Recent reviews by Ludens

Scratches that Stalker MMO itch I've had since I played CoP in 2012. Great atmosphere, sound design, mechanics, build-crafting, and that buttery smooth gunplay Bungie absolutely excels at. Bungie somehow managed to distill the best aspects of Destiny into this game imo (VOG Raids, Trials of Osiris, and just cool sci fi visuals), but with a strong focus on the atmosphere and making the world as hostile as possible.

I stopped liking Bungie years ago with Destiny 2 but I think they (mostly) learned from their mistakes with this and its got that cult classic D1 energy going for it. It's not the best thing out there for sure - I don't like the gun and characters designs really, and loot is reset every season (which is a massive disincentive) - but this game is mostly about the world, suspense, and balanced gameplay anyway. There's a lot of strategy involved with it and the gameplay systems are well designed and polished.

Everything is so intense and convulated it's pretty hard to spot other players against all the distracting visual noise (counterintuitive for pvp, i know), but its all intentional. It opens up a lot of stealth options with these maze like maps and it heightens the tension A LOT. The game is all about situational awareness, creating suspense, and taking risks, and the map sizes are perfect for that.

Runs are intense but short (20 minutes tops). Only 30% of players exfil on average, so yeah be prepared to die a lot. The game is solid and fun.

orbital strikes the game

An indie gem, Downwell nails everything about what makes tough as nails platformers from the 8-bit era a true joy to play. All the mechanics in the game works overtime to create one of the most challenging and unique games I've played in years.

If you like mastering challenging but fluid controls, and appreciate retro pixel-art, Downwell is for you.