I'm not too far but so far its very good, frantic fun.
Haven't played too much yet. But at least the moment to moment combat beats out anything else I've played.
If you enjoy making interesting and impactful decisions while planning and building, then you will adore this game. That is the elevator pitch. Everything is so well put together that it is difficult to try and explain it all. The art style and vibes are great, and the mechanics are well thought out and balanced. Even options that you might initially think seem weak can be incredibly effective in specific scenarios. The on-ramp of the game teaching you the mechanics is also very well paced. So if you're new to city builders and think this game looks interesting, then I think this is a safe buy. If you are someone who is gaming on a tight budget, this game is totally worth $30, and frequently-ish goes on sale. Having put over 100 hours into it myself I think it is well worth $30 and an absolute steal on sale. Plus they are still updating and adding to the game!!
I bought SS4 and Siberian Mayhem at the same time and left a review for SS4 before starting this up. I gave that a 4/5 because it has flaws, but I had a good time with it. After playing a ways into this game I feel I should put SS4 at a 3/5 just to emphasize the gap in how much better Siberian Mayhem is than SS4. I still hold the opinion that SS4 is an improvement from 3, it's flaws are shown in stark contrast when I booted this one up. Name an aspect of gameplay and it is better here. Aside from the base movement and whatnot, that is basically the same. Everything else though; level design, encounter design, the way the perk tree works, graphics (this might be more of an art design improvement), tone and humor, even how they hide the secrets... (bascially no janky psuedo platforming) the list goes on. If you are a Serious Sam fan, then this is a must-play. If you're not a long time fan then this is a great jumping in point if you don't care about the story too much (which you probably shouldn't).
I have been a fan since Next Encounter on the Gamecube and then went on the play the originals and then SS 3. Next Encounter will probably always be my favorite (and that isn't entirely nastalgia). This game is a big step up from 3. It feels more like the classics right down to the bad one liners. Though I could do with less story, but all the cutscenes are skippable. The guns are fun, and the new secondary fire modes and perks add a little spice to the run'n gun gameplay. The new enemies also fit right in. It also doesn't take long to start throwing some mayhem and bigger enemy counts at you. Serious Sam is still the best 3/5 game that I'll give a 4/5 to because its just a good, dumb fun. I haven't had any technical issues except some stuttering in the cutscenes, but I am not here for the narative. If you're on an AMD machine, putz with the settings and try setting it to Vulkan. It runs smooth as butter at 144fps for me when it matters. PS. If anyone from CROTEAM happens to read this, please port Next Encounter to PC. I've still got my copy for the GC, and emulation is all well and good... but if it got the remaster treatment like first and second encounter I would pick it up.
I realized I wasn't having fun and stopped playing. It's a serieis of small things, not healing at save points, very limited resources, overly slow feeling pace, and a story that wants to be an interesting mystery and didn't do anything to grab my attention early on. Some of those things are intentional design choices, and so they are not necessarily bad. However, they are choices that I personally didn't enjoy. As for the other criticisms, they are also pretty subjective. Just wasn't for me.
Ended up refunding because I just wasn't enjoying the game much. It feels like enemy damage is a bit over tuned for the space and movement that most characters have, enemy variety is a bit lacking, the modifiers are boring. On a positive side there are a lot of guns and most are fun to use, though there weren't any stand-outs that I'd get excited to see. Bosses are all interesting, and the final boss in particular is a standout. I'm a bit bummed, it's clear that a lot of love and care went into this game and if you're a big fan of some of this game's movie inspirations and the synthwave sound you'll probably dig it. This time it wasn't for me.
With some games, the second you gain control of your character you know you're in for a good time. This is one of those games. The game feel, butter is jealous of how smooth this game is. The music, chill. Art style, well executed if not mind blowing. Story, charming. Though I was not expecting the Kitchen level to be a class divide. Performance, no issues on my machine at all. Though I certainly would hope not. Bravo to the devs! I am kind of picky with 3d platformers and y'all nailed it. Note to those who are looking for Pikmin, this is not Pikmin. Little colorful dudes following you around does not a Pikmin make. But if you are looking for a casual 3d collect 'em up then you could do a heck of a lot worse than this.
I'll start by saying that if you haven't played the first Blasphemous you don't have to in order to enjoy this game. Though, I highly recommend that you do play the first one as well. This sequel takes the atmosphere, interesting setting, open ended world design, the uniqe/amazing art direction, and solid controls from the first game and makes enough changes to set itself apart from just being more of a good thing. I haven't quite finished it yet, but I'm pretty confident my opinion won't change in the last let of the journey. This game is a banger, if you're looking at the trailer and thinking it looks cool then you won't regret this purchase. If you need more evidence, I almost never buy games day one. I am a hardcore "wait for a sale" enjoyer, and I bought this day one it has been worth every penny.
I kind of stumbled accross this game and couldn't be happier with it. Jet Lance is just a good damn time, the game feel, the encounters, the bosses, all grade-A certified deep fried gold.
