Even for a 9-year-old game it doesn't look bad. Movement, combat, and other gameplay elements are fluid and fun, and there's wide latitude for how you play. Yes, the game is designed for stealth, but if you want to do a full frontal DOOM-style rip-and-tear assault, there's plenty in Corvo's arsenal and skill set to allow that. While I found some parts of the plot predictable, the story is still interesting and the characters are compelling and relatable. The voice acting and music are excellent. And the world responds to how you play out the story. If you haven't played Dishonored, you should. It's a superb, classic work.
I started playing Rebel Galaxy with virtually no introduction. Some kind of space combat sim with some quirky characters and a thin plot, why not try it out. And since I've played a few of these, I thought it would be a 6DOF shooter akin to Everspace. Not quite. Or rather, not at all. As far as the atmosphere goes, it's not entirely unlike Everspace, albeit more rebel and less galaxy. But the gameplay is more along the lines of Sunless Sea, if you replace the humble steamer with a superluminal space-truck bristling with weaponry. At first I was really confused at the lack of up-and down-travel; all travel takes place roughly on the orbital plane of the system you're in. It's an interesting design choice, and something of an advantage when you're dealing with a corvette instead of a dogfighter. That's another fun difference. In a game like Everspace you're piloting a tiny one-man craft and generally avoiding warships and other large enemies bristling with powerful weapons. In Rebel Galaxy, you're at the helm of one of those over-armed movable gun platforms. Taking out individual enemy craft is less and less a thing as you move up the scale in ship size and power and quantity of weaponry; more important decisions are to be made in terms of position in combat, managing shields and armor, and so forth. There are looting and trading elements in the game, and the economy can be complex and frustrating (getting a good price on contraband is a hard task when you have to avoid being scanned by the local fuzz, for instance). The system maps are littered with unexplored locations, some with interesting things in them. Rebel Galaxy doesn't feel quite like a vast universe, but it's an engaging one with some uniqueness that set it apart from many other space shooters out there.
First "souls-like" game I've ever played, and I really didn't like it much at first. Hellpoint has the slow-burn, subtle psychology of a Denis Villeneuve film. From frustration with each new element to the moment when it "clicks", there's a lot to enjoy here. Choices in character builds, equipment modifications, and the like are relevant, but the whole thing feels both streamlined and arcane. Sword-fighting humongous spectral creatures on a vast space station orbiting a black hole tens of thousands of years into the future? The bizarre and the conventional sit side-by-side in this blend of dark magical sci-fi futurism.
I'd probably have plenty of good things to say if I could ever get this game to run. And if I ever do get it to run, I'll revise this entire review. But as of right now, here's your warning. I don't know what other reviewers are doing, but I've tried this game on two independent systems, one made this year and one a few years older, and it just doesn't go. And so far the numerous suggested workarounds don't work. Buyer beware. I bought this game because I had read great things about it, but I have yet to see it for myself.
If you don't own a copy of this game, buy it. The original version was about as difficult to play as Ultima Underworld, thanks to the atrocious controls. The addition of mouse look and key remapping really fixed the game without altering the intended experience. Yes, it's quite dated compared to modern games, but it still has both cerebral and visceral impact. And SHODAN remains one of the most terrifying antagonists of all time.
I can't speak to the length of the game, since I've only played for half an hour. So far it's more like a pomegranate than an apple: whitish lining folds between the little red things, and there's plenty of time to get the job done. At first I was afraid the game wouldn't start, because the initial load time was so long. The computer just sat there with a black screen (not frozen, since I could switch to other programs). Finally the game's bizarre opening sequence appeared. Simple options, just settings and start. So I did. Ok, pretty standard fare, a few new weapons, bigger areas, not bad. And hey, I just hit a guy with a fish! That's just silly, bringing a fish to a gunfight. Then something unexpected. No, I won't tell you, because that would spoil it. Think "The Stanley Parable" but more abstract and with no narrator. Oh, what's this? This is new. I wonder if-- nope, don't do that. Well, wait--Aha, that WAS right. Yes, this is definitely not what I was expecting. Pomegranate. I can't even venture a decent guess as to whether there's a sort of game-as-art interpretation to MCD. It's way too new, and I think you have to play it through before abstracting a meaning. The whole thing is even more self-conscious than its predecessors. Some reviewers called DOOM (2016) a "combat puzzle" game. If that's a valid claim, then MCD is more like combat origami.
I bought this game on a 50% sale. Apparently some lucky ducks got it in an even better prior deal, but no matter; it would have been worth full price in my opinion. Lo Wang is more entertaining than ever, the game is overflowing with cinematic tropes and clichés, the world is colorful and lively, and many of the interactions have a feel of realism. It's a work of tremendously entertaining art: even if you're using it to blow off steam after (or during) a frustrating day, you may find yourself laughing out loud while playing. Pretending to be a ninja has never been this much fun. A note to fellow Linux users: you may find the frame rate bogged down to near unplayable levels and the visuals rife with defects. For instance, I noticed that water simply didn't render, leaving holes in the ground where I could see the sky below. Very surreal. The fix for both of these was to use Lutris (Google it). I also had to enable DXVK. My experience with the game went from nearly unplayable garbage to something on par with the in-game trailer shots with those two changes alone.
