Just starting to get the hang of the early game, and it's already a favorite in the genre. Very very well polished, launches and closes in seconds, no hitches, no bugs. The mechanics are as expected from the genre, but very well executed. Especially noteworthy is the handling of various ships / locations: the crew will take shuttles, load them with marchandises, use miner / builder ships, etc. I love stripping derelict ships for resources! Graphics are striking and full of charm. And the music is VERY blade runnery, puts you right in the mood. 10/10!
Having fallen in love with Cultist Simulator, I was afraid that Book of Hours would not live up to expectations, but it does. It takes the mechanics of CS and brings them to a new / different level. I am only a few hours into it, but it's already left its mark. This may be the most lovecraftian game ever made! Uncovering dreadful mysteries in forbidden books while fighting for your sanity is a much more unique and faithful experience to Lovecraft than fighting tentacle monsters, and it really works as a game. Must play!
Couldn't finish the game due to a soft lock issue in the last level Otherwise still holds up remarkably well A few crashes here and there and other small bugs though. Still worth playing.
Don't expect the puzzles to make you think too hard, and I'm not a fan of the "fake pixelart" approach (where sprites can rotate, there is non-pixelart bloom and UI and scaling problems), but the stories are witty and quite funny at times, sometimes enough to even be quite memorable. The game is quite short, but that's not such a bad thing nowadays. Combined with a nice soundtrack, it's an enjoyable experience! In my opinion, the game breaks the fourth wall a little too often, which prevents being really immersed in the story and wears off the surprise effect, but I guess that's a choice. PS: not sure what "got political" in the game as mentionned in another review. All good :)
My god, finally!!! I was almost considering re-buying the game on steam. I don't mind the wait, but they never gave an ETA for the GOG release, come on Klei we deserve better! Didn't even launch it but I know it's worth the 5*
Legend of Grimrock has a great atmosphere and the concept of "real time", 3D, square-based dungeon crawling is interesting enough. The story, told through very short snippets of text, is intriguing enough. It's worth playing, and it could have been great, but for me was just average. Tthe game suffers from horrendous UX problems. The combat system is very unsatisfying, as the recommended tactic (recommended by forums of course, the game doesn't explain this at all), is to take advantage of the fact that the ennemies' hitboxes update before their animation is finished, ie, you can attack them while they are switching position. This feels like cheating. It's not rewarding and combats soon become a real grind, taking forever without any real challenge if you're lucky, and if you're unlucky, better reload your previous quicksave (another recommended "tactic"...). It's not old school, it's bad design. Like corridor shooters were "old schools", and it sucked and some games improved it. RPGs had bad UI and UX, and it sucked. Embracing it is not old school, it's a waste. Puzzles vary from adequate to just unfair. It's the type of game where you have to use a walkthrough from time to time, and seeing the solution, can be sure you would never have figured it out. The UI/UX is really the main problem. This game could and should have been playable with a gamepad, whatever purists say. There could have been one inventory instead of four. Everything could have been less clunky. Just halve the ennemies health. Game wouldn't even get easier, but already it would've been less of a grind. I get it, you want me to dodge. Don't make me do it 50 times for each ennemy. I'm glad I played it and it's worth playing. But I couldn't finish it despite my best efforts, and after reading a walkthrough of the last 2 levels I skipped, I'm glad I did. Do yourself a favor and play on easy, and don't try too hard on the puzzles, they're not worth it.
Played through a few levels For a run and gun, animations and feedback leave alot to be desired. Nothing wrong with doing a game by yourself, but man, it really shows that no animator was involved from the jump animation alone. Controls feel soft and mushy. Overall game feels a little unpolished. Writing is a little cringy. Level design is ok. Final impression is that this could have been a good game but lacks some juice and polish. Add some weight to those animations, some screenshake and decent VFX and SFX and I'm in.
pros: The neon-punk aesthetic Cathartic violence Intriguing if somewhat obscure plot cons: Animations: nothing to see here Ennemy AI is shameful. Shotgun someone's head 1m away from an ennemy, he won't budge, but open a door and a random ennemy from god knows where comes rushing while everyone else stands still. Dance in front of someone for 2s with no reaction, or get one-shot by an offscreen ennemy who had eyes behind his head. Controls: never really got used to how rigid the controls are, in conjunction with the very poor animation work. The target locking is beyond frustrating. It just does not work in a coherent manner. Somehow the pros make the game worthwhile, but not at full price. The game feels very unpolished, which gives it its charm but also make for a frustrating experience.
I'm not far in the game yet. But very rarely if ever have I seen a game with so much poetry and charm. I can't wait to explore this caves and perhaps find hidden secrets... or maybe I can!
