In short, after both Ori and both Hollow Knight games this is my favorite metroidvania. It's very unique in its setting and I adore the atmosphere. Every metroidvania fan should give it a try.
I think all has been said regarding Crysis. Crysis 1 is a stone cold classic at this point, and it's even better in the remastered version. Although, it needs to be said that Remastered is brighter than OG Crysis and thus deviates a bit (not much imo) from the original art design. However, if played by itself it's not noticable after 5 minutes and overall the Remaster version looks much much better. The pacing of C1 is even better than I remembered and there is only one (1!) ice level. I could swear there were more. Crysis 2 is a fun game, but definitely the weakest in the trilogy. Gone are the open levels of Crysis 1 and a lot of the player freedom that came with it. But they took the story in an interesting direction, making the conflict more global and deepening the connection to the nanosuit. In comparison to Crysis 3, Crysis 2 profits by far the most of the remaster. Crysis 3 is sort of a return to form, however not as fantastic as the 1st entry. It blends both aspects of Crysis 1 and 2, most prominent in the level design. Having New York as a settings again, but mixing the rather bland city (Crysis 2) with overgrowing vegetation and a feeling of city wilderness is a nice touch. The levels are bigger than in Crysis 2, allowing for more player freedom, but never at a scale of Crysis 1. The bow is also a perfect addition for the trilogy and the nano suits capabilities. The story doubles down on the direction Crysis 2 took, which again, I think is interesting; exploring the concept what makes a human human, and also hinting at a bigger universe in which earth is just a part of, rather then the centre. I liked the ending a lot story wise and think it's a good conclusion. At the same time, it leaves room for a new Crysis game, possibly set much later then the whole trilogy; but that will probably never see the light of the day. Warhead is unfortunately missing. This is because all the remastered games are based on CryEngine 3 versions of the games. Crysis 2 and 3 natively, and the remaster of Crysis 1 is based on the rather bad 7th gen console port of the first game, which brought issues of its own. But luckily it has been fixed by now. Warhead was never ported and is stuck on CryEngine 2. Therefore no remaster. I would recommend the whole trilogy to every FPS fan. I liked them all, but I probably won't replay C2 anytime soon. Also the trilogy starts off strongest, which should be kept in mind, but also ends strong with C3 and especially C3's ending, which in my opinion concludes the series well.
Is this an out of season april fool's joke?
But unlike others claiming there is no missing content in offline mode, that is not true. I'm not talking about Elusive targets etc., but basically the whole progression is locked behind an online mode. If you are offline you don't get any mission achievements and you won't get new starting places or even new gear. It's basically like Skyrim would be on GOG, but in offline mode you can't save the game. Yes, basically you can access the whole game, but progression is completely locked to the online connection. I also don't consider this review bombing, if a store that is basically known for "I can download any game and play it anywhere, offline/online, DRM-free, features a game, that is missing half of its incentive to even play it in offline mode.
My favorite game of all time. If you like System Shock 2, Prey is even better.
On the one hand, it's the prime example of a well done Metroidvania. It improves on the clunky controls of Symphony of the Night and especially Super Metroid, resulting in very fluid movement & combat and one of the most responsive games I have ever played. But it also surpasses the rather uninspired level design of Super Metroid and the monotonous castle in SotN, introducing very diverse and memorable areas, while still providing massive amounts of player choice on where to progress and sequence break. Providing this increased level of quality and polish doesn't stop the game from having a gigantic map (for a Metroidvania at least) and a few dozen boss encounters, which, together, lead to a multiple of the game length of Super Metroid and SotN - combined. The game itself is much more challenging, but at the same time it feels fairer if you die due to the precise controls. On the other hand, by incorporating and enhancing many elements from Dark Souls, Hollow Knight also became the pinnacle of the Soulslike genre. Most importantly, getting rid of input queuing as well as input delay, heavily present in Dark Souls (1), elevates Hollow Knight to a less clunky but much more responsive and fluid experience. All combat and movement animations are kept short and responsive and basically begin immediately after the player input. Additionally, you can't be stunned or immobilized at all during combat, meaning control is never taken away from the player. Hitboxes, being inaccurate at times in Dark Souls, are very precise and due to its 2D nature and thoughtful color scheme, a clear visibility is always given, resulting in the most polished Soulslike so far. Backtracking is less frustrating due to easier to evade trash mobs and smartly placed bonfires (benches), but without ever drowning the player in them like in Dark Souls 3. Overall, Hollow Knight is pretty much the best you can get in two genres, something that I haven't seen happening to any other game so far.
The Dishonored series is finally DRM-free. There's almost nothing to add to all the other reviews. Dishonored has a status as an absolute legend amongst many PC players. Dishonored 2 especially has not only by far the best level design I've ever seen in any game, it also has the most creative, most responsive and overall best gameplay in any (3D) game series (ofc a masterpiece like Hollow Knight is even a touch more responsive but it's a 2D metroidvania where it's way easier to have short, responsive animations). The story is pretty weak, but everything else about this game screams masterpiece. You should have a pretty powerful PC for a consistent framerate though. Now, we only need Prey on GOG and the Arkane legacy here is completed.
First off, This game is almost lifelike. I wish this is what my life's like. Henry isn't always in the limelight. Initially, he can't even write right and he isn't very Knight-like. But that exactly makes it all so lifelike. You learn how to live your life right. You can buy a book and learn to read and write right. You can buy a sword and learn to fight right. You can get a lass and learn to work your wife right. Like you might slide right into your bride at night light. Just enjoy the night life, go into a tavern and imbibe pride. Just be careful so you ride right, else you take a flight right down a hill and die quiet. Sadly, you can't fly, like for example, if you hike high drop 2 metres from a slight height then you almost die right. Your actions aren't always Christ-like. But stealing makes your purse less light, right? Just make sure to strike right in the cover of the night light. If you steal unjustified, right the guard will be uptight, like indict you at first sight, right. The leasure games are a delight, like shooting arrows into logs until they reach a dike, right. You always must survive, like Henry has no lack of appetite, right, and he always wants to close his eyes, right, he rarely is a satisfied guy. This game is not what everybody and their wifes like. But it may be what you might like. For a total size of 60 Gigabyte, right, I can say this game is quite good and I like the immersive elements, as well as the believable game world and well written characters. Follow Henry. There are some bugs. 10 outta 10 MASTERPIECE
