I am imagining I am at the arcade while playing this, constantly wondering how great the graphics would look back in 1987. Scan-lines are there emulating the CRT visuals from Murphy's perspective just like from the movie (or I may be looking through nostalgia lenses and tricking my brain thinking it is there). And one other great reason to play is the original song written for the game "sung" by Soot and his band. I turned off the game and just listening to a bootleg version over and over and over. Worth every cent, captures essence and soul perfectly of the movies and perfects it.
I kind of stumbled on Control as I had not heard of it before (shame on me) and had pretty low expectation on enjoyment and engagement. I was totally wrong. Like all good games with certain depth, Control is a game best enjoyed slowly, taking in and savoring the moments. The story builds-up and the first few hours can feel a bit slow and less meaningful before the shooting meshes with the story. There is an interesting sci-fi story layered on top of a very good shooter with a few unique and innovative mechanics and the acting quality is superb. Level design absolutely stands out from other games and size of levels are both detailed while massive to get lost in and vary greatly such as the Rock Quarry and the labyrinth. Fighting is not impossibly difficult or frustrating except a few boss fights in side missions. But it makes one come back for more as the weapons can be tailored and upgraded regularly. The game developers know when to break away the tension with hilarious moments like cleaning up coffee mugs. There are "multimedia" files strewn around the facility which depict Federal Bureau of Control employees giving instructional, educational or singing on camera (Dr. Darling I'm looking at you). Overall, a very enjoyable, engaging, creative and original game elevated by good script, acting and singing (yeah, I'd buy it again just for the Sony Walkman and mix-tape moment). Definitely recommended, even at full price.
Disco Elysium is a very original game combining adventure and role-playing with one of the best writing I've come across since the Witcher series. Disco Elysium takes places in a dystopian future in a city called Revachol. All the characters starting with the amnesiac protagonist Harry (or was it Harrier?) really come alive. The background of the world and warring factions and ideals are slowly (and deliciously) layered on to create one of the best games. It is a complex, sophisticated world out there and the game design encourages to interact with everyone and every object, keep your mind open. Nothing is it seems in the war ravaged city of Revachol and our hero needs to make friends with the unlikeliest of characters to solve the case. Very highly recommended and worth the price if you are looking for something unique, has great writing, art, music, voice acting, questionable clothing styles that increases (and decreases) skills and lots of dice rolls that determine the outcome of every event.
We will keep it short as so many have already reviewed it and praised Witcher 3 with 5 stars. This is the kind of literary work (it would be injustice to call it a game) that comes once in a decade or more that defines a genre. It is the Game of Thrones' Game of Thrones, Quention Trantino's Trantino, Umberto Eco's Eco, it is simply that good and above anything else I've ever played. From the fabrics to music to number of references to other artistic works - Zed is dead, Defensive Regulatory Magicon and Gottfried’s Omni-opening Grimore ;) - Project Red deserves a standing ovation for producing the kind of multi-layered work that offers everything and more one could expect from an epic work of fiction. As an open world all quests have a sense of purpose as they do impact the main storyline in ways unexpected. If you still did not buy it from GOG, do yourself a favor and buy it now, every price is worth paying. But before, if you have an older machine invest in a new PC with cutting edge graphics card and an SSD to enjoy it the way it was meant to be enjoyed. I wish GOG could implement a system that user could give one game 6 stars to show their appreciation. And also thank you GOG team, I understand GOG supported the project during development.
