Recent reviews by Broseph Stalion

Whoever signed up the voice actor for our character should get the electric chair....

The graphics look AMAZING - truly up to 2026 standards (if you have a decent PC). For me, though, a game needs a reason to play beyond its visuals, whether that's a compelling story or rich lore. Unfortunately, this game has neither. You're dropped into a world filled with stunning creations, which kept me playing an extra four hours because I couldn't decide to stop. It’s a visually incredible experience that feels like it belongs in its own league, yet I’m left confused about what to make of it.

Honestly, it feels like a Fantasy World Simulator - think mystical creatures, medieval to steampunk settings—but without any meaningful context. There’s no story, and I often find myself wandering around wondering what’s going on. It doesn’t quite scratch that gaming itch. Something’s missing. I want to feel motivated to make decisions, but instead, I’ve just been admiring the terrain and atmosphere, which isn’t what gaming should be about.

Take Kingdom Come as an example: it had a compelling storyline that made me want to explore every side quest because it added depth to Bohemia's history. I never got into Kenshi because it throws you into a world with no background or context. I want to understand why factions hate each other, why alliances form, or what drives the world’s conflicts. In Crimson, I roam around doing things, but I can’t even answer why I’m doing them. The game doesn’t engage my imagination or allow me to role-play as a villain or hero - it feels like I’m just killing time.

I hope Steam understands and refunds me after six hours of play. I don’t have the patience to stop every ten minutes just to admire a beautiful view. I want to lose myself in a story AND a rich backdrop. They had all the time in the world to make this perfect considering the amount they spent, but it's poor, hence my request to refund. We are living in the pits in 2026 and everyone has the right to be ruthless in what they spend their money on. To any gamers out there: if someone asks why lore matters, point them to this game. It’s the perfect trap - looks stunning in trailers and screenshots, but ultimately, it’s a 6.5/10 game. I haven’t even gone through all its flaws yet, but I’ll let you scroll down for that as there are so many reviewers talking about it and they're not false.


Put it like this: the game is equivalent to eating a Vegan Kebab.

I cannot bring myself to continue with this game any longer. Crysis 1 is something special to my heart, but after playing Crysis 2, the charm is gone. Crysis 1 offered a "sandbox" experience, where players could choose their own paths, tackle objectives in various ways (stealth, speed, or armor), and explore. The levels were expansive enough to feel open, particularly in the first half of the game, allowing for diverse tactics.

Now, with Crysis 2, the setting is a claustrophobic New York. Shoot-outs in parking lots.... Essentially, it has gone from one extreme to another. It’s not clicking for me and feels jarring. I’d prefer the setting to be on a tropical island or in some Southeast Asian jungle rather than in a concrete jungle. Crysis 2 has wholly become dumbed down. The stealth system completely sucks with the psychic AI. I am hiding in cover, yet they are still shooting in my direction, even though I was using the cloaking device to get to that position beforehand which defeats the purpose of even having a Nanosuit...

All in all, it is okay. Don't get me wrong, but the developers should have thought more about the setting. Maybe they should have gradually transitioned into the style of Crysis 2, rather than immediately shifting from an expansive map to one with barely any space. In my opinion, the game is just mehhh and mechanics feel slightly dated now.

This is an exceptionally promising game for an early access title, and its price is remarkably generous.
The user interface is impeccably designed - sleek and intuitive. The sound effects are electrifying. Controls are remarkably user friendly, ensuring a smooth gameplay experience. The game offers a substantial amount of content, and the developer has articulated a clear and ambitious roadmap for ongoing improvements and future updates.

The only minor grievances are the soundtrack, which can be somewhat piercing and poorly aligned with the authentic pirate ambiance. It would greatly benefit from incorporating classic sailing melodies - perhaps a flute rendition of “Drunken Sailor” or tunes reminiscent of Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Additionally, during cannon assaults on settlements, the NPCs - be they natives or soldiers - lack reactive behavior. They simply meander around as if unaffected; it would be far more compelling if they displayed panic, frantic running, or gathered in groups in response to the chaos.

Despite these minor flaws, the game unquestionably justifies its price. The content is impressively substantia - contrary to some negative reviews, which seem unfounded - and the scope will only expand. I am delighted to have invested in this title; it represents a long-term, valuable commitment. The developer has done an outstanding job, and I sincerely hope they continue to refine and develop the game. Truly, there hasn’t been a decent pirate-themed game since Sid Meiers and Corsairs.

Played this for 30 minutes and then realised its a pretentious mess.

Decent game, but whoever designed Xen needs to get the electric chair…

While I see potential in Strategos, I cannot recommend it in its current state. On the positive side, the graphics look pretty decent, which sets a good visual foundation for the game.
However, there are several significant issues that hinder the experience:

1) Poor Movement Mechanics: The movement is sluggish and unfluid, resembling units moving underwater. The cavalry charge, which should be impactful, feels weak - like a wet paper bag. Additionally, some units ignore commands entirely; despite clicking all over the battlefield, they refuse to move. When attempting to retreat or reposition my hoplites, they often end up facing in random directions, which breaks immersion. Overall, the movement feels clunky, unresponsive, and frustrating.

2) Lack of a Campaign Map: This game desperately needs a campaign map to give it some personality and depth. Without it, the game feels soulless and lacks the sense of progression that makes strategy games engaging. I understand the possibility that the developer may plan to add this feature in the future, but as it stands, it’s a major missing element. Adding a campaign map would add to replayability.

3) Limited customisation in Skirmish Battles: I’m puzzled as to why we cannot customise our armies in Skirmish mode. This should have been a fundamental feature from the start. Instead, I feel like I purchased the game to merely be an observer, unable to choose my own army, and units don’t seem to listen to commands during battles.

4) Excessive Tutorial Text: The tutorial text is overly lengthy and not to the point. It’s off-putting to read endless pages of instructions. I ended up skipping the tutorial altogether and jumping straight into a campaign, which wasn’t ideal.

While I genuinely admire the developer’s courage to compete with giants like Creative Assembly, the game currently lacks the oomph needed to stand out. I know it’s in early access, but I expected more than a rough draft. It really does feel like an unfinished project - something that was perhaps intended to resemble Total War and but ended up being a mishmash of tweaks and half-baked ideas.

In its present form, I can’t recommend Strategos, but I hope the developer continues to refine it and adds the features that would truly make it shine. Really think this game should have been released well into summer time.

I am open to changing this review once more has been added.

OVERRATED GAME. NO REASON TO GET IT.

The most disappointing game. I had more hopes for this than Cyberpunk and it dropped worse

I really tried to enjoy this game and I played all the way to till you terminate Solder in the military base till I decided enough is enough. The problem was I realised I was forcing myself to try and enjoy it due to having a lack of other good games to play! How I did play this game was in intervals, so I would play a couple of hours then stop for a week then play again, same thing for 2 months. It just never captured my full attention.

The map is so bland and the fact it makes you walk so far between missions is crazy. Like seriously do people enjoy walking around this bland depressing map, it's basically a walking simulator, like at least add fast travel. Trying to sprint to get it over with fast and sipping on energy drinks to keep stamina up as it would run out so quickly was becoming so tedious. I am sure that the game would have been a lot shorter if it wasn't for the long boring walks across the map. I am sitting here to play a game, not do something I can go do in real life.

Enemies having eagle eye vision and managing to shoot you in the forest and you can't even see them. There is zero stealth in a game that would definitely benefit from it. That said, the AI appear to have some sort of accuracy hack because it seems to me every time they shoot at me it is accurately at the head no matter the distance.

One of the worst things about the game is how low down you have to jump, otherwise you die. That mission where you creep into the military base to kill Solder was so bad. I kid you not, I jumped literally 1.5 metres to escape the numerous rats just scampering around and I died. I laughed at how stupid that was. Skif is supposed to be a 25 year old ex military who served in the Ukrainian Marine Corps and he can't take a simple damn jump... Get out of here!

What a chore and a bore, repair armour constantly and be spending all your money. This game literally made me depressed every time I played it, the positive reviews made me give it a chance but in the end I wasted a lot of time, at least I tried. But I would recommend you don't try it and don't be bored out of your mind walking and avoiding ridiculous anomalys that seem to be every 10 metres.

This game is honestly a 6.5/10 for me. The fact that they took years to make this is inexcusable. I know the ongoing war in Ukraine did not help and feelings go out to them, but I paid almost £60 for this and as a consumer I have every right to think about myself. At least a broken Cyberpunk had some character to it, but Stalker is a colourless, boring, intensely frustrating game. When I am compelled to download various Mods (this goes for any game) to improve the experience then that is telling as to how incomplete, poorly developed a game is.

Finally, I have freed 150gb off my PC. *Shake my Head*