Recent reviews by Greybard

For those of you who, like me, are a bit put off by "cutesy" or "cozy" looking games, let me tell you that this game is 100% worth it.

This recent update is going to be MASSIVE for a lot of people. You can now build multiple building floors on a single map. This is an absolute gamechanger. I've been trying to find map making software that solves the multi-floor problem this elegantly for a while, and it's every bit as flexible and inspiring as I had hoped it would be. It's a breeze to use and a delight to tinker with.

Amazing.

As a ttrpg player and GM, I am incredibly bored by the 5e ruleset. I'm put off by WOTC and all their crap, including what they're doing in the DnD and MtG space overall. I swore off of running 5e before the OGL debacle happened, and the OGL debacle only solidified my stance that I'd rather play other, less known, more niche systems. Even when I did run 5e, I was never particularly interested in the Forgotten Realms setting as it doesn't really suit my personal preferences when it comes to a fantasy setting.

I say all this to contextualize my deep, deep love for this game despite all that is going "against" my chances of liking it.

Larian Studios' implementation, modification, and expansion of standard 5e mechanics is what I would consider to be the perfect adaptation into a cRPG. When I say this, to be clear, I don't mean that it is flawless; but it works perfectly as an adaptation. It emulates the experience well, while providing mechanics and niche rules to handle the specificity that a video game like this requires.

Larian's world and encounter design is a downright master class in both video games and ttrpgs. Every space in the world feels like a combat could happen right there, and every space is packed with ways you (or your enemies) can use the environment or items within to your advantage. As a GM, I have taken extensive mental notes and will be implementing aspects of their encounter design into my own ttrpg games.

Every major or minor (not including nondescript npcs) character in the game feels properly fleshed out and serves to flesh out and propel the story forward at every step of the way. You really find yourself wondering what is at the core of these characters' problems, who they are underneath it all, and (for some of the more misguided characters) if you play your cards right you might just be able to get them to open up or, just maybe, change for the better.

Sometimes, there are characters that you can ally yourself with but don't find yourself (or, more accurately, your character) morally aligned to. You speak to them, see if you can work it out, but sometimes you have to fight them. They will attempt to get you to turn your back on your allies; and sometimes, their offer is very tempting.

Other times, you find yourself in a seemingly random combat encounter and the character says something mid-combat that you think "well, hell - he doesn't seem too bad. I wish it didn't have to end like this". It truly feels like, if I took a slightly different route in the story, they might have been a friend.

Lastly, the world. While I still don't necessarily prefer this setting, the love with which it was crafted has won me over; at least to this specific iteration of the setting. Passion oozes from every crevice and the attention to detail is astounding. I'm mostly through act 1 (currently wrapping up my dealings in the underdark) and I find myself wondering what is going to happen next, what I'm going to run into, and how I can tweak my party build after struggling (or not struggling) with the previous encounter(s).

In an ocean of cash grabs, rushed development, and passionless games, Baldur's Gate 3 stands out as a beacon of hope for this medium. I haven't engrossed myself into a game like this in literal years, and I'm already planning my second playthrough even before I've wrapped the 1st act of the game. There's so much to do, so many people to talk to, so many places to explore; you will find yourself in awe of the world they've crafted. The game is by no means perfect, but the experience that the game provides is perfect for me.

As such, I cannot in good consciousness recommend this game. Your productivity at work will plummet as you daydream about what you're going to do next in this fantasy world that feels like every choice matters.

Stay away from it at all costs.

The PC version of this game is a little buggy in its current state; but if you can get past that, what's behind the Marvel Skin (that I love) is an extremely solid, addicting, and fun game that is respectful of your time.
Each match is six turns, and generally only takes a few minutes to play; just over 5 minutes if your opponent takes a while in their turns.
You only play against people in your current card pool (1 of 3), so you won't often find yourself in a position where you're playing against opponents who have a substantially larger collection of cards than you do. The game also ramps up your card knowledge in a very intuitive way; meaning that you won't really need to watch videos on "the meta" if you just pay attention to what cards you have and build your energy curve in a logical way.
F2P is an incredibly valid way to play, and I've had a great time with it so far. I did wind up buying the season pass, but frankly I'm not sure it gives a substantial advantage; just some cool looking card variants and perhaps slightly faster progression.
Overall, play it. You won't regret it.

I bought this game at release: buying this game and No Man's Sky were my two greatest gaming regrets in the 15 years I've been playing games. Because of this game, and the poor netherrealms ports since Injustice, I swore I would boycott any game by WB games and never play them again-- hoping to not log a single second onto their gamers marketing statistics. Well, I booted it up again this past week; for my hardware configuration, they have fixed everything. No more stuttering, no more crashing; game runs very smoothly now. Granted, I have the textures set to low, but I'm pretty sure that the low textures for this game are the high textures for others. I can now fight and fly around gotham at 60 fps and no problems. If you've already bought it, get back into it and see if it works for your hardware configuration. If you have yet to buy it, be sure to research what kinds of issues people are having with your hardware setup and see if its worth it to you.

My Setup:
AMD FX - 8350 CPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 GPU
16 GB RAM

I like it. Good game. Looks awesome, goes fast. But it looks like the AI is programmed to always match your skill level. That might seem a good thing, but on my first race my lap time was 1:10, wound up in 5th place every time. Practiced on the track, learned a bit about the mechanics, and brought my lap time down to 1:02; 5th place, every time. I have yet to place on the podium in the first race after an hour or so of play. Rage gamers, be warned; this game is not for you. For all others, enjoy the bittersweet tears that result from this racing roguelike.

Absolutely recommended. It's a blast with friends, the crafting system is deep, and the skill tree is incredibly versatile. The Dark Zone is a whole different section of the game with challenging PvE and PvP. Usually, players don't shoot on sight; probably because the want to keep their loot as much as you want to keep yours. You'll get the occasional troll, but that's where the fun PvP comes in if you're rolling with your crew :)
Solid 9/10 for me. There will probably be some improvements with future updates, but the base game so far is a blast.

EDIT: At this point, I'm about 50 hours in, Lvl 30 (max) with my darkzone level around lvl 20. The endgame loot system is very deep, and the addition of dailys and challenge mode at endgame makes for endless hours of non-darkzone playtime. The chance of lootdrops along with the Pheonix Credit system and blueprints make the player on the constant lookout for better gear and weapons. I thought i'd get burnt out on it all, but I keep coming back day after day. This is without a doubt the best game I have played in the past few years. Great multiplayer, fun soloing, matchmaking is a breeze. I can't recommend this game enough.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Even though this game is still in very early alpha and definitely has its fair share of bugs (to be expected), Arena: Cyber evolution is not only very playable, but highly addicting and a friggin blast to play. The gameplay is as intuitive as its controls. After just completing the tutorial, I immediately fell in love with this game's simple yet brilliant design. The only downside to the game is that it is very difficult to get matched up with other players as it seems that in its early stages, there are not many players online with a possible exception of primetime.

A round currently plays out like a game of soccer or hockey, with three players to a team. The soccer ball or puck is replaced by a disc. There are also already a decent handful of characters to choose from, all with very unique special abilities.

The fact that this game is so easy to learn, yet presents quite the challenge when matched with well-practiced players on the opposing team makes close matches as tense as your favorite physical sport. I think this game will be one of the top eSport games out there. I hope to see it go far.
This game is a blast already. AND ITS FREE!!! GET ITTT!!!! NOW!!!!!