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The downfall of PSO2 must be studied.

Played this game longer on the PS4 version.

Pros
- Great OST. Lot's of rock and metal tracks that are fun to listen to.
- Creative plot
- Gameplay is similar to a Souls game, but more clunky and involves guns.

That's about where it ends I am afraid.

Cons
- P2W. You can also pay real money to speed up in-game processes or get better weapons/armor/items, or pay money to revive yourself,
- The game is designed around the previous point. It purposely makes things a hassle so you'll feel obligated to splurge. You won't notice this until the higher floors however.
- Game is undeniably repetitive. Most enemies are not varied (most of them are basically humans/zombies), and generally it is like playing PVP as many enemies can use the same attacks, weapons, and armor as the player. The AI are also just plain annoying as they seem to read player inputs.
- The ACTUAL PVP system is terrible. It just forces you to log-in and check your stuff so you don't fall behind on anything.
- Minor gacha aspects
- Level design isn't the worst but it isn't very interesting either.

All in all.. the game is okay if you're used to the garbage that other P2W games do. If you don't like the idea of brainless grinding or needing to pay money to keep having fun- don't bother with this one.

So far, the game is pretty solid. The story gets really slow at times but then has these high points that keep it interesting. The boss battles are great and the visuals are impressive. However, the FPS drops and random freezes are definitely in need of a fixing. Not even bringing down the graphics or using DLSS/Frame Gen fixes it.

And before anyone says "YOU HAVE A POTATO PC!!!" I do not. And this issue has been repeated multiple times since the game dropped. I very rarely run into issues with new games, and they are hardly this bad. I shouldn't be dropping to 15fps when very little is even happening on screen at times. It makes some fights sluggish, which is ... not enjoyable.

Once that is all sorted out, I'm sure this game will go down as one of the best releases of 2023/2024.

Something I have noticed about the positive Steam reviews for Destiny 2 is they fail to explain what is actually good about the game. "gud gaem, play' doesn't convince anyone to play a game as much as it sets itself as a reason to validate one's own opinion on the fact they enjoy the game. I am recommending against Destiny 2, not because I hate it, but because I actually DO like Destiny and only want it to improve for the better.

I've played Destiny since it's launch week in 2014, most of that time spent on console, and one thing that the franchise has never had is consistency. It's had up's and downs almost it's entire lifespan. The new patch/DLC is good? The next one is gonna suck, or at the very least be mediocre. Always have low expectations or you will always find yourself disappointed.

In the case for Destiny 2, this has only double-downed since then. Bungie, for lack of better phrasing, has absolutely NO IDEA what they are doing at times.

Something in the game is fun, useful, maybe even a tad bit OP? Nerf it to the ground so that no one ever wants to use it again!!!

Something in the game is mid, bad, or otherwise never used? Don't worry, it'll stay that way for most of it's existence.

Don't get me wrong. The gameplay loop of Destiny IS fun, and D2 has certainly improved it's mechanics overtime. It's just the fact that whoever makes the balance decisions must not actually play their own game.

This game only has 3 classes and yet Bungie somehow fails to balance any of them properly. Hunters were always a mid-long range class and they now have better melee builds than the CQC class- Titan, which is now a much less diverse class to play these days because Bungie has decided that Titan's only playstyle is to punch things in an environment where it's very easy to get killed. Warlocks are the kings of PvE and can infinitely heal themselves and spam grenades for days. I'm not really sure what inspired Bungie to kill off 1 of their 3 classes like this. I'm not even asking for huge buffs, or to make the class stronger like it's counterparts, but to make it serviceable and not weaker than an average Hunter/Warlock. And people will just say "You're clearly not using (meta build), git gud" but in a game that allows a ton of customization and options, it feels bad to be limited to 1 or 2 builds for an ENTIRE season. That's boring and certainly not the game Destiny should be- especially when it has done better in the past. The reason I bring this up is not because I want to complain about Titans or Hunters, but because this is a pattern that keeps happening over and over again within Destiny 2. There has been times where Hunter was much weaker and had limited options, Warlocks have been forced to use Well of Radiance for most of their existence in raids, things of that nature. Bungie seriously takes ages to make better decisions and when the time comes for a balance patch they end up killing something fun in the process- or just never bothering to give adjustments to things that desperately need them.

Onto the story... yeah. It's certainly a mess. There was DLC with terrible dialog, bad characters, overall really stupid moments no one cared for. However, there was many highlights within the story as well. The lore is expansive and interesting, there is *some* fun characters that are universally liked. It's pretty 50/50 on whether or not something sticks.

Music is great. Whatever you enjoyed out of the OST for the Halo series is replicated here. Not much I can say about it in detail.

Last thing I want to mention here is pricing. The DLCs are always $40-$50 and many times they certainly don't feel worth that price. This is because Bungie does this fun thing where a ton of content gets locked behind a timegate, meaning it'll be months before ALL the content that is actually going to be playable for DLC holders. Destiny is a live-service game and Bungie certainly makes that apparent when they tell everyone to wait 3 weeks to get something they were promised months before. Nothing we can do about that.

All in all, Destiny is fun when it wants to be, but I don't necessarily think the game is friendly to new players, and certainly not a cheap game outside sales.

Ignore my playtime, I was using Vortex for most of my play-through, as this game does not require Steam to be active in order to play. I currently have 50~ish hours and counting.

Damn, it's been like 2 years since I last wrote a review... but I feel like I need to say a few things about this rather controversial game.

For starters, by the time the 2.0 and 2.1 updates have released, this game went from distasteful disaster to near-masterpiece. I'll throw that out there, up-front. When I originally tried this game 2 years ago, it was not only unplayable under certain circumstances- but it was SO buggy you could not move two inches without an NPC freak-out session or a random car flying across the sky. Not to mention the game ran like garbanzo for many people. Initially, I had 30 FPS, give or take, medium settings. I have not upgraded my PC in 3 years, but now I can play this game at the HIGHEST settings, with 60 FPS, and 100+ mods, if I so wish. They most definitely fixed quite a few things regarding the technical side of it all.

With that all in-mind, let me move onto the actual review...

First and foremost, Cyberpunk 2077 is a story-rich game. Arasaka this, Arasaka that, cyberware, Jonny Silverhand, yadda yadda. I won't talk your ear off about the story, since you can just find out for yourself- but it is well-written for the most part. Personally, It isn't AS interesting to me as some of my other favorites such as the Nier series or even some Visual Novels. However... likable characters, a high-stakes plot, dark and thought-provoking themes.. Cyberpunk has it. It's more than I can ask for these days.

The perk overhaul in 2.0 brought some spice to the game. Builds are more meaningful, and there is more STUFF than just some higher numbers in my semi-RPG semi-looter-shooter video game. Slice off limbs, blow up groups of enemies, brute force with a shotguns and your fists, hack your foes, use their own weapons against them, hell you can play the game like Dishonored- go full cyber-stealth. There is a lot to explore and Night City is just BIG. Although there is one caveat, the consistency is very hit or miss. I'll try to explain the best I can.

First of all, the AI is still kind of weird... sometimes the enemies perform as they should and they attack you aggressively, or even tactically. Other times they just stop working and stand still as you shoot them in the face. It is very far from perfect, but not the worst. It is simply inconsistent.

Secondly, some builds are kinda... bad, depending on your difficulty. If you play the game on Easy/Normal then yes you can use anything you want and still play just fine. on Very Hard mode- you need to use a specific build and play a certain way or you will get punished hard for it. At least until you become so OP that the enemies stand zero chance against anything you do.

As far as mechanics go, such as crafting or looting, it is undeniably basic. It's not as fun or gratifying as say- Borderlands, but that isn't the point seeing as how Cyberpunk shines in other places that Borderlands does not. If you are looking for that full looty-shooty and make new toys to play with kind of thing, Cyberpunk is half-baked in that sense. It is a bit more streamlined and simple. You also don't need to worry much about numbers, just pick a favorite weapon and upgrade it. You can even use 1 gun the entire game if you really wanted to, just make sure to use the appropriate perks.

Don't be fooled, though, the gunplay and action is fun as is. I hate to recommend modding but this game needed a few tweaks for my personal liking, such as more blood/gore (it is really weird that the game didn't have much of it despite the violence) and some better visuals so I stuffed that in there for myself.


Music is alright, there is some hype soundtracks, some sad ones.. (if you watched the Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime, you will know.) Nothing stands out too much here. You will probably recall 2 or 3 tracks and forget the rest like I did.

In terms of ambiance, I feel like they could have done a bit more here. Cars and public spaces can be very silent for some reason, the people are silent (unless you are in a club or something, then it is a bit different.) it is a very quiet game despite taking place in this high-octane anything-can-happen city. Things only get crazy in important missions or combat.

Voice acting is honestly pretty damn good. The male protagonist is passable, but the female protagonist has a lot of emotion to her. It is refreshing overall. Side characters aren't too shabby either, we get a variety of voices because Night City is full of different cultures and people of varied origin- without the political nonsense. Once again, very refreshing to see and it makes the characters feel alive and not just robotic entities.

I think there more I could say but this is one of those games that are just not for everyone, but it is easy to fall in-love the world and themes with once you get past it's minor faults. Easily recommended.

***Slight Spoilers***

Something Yoko Taro has always managed to do in every single one of his games (Drakengard 1-3 and Nier:Automata specifically) is manage to make the player feel like a heaping pile of garbage. You never quite feel like a hero and yet you never quite feel like a villain either. You will never fully comprehend what is happening in the story or through a characters mind at all times. Each game requires multiple playthroughs and possibly some form of research beyond that. The player must connect with the characters and appreciate the staggering amount of details to truly "get" Nier.

Both Nier games reiterate multiple underrated and typically misinterpreted themes across the the whole story and boasts the line "Every other game does these wrong." And not only doing that they flip it on it's head and have you on the edge of your seat asking for more. Characters worth being emotionally invested into and an overarching tragic tale that tell a much larger, much deeper story than what initially meets the eye is something I just don't really see in many other games.

Tragedy is a core aspect of the Nier series, scarring the player as they gain emotional attachment to the cast. While the Drakengard series is more akin to "hopelessness," Nier is closer to the side that is "a shining ray of hope," showing the player that life does NOT have to be so grim. Things can change and people can overcome obstacles no matter how rough the road may have been. That's not to say any of the games end "happily" so to speak, but it is certainly better than the existential dread that is applied throughout the course of each game.

Without digging too far into the plot for the sake of simplicity, Nier: Replicant questions multiple aspects of humanity such as morality, gratification, self-worth, sacrifice, the meaning of friendship and family, and what it really takes to end another's life. The subjects of death and depression play a role as well. Each subsequent playthrough; dubbed as "Routes" (Route B, C, D, and E respectively) has the player replaying the second-half of the game various times. Depending on the Route, the game will have vastly different pieces of dialouge or cutscenes that tell the story in greater detail, and thus Nier: Replicant really begins to shine as a whole.

Every part of Nier: Replicant tells it's own piece of the interconnected Nier franchise story. From the absolutely beautiful music (the OST is worth $60 on it's own, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥), to the various locations, to the enemies. There is many bits of foreshadowing (which was quadrupled in Nier: Automata) and interesting pieces of lore. The visuals aren't exactly the most impressive thing in the world, but what Replicant gets right is the grim, post-world atmosphere and great design choices for certain locations of the game. My one and only gripe with the core aspects in this game are the atrocious side-quests. Seriously.. they are extremely lame and lack decent rewards most of the time.

Combat in Replicant is at best just "okay." It can be very fun depending on your personal usage of what is handed to you, such as various forms of magic and the ability to swap between weapon types on the fly, but at the end of the day the game has a low skill ceiling and generally not very hard to master. Enemies generally prove to be of little challenge as many of them are predictable and slow to act, magic is also very powerful and the main character is very mobile. It has an average amount of depth for a JRPG, but if you are solely looking for a game that has top-tier combat or mechanics then you are looking in the wrong place.

I would sooner suggest Nier: Automata if you are afraid mediocre combat would bore you. Although, I highly recommend Replicant to be played first only because it eventually ties into it's respective sequel.

In conclusion, Replicant is a painful game for all the right reasons. Heartbreak and depression never felt so damn good. I would personally give this game a 10/10 for making me cry like a baby and actually pushing me to play all the way to the game's final piece of content with tears in my eyes.

One of the better MMO's on the market right now. I will keep this simple, I won't waste your time as everyone has different tastes with MMO's and there is alot of debate on whether ESO is a good game or not within the MMO community. I will simply go over pro's/con's.

The Good:

- HUGE open-world to explore and lots of open-world content such as quests, delves (mini-dungeons), public dungeons, bosses, treasure chests, materials to farm, etc.

-No Pay2win

- Alot of customization, but I will explain this further, later in the review.

- The combat is a bit mixed. Some classes/weapons are more fun and versatile than others, but this is entirely dependent on the player's preference. The only true problem with combat is the absolute necessity to weave your light-attacks in-between your skills. Alot of players don't like the idea of animation canceling being required for good damage in end-game content. With this in mind however, I find the combat fun regardless.

- Making big money/gold isn't hard, it's just time consuming when you're a newbie. Don't worry about this too much until you're max level.

- Leveling is fairly easy, if you're into that.

- This game has enough lore to fill up 60,000 books worth.

The Meh:

- There is a lot of DLC. This game has been out for a long while, and the dev's monetize this game via DLC. The base game is big, but the collection of DLC's are bigger. More fun content is nice, but it can be expensive if you want all of it. Optionally you can buy a subscription for ESO+ which gives you access to ALL DLC in the game except the newest expansion at that current time.

The Bad:

-A lot of the customization is locked behind a paywall that is the Crown Store, and a lot of the motif (armor/weapon style) pages are locked behind RNG and/or pricey purchases with in-game gold. This becomes a lot easier to handle as you play longer.

- The community is very helpful most times, but you're going to get some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ who can ruin an experience such as trial (raid) leaders who disband a party of players because they are salty over something, thus wasting everyone's time. Zone chat can be silly-fun but again there is some weirdo's who can be off-putting. There is also PvP players and PvE try-hard's who can be nasty as well. This is just gaming community in general though.

- The lack of tutorials are off-putting. Expect to have a lot of questions as you play.

- You WILL need guide's to understand end-game content (veteran trials/dungeons). You can try to wing it, but expect a lot of failure unless you get carried by your party-members.

- Half of your performance as a player will depend on your build, meaning your armor/weapon set and your class skills. If you just slap on anything you feel like and then attempt harder content, chances are you will fail. There must be some sort of value in what you build.

Overall, I love this MMO despite it's flaws, I give it a solid 8/10 at the moment.

5 years ago I made a review for this game and gave it a ton of praise for many things such as the animation, combat, and F2P friendliness.

I just deleted it. It seems Neople has lost sight of what made DFO great by doubling-down on completely hindering the player experience.

Imagine logging in every day, playing for 20 minutes, and making no progress. I say 20 minutes because that is the absolute limit of how long you can play on your main character until the stamina gauge runs out, disabling you from entering anymore dungeons. You are either forced to stop playing or make a bunch of alt characters. The problem with alts in the current state of the game is they will be objectively far weaker due to resource splitting between events and weekly reward limits. This makes alt characters feel less of a fun way to continue making gains and more-so a chore to upkeep so that your main can have a slightly better chance at progress for that week- which brings me to my main point: RNG.

For some God-forsaken reason, they brought back the hellish amount of RNG that almost no Western player was enjoying back in the level 95 cap however many years ago. The game has done a very good job since then at letting players steadily progress and get to the main juice of the current contents within 1-2 weeks. With the introduction of RNG gears and slow gold-making gains this has become one of the slower patches in recent years, and in my opinion, has made the game less fun to progress.

They have been saying for 2-3 years now that they are trying to make the game a "gold sink" so that players become broke and won't have any in-game gold to spend, presumably because they plan to increase the amount of gold players can earn in a future patch- I am just wondering when this may be. It's felt like it has dragged on way too long and ultimately it's become next to impossible to stay F2P. Between Neo+ and title/avatar packages, you will eventually want to spend money on this game if you plan to play it somewhat seriously.

All in all, the game's combat and animations are still some of the best in 2D-style gaming, I just can't currently recommend it with all it's other issues as of this time.

trash

-Pros
Nekos
Nekos
Nekos
Nekos
Nekos

-Cons
Needs even more nekos.