As others say, an enjoyable sci-fi RPG in a sarcastic, Slavic-flavored Fallout. Deep character customization, a large world to explore, an eclectic cast of characters (recruitable or otherwise). A healthy selection of factions & numerous ways to resolve quests. For better or worse, it continues tropes & trends (good & bad) of games of this type: an intriguing story, a wide range of people & places (even if most are superficial or exist as setpieces), as well as unforgiving RNG & arbitrary game mechanics (though the game does make an effort to explain things). The game is very punishing at the start, even though I poured all my stats into combat, making anything more than 1 or 2 skills impractical (on normal difficulty) until I reached high level & was able to budget & save up for gear & recruit allies. Unfortunately, numerous skills & perks are so niche as to be useless since their application is so rare. This can be mitigated by designating specific companions to roles, but even meeting them is a task in itself. I almost quit a couple times about 5 hours in, but I'm glad I stuck with it to about 80 hours now. That said, the game takes time & effort to enjoy. Even though many mechanics & plot developments seem to work against its own fun, with patience, there's a lot of game to explore & fun to be had. At times, it was a real blast, but also I've played long enough that the shortcomings are no longer justified in my opinion to keep playing. For instance, friendly AI, though influenced by the player, is pretty stupid. It's nice to allow the player to give general orders, but it'd be more efficient if the player just controlled everybody. In its current state, the player needs to issue orders, reverse orders, re-issue orders in a single conflict because companions lack sense. Other issues, such as poison & radiation hazards, companions standing in the way, & more, aren't game-breakers, but don't warrant the effort to complete the game. I enjoyed my time here.
Had very high hopes for the title: great ideas on paper, interesting setting & ideas, very deep customization & potential for management, plus an engrossing intro. But then comes the actual game. Attempts at applying what little the barebones tutorial gives you usually ends with ridiculous punishment so extreme, you can't help but feel the game is telling you "you should know that already." One minor mistake & get discovered? You may as well just restart the entire mission because the "tactical" phase is essentially escape in a couple turns or be cut apart - not framed as a viable way to complete a level. How do you avoid that happening again? Pray & start over. With how lopsided this is, you'd wonder why tactical mode was included at all. It doesn't help that the game fights you technically from start to finish - then keeps running in the background after you give up & try to quit. Pathing needs work - one of the apparently-important-but-also-glossed-over concept is breaching a room, but the game will insist that you want to run through the room to the other side, then walk through the doorway & stand outside the door, rather than around the room to breach it. Then you get seen & the tactical nightmare begins again. One of the promising & unique parts of the game - the evidence analysis is enjoyable - when it works. Except half the time I've tried it, evidence sticks to the mouse & I can't proceed, so rather than actually play, I spent a lot of time exiting & re-entering the mode. On top of everything else, turns take forever - so you better find something else to do while you wait to get slaughtered turn-by-turn. Even with the included options to speed up animations, etc. Very unfortunate: too unforgiving for an action game, too slow & unfair for a stealth game, too stringent for a management game. It tries a whole lot - in its own ways, which I can appreciate, but this game is not fun.
But not much else. The puzzles are nonsensical, the needed items are obviously placed & conveniently ignored until you need THAT specific item & backtrack to the same area for the 4th time, the sidekick is annoying - melodramatically interrupting you every step of the way - & the story doesn't really exist as far as I got. Things happen, but nothing's explained. You wake up, the world fell to a plague, you're helping some lady in a plague doctor mask who at one point knows everything, then knows nothing the next, then there are monsters & android looking things that pop up here & there. Really wanted to like it - definitely enjoyed Bad Dream: Coma (you should look into it! Same style, done much better!) - but I can't really recommend this to anybody.
Sunrider was fun & interesting, but actively worked against its own strengths. The writing, at times, had some really creative ideas & twists, but was borderline childish at others. I love setting, backdrops, soliloquys/introspective sequences - but why were there sudden rants? Random titties? Coming from a pervert... These sequences could have been added in a more fitting, more tasteful, less out-of-nowhere way, but it was shoehorned in, like other sequences (a "beach" sequence - in space). The strategic gameplay had some nice ideas on paper, but I found it much too difficult, even though I love strategy games - all I could really do was have every unit target 1 enemy at a time because their power was much too high & I got far too little money to upgrade my units. You could argue "git gud," but even on the normal & easy difficulties, unless I turtled & took dozens & dozens of turns for a single battle, I struggled. I almost quit the game & realized Sunrider had a difficulty setting. Had it not had one, I would've quit maybe 1/3 through the game. The characters are pretty... stock, though still endearing. I wish there was more to them - perhaps there will be more in the sequel. As it stands in this title by itself, you don't get much more than some introductions & a couple meetings here & there. Unfortunate. As a full title, there should be much more in a game/VN of this caliber. Great ideas, great style, I really enjoyed the voiceovers & music, but almost everything else required patience & suspension of belief. C'mon, guys.
As others have said: Invisible War is a solid title, but probably the worst game in the series. Questionable design choices (that the developers themselves have admitted), among other things, leave this to be a disappointing game if you've played any of the others. Hard to recommend if you've tried them. Overall, the game has a great sense of style & range of freedom (even if somewhat shallow). Despite its simplicity & other weaknesses, the developers DID create a very accessible title. Easy to pick up & play, then put down for weeks, & jump back into. IW is a fun & interesting title for those interested in the themes & settings of the future gone wrong & conspiracies small & large. Unfortunately, for most veterans of this genre or series, it'll feel quite watered down. This is probably a good candidate if you'd like to try out the Deus Ex series but never have - to whet your apetite. It has almost everything that made the other games great - just less of them. It's got the cyberpunk theme, the sense of dread & dystopia, the customization & freedom to tackle objectives. If only it had more...
Layers of Fear is full of quality for those who like atmosphere, story, & details. Both times that I've played through it, the game has looked & sounded wonderful from start to finish. The soundtrack is a treat to listen to by itself, but fits the tone of the game & complements the near-everpresent sense of dread perfectly. The house that you wander through looks amazing, from rickety, rotted wood, to bright, fancy, antique decor, to the difficult-to-describe manifestations of the protagonist's psyche. The clues & inferences about the background (in-game documents, quotes recollected by the protagonist) add a great dimension & the voice actors are great at what they do. The game masterfully makes you feel bad for every character involved, even if their part is extremely minor. That said, the gameplay may turn some players off - in short, you might call it a glorified walking simulator, but it's perhaps the best walking simulator I've ever played. Subtle details will morph & appear, almost impossible to detect (only noticing them on my 2nd playthrough) - certain events taking place exactly when you take enough steps into a room. There were a couple minor bugs that weren't present in the Steam version (which is the 1st one I played). One event was triggered prematurely, another, I had trouble looking around, which made the final area hard to progress. Overall, I've loved this journey - both times. I'd definitely recommend to those who like to explore & immerse themselves (think Metro 2033 rather than Battlefield) - the game is very simple in game terms. Besides looking around & moving forward, there are only a few light puzzles. If you don't mind that, you're in for a real audiovisual treat. If a measure of gameplay with your scares is essential for you, there may be better titles, such as Amnesia: Dark Descent or F. E. A. R.
It looks great, it sounds great, it feels great - about half the time. The other half, you'll be putting up with insane frame rate drops, events not triggering, the game crashing, freezing, extremely long loading times & other technical errors. It's a real shame because you can overlook a lot of technical mishaps when you see the quality & care throughout the rest of the game - but not this many, this severe. The detail in the game is great - create your own MechWarrior (& backstory), run your own crew, your way. The story thus far is thrilling (though I'm having trouble actually playing it). From the personality in your fellow MechWarrior's radio transmissions to the choice of how you run your crew (from dialog, to finances, to jobs taken), there is a quality game here made by devs who believe in their product - which is why I'm so astounded that this game is so bad technically. As things go, the depth the game has is wonderful, from the Mechs themselves to the way that you can equip them & direct the growth of your pilots. If you want a heavy grunt, you can have them specialize in taking hits & giving them while they pilot a durable Support- or Defender-class Mech. If you want a team of speedy Mechs that can dash away from trouble & launch devastating flank attacks, you can do that. If you want to just float from contract to contract & explore the galaxy, (letting the galaxy save itself), you can do that (for the most part). I've already spent tens of hours on this game - & I plan on spending tens more - but for now, I'm taking a break after the same current mission didn't work for about the 5th time in a row. Keep a book or something handy for those loading screens!
