*REMINDER: This game is not finished and any review of any early access game should be taken with a shaker of salt and considered "first impressions" only yadda yadda yadda.* This game is on point in so many ways. It's gorgeous, for one. Checking out the scenery really is half the game (the point is to relax, right?), and on that this game delivers in spades. The music is also quite beautiful; it sounds like the album-length soundmists of Steve Roach and really fits the mood and purpose of the game. Mechanically the game is spot on; everything is kept nice and simple to facilitate the whole relaxation thing. If you find yourself using the phrase "dumbed down" in this regard, this may not be the game for you. Stellaris or X it ain't, to be certain. But does it need to be? I don't feel like every space game should require you to be able to dock manually (for example); heck, this game doesn't even have a docking *animation* (yet). And that's fine. It's its own thing, and it succeeds on its own terms. There are times, however, when trolling this lovely galaxy that I wish something... ANYTHING... would happen. Yes, this game is light on content yet; it needs stories, and it needs events. They don't have to be *stressful* stories and events, but they should be there. In lieu of other players making trouble for you in this arguably EVE-like universe, written content is sorely missed. There are also times I wish I knew what was being offered at each station without having to physically go there each time or write it all down myself (that would be my major quality-of-life gripe). But that's an early access "thing", right? "Basically solid, needs fleshing out and tweaking"? Isn't that ALL of the best of early access in 7 words? I will say that, for its stated purpose (relaxation), the game is exceptional. Now we need a bit of stimulus here and there to accentuate the calm...
Hamburgers are delicious: chewy, juicy, satisfying. Nothing else like it, and for that very reason, also quite ubiquitous here. You go to almost any restaurant in my country and chances are they sell hamburgers just to please the children. However and obviously, there are also restaurants that specialize in them, and they are truly to be treasured; when you go to one, ANY one, you have a pretty good idea of what you're going to get, no matter the name on the sign out front. BUT... just because that place sells a thing that you've liked other places is no guarantee that you're going to like the one served in THIS restaurant, no matter how much they try to make it just like the other place's thing that they know you like; sometimes you just enjoy that other restaurant's hamburgers more and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Grim Dawn is Titan Quest (which in itself Diablo II) with a "grimdark" paint job (hence the clever, clever name and all the zombies and amorality). Kill, Loot, Optimize, Sell, Repeat. It's an addictive gameplay loop for a reason. I'm not going to say that this game makes any leaps and bounds in the genre because it absolutely doesn't; what it does is what anything in the genre does, no more, no less, and *that's fine*. If you're going out for a hamburger, then you'd be upset if you got something else, so the fact that this game does what it does and as *well* as it does is reason enough to recommend it to people. I really like the setting and the music, so I'll choose this restaurant over, say, Torchlight Fish'n'Grits (although FATE Diner and Coffee Shop is always tempting for me). None of the above means a whit, however, if you're just plain ol' sick of burgers, so if Titan Quest put you to sleep, skip this. As for myself, I still love burgers. *grins*
I really wanted to give this game a chance. It certainly has a reputation for greatness, and I feel about 80-100 hours or so was enough time to decide it isn't for me: 1. The voiceover quirks (you knew that would be first) had their odd charm at first, but after a while they just started to break immersion. 2. The game gets repetitive as all heck. The dungeons end up mostly all the same, and everything respawns. This actually discourages exploration for me; what's the point of going inside if the only thing I'll find there is the same thing I found in the last one: things to kill and chests my character can't open? Seriously, once I closed my first Oblivion Gate, I felt like I'd seen enough. 3. The writing is dull, and the quests are uninspired. "Here, go here, kill these guys, and bring me back a guy or a thing." And that's the MAIN quest. No wonder I felt the need to simply ignore it, puttered about like the game is designed for, and then got bored about 10% of the way through. 4. All of Bethesda's games (the ones they developed) are broken, but this one is especially so. Bugs, bugs, bugs out the butt. Have at least 10 save files per game and save every five minutes, I say (even with stability mods). 5. Building a character = exploits, exploits, exploits. Nothing like walking into a wall with an enemy around for an hour just to build up your Sneak skill. How about jumping everywhere and constantly depleting your stamina to build up your Acrobatics skill? Repetitive busywork!? Sign me up! This review hurts. As I said, I wanted to like it. It's a beautiful game, to be sure, and the world you inhabit is large and... *somewhat* varied. But the decision to uninstall and forget was an easy one to make. After a while I just wasn't enjoying myself. There are many other games, and we're only here for a short time.
No lie, it's a bit of a slog at first as you're introduced to the characters and setting with vague hinting at the madness to come. But after chapter 4 or 5 is when things just go... well, I'll also say that the less you know about this going in, the better. It's becomes a real cracker after the first 4 or 5 chapters, is all I'll say. It's vile, it's maddening, it's heartbreaking. It's art.
...might make up for the atrocious combat if you're of the set.
The game is perfectly functional, looks good, is very funny at times, has charm out the yinny... why don't I like it more? I've given it a good few hours, and I gotta say the gameplay gets repetive as all heck. Complexity and difficulty does not progress at all beyond the first level hub. Neither does level design. It seems like the developers found some good ideas (VERY good ideas, mind), stuck them all in the first couple of hours of the game, and then rested on their laurels for three or four more level hubs. The result is that the game is FAR too easy and predictable. I mean NO challenge, NO surprises. It's a little baby game for babies. I'd say the only reason to play past the first level hub is to see all the bosses and hear all the jokes because everything after that is exactly the same with different color schemes. EXACTLY the same. Little to no variation in gameplay or level design at all. If you play games to breeze through and feel like a badass, have at. If you're looking for any kind of challenge, skip it; you. Will. Get. Bored. Fast.
In the vein of BOI and EtG, Monolith is a twinstick bullethell roguelike with 16-bit graphics, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi aesthetic, and a terrific chiptune OST. The gameplay is what you would expect: enter an ever-changing dungeon, defeat baddies, find random upgrades, die, find or buy something new in the lobby, try again, die, get advice and... furniture?... from a smartalec cat, and did I mention "die"? What really sold me on this one was the atmosphere. I'm an old 16-bit gamer, so the graphics and soundtrack hit me right in the sweet spot. I also love the feeling of exploring the ruins of an old building in a city long past destroyed. But don't think for a second that the game is gloomy; a sense of humor pervades the experience, especially concerning the aforementioned cat. The controls are smooth and precise as can be, the gameplay loop is difficult but not punishing, and there is a real sense of progression: every few plays there is a new upgrade purchase in the lobby. What I really like is that while you spend money (or in this case "debris") to buy ammo, life, and other things in the maze, this does not detract from your score (total debris collected)... and your score is what allows you to buy things in the lobby. (What can I say? I enjoy that feature.) Not to mention the price is truly right; $8 American is not a lot to ask for this. This game is a lot of shooty-collecty-upgradey-explodey fun, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Great! Exactly one week after I cave and buy the game from Steam GOG finally decides to sell it. I HATE buying things twice!!
