Recent reviews by Parenti

A solid 6/10 game that turns into a 7/10 if you're a fan of the first two RoboCop films. All the characters and environments from the movies are lovingly recreated here, while anything new looks like a terrible Unreal Engine 5 asset flip. The Auto-9 is the highlight of your arsenal with some modestly fun secondary weapons to pick up. Much of this games design feels like a watered down version of Deus Ex, and it particularly reminded me of Escape from Butcher Bay (also a much better game). A mostly linear game where you can talk to NPCS and do side missions. I think the most enjoyable part is patrolling the streets of Detroit, handing out parking tickets and helping solve crimes. Really feels like a day in the life of RoboCop. All in all if you are a fan of the franchise you're bound to find something to like here.

This is a game where you start out as a total piece of trash, used and abused by everyone, and then slowly ending up as an ultra powerful pushover. Gothic is an RPG where the game does not give a ♥♥♥♥ about you until you start grinding menial XP on mutant roosters and weird bugs. Progression is done excellently in this game, the world environment really communicates to the player what should be accessible to you and what shouldn't be. Sections of the game are blocked off by higher level enemies, but not so much where it feels like you are locked into one path. The devs nudge you in a certain direction but how you walk that path is entirely up to you. Enemies that you kill also cannot respawn until you complete a chapter of the story and after that new stronger enemies spawn along with them. A smart player can revisit locales and grind XP that way. I think that's what I enjoyed the most about this game. The three camps you can join in the prison colony are all distinct, but I mostly found that joining the Old Camp lets you see the most content in the beginning. The game feels really open and freeform before you join a camp, doing tasks and odd jobs for different NPC's to gain favor with them. But once you do join a camp, I feel you're railroaded into a main quest line without as much grace as there could've been. This could have been alleviated with more side questing activities, as there are very little to begin with. There are also numerous bugs in Gothic, both the kind you slay and the kind that can make your experience frustrating. The UI is also absurdly bad, and I hate how you can't hotkey potions or food items. All in all though, If you take your time and be patient there is a rewarding action RPG in store for you.

HROT is a retro shooter that's steeped in old Soviet and Czech lore with some quality level design and art direction. I was especially impressed with how distinct each are and enemy was despite using the same brown color palette throughout. I have no idea what's going on with the story in this game but I enjoyed reading about the Hussites and the numerous Soviet politicians that you fight, which are turned into monstrosities. I think people calling this game "Soviet Dusk" is reductive and annoying, I feel like HROT has a distinct style and level design that leans more into the Build engine style than Dusk did. I will say the weapon roster leaves a bit to be desired, both shotguns feel excellent but the crossbow and SMG fall a bit flat for me in terms of the "Oomf" factor. There's also a bit of custom engine quirkiness that Zortch also has, but I think it mostly adds to the charm. Definitely pick this up if you are an enthusiast of the genre.

Really glad to see this game finally ported to PC and no longer stuck on consoles. This is one of the most underrated Star Wars games in my opinion, I'm biased though because it stars my glorious king Jango Fett (sucks that he got such a weak death in the movies). I love the old EU and the comic that accompanies this game, Open Seasons, is a awesome one. You can unlock one of the issues in of it in game, though I wish they would've added the entire 4 issue run for those who haven't read it. The story of the game itself (at least in Legends continuity) is a backstory to how Jango was chosen for the clone army, how he gets his iconic ship, etc. I especially like the Roz character, and how she sort of inspires Jango to become a "father" via the cloning program.

The actual gamplay, though? It does not ♥♥♥♥ around. The game is sort of an action adventure third person shooter with light platforming stuff a la tomb raider. The difficulty can be really unfair, especially towards the end of the game (those Tusken snipers are a nightmare, not to mention the rocket launcher spam that the missile enemies do). This is mainly do to the wonky camera controls and lock on system, which should have been improved upon in this port. I actually think the lock on is significantly worse in this version. The camera flips out if you don't click the lock on at the EXACT right distance and view of an enemy. You also can't switch between targets easily, making priority enemies with strong weapons harder to hit. I've died numerous times to this stuff. I hope you have a strong index finger too, because Jangos blasters fire as fast as you can press the button. And good lord, the opitional objective bounties will make you want to tear your hair out. Many of them later in the game love to walk off ledges and die so you can't claim them! From there its a level restart if you want to get all the unlockables/achievements. There's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of problems with this game and I wish aspyr wasn't in charge of "remastering" many of these old Star Wars titles, because honestly they do the bare minimum and sometimes even add more bugs. I even think the Boba Fett skin (which is not in the original release) might just be reused from Battlefront 2. If a company like Night Dive ported this game I'm sure it would've been much better off.

Despite these issues I think this is an underrated entry in the Star Wars video game list. The voice acting and cutscenes are great, with Temuera Morrison being the highlight. There's a lot to like here if you are fond of this era of Star Wars, and when the game plays well, it feels really good.

Consider this a review for both this game and it's sequel, as you really can't play one without the other. I remember reading an article from Polygon (or maybe rock paper shotgun?) about the Syberia series many years ago, and its reputation as a point and click cult classic with a sort of feminist-themed plot line. As an enthusiast of the genre this game was always in the back of mind when looking for something to play. Well, I took the plunge and was really charmed and emotionally moved by these two games. The world of Benoit Sokal feels beautifully somber and lost to time, places and people have become sweet shadows of themselves. This theme is present mostly in the first game. The town of Valadilène is no longer in its heyday. Barrockstadt university barely has any of a student body, along with a gate guard who earnestly believes he's still at war. The once super productive soviet factory you visit later is abandoned and decrepit, only inhabited by a drunk and a madman. And the saunas of Aralbad no longer host the aristocrats of the world. All throughout these places, Kate Walker discovers who she is and what she was meant to do. The pre-rendered backgrounds in this game are excellently crafted, the soundtrack as well. The sequel gives you more of the same from the first in terms of artistry and puzzle difficulty, but I found the emotional payoff of the plot to be really moving at the end. I really felt like I was on a journey with these characters. If you love this genre and haven't played Syberia 1+2, please do yourself a favor and play them.

This is probably one of the best retro shooters on the market (No, I'm not calling them "boomer shooters," that's almost as obnoxious as "souls-like.") and it might even be better than Dusk. Great level design, fun weapon roster, and lots of enemy variety. Best of all, it doesn't overstay its welcome. This game is also one of the only indie titles that actually looks almost exactly like the era of visuals its inspired from. If you told me this game was a Quake 2 mod from screenshots alone I'd probably believe it. Banger.

Truly an underappreciated achievement of a game, and by far Nightdives best remaster to date. I was really impressed by Shadow Man, especially as a 1999 release. The games world immediately pulled me in with its dark lore and use of Voodoo mythology. The fact that the main antagonist had the actual Jack the Ripper build a hellish asylum that's based off of Pieter Bruegels "The Tower of Bable" painting was enough to convince me. Deadside is my perfect kind of nightmare with a otherworldly soundtrack to back it up. You can tell the team were avid horror fans and were passionate about the genre while not shying away from its campy parts. In terms of the actual game, think Metroid meets Banjo Kazooie meets Tomb Raider meets Silent Hill. This game demands a lot of patience from you. The controls and level design are definitely of the era (its real easy to get lost) but I think the artistry of the game really makes you want to keep delving deeper into its depths. For a first time play through I really don't recommend playing on the "The Horror" difficulty that Nightdive added in. This is what I did and the game felt wildly unbalanced and cheap at times, and you can't change the difficulty on your save file once it's selected. I really feel like they threw this in as filler content, and I believe it really mucks up the pace of an otherwise well crafted game. The addition of cut levels from the original game are great however, and I couldn't even tell that they were added in for this remaster before I knew this (I wonder if they were built from scratch or if they had the unfinished original cut levels saved somewhere?). If you're a fan of retro horror and places that have the vibe of a dark and gritty sludge infested alley then I think Shadow Man reaches the highs of that aesthetic and more. The horror.....

You know that feeling you get after completing a game, like that "what am I gonna do with my life now?" type of feeling? Anachronox hits that feeling hard. This is a beautiful, inspired RPG and one the most underrated games I've ever played. It's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy meets Chrono Trigger meets Ender's Game with a dash of noir. The game boasts a memorable cast of characters, subtle yet hilarious humor, and cutscenes that are composed with more imagination and creativity than most triple-A games today (mind you, this game was made on the Quake 2 engine)! Not to mention the impressive voice acting that adds so much charm to them. The biggest hurdle to get over is the combat system, which is an odd mix of turn-based JRPG styled combat and real time combat. But otherwise what you're in for is an enthralling adventure with lots of twists and turns. The development of this game is fascinating as well and definitely worth the deep dive of interviews and articles. The saddest part about Anachronox is that it was meant to be a trilogy; the ending of the game is narratively complete on it's own but it is only a fraction of what was left to explore. Two other games were planned but sadly never saw the light of day due to Ion Storms closure. It currently sits in Eidos' IP limbo. Which is a shame because there really is no other game like this one. This is an essential play for any PC gaming aficionado.

I live... Again.

I have an addiction. Please help me.