Pink Fluffy Cat
Well-Known Traveler
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2022
- Messages
- 306
- Reaction score
- 697
- Awards
- 89
ITT we review games we played. Because as big brained agora users , you are supposed to write down your own experiences so you can convince yourself that the hours you spent into children entertainment aren't wasted. It doesn't have to be detailed reviews, just write down your thoughts and opinions, I will start it myself first:
- Metro franchise (all three games) : Not stalker and pretty linear but the games also offer you some interesting levels when it don't hold your hands. The first game (2033) has several semi-open levels that offers great atmospheric vibes of the post apocalyptic metro, while the second game (last light) feel like a downgrade (just compare the Frontline / Black Station level in 2033 vs Contagion / Revolution in Last Light), and it also added boss fights that no one asked. The third game (Exodus) improved the franchise from both level design (Taiga and Volga are pretty nice while the Caspian not so much IMO) and the mechanics (no more stupid currency and shop system where you can't even manually manage weapon attachments outside specific locations) and basically the best game in the whole metro series.
- Styx (both releases) : One of the best post 2010 (aka modern) games I've played. They are obviously console port, and the AI is rather basic, but the level design and the freedom of how you can tackle objectives is on par with dishonored and classic thief games. An underrated gem.
- Thief franchise (1, 2, 3 and plus thief 2x, don't really care about the "reboot") : There are tons of essays and videos about how good the classic are (1 and 2 because the third one just isn't good when compared to previous games) and I'm not reinventing the wheel myself but I'm still surprised that how well they still hold on even by today's standard. They don't have the "old game oddness" that a lots of retro games usually feel when I play them for the first time - like the classic doom games which IMO just don't aged well (navigating labyrinth after labyrinth just to find the specific switch for the specific key just isn't fun honestly). I never felt confused outside a few supernatural levels during my gameplay of thief. Thief 3 does feel like a downgrade for pretty much every ways and the city sections are just plain chaotic especially after mid game where you would have several opposing faction fighting in the corridors that you have to past in a stealth game, also the camera bobbing sucks.
- Alien Isolation : A great innovation of the stealth / horror genre, for the alien sections only sadly, the parts with humans / androids are rather mediocre and it also filled with justified cutscene. Still the alien itself is enough to make the game stand out, especially among the sea of "horror games", which are nothing more than boring hard scripted scene and tedious puzzle with more boring script scene of wowsoscaryhuhuhuwhatsoever
Personally I love this game myself, but I can see how there are people dislike this one, when they are expecting a standard "horror game" and end up getting a hardcore stealth game.
- The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos : A free "full game size mod" of Gothic 2, it improve many chunky-ness of the original game, but also has many questionable designs, my biggest issue is how the quests are fill with tedious fetch / scripted parts that doesn't really add anything other than make the game longer - In one of the quest where I supposed to fight renegades the quest has told me to pick up things, cut through vegetation, place the vegetation, then put explosives in the specific boulder all in a row, and the game has no objective marker neither you can ask the NPC for detail so good luck on figuring them out. I did still enjoy it though and I didn't regret the 40+ hours I've spent on it, but I still prefer the originals.
- Shadow Warrior 2013 reboot : The 1st most tedious game I've played, all you do is spamming charge sword attack one the same sets of bullet -or should I say sword sponge over and over again for frigging 10 hours. Working on a job IRL is legitimate more fun than this, how can this game even have generally positive rating seriously?
- Aragami : I probably just set my expection too high but it just isn't a well made game, not outright bad but definitely not a good game. The AI and level design are bare bone, the mechanic is inconsistent, sometimes I can kill enemies in front while the other times I would get knocked down and killed, and the graphics make the game confusing, sometimes you can't tell if a place is safe to stay unless you step on it. Only play this if you have nothing else to play and have tried all prominent stealth titles.
- This War of Mine : Gimmick : The game. It only "work" because the game gives you absolutely no tutorial which create the illusion of helplessness. The game becomes bland and stupid after you figure out how everything works, I can kill several soldiers with a musician girl and there would be no consequences just because. The DLCs are plain soylent materials that I don't even want to think about them anymore.
- Spyro games (only the first two, I have never played the rest and likely will never) : Aged like milk and that's come from someone who liked it as a child. Running around, collecting gemstones and fighting braindead enemies that don't pose any threat at all just isn't fun, neither do those mini games.
- Metro franchise (all three games) : Not stalker and pretty linear but the games also offer you some interesting levels when it don't hold your hands. The first game (2033) has several semi-open levels that offers great atmospheric vibes of the post apocalyptic metro, while the second game (last light) feel like a downgrade (just compare the Frontline / Black Station level in 2033 vs Contagion / Revolution in Last Light), and it also added boss fights that no one asked. The third game (Exodus) improved the franchise from both level design (Taiga and Volga are pretty nice while the Caspian not so much IMO) and the mechanics (no more stupid currency and shop system where you can't even manually manage weapon attachments outside specific locations) and basically the best game in the whole metro series.
- Styx (both releases) : One of the best post 2010 (aka modern) games I've played. They are obviously console port, and the AI is rather basic, but the level design and the freedom of how you can tackle objectives is on par with dishonored and classic thief games. An underrated gem.
- Thief franchise (1, 2, 3 and plus thief 2x, don't really care about the "reboot") : There are tons of essays and videos about how good the classic are (1 and 2 because the third one just isn't good when compared to previous games) and I'm not reinventing the wheel myself but I'm still surprised that how well they still hold on even by today's standard. They don't have the "old game oddness" that a lots of retro games usually feel when I play them for the first time - like the classic doom games which IMO just don't aged well (navigating labyrinth after labyrinth just to find the specific switch for the specific key just isn't fun honestly). I never felt confused outside a few supernatural levels during my gameplay of thief. Thief 3 does feel like a downgrade for pretty much every ways and the city sections are just plain chaotic especially after mid game where you would have several opposing faction fighting in the corridors that you have to past in a stealth game, also the camera bobbing sucks.
- Alien Isolation : A great innovation of the stealth / horror genre, for the alien sections only sadly, the parts with humans / androids are rather mediocre and it also filled with justified cutscene. Still the alien itself is enough to make the game stand out, especially among the sea of "horror games", which are nothing more than boring hard scripted scene and tedious puzzle with more boring script scene of wowsoscaryhuhuhuwhatsoever
Personally I love this game myself, but I can see how there are people dislike this one, when they are expecting a standard "horror game" and end up getting a hardcore stealth game.
- The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos : A free "full game size mod" of Gothic 2, it improve many chunky-ness of the original game, but also has many questionable designs, my biggest issue is how the quests are fill with tedious fetch / scripted parts that doesn't really add anything other than make the game longer - In one of the quest where I supposed to fight renegades the quest has told me to pick up things, cut through vegetation, place the vegetation, then put explosives in the specific boulder all in a row, and the game has no objective marker neither you can ask the NPC for detail so good luck on figuring them out. I did still enjoy it though and I didn't regret the 40+ hours I've spent on it, but I still prefer the originals.
- Shadow Warrior 2013 reboot : The 1st most tedious game I've played, all you do is spamming charge sword attack one the same sets of bullet -or should I say sword sponge over and over again for frigging 10 hours. Working on a job IRL is legitimate more fun than this, how can this game even have generally positive rating seriously?
- Aragami : I probably just set my expection too high but it just isn't a well made game, not outright bad but definitely not a good game. The AI and level design are bare bone, the mechanic is inconsistent, sometimes I can kill enemies in front while the other times I would get knocked down and killed, and the graphics make the game confusing, sometimes you can't tell if a place is safe to stay unless you step on it. Only play this if you have nothing else to play and have tried all prominent stealth titles.
- This War of Mine : Gimmick : The game. It only "work" because the game gives you absolutely no tutorial which create the illusion of helplessness. The game becomes bland and stupid after you figure out how everything works, I can kill several soldiers with a musician girl and there would be no consequences just because. The DLCs are plain soylent materials that I don't even want to think about them anymore.
- Spyro games (only the first two, I have never played the rest and likely will never) : Aged like milk and that's come from someone who liked it as a child. Running around, collecting gemstones and fighting braindead enemies that don't pose any threat at all just isn't fun, neither do those mini games.