Recent reviews by Tatariu

RE9 (requiem) is a very strong survival horror game. Grace (imo) is more enjoyable than Leon, due to the high-number of puzzles, backtracking, and game-altering decisions (leaving, or killing certain enemeis, crafting a specific resource, etc). Mangaing the limited inventory space as Grace, and relying on Ink Ribbons to save progress hightens the tension and makes for a more enjoyable experience. The Alien: Isolation esque sequences with The Girl (the stalker enemy) are fun, although very easily cheesed on a second playthrough. The Basement is by far the most tense encounter.

Leon's gameplay is much like RE4, but now you're firing on all cylinders. The major Leon segment on the East Raccoon City area is a bit of a drag if I'm being honest. After the 2nd objective is done, you really wish you could just leave the area, but there's still more to do before advancing. The grey and brown colour palette in that first area is tiresome to look at after some time. Things pick up pace quickly after arriving at the RPD. I won't spoil any of what goes on there, but it makes the journey worth it.

The performance of RE9 is very good, especially considering I played on an 8GB VRAM graphics card. For reference, I played using an RTX 3070 and a Ryzen 7 5700x on an SSD with plenty of system ram. The game (for the most part) maintained a constant 60FPS experience when using a mix of "Normal/Standard" and "High" settings, so long as DLSS was used on at least Quality mode. I did, however, notice that after playing for 30-45 minutes (possibly triggered by entering a new room, or area), VRAM would finally run out and spill over to system ram. This caused a massive performance drop only fixed by quitting out to the main menu, and loading back in. Towards the end of my first playthrough I tried lowering the texture quality from "Normal" down to "Low" and this resolved the issue permanently. I'm now on my 2nd playthrough using low textures, and the game looks more-or-less the same, but doesn't cap out the VRAM anymore.

RE9 is a great game, and is up there with the likes of RE2, RE4, and RE7.

Killer has a lack of counterplay in chase. The Killer excels at prolonging the game with a 3-gen strat. Over-tuned add-ons and base-kit. Perks for both Survivors and Killer are underwhelming or outright useless.

Most players 'go next' or disconnect the moment they see the Killer (for very good reason).

Possibly the worst DLC to ever be added to Dead by Daylight.

Hackers, poor game-balance and awful Developer communication. There is no anti-cheat, and there will never be. What a steaming pile of ♥♥♥♥.

This is quite literally the best COD Zombies experience you can get. Use the T7 Patch, or an offline progression mod to stay safe from cheaters and exploiters. Play solo, or with your friends (who also have the mods) and you will never get hacked.

You get 14 Zombies maps in the normal game. There are always CUSTOM maps being uploaded the Workshop. IMO the best are fan-made remakes of Treyarch maps, like Mob of the Dead, Die Rise, or Call of the Dead. Pretty soon we will have Black Ops 4 Zombies maps added as well, and some outliers too (Buried, TranZit, Five).

Gobblegums are fun, obviously overpowered, but entirely optional. Don't worry about rolling RNG for good drops, just play and get Divinium, then spend excess gums you don't want in the Cookbook to exchange them for the ones you care to have.

New COD Zombies experiences are good in their own ways, but nothing beats the classic era of Zombies.

The Long Dark is the best openworld, survival game ever created. The reason is simple: its actually about survival. Most games would use enemies, like zombies, or hordes, pvp, etc... The Long Dark kills you via the world itself. You will starve, become dehydrated, too tired to walk straight, and die from hypothermia, all within the first few attempts at a run. Once you've mastered the basic systems of the game, you will feel more comfortable exploring, and discovering all the wonderful locations, admiring their vistas, and hunkering down in a nice warm, cozy cabin.

Base decoration was semi-recently added, and the DLC has some useful items and additions (Travois is a sled to carry excess gear and haul it back to your bases, and the Trader is a merchant for late-game supplies). Cougar is awful even after its rework, so I usually turn it off. I personally hate Timberwolves, so they get disabled in my runs as well.

You can play with the default difficulty settings, or create your own tailored experience using the Custom option (which I prefer). Only rough part about that is you can't make progress towards Feats (unlockable, equipable perks that alter the base experience), requiring you play using the pre-made difficulty options.

I get into moods every now and then, and binge this game's survival mode for a solid month, then I quit for a while and start again.

When I'm too sick to work my day job, this is a very comforting game, especially when I'm sipping hot lemon water with honey, or having a tea IRL.