I've asked GOG for a refund since I could not agree to the legal agreement that the game tries to force onto you before it even lets you get to the menu. I can't agree to it. The developer wants you to waive all your rights and have a say in how you do or don't mod or use the game. For a DRM free release this is completely unacceptable, and you cannot use the game unless you agree.
This is how I like to remember Lara. The best game in the series as far as this reviewer is concerned, sporting a fantastic(!!!) soundtrack, interesting locations, an okay main plot (hey, it is a Tomb Raider game remember xD) and other than the textures which betray its age, it is absolutely still a joy to play through. Ontop of that the German voices are also nicely done, if you fancy trying out something else than English. For any fan who doesn't enjoy what the new reboot made out of Lara, TR Legend is definitely a good contrast. Granted, there are a few quickly-push-some-button-or-lara-dies cutscenes, but the autosave points are plenty and usually fairly spaced out. Super excited to see this on GOG now, I've been waiting for a long time!
I suppose given the nasty nature of that bunch of meat and tendrils, 'fresh' is the wrong word! BUT the game overall feels fresh. New idea, something I haven't seen any other game do in just this way. And it works! The atmosphere is just deliciously creepy and nasty and the implications of this creature are really damn freaky if you think about it. Smart, adaptive, deadly, hoo boy! The soundtrack is really nice too, if you're into creepy ambience kinda pieces xD It is available on Bandcamp! It is a bit hard to keep an overview sometimes, because some back-tracking is required. But it is not too bad, there are ample save points along the way if things go wrong. If the developer reads this, I'd love to have a game mode with procedurally generated maps for endless skittery murder sprees~ P:
No idea why I didn't try this sooner! The game is quite good and has aged very gracefully, too! Force anisotropic filtering via your video driver settings and grab the "Killer App" Mod from the web so you can get the game to run in nice 1080p and it is all good to go. Took a bit to get used to the gameplay, and some areas of the game definitely qualify as too difficult... BUT that is why cheats exist. ;) I like the story, it is engaging and for such an old game, it has a surprising amount of cutscenes and varied locations. There were a few bugs, I had a corrupted savegame once, and on several occasions the game hiccuped while loading the next level and had to be killed, but overall, considering it wasn't made for Win10, it runs quite well.
Prior to patch v. 1.2, the unfair dodge mechanics annoyed me so much that I stopped playing the game. After this patch, I am much more comfortable with the optional 'Classic' combat setting which was added. I had written a review, but asked GOG to delete it so I could write a new one. || The game is getting a 4.4/5 rating from me. The first few hours are slow, the fights are sluggish and the environment feels constricted because Fury needs some of her hollow-forms to gain additional movement options which not only make fights more fun, but also permit a better exploration of the places. So do not be put down by this like I was, initially. Kill the first bosses to get those much-needed extra abilities. Only then bother with free exploration. While the game lacks the dense layer of style that Darksiders 2 has, the environments still can look quite pretty. Lighting is done well. The bosses are enjoyable with very distinct personalities and each encounter provides a continuation of the story. Facial animations are very well done, and Fury is an enjoyable character who grows as a person (and horse[wo]man) during the game - from bitchy and arrogant to quite noble and honorable. I'm not giving this game full 5 stars because these things would be required for that: New Game + mode, Better savegame management system (no way to undo decisions that may impact the story!..) and I would have enjoyed it if Vulgrim's Serpent Holes would have had the same little travel dimension that one saw in Darksiders 1. But that's about it. Maybe some of this could be added with further patches down the road. With patch v1.2 in place it is a good game, and everybody who was put off from playing it may want to pick it up again and give it another try. I'm curious what Strife is gonna be up to in the next game.
Conarium is a game for players who like to take their time and explore a location down to the smallest details. If you have read some of HP Lovecraft's books, you will enjoy the references to some of his stories, but this is not strictly required to play and enjoy the atmosphere of this game. The game does have a few scary moments, one which gives you a real sense of panic, because normally you are used to be pretty much not in danger of getting killed. Afterwards, the player is a bit more paranoid, which adds to the atmosphere. There are some weaknesses, though. The beginning, and also the end part of the game can be a bit confusing, and I've found myself aimlessly wandering around because I didn't spot the one item I was meant to pick up, or thing I needed to do in order to progress. It felt obvious after I had looked it up, but wasn't clear in game. Also the voiceacting of the player character can at times feel a bit forced, slow, boring, and you just want him to get the hell on with it already. The game is short. But there is replay-value! There are a lot of hidden items/artifacts in the places that you can try to find, which for me was a good motivation for a second and third playthrough. I still didn't manage to find them all! Overall for the type of niche and genre that this game fits in, it is a very nice one.
"Hmmm." - I think that sums up my thoughts after finishing it! In a nutshell: + Awesome use of post process effects that really put the UE4 to good use. Some glitchy distortions are original and haven't been seen in other games in quite this way yet! + Overall cohesive art design. + Cute in-game minigames. + Some really chaotic and bizarre scenes. +/- Core narrative is pretty flat; missed opportunity to explore philosophical topics/ethical challenges. +/- Player character is not really easy to relate to, don't care what happens to him. +/- Only one building to explore, no cityscape or major change of scenery, Trailer made it seem like a bigger world. - God damn annoying+frustrating sneaking passages that made me stop paying the game on two successive days in anger. - Only one meager autosave slot, no proper savegames / chapter menu! - Sluggish controls and interaction with game objects. Character feels weak and clumsy because of it. - Gives the player some choices, but they don't seem to really matter much. - Not really any reason to play through it twice - something like developer commentaries as unlockable extra would have been nice, or maybe some concept art bits.
If you enjoy scifi, aliens, exploration, ruins, survival, 'finding out what happened', puzzles and just in general look forward to settings that aren't just all about our humble planet Earth, this game may very well be a gem you cannot afford to miss! If you're looking for action-lasty gameplay or simply cannot bring yourself to feel any interest in aliens/scifi in general, this game may not be for you at all. This game lives and breathes through its mystery and discoveries, so stay away from spoilers and lets-plays if you plan to play it by yourself! What you're presented with here is a very immersive, beautiful (and at times dangerous) alien world to explore that feeds you just enough snippets of information scattered in many ruins to get your mind going, pondering about the history and inhabitants of this strange planet. The visuals of the Solus Project are very nice! Not many games bother to have an interesting day/night + weather system, yet it adds a lot of life! The overall art-/design style feels consistent and quite fitting. The game contains puzzles, which don't feel overly difficult, and seem to be more designed to be a tool that structures what otherwise might turn out to be potentially chaotic and unplanned exploration - by having you focus your attention on few areas at a time, they aid the game's progression well. Backtracking exists, but it is moderate if you make it a habit to be thorough and explore the sh*t out of everything you can look at. Since this point is often never mentioned in game reviews, the sound design of the Solus Project is very good. All the bits of music and sounds feel well integrated + executed and add to - rather than distract from - the overall atmosphere! I'm eagerly waiting for the next game in the series! Should the devs read this: For the next game, you can make the puzzles a ton more complex!
Darksiders 2 is this reviewer's favorite game of all time. The focus here shall be on the art aspect! But before that: If the art style of the game does not appeal to you, and you're left just looking at the game's mechanics, you are missing out on the arguably greatest part. It is still a good game by itself; the fights are powerful and dynamic, and you will soon hope to be confronted with bigger and bigger masses of enemies at once - fights just flow that well. Motivating loot, too! The combo sequences can be a bit hard to memorize and time right at first, though. There's also a NewGame+ mode for higher levels! To the art: The art direction and environment design is flawless - within the game's style. Characters with strong design+silhouettes and impressive armor, beautiful places that make you want to look at them from every corner (which you can, since fights and calm exploration passages interchange frequently, making for a very relaxed pace if you want to take your time). Environments in decay that don't just serve their purpose, but instead convey to you a feeling of long passage of time, timelessness, history. Darksiders 2 explores color harmonies and contrasting color temperatures like few other games manage - and pulls it off beautifully. Awesome sculpted details. There is much to be appreciated and studied if one is doing anything with art at all - be it as a hobby or career. The environments are huge - physically. Hallways and areas that make you feel like a tiny, insignificant being. The sound design is very well done, and audio cues help you to locate secrets / gooddies if you pay attention to them. Lip-sync is quite sturdy and with a punchy feel to it, so dialogues are enjoyable to listen to, too. Great voice-actors! (Play it in English!!) The soundtrack of the game is rich & deep, capturing the vastly different moods of every world or place very well. At times calm, at other times intense, but always balanced. A feast for the eyes and ears!
I'm rather happy that the gog release makes it possible to play this gem on Win7 x64. I do own the hardcopy version of the game, but manually trying to patch it and get it to run usually results in a crashy unstable mess that had glitchy graphics or broken sound (for me anyway). Especially so under 64-bit operating systems. This GOG version does hang when first launching (just the video hangs, the game itself is still responsive), but alt-tabbing out and back into the game makes the intro videos play normally, after which everything runs fine! I've read that some peeps seem to have issues, but guys just keep in mind that you're looking at a game made in 1999. If you crash every 30 mins, make sure to save in 25 min intervals and just pick up where you left off. :] Unlike many modern games, you can save whenever you feel like it and don't have to make it to fixed checkpoints or anything.
