Recent reviews by PigeonSquits

11 hours to complete the game... Which gives you a choice on how to play the same game again, with a buff and a negative. But, doesn't appear to change much else.

I'm giving this a positive, but wish I could give a mediocre. It's definitely a recommend vs do not buy though.

It's simple to grasp, play and progress.
Progression is tied to a balance of research, odds of particle types appearing, collecting more and more, while selling to gamble.

The very end game, which was about 5 hours into my playthrough (so 6 hours of very end-game), was literally keeping the game open, spinning the wheel and waiting.
No further research, just waiting on the last particle type to drop. Only way to increase the odds was to spin the wheel and wait.

Your playthrough could be longer. It could be shorter.
Just depends on whether the odds are in your favour.

Now that I've completed it once and the next playthrough awaits with only a minor change, I think I'm going to shelve the game for a while.

Considering the price, it's good enough value. Just wish the end game was better.

I recommend with some hesitation, but the less-positives certainly don't outweigh the positives. Excellent so far and in time, I'm sure the devs will address what the common annoyances are, while providing new content, etc.

For Satisfactory fans, this is not Satisfactory. If you're looking to get this as a clone of, etc. you will probably be disappointed.

The annoyances I have with the game as it currently is with 0.1.2 early access mainly relates to building.
Specifically lack of qol features or overcomplications that don't need to be.
Multiple buttons needs to adjust a building's height, pole length, etc.
Trying to build at height with no easy way to do so.
Each building has different button mappings for what that button does, when attempting to place the building.

These will be worked on in time for sure.

The upgrading the core mechanic is currently not necessary at all. Great if you don't feel like defending your base, but also removes the challenge if you can just skip it.

The food, water, plant mechanic is also a bit odd and unbalanced. Not really a need to go down the whole recipe tree either..

Again, something that will be addressed in time, am sure.

As of writing this, I'm 24 hours in, still loving it. Still got a ton to unlock and explore.
I look forward to what the game can become in time.

For the price, even with the extra pack, it's well worth it IMO

Early game with very little infrastructure, the game plays and runs just fine. 60 FPS average
If you wish to hookup all the miners and actually build a working conveyor system with the machines chugging away, 1 to 2 FPS.

Anything over 2000 physics objects in the world and FPS tanks. Doesn't matter what game resolution you set it to (No other performance options), it literally becomes unplayable.

Very disappointing as this obviously takes all the fun out.

Personally, I don't see the need for every piece of ore to have physics. I just want what comes out of a the miner to go on a conveyor system of multiple machines to produce the output and into the final collection bin. Like Satisfactory or any other automation game - The fun is in what I build and automate. Not in seeing everything have physics.

Prior to today, I would have recommended the game, but as I cannot build what I want and actually play at a reasonable frame rate, I cannot recommend the game.
What is the point in turning all miners on, have everything running through the factory, when if you do, you're penalised.

I get this is early access, and I know an engine update is coming, but I feel the the game needs to look at what people enjoy most about factory automation games and work towards the strengths. The physics side of things is not necessary.

Edit: After finishing main story, reaching level 50 and spending over 60 hours in game:

I have since had many crashes and performance drops. Looks like much of the performance issues are definitely related to my min-spec PC. These performance issues are for me, specifically stuttering while traversing quickly over new areas.
I have gotten used to it. Adjusting performance options doesn't seem to do much.

Otherwise, I stand by my positive review. Highly addictive and fun. Just like a Borderlands game should be.


-------

TLDR: Runs fine enough for me on a low-spec PC and I'm having a ton of fun. Wait if you mainly want improvements to the engine.


i am running a RTX 360 on an i5-10400F with 32Gb DDR4 RAM and a basic NVME SSD.
I get between 50 and 60FPS on Medium, with DLSS set to balanced. Yes I can get more performance with a few more tweaks, but for me it's fine. I can't use FrameGen as card is too old.
I get minor stuttering when entering a new area, but it's not that noticeable.

I've only had one crash in over 20 hours of gameplay, which was a startup crash. The game relaunched by itself and then was fine.

So from a performance standpoint, I've been happy overall, considering I'm just skirting the minimum requirements. It looks good, better than Borderlands 3, This for me is also fine. as I thought it would look poor at such low settings. Of course at the highest settings, it would look even better.

Gameplay is what I'm enjoying the most.
The game is super addicting, good story with plenty to do. Characters are funny, while not over the top.
I'm enjoying the open world and the freedom this brings.
Loving the new gun mechanics and playing on hard, to make it more challenging (elements matter more).

I'm not a fan of losing the minimap. The UI needs tweaking. UI is probably the most annoying part of the game (Outside of Unreal Engine 5's "Compiling Shaders" that takes forever).

I'm also not a fan of the removal for Badass Evolution being removed. I miss the challenge from Borderlands 3, where I would do everything I could to let a badass enemy evolve into super-badass, etc. for the chance to get epic loot after.
But, the rest of the mechanics are balanced enough so you still can have an epic fight.

In summary, if you're on the fence about buying the game:
If you want peak performance, this is the main reason people are being negative. Unreal Engine 5 has claimed another victim. But look at Stalker 2 and the improvements made over the last year. It ran OK for my low-spec PC and now runs better.
So long as you tweak and adjust whatever you need to do, the game will run around 60FPS. If you want super-high and that's a game-changer, you may as well stay away.

For gameplay, fun, time spent and value, I most certainly recommend the game. I couln't afford the higher-tier version of the game and found a cheaper key, but will pick up some DLC / purchases later in the year. If it's anything like Borderlands 3, then with the events and additional content, I can see me sinking hundreds of hours into this.

I'm still early doors overall, but considering where I am and how much time I've spent, I can definitely recommend based on time x reward x value.

I bought this after the most recent patch that addressed a lot of what was negatively mentioned in reviews.
My experience thus-far can be summed up into this: Slow grind that is fun, but not for everyone.

Each run is pretty random, until you have the right gear, etc. But all that takes time, runs and grinding.
Each run is a challenge and quite satisfying.
I've been playing on hard.

In short, if you want the intensity and love a long grind, this is for you.

2025-06-23 Update: Over 84 hours now. All "official" achievements completed, but still so much to accomplish. I've done each character with lvl5 difficulty and 1 negative perk. In process of doing this with 5 negative perks for all. Far from being bored and with the most recent update, pushing endless as far as I can is a must.

2025-05-25 Update: Over 21 hours now. 4 Hours at original review time.
I stand by the below. I thought I had unlocked and accomplished loads. I still have a long road ahead, if I want to beat the game with every general, especially max-frontier.

On a separate note - I got this game running on my old laptop that has a poor Intel i-GPU and is not meant for any form of gaming. It runs just fine.

End of 2025-05-25 edit.

------------

I can truly understand why this game is so addictive.
I love tower defence, rogue-likes, randomness and clean game-play. This game ticks all these boxes for me.

4 hours at the time of review, which may seem short, is only because it's late in the evening and need bed. Otherwise, I would happily spend all night playing this (40 years old = no more all nighters).

• Graphics are what they are. We don't need ray-tracing and other fancy things for a game like this.
• Sound is good, although I would probably reduce the game sounds and play some chill videos in the background - Makes the zoning out, that much better.
• Game-play loop is brilliant. Short enough per run for it to keep the boredom at bay. Long enough to feel rewarding, especially when you get to endless mode.
As each level is never the same, it doesn't get boring. You will make mistakes, get bad maps, upgrades, etc. But that's rogue-likes for you.

I've unlocked a bunch and don't expect it to be long before I unlock the rest, so depending on skill, should be quick for completionists. But, the replayability is ever present - If you get burnt out, go play something else. This game's short runs and randomness, mixed with the challenge means I can see me coming back to this may times over the years.

So for the price, what level of enjoyment I've experienced and what others all are saying - This is excellent value (Time and money) and I would highly recommend.

A worthy nod to what brought everyone so much joy, back in 2006.

The game is as you remember, buggy, quirky, broken as hell.... But wow, it's fun.
It's Unreal Engine 5 laid over top the Creation engine. Very little has changed, other than visual (obviously). Levelling and menus are pretty much the only other thing that's changed.
All your quests and the world remain as we loved it.

You may think that little change, other than visuals and a couple other things being changed is bad? Well, no.
It brings the 20 year old game into the modern world. Available for those of us who loved it, to watch our frames melt on PC (again, unless you have a top-tier system, like it did back in the day). It has all the silly quirks and the same glorious feel that it had back in the day - Exactly what I want from a remake.

Yes £50 is a bit steep, espeically since this is now the 4th time I've purchased this (PC hardcopy collectors edition on release, XBox 360, PS3, Steam and now the remake). Actually that's 5... Ah well.

Because it's still the same game, most (not all) mods still work. Those mods that don't will more than likely be updated, as the fans who loved the game back then, will more than likely update going forward.

This remake is what will bring the devs back into positive light (After the Starfield disaster).

I have been playing like I did when I first played - As I wish. Hours later and I've just now decided to go hand in the Amulet of Kings. I know full well it will be many more hours later that I decide to proceed to the next.
Will probably involuntarily get vampirism and unable to fast travel, while yeeting my horse as fast as I can to the next indoor location, so I can heal. Or get busted for trying to pickpocket, losing all my gear (as it's all stolen) and going off do some other quest.

This is the game that many hold as the standard, especially if never played Morrowing or Daggerfall. Now that it's been remastered (With everything we love, left as is), either a way for us to delve back in and re-live what we love. Or for a new generation to go through all the emotions for the first time.

Absolutely recommend.

Note: I am new to POE universe and never played POE1. I am an "ex" Diablo player, after having enough of being burned by the disaster that is Diablo 4.


I've put about 85 hours into POE2 at the time of this review and so far, this is my main game that's taking all my energy and I am loving it.


I initially bought the standard early access, which had no additional bundles, just the coins and the ability to play early. I since upgraded to the next tier, which came with pets, etc. but I wanted the coins and to tip my hat to the devs for their work (This was around 35 hours in) - I will more than likely upgrade again soon, again as a thank you to the devs.

1. Dodge roll without cooldowns.
   
2. Can pause the game!
   
3. Play as you want, with any class and mix to your hearts content.
   
4. Runs smooth as anything on my dated computer.
   
5. Devs that actually listen to the feedback / desires of the community and address those changes quickly
   
6. Each character playstyle feels fluid and rewarding, whether doing what's "meta" or going off the beaten track to do something completely different and it still working (with a bit more effort).
   
7. Items feel good. Variations, too. Especially all the different rolls of what the prefixes and suffixes can do.
   
8. The grind doesn't feel like an absolute chore. Either because the economy works and players are decent, or that when getting a specific drop I'm after, I feel very rewarded.
   
9. Stunning visuals and audio.
   
10. Not a single crash or feeling of instability.

1. Can't adjust socketed runes Fixed in upcoming patch
   
2. One chance maps Fixed in upcoming patch
   
3. The zone map (not the main one, but the live one that is the minimap, which can be expanded) is difficult to see on bright, white or blue backgrounds. Yes you can adjust transparency, but I want colours, like we do with the high-contrast mouse that works great.
   
4. Certain skills not working when spamming (Yes it's a timing issue on my part) - Would be nice to have a better visual queue on this.
   
5. Dodge roll speed apppears to only ever get a buff in the Trials - Would love to have this as an item loot roll modifier.
   
6. Those water hag c***s with their instakill mechanics. Yeah I just gotta get good.

In summary, yes this will be free-to-play and I could have waited. But at this stage of early access, I am more than happy that I've paid for the privilage and that I am actually willing to pay for more microtransactions. The coins I've spent (other than what comes with the upgrades) have only gone on stash tabs and their flavours.
I am loving everything and most certainly recommend this game, especially for anyone who is sick of the Diablo saga.


Feel free to discuss.

Edit: 2025-05-04: Post patch to fix performance:

Summary of my original gripe: Tank in performance when trying extremely crazy builds, or builds that fill the screen with effects, projectiles, etc.

I can confirm this has now fixed (for me) all the performance issues I originally faced.

I feel this game is an absolutely joy to play, which I still felt at the original time of review.

I love the randomness of each level, with how lucky or unlucky you are in chasing a build you want.
Something that I would like, which I assume is coming, is more game modes, challenges, stage variation, etc.
Certainly what the game has for now is very polished, just the performance issues I mentioned above when going ham on the bullet count - Especially exotic weapons. Standard bullet don't seem to tax performance much.

Great value. Great game. Definitely recommend.

What an absolute joy to play!
So pleased to have come across this. Yes it's short, but it was 4 hours of relaxing bliss that just flowed with pure relaxation.

Note that some people call this a clicker - It is not. The only clicking you will need to do, is selecting upgrades and other interactions in the menu.
Early game is about positioning your mouse cursor over enemies and being strategic, mid to late game and end it's just about sitting back and gliding your mouse around to kill enemies and collect their precious drops.

My only small gripe with the game is that you can finish it before collecting all the in-game achievements (steam achievements you will get all before then).
Once finishing, you can still go back in, but as there are no further upgrade paths, you are kinda forced to end - A small gripe and nothing that takes away from everything that led to that point.

Game runs beautifully.
Music is super relaxing.

Absolutely recommend!