Recent reviews by SmallLiquid

Phenomenal game, and not just for it's amazing visual style and dreamlike anime-come-to-life feel. That is the obvious praiseworthy part of the game, but there's so much else to appreciate here: all the Easter eggs, all of the different game mechanics and mini-games within this one package, all of the amazing world-building done by the developers in one game that left me craving for more of this world and its lore... there's so much to say.

In short, this is an easy game to recommend and at the current discounted launch price it's an even easier must-buy! Here's looking forward to peaceful mode launching in the near future, and possibly a sequel down the line exploring more of this world and showcasing more of the developer's creativity and talents. Good job folks, you made a damn good masterpiece!

I had never played the original 2001 release of Silent Hill 2, although I did watch a full playthrough with all the endings multiple times on Youtube before playing this remake. I was part of the skeptics that had doubts on whether Bloober team and Konami could really pull this off correctly, and I waited through the first week of the game's release to check reviews and impressions. In short, I had plenty of reasons to have my foot back when it came to this game.

However, just like the twist in the story herein, Bloober team and Konami proved my concerns futile: this game is a Masterpiece, through and through. No ends or buts, after playing this game for nearly 40 hours across multiple playthroughs (default and NG+) and getting all of its achievements, this is a must-have title on everyone's Steam library. While I still find the industry's new $70.00 standard price off-putting, and that this game is a remake of an existing classic Masterpiece, I would still purchase it at full price.

As far as some points of criticism or discussion, initially the game ran like crap, tons of hitches and stutters, and no Nvidia Frame-Gen or AMD Fluid Motion to speak of. The game has been patched since to fix most stutters, and Frame-Gen/Fluidd Motion paired with your preferred upscaling solution is a win-win. Game feels smooth, responsive, and looks gorgeous still. And the benefit of Frame-Gen's implementation here is that it makes the 30FPS cutscenes into 60FPS smooth-as-butter monents to watch and enjoy.

I should note that I am playing on 4K, with the highest settings selected except for DLSS on Performance andd Frame-Gen on. I am running on an AMD 7950x3D CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4090, both watercooled, and the game now runs at 4K often above 100FPS, with some more demanding areas ddroping to around 80FPS with the previously indicated settings.

Recommending the game is not enough to properly demonstrate how good and impactful this game has been for me. I had not played a game seriously, where I sat down for hours and hours in a day enjoying nearly every moment since Elden Ring. However, while it has not been that long since Elden Ring's release (2022), so much has happened in my life and health that it feels like years and years between my last good and immersive gaming experience. Then, I bought Baldur's Gate 3 on a whim, and the rest is history.

This is a masterpiece by the studio behind Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2, and truly brings to shame every game that partakes in the trends of "MoDerN GaMInG" we so often see nowadays. It feels like a labor of love that shows in every choice, explorable region in the map, interaction with the countless NPCs and characters you meet on your journey - all without shaming you for the choices you make along the way, of which you can go on any direction. It has brought joy into some empty-feeling days amidst illness and self-doubt, and deserves all the accolades and praise it has received. 10/10

Wonderfully crafted game that stands out amidst both indie and AAA titles. It is no wonder that the likes of James McAvoy and William Dafoe took part in this project, as it is one of the most memorable gaming experiences for me in many years.

The story is well crafted, gameplay is a mixture of classic point and click with excellent animations and dialogue options that change based on your actions and learned knowledge throughout playing the game. No spoilers here, but I enjoyed the twist and the "ending", and I would recommend buying the game and judging it for yourself. I would not trust the gaming journalist headlines complaining about the game or the ending, this is more than worth its asking price.

The lore is really fascinating, the locations breathtaking, the weapons are fun to use and the shooting and overall gameplay feels great. Mission structure is basically always the same (shoot everything in sight), but when the stories and narratives are kicking in it's really worth playing. The multiplayer component of this game, as a live service, is great: it's fun interacting with players anywhere, be it PvE, PvP, or just in social hubs.

Let me state this: I bought this game in 2015, went on a hiatus from Feb. 2016-Feb. 2017, and just recently permanently removed the game from my account. I hate the COMMUNITY for this game, and consequentially the game became a constant headache.

I played over 300 hours of this game, and before I quit I was at expert level 43 I believe. I do not suck at the game, so don't go thinking that is why I am hating. I am not hating, I am being honest. I LOVE THIS GAME, the care and thought (mostly well intended) by the developers is visible. The micro-transactions, only recently added, are excusable considering the amount of cars and content you can get normally. BUT... we must get to the biggest problem of this game: THE GARBAGE COMMUNITY.

The MLG, 420, casual, idiotic, pathetic, and tryhard nature of the culture that the Rocket League community has taken since the game's release is what drags the game down to rock-bottom. Competitive, ironically, is actually the most enjoyable part of the game most of times, as there are "stakes" to the match and people play more tactical and grounded. Meaning, actual strategy, coordination, and some fun. It has its problems, but more often than not it is fine.

What SUCKS is the regular modes, which are supposed to be the most fun ones. Standard is where most players are, but if you see a GRAN CHAMPION, ROCKETEER, and similar, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY - your fun will be ruined, especially if they are in a party (which is almost always). The level of no-life these pathetic wastes of oxygen demonstrate is almost unthinkable, and the game rewards it: what was once cool and interesting to see in ariels and cool passes has devolved into unblockable, lopsided matches and outright RAPE of players who HAVE LIVES, and choose not to spend 1000s of hours playing this garbage. At least in normal modes you can leave without being penalized from matchmaking. And speaking of this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ matchmaking...

THE MATCHMAKING IS ♥♥♥♥! You will be put in matches you just left, placed against way out of your league players, and occasionally parties will get split. It sucks, which is confusing when this could have been mostly fixed by adding the skill variable from competitive to this, but keeping it hidden since it is normal mode. Also, why is there no added clause to the matchmaking preventing you from joining the match you just left? It is infuriating...

FINAL VERDICT: 2/10

This game was fin when it launched, everyone was learning together, learning the tactics and cooperation in order to win matches. But, implementing and fostering E-SPORTS GARBAGE, hyping up competitive play, and trying to keep ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ OUR WALLETS with ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ DLC to such a degree it is no longer excusable but just shameful, Rocket League becomes even more casual and frustrating than Call of Duty. Wow.

DO. NOT. BUY. THIS. ♥♥♥♥. Even for cheap, it is not worth throwing your controller through the TV or monitor

(Also, yeah, you can ONLY play this with a controller. Good luck.)

Are people here stupid? Has anyone played Borderlands 2? Does anyone remember how that season pass was $30, and included 4 ENTIRE STORIES AND NEW AREAS FOR THE GAME? Characters were optional purchases, and separate, and LESS THAN $10!!! I think it was about $5.

Now we got this: a season pass that cost $30 for 4 random DLCs we have no idea what we get, and one is a $10 FOR A SINGLE NEW PLAYABLE CHARACTER!!! NOTHING ELSE!!!! NOTHING NEW, NO NEW AREA, NO EXTRAS IN CAMPAIGN, NOTHING!!!! How are these people reviewing this positively? I paid $13 for my season pass, and I'm still pissed!

Unbelievable... I guess since Gearbox didnt have another Colinial Marines to rip off people and steal its funds for this game they turned to ripping off fans... who willingly accept it. Absurd, and pathetic. SHAME ON YOU GEARBOX, and you BETTER GIVE US STORY DLCS IN THE SEASON PASS...

I was looking forward to this game MORE THAN ANYONE I KNOW! I loved Borderlands 2, one of my favorite games of all time for its improvements and properly streamlined features compared to the introductory game, and also introduced Handsome Jack to us in a PHENOMENAL way! However, this game is both a hit and miss: while space and zero gravity is AWESOME and feels like a natural evolution for the series, other design decisions derivative of the setting are much less stellar.

Again, while space jumping is awesome, having to manage your oxygen and lacking ability to double jump when out of it discourages exploration, and makes this awesome world like sailing in uncharted and stormy waters: it may be fun and great looking, with interesting things to do but also requires you to "check in" oxygen filled areas or search desperately for enemies to kill, which thankfully now drop O2. Nonetheless, be warned: NEVER GO AFK in open areas.

The story here is mediocre: while Jack's rise to power is fascinating, and being related to him directly and working side-by-side with the Handsome crazy himself in fun, the missions structures are annoying and uninteresting at times, with boring NPCs forced down your troat instead of working with Jack, and having objectives tucked away in tiny areas also discourages the SPACE FUNCTION NEW TO THE GAME! Just mind-boggling. At least Concordia and Helios sections are mostly flawless, with some of the better NPCs and side missions; which by the way are interesting and, at times, are MORE INTERESTING AND TELL A BETTER STORY THAN MAIN CAMPAIGN ITSELF! With MORE INTERESTING AND FUNNY CHARACTERS! Plus they feel fewer than EVER, and at just about 30 hours (10-12 of campaign) I almost completed all of them.

Finally, this game was supposed to feel more mature and give players an even more complete and polished than Borderlands 2, but instead feels like a wasted opportunity, downright LAZY at times. Also, the inability to access some bosses like Zarpedon after completing main missions and having some bosses drop THE SAME LOOT EVERY TIME without any meaninful legendary occasionally is discusting. Nonetheless, it has a few hits: the space double jump when not constrained, the Grinder which allows you to make weapons and shields relevant, even if you dont want them anymore, lazer guns can be fun though most are not that good, and using moonstones to create lunarshine weapons (including legendaries) is awesome, with extra abilities and perks for the weapon improved. I still recommend it as patches and DLC can make the game more balanced/fun, but overall a dissapointment.

*Also, some crazy glitches and bugs still plague the game, even worse than BL2. Nisha players: watch your hands, they will act wonky most times.

This game is a proper homage to the zenomorth and one of the better games in the Alien/Aliens lineup, however a few AI choices and overall lack of hand-holding of any manner in harder difficulties as well as some glitches and bugs made worse in that scenario make a stellar idea and project less than stellar.

In addition, the game feels extanded with an unecessary and LONG story piece added halfway through which feels more like an excuse to allow you to shoot and loot for no reason, and cheap (but somewhat appreciated) fan-service.

Technically speaking, the game's visual and audio rival and SURPASS greatly those from much greater budget, and furthermore showcase how TRUE realism can be excellent and proper looking and ENHANCE the experience. Seriously, the lighting and flames here are the BEST OF ANY GAME I'VE EVER SEEN! No joke, better than other games solely made as tech demos.

Overall, by the (last of many) ending it does feel like you earned your way to a proper reward, which you may or may not feel you got, seriously arbitrary. Nonetheless, it mixes different environments and gameplay elements which make it a great experience overall, and one of the better games of 2014.