First off, driving around in this game makes me feel like the RX-7 in the Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction (Kaido Racer) intro cinematic. There will be a moment when your engine is echoing through the mountain pass and the sun will hit your car just right, creating the perfect lens flare as you spy a plane through the lush canopy, streaking across the gorgeous skybox. In that moment, you will know what I mean. Couple that with the fact that this game has the most gorgeous version of Mount Akina that I have ever had the pleasure of driving... It's a shame that there is no online multiplayer in the pipeline, as the weakest part is the AI. I recommend just disabling the AI traffic, as the roads are to congested and the density slider is currently non functioning. At times, the visuals are near life-like, with a street view level of realism, especially in the 360 chase cam view, making for some of the most immersive touge runs, especially if you toggle off the HUD (by pressing the phone key and then pressing the map key). That being said, you could argue that the game is still in an early access state, albeit with a clear, 9 month post launch roadmap, with the promise of improvements, cars, and features. The tuning options are good enough for a simcade, comparable to Tokyo Xtreme Racer. The physics are leagues above something like CarX Street or Forza Horizons. While there is a time attack and drift racing mode with online leaderboards for the circuits, there are none for street roads or mountain passes, outside of random single player events that appear around the map. IMO, while he story and career mode are unremarkable, this game is worth the purchase for JDM enjoyers looking to cruse around a gorgeous map, or battle their friends in split screen, whenever that launches. Keep in mind, the game does have optimization issues. And Nvidia App features will tank your FPS. Also, GOG won't allow me update this review as my concerns are addressed by the in the future
Mod makers are the only saving grace, yet it's not enough... The A-Life system is the heart of the STALKER games It's the persistent simulation of life in The Zone and what makes STALKER feel immersive GSC sold STALKER 2 on the promise of A-Life 2.0 What they shipped is an insult to even the original vanilla games... A-Life is non-existent They either had zero playtesting or shipped us a beta as a complete game The games atmosphere will initially have you on edge, clearing every corner, pausing at every noise, until you realize the world is barren, with the exception of the occasional gaggle of generic enemies spawned on the player or key locations NPC's do not exist outside the 80m player radius There is no background simulation or conflicts bringing the zone alive There is zero incentive to fight sponge mutants as mutant loot isn't featured Bloodsucker spam will constantly tax you of your precious resources Get used to spamming heal/ reload/ running backwards while mag dumping (sound fun?) The game basically forces you to break immersion by exploting enemy pathing and running tight circles to dodge or despawn them by running away 95% of all enemy equipment is in the red condition, meaning you can't sell it Enemies only ever have a few rounds in their inventory but can mag dump on you infinitely Repairs cost a fortune Equipment ware is excessive Even the most tedious jobs pay a paltry sum Aimbot enemies will instantly spot you in the pitch black Aimbot enemies instantly spot you peeking from behind a rock 50m away Aimbot enemies will track you through walls and spam grenades on your exact position Sponge enemies will tank a headshot with zero reaction and proceed to aimbot you Sponge enemies will tank a comical amount of rounds to the body completely unphased Nonsensical weapon stats E.g., the 9x18 pistol having more penetration than the 5.45x39 rifle Shotguns are a joke byond 20m No picture-in-picture scopes like in the trailer No 3D audio
The gameplay is anime fighter levels of fun (makes up for the rough edges) Makes me wish the devloper would make a sequel that's an endless roguelike Trimmings: Photomode (basic but nice to have) Gallery (animation/ camera controls, unlock as you clear stages) Dressing room (unlockable outfits/ some cosmetic options) Decent enemy variety Only potential gripe so far: I feel overpowerd very early on in hard mode Maybe hell mode will strike a better balance
