I had much the same thoughts as Reglisse at first! The controls, indeed. seem clunky at first. M and KB especially. I switched to controller and it still felt awkward. However, after a while you get used to the maneuvering, handling, and how to use the auto lock and combat actually starts to feel good. I made a post at Steam about the auto saves being a problem just as is mentioned in the aforementioned review. The game would not save midway between missions. I think this is still the case. However, the developer responded and increased the frequency of the saves to auto save at every store interaction and every time you land or take off from a settlement. Once you get used to the combat it becomes less of an issue with the current save system. Hopefully it is something the developer addresses more over time. What we have here is mechanics that take some getting used to before it becomes enjoyable. The tutorial mission/ prologue needs to be rethought out I feel. It does not do a very good job of teaching you the combat. That comes later. In short, the game is good, has a very nicely designed world with an interesting story, but the player just needs to be patient with the mechanics learning curve. At which point it all comes together nicely.
My first impression of Amnesia: Rebirth was, honestly, tedium. The beginning tutorial bit was pretty straight forward and linear. It's purpose was to introduce you to the 3 main things. The story and characters, the setting, and the mechanics. This it did. But beyond that it was not that interesting and if I were to base the entire game on that first hour I would probably be hard pressed to continue. However, once you get to the first main area the level design becomes interesting. The areas are smaller in scope but feel as if they are not. Here is what to expect. Nice tightly designed areas with moments of cinematographic scenes and exposition. Those that have played prior Frictional games will recognize this and be familiar with it. Rebirth is a essentially a linear game with small in between areas of semi non linearity. Meaning there are small micro mazes where you can explore a bit with some minor back tracking and looping design making everything feel connected. AR makes some areas feel connected when they are actually fairly linear levels. Think of seeing an area but you cant go there however after looping around some various branching paths you get to a scripted moment where you find your self coming through a door into a room you saw through a crack in the wall. All the time wondering if you could get there some how. And this is where the magic lies. Creating a convincing world that feels large but is actually not. The story gets more interesting as you go along. The mechanics are very solid with gauges for your light sources and health being diegetic. Though you dont exactly die in this game in the traditional sense. Soma was a masterpiece of atmosphere and story telling but AR has taken some definite leaps with the level design and is a good game. In comparison to the first game A: dark descent, Rebirth has expanded on the formula nicely. Personally I am enjoying AR more. Enemies are the standard Frictional TM of evade or run.
Aquanox is a decent budget title. I have not had any performance issues to speak of other than the odd micro stutter here and there. The game supports my monitors recommended resolution of 3840 x 2160. The story is serviceable and the only real let down so far is some of the story dialogue while docked at the stations. The conversation writing is not the best. I cant help but feel it would have been better to slim this down. I am also not crazy about the main protagonist who is voicing most of the dialogue. He is an uninteresting character and so far as little personality beyond being the trigger finger. As to why they choose him remains a bit of a mystery when there are 3 other protagonists with you who seem far more fleshed out and interesting. I cant comment on where or how this game ties in with the previous 2 Aqua games. I remember so little of them. I thought this game was a soft reboot but it may be a prequel but probably a bit of both. As far as the games ending being locked behind some kind of paywall this is false. The video in question is a lore video extra explaining how the overall events in Aqua Descent tie in with the events in Aquanox 1 and 2 and maybe Archimedian Dynasty. Basically retconning all 4 games! However, because of the feed back due to the poor choice of words in the naming of the video and the misunderstanding that came of it, the developers are making the lore extra free for all purchasers. The reviews based on this are not very helpful. This could have been clarified with out leaving reviews that are solely about this rather than the game it self. The combat is good but not ground breaking. The game is, so far, mostly linear with some side missions and loot/ salvage collecting. The game does have complex maze like levels so dont go into it expecting that. However, undersea environment is very nicely done. Overall, the asking price is not too much considering what you get out of the game.
I played PAMELA during early access and loved it. So much that I put over 50 hours into the game. I saw it go through many small mechanical design changes. It is rare that I would continue playing an unfinished game for this many hours. Despite the performance issues at the time and saves getting broken between pre-alpha builds it was a trip. The atmosphere is very much like System Shock 2. Don't kid your self though the game does it's own thing and stands on it's own merits. Evidently, though I did not read this myself, the developers did not take inspiration from System Shock or Bio shock when making this game. It was their own design and vision. System Shock players will probably love it though. The execution of the setting is entirely unique and the level design is very immersive. It has complex survival mechanics such as optional base building. Though not in such a way that it takes away from the primary game play. It is entirely optional. Survival is the name of the game though. Pamela allows for a certain degree of environmental puzzle solving and story telling to carry you through the game. The combat feels like a hybrid between The Surge and System Shock. It consists of dodge mechanics as opposed to jumping. However, there is no lock on. The architecture and level design has a lot of verticality. Just dont get the idea that you can mantle over obstacles and parkour everywhere. It is not that kind of game. The reactivity in the world is huge. It has day night cycles, power drain, and relocation of power to different zones. Making them safer at night but at the cost of power resources. Bases you set up can be attacked when you are absent. This adds to a lot of tension to an already tense game. Exploration is fun and never gets tiresome. In short, PAMELA is an immersive game in the line of System Shock. For those that love LGS/ Arkane Studio games look no further. What we have in PAMELA is unique take on the "Immersive sim" game.
