Recent reviews by minibeas

First impressions are good. Just download and install the hotfix. Servers are pretty stable.

7 hours in, so far really enjoying it. It feels like an immersive Sim on Arrakis with other players and really amazing environmental effects. Plays between 30 and 40 fps on the Steam Deck. My main rig is a Ryzen 3800XT and RTX 3070 and it runs great with 1080 ultrawide at around 90 fps. Looking forward to see how this game develops. The combat is basic right now, but I think it does a good enough job. This game is really the sum of it's parts. Also it respects my time with regards to crafting and gathering. Story feels right, just enough not to interfere with Canon but good enough to be it's own thing and help change the trajectory, and go in it's own great direction.

To be honest a survival immersive sim destiny like mmo in the Dune universe is the best way to describe this game.

The hacking mini-game in Alpha Protocol is an exercise in frustration. As someone who struggles with visual tracking, I found it nearly impossible to complete, not because of poor planning or skill, but because the interface floods you with constantly shifting characters and gives you barely any time to find the static sequences. It's a nightmare for anyone with dyslexia or similar processing challenges. A game should challenge the player, not gate progress behind an inaccessible mechanic. This needs to be called out more, because it's not just "difficult," it's poorly designed.

First Impressions, really nice visual upgrade. I only run this at about 40fps but that is fine. When comparing this to the original XBOX release back in 2004, it really is incredible how far we have come. I will say that maybe the tone of some of the lights is super bright.

This is not a remake, more like a proper directors cut with ultrawide support during gameplay and DLSS options with raytracing and motion blur (which thankfully you can disable). The guts are back, and the bow and arrow works well. So far the gameplay has been super smooth. I feel like this is the version of the game we were meant to have all along but was just finally realized. Thank you for this awesome port and allowing people to experience the ninja prowless of Ryu Hayabusa again!

EDIT
Just beat the game and man this is going to be my new obsession. It gets rid of the monotany of the OG NG2 for me at least and keeps true to it's original vision which is being bigger, better and more bad ass! A testament to the team, this is to me the definitive version of the game! Please port NGB next!

I own this on multiple platforms. This might be one of the best PC games ever made. In terms of that knee strategy game that's going to hold up the test of time alongside of legends like Heroes of Might and Magic 3. It's such a cool concept to combine. Mechs Godzilla and time travel all in a neat little strategy bubble. It's worth the price of admission.

I have probably already gotten my money's worth out of this game with the amount of virtual quarters I have put in, and this is me playing single player. I can't wait to play it with people as this allows up to 6 people up on screen at once including April! If you want a pretty brawler that will have you ordering your pizza and throw you back to your childhood, look no further than this game. Though there will be Cowabunga Collection which allows folks to play ALL THE OLD SCHOOL GAMES! So to whoever owns the TMNT license, thank you for allowing this amazing development team to come together and create an amazing love letter to these past games.

It's a clean looking way to play poker. No stress, no pressure, just poker.

Do you like Diablo? (click click click click click)
Do you like Ancient Mythology? (click click click click click)
Are you tired of always needing to repair your equipment, or losing it when you die? (CLICK! CLICK!)
Do you you like crazy skill trees that you can combine to make unique classes, with easy respec? (click click click click click)
If you're a fan of ARPGs, give this game a shot, but be sure to set it to the highest speed. (click click click click click click)

This is a game designed to be played multiple times and rewards you for doing so
One of my favorite things about this game is the way it handles the increased difficulty. Rather than just have the same foes with more life, they throw completely new enemies at you. One great example is with the first level and the different ninjas. And then in later levels the ninjas are replaced by cat fiends. The big demon dogs get armor. The best part is the ingame cinematics have been updated with these changes.

The missions are amazing. They really add replay value without relying on the campaign
Eternal Legend doesn’t really make much sense story wise, but it shows off the best part of the game which is combat. Being able to play these missions on increased difficulty right off the bat is also pretty cool. I also enjoy fighting against fiend Ryu. I remember when my brother and I would have competitions on who could beat fiend Ryu faster on Master Ninja. A great way of being competitive without feeling the pressure.

The graphics and animations still look amazing. The game is 11 years old and it still looks like a 360 game, but that’s a matter of opinion. The cinematics really help put you in the moment, and the game feels like a fast paced martial arts movie.


The level design is top notch. Have you seen the main game, all of the levels are connected. (for the most part). You even go back and visit your old village. It feels like Ocarina of Time once you get to the Vigor Empire, where there are certain areas that are locked and restricted until you progress. They are beautifully done and don’t feel repetitive.


The gameplay is great. You are not restricted to one weapon. You have multiple ways to take down enemies and that’s cool. You can upgrade your weapons and make them more powerful. Collecting scarabs is rewarding more so than Ocarina of Time Gold Skulltula collecting as they give you some really cool unlockables. (classic Ninja Gaiden anybody?) Built in speed running clock for higher levels of play. The move set feels like a fighting game, therefore they had to design the AI to be very smart and also not make the game feel cheap. When people say the game is hard, I agree, but it’s fair. Look at the Master Ninja “No Hit” run. It is not a hack and slash.

Issues with the game.While there are a lot of good things about the game, I feel like there are some weaknesses as well. The platforming is pretty damn good, but could use a little bit of tweaking. It feels precise but then you sometimes randomly jump the wrong way and can be frustrating to learn.

The water level, easily the weakest part of the game. They added swimming and some creatures underwater, and I feel like this part was underdeveloped. The spear gun just seems like something they threw in there to make the enemies easier. While the rest of the game you feel like a ninja master, this level did not accomplish that. It could have utilized more of the water running and other platforming. Does it break the game? Not at all. I guess the pacing just feels off. Ryu’s actions are not super fast.

A few more story elements could have really helped the basic revenge plot. Why am I killing my Uncle’s ninjas? Also why is Ayane following me? Is this all a test? What happened to all the people here? Sometimes the camera has some slight issues. You can straighten it sure and turn it now, vs the original you could not. I do not have an issue but I know many do. Rachel levels feel fine, but the character does not feel as fleshed out as Ryu. The lack of PC options is annoying, but it runs smooth so there is that.

Overall, I love this game for its replayability, and scaled difficulty and how you can eventually dance as Ryu. There is a huge amount of skill in this game and nothing is cheap, unlike Ninja Gaiden 2. You will die in this game at first, but it teaches you much in the same way you learn that fire is hot. You learn what to do and what not to do and how to handle certain enemies and not to rely on the same combos all the time.

Introduction
Dark Souls is not a game for the feint of heart. The game hard, but it is rewarding at the same time. It has one of the most interesting implementations of multiplayer I have ever seen. Fighting mobs and bosses can be brutal, but rewarding. One of the most striking things about this game are it’s interlinking set pieces, which are grand in scope. After 150 hours of playing and 917 deaths, Dark Souls left me with many fleeting emotions such as sadness, depression, morbidity, but at the same time a feeling of accomplishment. It’s a game whose story is both vague, yet detailed. In the end it is going to be one of those games that sticks with me for many years to come.

Gameplay “I live, I die, I live again!”
The gameplay of Dark Souls is not a stereotypical action game. In many action games, the action is frantic and fast paced. There are usually quick-time events spewed throughout the gameplay, that lead to a cinematic animation. Dark Souls is the complete opposite of this. The closest thing to a quick-time event is parrying, which I have yet to master. Players have to be aware of their surroundings, and carefully manage their stamina and health, and learn the enemy patterns in order to move forward. Weapon attacks are slow, and tactical with 4 buttons devoted to defending and attacking. The overarching gameplay mechanic can be summed up by this quote from Mad Max: Fury Road, “I live, I die, I live again!” Players may struggle with certain enemies or bosses at first, but eventually through forced repetition they will figure how out to kill or bypass enemies and progress further in the game.

Dark Souls has some of the most robust character customization I have ever seen in an action RPG. It feels just as deep as many turn based CRPGs but at the same time it is more streamlined for a smoother experience. While trash loot does get acquired, it does not feel as bad in this game. The inventory rarely gets cluttered with useless items, as everything seems to have a purpose, whether it is to make the player look badass, or modify the player’s stats to make them stronger. The variety of weapons and attacks means that the game can be catered to any playstyle. Weapons, armor and spells can be upgraded by various blacksmiths in the game with the use of souls. Souls are acquired in a couple of different ways, either by looting them off of dead corpses found throughout the world, killing mobs and killing bosses. You also level up your stats by spending these souls at a bonfire. It’s a great system, that other games should emulate. (Stares at Elder Scrolls)
Story Through Observation Not Narration
The story of Dark Souls is one that does not have a set narrative. Instead it is done through exploration and observation. There is a two minute cinematic at the very beginning that tells the player the basics of where they are and what happened in this world, then the player just starts playing, with only little clues left by the developers within the environment and ingame items. The player is sometimes told an objective by an NPC, but is never forced to follow a set path, and can reach that objective anyway they want. As the ruins of Lordran are explored, a story unfolds about a Kingdom that tried so hard to keep what little flames they had left, that it died doing so.

What is also interesting about the way the story is set up is the fact that the player can actually kill all the NPC characters, however doing so will restrict venders and side quests from appearing later on in the game, and at some points they become foes you have to face. The NPC’s also only have a few lines of dialog at certain points, and since they are the only folks with dialog you grow attached to them.

Then there are the item descriptions which give life to the world. As I said before, there is almost nothing in the player's inventory that feels like wasted space. It actually feels like something meaningful in the world, and has a use. The player learns more about the world through these item descriptions. As an example here is the description of the Darksign item:
The Darksign signifies an accursed Undead. Those branded with it are reborn after death, but will one day lose their mind and go Hollow.

Death triggers the Darksign, which returns its bearer to the last bonfire rested at, but at the cost of all humanity and souls.
This explains how and why the player character returns to a bonfire after they die, and why the foes you face are mindless zombies. Every item has a description or piece of lore, and really helps expand on the game's story without forcing the player to mindlessly sit through a lot of exposition.

The environment also tells many unsettling stories about the Kingdom's past. As an example, when exploring a place called New Londo. The player releases water which seemingly flooded that section of the Lordran, and as the player explores they come across large mounds of corpses which were piled up against the wall. Nothing is explicitly told to the player, however, the player can put the pieces together and see the story the developers were trying to tell.

Sound Design
The sound design of Dark Souls is very interesting. For most of the game, there is no music. The only time there is music, is when the player fights a boss, or when the player is in the Firelink Shrine. This makes the music at these times much more impactfull, as it makes the boss fight feel that much more impactfull and epic when it happens. Other than that, the player only has the ambient sound of the environment and mobs to keep them company. It makes Lordran a very lonely place, where the player feels isolated and alone. However, this rule is violated on one occasion, and that is when another player character rings the bell at the Gargoyle Tower while you are playing, another sign that nothing is insurmountable.

Multiplayer
Dark Souls has a very interesting multiplayer component attached to the game. The game can be beaten solo, with that said, it has a very high learning curve. One way this is mitigated is by playing while connected online. Other players can leave messages or hints for you on the ground. Sometimes these hints can be very useful, other times they can be outright lies. When players kindle a bonfire, other players in the vicinity will get an extra Estus Flask added to their inventory. Then there is the cooperative nature of the game in which another player can leave a summoning sign and summon others to assist in harder parts of the game. However to do so requires humanity to reverse hollowing. This adds the risk of being invaded by another player who tries to kill you to get your souls. The best part is, there is no griefing, or smack talk and it works seamlessly, though on the PC version, there is a little bit of extra configuration that needs to be done to make this happen. In the end, it was one of the few games where I actually enjoyed the multiplayer component.

Conclusions
Dark Souls is definitely a game worth playing through at least once. It’s hard However, I have a feeling that this game will live on as a must play classic. It successfully takes on the metroidvania model and successfully applies it 3D. It brings back that old school feeling games used to have, where players were not spoonfed every little thing, and requires the player to put effort into the game to get something out of it. If you have not yet played through this game, do yourself a favor and give it a shot.