Recent reviews by Nightsong

Hard to believe how much this game has improved within 1 year. After thousands of hours on each of the big looter shooter games in this genre somehow a NEXON published game nearly perfectly executes a core gameplay experience focused on the looting and shooting lol

- Disconnected content islands (Warframe).
- Moneywalled gameplay/gatekept content (Destiny 2).
- Glacial content release cycle (Division 2).
- Broken and abandoned PvP modes (all three lol)

+ Fun core gameplay loop (get resources/unlock things/make builds/improve builds).
+ All gameplay available for free.
+ All subsystems put in to support the main gameplay such as Weapon Tuning/Reactor Tuning/External Component Tuning.
+ Matchmaking for all the multiplayer content, party finder available in-game and not as LFG outside of the game.
+ Amazing QoL features such as Loot Library, Target Rewards (bad luck protection/pity) and Drop Rate information on UI.
+ Great music overall and you get individual ambient and combat music for each character you use.
+ Large cast of characters with different personalities and quirks. Each character worth getting and making builds for.
+ Some of the best graphics in this genre and with plenty of cosmetics to show off.

- Slow and somewhat boring story mode at the start of the game.
- Very expensive cosmetics (thanks to NEXON).
- Dyes/Paints are consumables and selection is somewhat limited still.
- Demanding on graphics, can scale from low to cinematic but you need a good pc/console.

First Descendant has become my go to looter shooter. I had a much easier start considering I'm a Warframe founder with 10k+ hours and have 4k+ hours in Destiny 2. It's very easy to tell which parts of Descendant is inspired by what and the mix of Warframe/Destiny/Division here works really well. The only part that you're missing out if you commit here is the lack of pvp but honestly it's for the better. Iron Banner/Gambit from destiny and Dark Zone from division would be much better as standalone games imo (they continue to ruin PvE balance to this day lol).

I enjoyed MechaBreak in the beta(s). The official release version is worse in almost every aspect.

Energy nerfs across the board makes half the mech roster significantly more miserable to play.
P2W extraction mode is made slightly less painful by having gear score caps but you get less loot.
You get 12 mechs unlocked right away but then the rest are locked away behind currency/money, locked mechs are not nerfed lol
Most customization options were taken away and locked in the rotating shop, FOMO maximized with individual shop offerings per player (?????)
Rest of customization items went into the lootboxes from the P2W extraction mode, intended to be sold in the money auction.

Devs tailoring these changes to cater for the asian market (as per the official discord lol) and it just makes everyone else have a worse experience.

Season 2 is terrible.

Buggy. Runs worse. Balance is in a worse state. Less maps in rotation.
New character doesn't make up for all the downgrades.

Season 3 improvements and bugfixes are good but main issues remain:
- Terrible matchmaking, almost the worst in any multiplayer game.
- Bad balancing of characters, too much burst and too low cooldown on a handful of characters makes them always picked/banned and ruins playing experience.
- Nothing to stop griefers, block does nothing and avoid is only for 3 players/3 days.
- Smurfs ruining both ranked and unranked modes, slowly killing off the casual playerbase.

Season 4:
Same as season 3 but match quality somehow getting worse. Less players and worse matches.
New event is play 3 games a day, I played 3 games all 3 were intentionally griefed lol

Season 5:
- No fixes still. Balance completely broken as the devs clearly lost their minds.
- Pocket healing the extremely overpowered characters is the best tactic now.
- Ultimate abilities being spammed due to a certain character giving them away for free ...
- Matchmaking helping smurfs and griefers ruin games even more.

Overall good but I don't recommend it. So many issues and so little content for a game priced at this range.

Negatives:
-Performance is terrible and heavy on the CPU. 8 cores recommended. There's no justification for how hard it hammers the CPU.
-Map layout for most maps is terrible and advantages 1 team over the other.
-Vehicles are garbage. Might as well not exist.
-Weapon customization is really limited.
-Weapon selection is rather small and weapon balance is not good.
-Grinding currency is slow but cosmetics are really not worth the time.
-Players are often toxic and really repulsive. Sometimes killing a teammate over and over until the victim leaves.

Positives:
-Weapons sound really good.
-All weapons and classes are unlocked from the start.
-Roles/Classes can significantly affect the outcome of the match.
-Assassin (Gunship) is an angel of death.

Conclusion:
Not worth the money. Not worth the effort. Not worth the time.

1) It's a very good indie game overall with the Visual Novel side being Excellent and the Dungeon Crawler side being Decent.
2) The story, art and mechanics are a significant evolution from Devespresso. They have earned my respect and support.
3) This game as a whole package is irresistible, at least for me. The art, story, world building and combination of genres [VN + DC] is something really precious even with all the flaws of the game.

1) The art is Excellent especially for characters and environments.
2) The story and world building are very good and help to immerse players that stick around until the second half of the game.
3) The Visual Novel side is very good. It isn't the best VN but for me personally I would push the rating to Excellent because it met and exceeded my expectations.

For a single playthrough it would be an instant-buy at $15 or its equivalent according to regional pricing. However, the game is really intended for at least 2 playthroughs and there's enough content and secrets to justify $20 or $25. This is a bit problematic though, because the higher price combined with significant flaws (listed below) means some players will never complete a single playthrough. To make things worse, the refund window (2 hours) are some of the game's worst [super lengthy tutorial and dungeon crawling when the player is at their weakest point and no equipment].


1) The game has so many ways to screw over the player and it uses them repeatedly and throughout. Some of which have been patched out of the game or lessened. Some are intended to stay permanently.
2) The Dungeon Crawler side is not the best it can be. It ranges from decent to good depending on which chapter of the game you're on and the extent to which you adhered to the best tactics intended by the designer. More on that later.
3) The UI and Controls are mediocre and serve as a hindrance that could be tolerated if not for:
4) The autosave is intentionally designed to grief the player. It will save whenever the player takes damage or loses a character. It will save the instant an important dialogue choice is selected even if it was by error or without letting the player know they are taking a decision. Even the simple act of closing the game can screw you over and lock you out of quests thanks to the autosave.

1) Player Classes only get 1 normal move and 1 special move that can only be used when their meter is full. The other 2 buttons are wait and block which are completely useless except for some ultra rare situations and even then you benefit so little.
2) The main character is always taking 1 out of your 4 team slots. She is a wasted slot until you get 2 or more Perk points by advancing the story all the way to chapter 3 or 4 (basically until the middle of the game).
3) Some classes are really bad. Some team setups are punished so heavily that it's insanely difficult to finish the game without being extremely lucky. You have 2 melee companions + Healer? Struggle with bosses. You have 3 Ranged companions + Main Character? Struggle with attrition and wasting supplies.
4) Stats are split into Battle stats and Non-Battle stats. If your team setup leans too much to one side you're asking for your team to be abused and likely wiped. The best team setups are those that can maximize Battle Stats while having at least 1 member with high Non-Battle stats (this is why Arcaster is a very popular class).
5) Bosses are often intentionally placed on the 3rd slot to make your melee damage dealers significantly less effective since they can't directly attack the boss until they kill the enemy in slot 1. To make things worse, later bosses will instantly summon another enemy to fill any slots you just emptied. If you're stubborn enough you can utilize your 2 melee damage dealers by having 1 ranged companion (Main character is no use) equipped with a relic that makes their special into a stun. You kill enemy in slot 1 and stun the boss (or the reverse) and get some melee attacks into the boss (In a perfect scenario it will be 4 melee attacks max).
6) Attack accuracy is rolled from your Combat stat which should not be a big problem until you realize that it translates into characters with 2 or less Combat being really prone to whiffing their attacks at least once per fight. Only half the classes have 3 or more Combat while the majority of enemies have 3 or more Combat. To reduce the constant whiffing you need to pick classes that have higher combat or equip relics that increase combat (Example: Arcaster + Combat relic).
7) You only have 1 slot for relics per team member. They die and it is gone with them. The relics that would really help you in the early and middle stages of the game have -1 Awareness or -1 Combat which does more to screw you over than help you in most cases.
8) Your backpack weight limit is based on which classes you bring. If you don't have a class with 50 weight limit scavenging and holding items becomes hell. The difference between 100 and 130 max weight is substantial. To curb the abuse of carrying too much heals and consumables the devs severely gutted the scavenging and looting portion of Dungeon Crawling.

Vambrace: Cold Soul is a great indie hybrid game that was dragged down by mediocre execution on one of the two genres it tries to combine. Devespresso created an experience that has significant flaws but is still worthwhile and enjoyable. The patches to the game have been quick and have alleviated serious issues with the first build released. Dungeon Crawling is still being improved and I could see half the issues I listed disappear within a few patches. I hope they continue improving it because Vambrace: Cold Soul deserves it and future projects will be positively impacted. I'm really glad I got to experience it. Thank you Devespresso team!

I like Pyre a lot. I cleared 100% of the achievements. I don't highly recommend it though.

Positives:
+Amazing Art
+Amazing Music
+Engaging Story
+Decisions Matter

Negatives:
-Rites are 3v3 basketball and are most of the gameplay mechanics.
-PvP is only local.
-Difficulty is tied to Titan Stars which you can toggle, you get penalized if you ignore them.

The rites are such a polarizing aspect of the game. By polarizing I mean the most horrid piece of gameplay to attach to an otherwise flawless game. Had Pyre been some sort Visual Novel or a traditional western RPG I wouldn't have had to doubt recommending the game. I just don't like Rites and they are most of the game unfortunately.

Titan Stars account for 50% of the misery especially the few that make rites near-impossible if activated at certain points and against certain opponents.

The CPU opponents account for the other 50% of the misery. As the game progresses, the opponents become more like a hivemind with instantaneous 2-man and 3-man combos performed at every moment. It makes playing local PvP seem like child's play.

Overall, it's a great story/setting that is held back by the weirdest sports-like gameplay.

It’s Back…And in Even Greater Numbers!
The definitive Star Wars Battlefront experience (better than the original and the 2 Electronic Arts sequels).

Positives:
-Price.
-Classes
-Heroes
-Modes.
-Mods
-Active community
-GALACTIC CONQUEST (more games should attempt to recreate this tbh)
-No Microtransactions/gambling with real money
-No EA

Negatives:
-Graphics are not up to date.
-Animations are showing age.

Would recommend for the singleplayer alone.

Great game. I'd argue this is as much of a hidden gem as Hand of Fate. Truly shines 2 hours in and lasts up to 6-8 hours (while you build up to the *true* ending). Not perfect but very entertaining once you embrace the quirks and little moments.

A major turn off early on is the combat without having any abilities/upgrades and the high requirements to build each sword (to open new paths). Luckily most of the things you might think you're missing are insignificant and by the time you reach the true ending you'll have most likely maxed everything.

Note: the last 2 achievements are absurd due to the HUGE time investment required and attempting to 100% this game will feel like turture.

Simple but effective. A very fun experience that is hard to put down. Reached 100% completion and enjoyed it all the way.

I recommend attempting to get all the achievements so that you experience all the battles in the game.

I'd love to see more content added or possibly a new installment (and better graphics).

The only game where 6% is ALWAYS greater than 94%. And of course a cheating A.I. opponents.

Frustration simulator. Avoid if you want to keep your sanity. Enjoyment value is near zero for the majority of the grindy campaign.

I'd recommend [Vermintide] instead if you want a decent Warhammer game.