Soma is a story-telling masterpiece on almost all possible levels. The story itself is profound, leaving an everlasting impression if only one stops to ponder upon grave questions it poses. Then, the way the games conveys the story is almost perfect. The main part is told in a direct way and it is enough to appreciate it. But when you start filling in the details from audio buffers, logs, notes and black boxes, you get a much more complete picture of the existential horror you are facing. One of the worst things? (CAREFUL, MAY BE A SOMEWHAT OF A SPOILER!) The protagonist does not seem to grasp the meaning and implications of his endeavors, so you start to subconsciously anticipate the end may be a very tragic one. The only other game that managed to leave a similar impact on me was Planescape: Torment. The jump scares are scarce. The tension caused by the monster encounters is somewhat dependent on your level of immersion and understanding on what is actually happening. Many think this is the weakest and most tedious part of the game, but I personally did enjoy and appreciate it. If you either are too stressed out by hide and seek sections of the game (or find them boring and unnecessary), you can always start the game in safe mode. This will still allow you to meet the monsters but ignore completely the stealth part. Finally, the art direction, visuals, audio, voice acting, writing - they are all top-notch and coherent. I can't recall thinking at any point "this is out of place, it breaks immersion, I would prefer it to be done differently". This game is carefully crafted, cohesive masterpiece.
I have been a Gwent player roughly since the start of open beta and I have seen the game change for the better and for worse. I got Thronebreaker as soon as it came out, because it seemed like the new Gwent with some extras, hoping for some relaxing single-player games and puzzles. Little did I know Thronebreaker is only partially about Gwent. Narration and story-telling blew me out - it is flat out superb. Finely written story is accompanied by beautiful 2D animated scenes and, most notably, fully voiced. Yes, all of the characters, even the narrator. Every mundane banter, every cutscene. And it is not just any voice-over: quality, variety and acting are what you would expect from AAA titles, not a little spin-off game. Speaking about little... it is not. I remember those single-player campaigns from Hearthstone that were similarly priced. I was of course expecting more from CDProjekt, but they still managed to surprise me positively. The game offers you more gameplay than majority of blockbusters. Don't get me wrong - many games offer 50+ hours of gameplay by forcing you to repeat certain portions of the game, or by filling it with mindless, repetitive activities and FEDEX quests. It's not the case. Here we are speaking about story-driven gameplay with Gwent puzzles and battles here and there. I have seen some complaints about the difficulty level. I believe for experienced Gwent players that may be valid - although for most of us difficulty would seem about right. I still found myself struggling a little bit with some of the puzzles, but even on the highest difficulty standard battles do not pose a great challenge for anybody that is well accommodated with Gwent. This is a game that I can with clear consciousness recommend to anybody. It has a lot to offer for fans of puzzles, visual novels, card games, RPGs, and Witcher universe. If you're a fan of any of the above, you'll have a great time. If you're a fan of all of the above, JUST GET IT!
