can auto-shoot units that were never spotted when set to “fire at will”. The strategic layer is extremely simple, fortunately the tactical side is well rounded. Somehow it did not keep me playing, maybe because it feels a bit shallow even through its apparent complexity. https://pixelloot.com
Finally, another type of turn-based tactics game. There is some good here but unfortunately a lot of bad as well. I liked the premise and story type. Some of the new things they tried, like implementing an “awareness” resource is a cool new idea. The combat system, in my opinion, is very unnatural and makes the game unplayable for me. I feel that a lot of situations are unfair, like how you cannot avoid taking damage while being fired upon even when you dodge. But I do appreciate that stealth is an option. It also has some weird quirks such as - you cannot perform a takedown on a character with more HP. While in mission you can hide bodies, but they miraculously disappear. You can gather intelligence and make connections (in game mechanic), but while this is a cool idea, the mini-game in its self is overly simplified. You also cannot pause the cinematics. https://pixelloot.com
- I like the ”cozy” art style. - The occasional humor is good. - A lot of micro-management due to the lack of quality of life improvements. This makes the game more grindy at the cost of fun. - Inventory is small and you can’t upgrade. - Can’t rotate crafting stations at 90 degrees. - No 4k support. - From the little I played and saw on YT, you don’t really get to do anything cool. I believe that, overall it’s a good game but unfortunately it didn’t keep me playing for long. https://pixelloot.com
- Top tier (c)RPG but there is still plenty of room for improvement - Looks beautiful - Highest difficulty level offers a real challenge - Has many QoL improvements - You get to manage a ship, which is pretty cool - Almost no combat verticality - No hold position command during battle, resulting often in chaos - Still a bit buggy - Puzzles are, like in all RPGs, meh *Editors' Pick* https://pixelloot.com
- Great stories, setting, monsters, and lore. - Tons of mods that can improve the game. - The combat is the weakest part of the game. It is a combination of choreography and hitbox system, which in this case resulted in an overall shallow system. - AI is bad and has the old problem found in this type of games, where enemies are confined to an area that they cannot leave. So, you can easily bait them at the edge of that area and just engage them at your leisure. - You can get over leveled and find combat unchallenging. I tried fixing this with a popular mod that un-levels the world. With it, the game was challenging for a good while, but inevitably, it also became generally easy down the road. Also, you wouldn’t really need to change your armor or weapon since many items were very similar, which is part of the fun in an RPG. I also tried the very popular overhaul, Ghost Mode, which changes almost everything. With it the game became (much) harder, and thus making it better. https://pixelloot.com
- Very funny. - Relatively fast paced. - Funny does not necessarily mean easy. - Very accessible even for casual, and first time RPG players. - Played like half a game before realizing that you can jump. - Not well balanced but it’s not a real issue as you can grind XP and money(meat). - The comedy as good as it is, is the only thing keeping the game together. So, there is a risk the game gets old at some point. https://pixelloot.com
Without spoiling anything, all I can say is that you relive the same period, in a big mansion, and you must save the party’s guests. The trick is that you can’t directly interact with the characters that are soon getting murdered, all you can do is alter the environment somehow. I love when games come with new concepts like this, but unfortunately The Sexy Brutale’s puzzles are a mix between easy and moon logic. The overarching story is ok, but you’ll end up not doing much puzzling but mostly reading (which is not necessarily a bad thing). Rating: Groundhog Day without any groundhogs. https://pixelloot.com
