Recent reviews by (🅑🅛🅐🅒🅚) LeoSteph

Clustertruck is an absurd and incredibly hilarious game written in Unity 3D, in which you have to jump to dynamic music on the roofs of moving trucks, which are just trying to fly into the abyss at any opportunity or crash into something and explode epically!

Plot: 0/10
Well... because the game has no plot at all!

Atmosphere: 10/10
In fact, the game does have an atmosphere, and even a very cool one: 10 thematic levels with 10 maps in each + 2 additional seasonal ones - Halloween and Christmas, and each level is made amazingly: here you have a desert, and a jungle, and the Middle Ages, and Steampunk, and Hell, and even the world of Science Fiction is present! The game shines with variety, and this is undoubtedly a plus. Also, the music makes you move your ass, although if I were making a game, I would still choose a slightly different ambient))

Gameplay: 6/10
Here is the gameplay in the game... it is both very simple and not simple at all! Simple conceptually: You jump on trucks that are driving right in front of you, then on the next ones, and so on until you reach the finish line. You can also use various buffs and superpowers, such as slowing down time or a harpoon (is it possible to complete the game without upgrades? And I got such an achievement!). And difficult, because reaching the finish line is sometimes a very difficult task. Sometimes you have to meticulously calculate the route for half the map in order to get on the roofs of the right trucks, sometimes the trucks drive a little differently each time, and all you can do is rely on chance... and sometimes you have to spend fifteen minutes on a map, frantically breaking the keyboard with your fingers and rage quitting when none of this helps you pass the ill-fated level! And how much time I spent on the final map with the boss... Probably about an hour and a half. So there is no need to talk about the balance in the game. But there is an opportunity to cling to the edge of a truck and fly very high!

Graphics: 9/10
Well, what can I say here... primitive, yes. But it looks stylish!

Overall Rating: 6.25/10
Bottom Line: A very fun game to kill time with, and if you're a streamer and can connect real-time Twitch voting to it, you can be sure your subscribers will throw a dirty trick at you with trucks with lasers on their roofs or reverse mouse controls!

- PRESS! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!

"The main plot of the game tells about the legendary sacred log from which, according to ancient legend, a wooden savior will be created. At the request of a certain master Carlo, desperate brave men in their trucks set off to search for the log, eager to put an end to the tyranny of the Dark Lord..." Don't believe me? Well, you will have to, because in fact there is no plot in the game, not even a hint of any information, at least in the form of a description of maps or cars, we will stubbornly transport logs from the loading point to the sawmill, that's all. After a while, you begin to wonder what the point of all this is.

After several unloadings, and you will have to transport logs several times along the same route, the game begins to resemble open-world games in which there is the ability to quickly move, but we stubbornly do not use this function, believing that it harms the atmosphere. In MudRunner, on the contrary, at some points you want to use such a function, because you understand that nothing will happen to the truck and no interesting events will happen on the way, it's just a matter of time until we end up at the sawmill. You have to be content with only the inconvenient cruise control.

The gameplay is extremely simple, there are several maps and trucks to choose from, select the one you need and then go to the loading point, having calculated the route and fuel in advance. At the loading point, using a crane, we "deftly" load the desired type and number of logs into the truck (four short logs - three points, three medium - four points or two long ones for six points). After the logs are correctly positioned in the back, click on the log and the truck will automatically be filled to the brim with wood in a second. As soon as the car is loaded, we go to the sawmill along the already calculated route. The goal of the game is to fill all the sawmills with eight points of wood. In addition to filling sawmills, there are two additional tasks that are optional for completion: opening additional garages in which you can change the type of car body and opening reconnaissance points, which open up unexplored areas on the map.

To complete these tasks, various types of equipment are available in the form of tractors, trucks and all-terrain vehicles. Externally, the equipment looks very nice, the same can be said about the graphics, except for some annoying filters during dawn and the complete absence of wind. The game has a dynamic change of day and night and interesting physics of dirt - after driving along one route, the ground in this place will change a little, which may make it a little more difficult to drive next time.

Each truck has a camera view from the cabin, but with the same simplified side panel for all equipment and non-working rear-view mirrors. In general, the game interface does not match the graphics, it is quite ancient, as if from games of the 2000s. Large and rough font of the interface against the background of pleasant graphics looks strange at least.

- Tanks are not afraid of dirt?
- It's not dirt. It's a tan.

The difficulty level of the game depends on your level of masochism, as is the case with the plot, and here we have to entertain ourselves. The original maps themselves are not difficult, the difficulty of passing depends on the equipment that you decide to take, passing the map on a truck without all-wheel drive and differential is a path of pain and overcoming, and if you take a car that was created for extreme roads or rather their complete absence, then there will be no problems with passing. The game does not encourage or punish for choosing trucks, I would like there to be some incentive to take a certain equipment, but unfortunately there is nothing like that, it seems that the developers left this moment for later, and then safely scored.

In general, I would like the game to have more goals and tasks, at least elementary transportation of cargo for a while. But there is nothing like that, maybe it's for the best, due to this, MudRunner is played very calmly, you do not need to rush anywhere and worry about trifles, the best thing to relax after a hard day at work.

Multiplayer continues this direction, no competitive modes or anything like that. The same maps are available to choose from as in the single player game, the points for the sawmill are not increased, only the points for the garage are changed. It becomes even easier to play, but the game feels more alive, because it is much more fun to knead the mud with a friend and load logs of different lengths than to do it alone. But it was not without its minuses, for example, in multiplayer there is a rather strange interaction with the logs of other players, first they need to be transferred through the function menu before another player can use them, and also the strangeness with the headlights, you will not see the headlights of other players turned on, but at night there is a great lack of additional lighting because the night is dark and full of horrors.

The game is regularly played by just over a thousand people, but despite the good online figure in the game, Dead is not the type of game that is interesting to play with strangers, sessions take from two to four hours, and you still need to agree on who will do what. Poet

What will you do when the real cold comes?

Frostpunk, a game from the creators of This War of mine, so don't be surprised by a slight sense of déjà vu when playing)
The game turned out surprisingly good. At first glance, it might seem that we have an ordinary city-building sim in somewhat extreme conditions. But no, this is a game about something else. A game of dilemmas and choices. You will have to choose constantly and you will have to sacrifice something constantly.

There are no complaints about the technical component of the game. Optimization is at its best. Beautiful graphics, intriguing cinematics. The interface is as convenient as it can be. That is, the developers did everything so that nothing distracts you from surviving in this icy hell. One small BUT, a couple of crashes happened.

There is no sandbox in the game, and I don't think it would be interesting here, because the possibilities for expansion are quite limited, technologies and ethics are learned quite quickly. The whole point here is in the stories that will constantly throw you problems, or a little bit of hope...

There are 4 types of quite logical resources in the game: wood and steel for construction and research of technologies, food for survivors and of course coal for heating your branch of the underworld. In addition to mining, you will have to carefully monitor two factors - discontent and hope, which actually reflect how effective your management is. As a motivation for making the right decisions in the future, you can even be expelled or executed))
The very atmosphere of steampunk is conveyed here superbly, starting from the very source of life - a steam generator and ending with huge mechanisms - automatons, which alone are capable of replacing entire teams of workers, do not require food and are not afraid of the cold.

The companies starting with the second are completed quite quickly and generally add only new stories and moral choices. The full passage will take about 15-20 hours. Of which about 2 hours will take you to get acquainted. As for the complexity that many complained about - I did not notice it at all, having completed three companies and never lost. Perhaps the thing is that I was initially focused on survival, and not on experimentation) Imagine my surprise that at the end of the first company the game told me that we seemed to have survived ... but "crossed the line", asking a logical question - was it worth it ... It was unusual and very interesting.

The Forest - is a game about the survival of a plane crash victim on a peninsula covered, what a surprise, with forest. Fortunately, the main character is seriously engaged in all sorts of life hacks for surviving in the wild and is able to stand up for himself against the natives, bad weather and all sorts of wild animals. But here's the problem, among other things, something more dangerous lives in the Forest...

In general, we have a classic survival game: the main character needs to eat, drink and have a safe place (read base) for his carcass. In addition to the listed short-term tasks, there is also a long-term one: we need to find our son, who was flying with us, but was kidnapped after the crash.

Globally, the gameplay can be divided into two parts:
1. Survival on the surface, building a base, providing the character with food and water, protection from the natives and traveling around the peninsula.
2. Exploration of the system of dark, uncomfortable caves, searching for plot-important items in them and fighting with the inhabitants of these caves.

The Forest doesn't give any hints on how to complete it. After the crash and introduction to the basic mechanics like cutting down trees, lighting a fire and creating a basic shelter for the night, the player is left with a rather vague task of "Find your son". Where, how and where you need to figure out on your own. Understanding crafting and construction, what is needed first and what can be put off for later, will also have to be selected by trial and error. And this is great, the game forces you to explore, analyze and look for the most effective tactics when fighting opponents, as well as organize the safest base in the world. It is this feeling of exploration and studying the possibilities that makes you stay interested and continue playing.

After finding the best ways to get food and water, you realize that the gameplay is noticeably shifted towards skirmishes with local residents or the search for ways to avoid these skirmishes. On the one hand, even a couple of opponents can send the main character to dinner in the evening, so it is logical to try to stay as far away from them as possible, on the other hand, bones and teeth obtained from corpses are valuable materials, so you have to look for ways to exterminate the local population in the safest way.

Like all games in this genre, The Forest gives a wide scope for decisions: the player is entirely responsible for his own safety and security. For example, you can build your base on one of the small islands, completely solving the issue of raids by natives who do not know how to swim, but creating a problem with the delivery of stones, branches and wood. Or you can build a house in close proximity to resources, but you will have to seriously think about protection, because any building can be broken by opponents.

I would like to praise the sound, because it is responsible for the amazing atmosphere of the game. Even on the sunniest day in the Forest you feel uncomfortable; Now from one side, now from the other, you can barely hear the crunch of branches, and you can only hope that somewhere from the bushes you are not looking at the far from friendly eyes of a hungry aborigine. Of course, you get used to it over time... Until night falls and the inhuman screams of hungry... creatures begin to spread around the area? What can we say about the caves: dark, uncomfortable, full of butchered corpses and strange creatures, and the picture is completed by screams coming from somewhere in the depths.

The game is full of shortcomings and flaws that manage to walk on a dangerous edge: on the one hand, they do not radically ruin the impression of the gameplay, but on the other hand, they create the feeling of a not fully polished project. Creatures and enemies can start running along the bottom of lakes, some buildings have suspiciously low efficiency, crafting and inventory can be buggy, athleticism and strength stats are useless to the player, and overall the game has too many bugs for a game that spent four years in early access. In general, all this is somewhat annoying.

Personally, it seemed to me that the game has too few points of interest. Despite the fact that we are in the wilderness, the developers have laid down a fairly rich backstory for the peninsula. And in relation to it, there are too few unique places in the game; the forest, rocks and lakes quickly become boring, and it is very difficult to find anything interesting. The same goes for the caves, which are 90% guts with periodically expanding areas for battles. For a place where hordes of cannibals are supposed to live and devour random visitors for years, it seems a bit meager

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the game, which is largely due to the presence of co-op. But even without it, The Forest can still hook you with its atmosphere and sense of exploration.

In 2007, Crysis went down in history as a technological and graphical leap in gaming. Beautiful graphics, innovative effects, high definition images and picturesque landscapes of the island with palm trees made computers of those years work at the limit of their capabilities. More than ten years have passed, a huge number of much more demanding and technologically advanced projects have been released, but Crysis is still remembered as a game with stunning graphics. Relatively recently, the series received a second life, because the developers from Cryteck released remasters of all three parts with minor improvements and fixes. So what is the first Crysis now?

And it is a first-person shooter with large open locations, where the player, as an American fighter of the United States Delta Force special forces, fights with Korean soldiers and tries to stop an alien invasion. I liked that the game gives you very spacious locations of the island, where you can choose any route and go through it according to your own scenario. Globally, this is still an ordinary shooter, where you just need to shoot at enemies, however, due to the openness, special functions of the suit, the presence of equipment, you can resort to various tactics in the passage. There were moments where you wanted to go stealth, secretly killing the enemy one after another, sometimes you wanted to get a machine gun and shoot all the enemies close by, sometimes to be a sniper carefully killing the military from distant positions. And the game fully provides such opportunities, here and the levels have many alternative paths, and the functions of the suit allow you to stealthily kill and weapons can be taken for a specific situation. It would seem a simple formula, but it works great for variety, I was not bored. The basic element of the gameplay is the special nanosuit of the main character, which, due to the use of nanoenergy, is able to provide the wearer with enhanced armor, give a temporary invisibility effect, offer terrain scanner functions, accelerate and increase strength indicators, which in turn directly affects the gameplay. All abilities are designed for a temporary effect and then the suit needs time to restore energy. The main feature of the armor is invisibility and with its help you can make cool stealth sorties. In my opinion, the features of the nanosuit could be more developed and varied, but so, except for invisibility, there was practically no need to use other functions. There are quite a few weapons in the game, shooting and ballistics were not impressive, there is no recoil and the feeling that you are shooting from a real weapon. I also did not like the sounds of the weapons, some of them are very poor and faded. The advantages of the weapon system can only be attributed to a small customization and upgrade. You can add a tactical flashlight, several types of sights, install an underbarrel grenade launcher, a silencer, a laser beam and a couple more small things.

As a separate segment of the gameplay, there is transport and various equipment. This allows you to get to the desired point faster across the island, and also adds several additional opportunities and scenarios in the passage. For example, there was a moment when I failed an attempt to clear a small base and, replaying, decided to attack from the rear, using a boat and swimming from the other bank. It would seem that there is nothing special, but such an alternative method became more successful for me and was radically different from the previous attempt. There are also cool separate staged scenes with equipment, where you either need to control transport, or shoot from a machine gun of a moving car, or break through on a boat, through the shelling of helicopters. And what is the tank mission worth, where you need to break through numerous enemy resistance, this mission was very memorable and left a pleasant impression. I will only speak negatively about the physics of control, especially of regular cars and jeeps. Transport picks up high speed literally from a standstill, the control is jerky, you can fly off from small bumps, the cars seem wooden and poorly controlled, and the island itself is not very conveniently made for movement on wheels.

An absolute positive advantage of Crysis is the total destructibility and interactivity of the environment, which directly affect the gameplay. There are destructible fences, barriers, partially house walls and other elements of the level decor. I remember how surprised I was when I ran into a frail barn, and it began to collapse literally on me, from enemy fire and I realized that not all shelters are reliable. You can fell entire trees with a machine gun burst, which, if successful, will harm the enemy. You can also take various garbage, objects, barrels, furniture in your hands and throw them at the enemy, which, in certain situations, can also play into your hands. This kind of interactivity allows you to fill ordinary shootouts with unusual situations and I liked it.

But what I didn’t like about Crysis was its stupid artificial intelligence. We can say that this is the main problem of the game, because many initially good mechanics collapse because of stupid enemies. Warriors can stand still and do nothing, always run out into the open, do not use cover, can get stuck in textures or go into a wall. Even on the highest difficulty, they do not pose a threat and the passage as a whole was very easy. Perhaps, it was this aspect that was worth working on in the remaster first of all.

The graphics are nice, bright, contrasting, but I can’t say that it is very impressive. In the remaster, they improved the clarity of textures, improved the lighting, the level with dynamic lighting looked especially cool, where the night turned into a beautiful dawn. Several additional options and fake ray tracing appeared, which worsens the performance of the game more than improves the picture.

For some reason, the developers were also unable to optimize. There are no major improvements in the graphics, except for the reworked lighting and particles, however, the frame rate often drops to unpleasant values ​​even in places where it would seem there is nothing so resourceful, such as in closed and small locations. At the same time, the same second part stably runs at 60 frames. During the passage, I encountered various bugs, the hero left his body, fell through textures, sometimes the mouse cursor spawned on top of the game, although it should only be in the menu. In general, there are not many critical problems, but they still interfered during the passage.

Result:

An excellent shooter with open spaces, cool destructibility, beautiful landscapes and the ability to use equipment, but with poor optimization, stupid artificial intelligence of enemies and not fully realized potential of the suit's abilities.

Buckshot Roulette — Russian roulette without a revolver, but with a shotgun. An addictive game where you need to beat the toothy head of the Dealer and run away with the won cash. Sounds simple, but you have to keep a lot in mind, the number of live and blank cartridges, as well as shots. With the loss of items, this turns into a strategy. Logically using items can bring victory, but the merciless randomness sometimes leaves no chance. Excellent soundtrack and a great soundtrack. Unusual visual style. The animations are good. Although over time, the games begin to strain, because it takes a long time to wait for the head to use its items.

This game definitely has something to hook the player.

The main character is the automaton Aegis, everything is great about her: beautiful armor suits, body movements, movesets with different weapons. Oh, this battle dance with fans! The pronunciation of phrases in her performance in French is very pleasant to the ear.
As for the setting, France of the 18th century, and the very idea of ​​an alternative history of the Great French Revolution - I find very interesting. The plot involves many real personalities. The game inspired me to read about the Great French Revolution, on Wikipedia of course).
But the game has almost as many minuses as pluses.
The game is too demanding on PC resources and poorly optimized, although the scenery is poor and low-detail, the streets are filled only with mobs, there are no residents, only dead people are everywhere. Dialogues with residents are exclusively behind closed doors, which may pass for a reference to Souls / Bloodborne. Or is it just a clever move to avoid spending money on models.
The level locations are confusing and the presence of a compass, alas, did not help. I think a more flexible teleport system would change the process of exploring locations for the better.
And the main minus: the passage in the initial locations is made like a metroidvania: you will not pass until you get the necessary skill / equipment. Only here, it is not very obvious, like in some Ori or similar. You run, looking for where to go, but it turns out that you first need to go further according to the plot, and only then there is an opportunity to complete additional quests. In my opinion, a crazy idea for such a game. Or it is necessary to prompt the player about a certain chain of quests.
The gameplay part with a claim to dark souls will be too easy for fans of souls. But with my low skill, it's just right for a small challenge and patience training to collect lost and hard-earned souls.
Overall, I can recommend this game. If you liked the screenshots and gameplay videos, then you can ignore the cons and enjoy the game.

The game has an amazing design. It is super cute. Regardless of the aggression, appearance and friendliness of many animals, they look like you see animals in reality. With the same affection you watch their habits and humanity. You feel sorry for their conditions in which they survive among the concrete jungle. The only thing that is superfluous here is the announcer, but not the independent design. The developers simply did not know that it is even more clearly visible that many animals develop like little children and behave the same way.
You can synchronize with the character on the screen, touching his reaction to our everyday things.
In short, the world is big, rich, beautiful, unique. There are cool white mountains to move around. Collecting is a pleasure.

The combat, as for me, is very annual, talents work, fighting is not boring, there is progress.
Crafting is also not boring, quite well implemented, I really liked it. It is not overloaded with words at all. The plot, although simple, is catchy because of the factors that I wrote above.

In general. Don't get hung up on the game, their money on the discount is definitely worth it. What to expect from a casual game that didn't position itself as Dark Souls? The developers didn't lie, the game turned out the way it was presented. The Steam game card has full information about it, screenshots, views, this is more than enough, give a FULL assessment of the gameplay and think - should I buy the game or not?
Yes, you can now say that all game pages have screenshots and video gameplay, but how does this reflect their full essence? Well, including the fact that the biomutant developers specifically clearly went through a large number of gameplay mechanics so that the buyer has no questions about the product he is buying, any question about your expectations from closing the game arises immediately before the purchase.

Whatever anyone says, but it turned out to be another exciting adventure from David Cage, the creator of such games as Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain. His games have the appearance of the gaming industry. "Fahrenheit" was a breakthrough in the genre of interactive cinema in its time. It had high-quality implementation of both variability and an exciting plot. Heavy rain finally won my heart, that I did not calm down until I walked it along and across to see all the possible endings. Only it impressed me.

Beyond Two Souls is a great game that brought me a lot of bright emotions. And during the entire test, it was required that it last as long as it was possible to linger. Not only the plot hooked me, but also the little things filled with a well-known story. The plot is built around a girl named Jodie, played by Ellen Page. In my opinion, she did it perfectly. And she managed to convey all the accompanying characters 100 percent.

The game has collected a lot of cool things. There is a gripping plot and excellent graphics. Interesting gameplay (interactive cinema, diluted with action), cool characters and their dialogues, and even the secondary ones were worked out. Special awards are given to those who found themselves in the center of the plot. The work of William Dafoe and Ellen Page. They gave it all. At some point, you even forget that you are playing a game, and not watching a movie...

The plot revolves around Jodie (Ellen Page), and we go through her entire path of development with her. Starting from her childhood, ending with her growing up. She is not an ordinary girl at all, because she has to live with Aiden (spirit), who lives inside her. From birth, he is always there, or rather is a part of her, since he is in an advantageous position with her. Moreover, he has supernatural abilities, one of which is telekinesis and affects other people. As it usually happens, other people became interested in this goal and wanted to use it for their own purposes. And then the idea of ​​having two souls in one body changes the gameplay in an unusual way, because you can always switch from Jodie to Aiden. And he leaves his body, for example, he can open a closed door from the back, passing through. Or create a danger ahead in advance, for example, armed opponents and neutralize them. Or even take control of one of them, and then neutralize the rest of the enemies with it, who are completely unexpected. A share of mysticism also makes the plot even more interesting. I have never regretted that I decided to play, and now I want to replay it, delving into the details.

QUICK REVIEW

INSTANT CLASSIC
Hot on the coat tails of Half Life 2, Bioshock, Crysis, and other modern classics; Metro 2033 sets the standard for gameplay and storytelling.

STORY
Set in a post-apocalyptic Russian wasteland, everyone is forced into the metro stations to escape from the cold nuclear winter raging above. This may seem like it limits the game from the start, but it does not. The metro gives the game a feeling of claustraphobia and paranoia. There are parts of the game which take place outside of the metro however, which gives an exciting contrast between the outside world and the underground. I won't go into the main story because honestly it's better to experiance without a lot of knowledge beforehand.
However...
There is a spooky and interesting backstory throught the game which adds a veil of mystery and discovery, reveal ancient secrets and explore the unknown...

CHARACTERS, ITEMS, AND ENEMIES
You will encounter a wide range of enemies in the metro, with a wide range of skills and faults. The way you deal with them is completely up to you, with an arsenal of DIY style weapons and customizations, making each fight a fresh experience, and the overall game replayable and open.
However...
In the metro, there are greater enemies than horrifying monsters and communists. The air you breathe is commonly your biggest threat. Your gas mask and filters become your best friend in the metro, keep them close and stocked to the best of your ability.

GAMEPLAY
Where do i even start?
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AI AND COMBAT SYSTEM- Enemy AI in Metro is pretty spotless, especially in creature AI. Creatures attack based on how they are designed, and how similar animals attack IRL. For instance, the wolf-like 4 legged creatures will attack in packs. Whereas winged creatures will swoop in on you and retreat for another pass. Ape like creatures use their bigger brains for more coordinated attacks and tactics. Human AI is engaging and unpredictable, while still being fair and interesting. Humans will use cover and switch cover when appropriate, they will cover eachother for approaches and even flank you. Everything i just said works well and allows for a different experiance every time you play it.

LEVELS AND VISUALS- As a pretty hardware taxing game for it's time, the visuals are on par with the industry standard even now. Slick dynamic lighting and some hardcore textures, models and tessilation makes for an astoundingly beautiful and breathtaking game. There's times where you'll say "Oh goodness" out loud. As far as levels go, the direction is intuitive and straight forward. In the early metro levels you can almost always tell where you're supposed to go, and what your objectives are. In the later levels, not in the metro, some stages can be hard to navigate. Levels always feel open, no invisible walls to break immersion. Everything feels realistic and centered in the game, nothing was compromised to make it feel like you were completely involved in the world.

SETTINGS- Custom mapping, full visual customization, gameplay tweaks. This game has everything that you'd think is standard. Unlike other games. FOV isn't frustratingly foreward either.

CONTROLS- Solid. Mouse acceleration is NOT mandatory. Moving around/jumping feels polished and comes easilly.

GUNPLAY- Shooting things is extremely satasfying, each weapon has learning curve (Some more than others). Everyone who plays will have a weapon for them. A stealthy pneumatic accuracy rifle, or an all out assault rifle, this game has it all.
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FINAL THOUGHTS:
A symphonic mix of art and story, Metro 2033 is one for the ages. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, make you cry, and then laugh in the same hour. An ancient secret to uncover, a mysterious twist that will make you break out your magnifying glass and pipe.