Recent reviews by cypher

I spent a lot of time thinking about what to write for this review. I’ve played the game extensively and knew I wanted to recommend it. However, the game launched with major issues, and even though some (like progression) have been fixed, there are still controversial aspects that can heavily affect your experience. There’s a lot to cover, but I’ll focus on the main points.

Single-player campaign - let’s just say it’s funny. It had potential: a decent story, charismatic characters, great animations during cutscenes, and some epic moments. But clearly, there wasn’t enough time to polish everything. The campaign is unlikely to deliver strong drama or satisfaction, yet it can make you laugh at its rough edges: dumb AI with aimbot and wallhack, artificially stretched runtime, low-poly textures, missing shadows, dozens of identical buildings, and awkward gameplay animations - all of this will either frustrate or amuse you.

Multiplayer is the game’s main strength. But it's not perfect. Sound design, animations, and weapon visuals are excellent, but there are some contentious points: aggressive ADS bloom and netcode issues make gunplay frustrating at times. Progression modules reduce ADS bloom, but before unlocking them, it’s a real pain.

There’s plenty of content: weapons, gadgets, attachments, though most are gated behind grind and challenges. Thankfully, progression is faster and challenges are easier than at launch. Maps are beautiful and work well for Conquest, but less so for other modes. In Rush, for example, one side often has an unfair advantage because maps are simply scaled-down versions of larger ones without redesign for tighter combat.

Despite these issues, the multiplayer in Battlefield 6 is good, but falls slightly short of great. The removal of specialists and return to classes is a huge plus. Class-based teamwork revives the spirit of earlier entries: assault push objectives and place deploy beacons, medics heal, revive and resupply, engineers repair and destroy vehicles, and snipers scout and provide cover. Every class is necessary and contributes in its own way.

The game is a true generator of cinematic moments. Graphics are strong, aside from some color filters and lighting issues. Destruction, explosions, whistling bullets, cries for help, vehicles - all of these create epic scenes. Finally, there’s a mechanic to drag fallen teammates: under a hail of bullets, you feel the effort of dragging an ally, leaving a blood trail. It’s impressive and makes the action feel real.

Verdict: Battlefield 6 is a solid multiplayer shooter with stunning graphics and sound, epic moments, and a return to large-scale multiplayer battles with vehicles and class-based teamwork. The campaign is rough, and multiplayer is strong but not perfect. The game isn’t flawless, it’s clear that Zampella had to make compromises with EA, and some aspects (like the campaign or the adaptation of maps for non-Conquest modes) feel unfinished or flawed.

P.S. Sadly, Vince Zampella passed away. His death is a huge loss for the industry and the shooter genre. He brought us a solid Battlefield, something we hadn’t seen since BF1. Without his vision, the future of the franchise, and specifically this part, is uncertain.

Press F for Zampella. He made a huge contribution to the genre and gave us some of the best shooters ever.

Arc Raiders is an engaging but controversial game. Its strengths include style, visuals, optimization, sound design, lore, and a solid PvE component. Weaknesses include a small stash and limited stacks, no in-game market or custom loadouts, issues with audio positioning, hit registration and netcode, weak developer feedback, bugs with shooting/falling through textures, and cheaters.

The game delivers a varied experience. Beyond the usual genre tension, Arc Raiders offers both aggression and cooperation, at least in solo lobbies. Encounters with other players constantly make you second-guess yourself: will they attack on sight, shoot in your back, pass by, or help you fight an Arc, spare you at the extraction point, or even revive you? The game generates strong and diverse emotions, from winning PvP fights or escaping with a full backpack, to failing evacuation at the last second.

Betrayal feels more common than cooperation, but friendly players exist. According to the developers, a hidden matchmaking system attempts to group players with similar “temperaments.” Friendly encounters create memorable moments: chill players playing flute or guitar, helping with quests, trading items, or temporarily teaming up against killers or large ARCs.

Despite flaws, Arc Raiders is highly recommended for both newcomers and experienced extraction players. It’s beginner-friendly: simple mechanics, not very annoying stash management, detailed tutorials, clear quests, and not every encounter is a firefight. Progression - upgrading workbenches and completing quests, takes a couple dozen hours. Of course, you can attempt to kill the Matriarch, spend a long time tediously hunting down every blueprint, or experiment with all weapons and gear. But there are no significant advantages to more expensive weapons or equipment, with the possible exception of vitamin spray, a grappling hook, a bobcat and weapon attachments. Without long-term goals, the game eventually starts to feel more like a straightforward shooter focused on PvP carnage in your lobbies.

Verdict: Arc Raiders is a solid entry into the extraction genre. Technical and gameplay issues remain, and endgame content is limited, but as a compact, comfortable, and atmospheric representative of the genre, it’s worth its price. Buy it for the experience itself, not for endless grinding or deep mechanics. For multiplayer GOTY, my top two were BF6 and Arc Raiders. I voted for BF6, but Arc Raiders’ win is deserved as well. Zampella’s game delivers an "absolute cinema" experience, while Söderlund’s game delivers a "human one" - built on uncertainty, cooperation, and betrayal.

Borderlands 4: Fun Gameplay, Terrible Optimization, and Randy’s “Twitter Magic”

Hardware: 5070 Ti + Ryzen 7 9800X3D @ 1440p


✔️ The core gameplay is excellent — the best in the series.
❌ Performance is bad, even on high-end hardware.
❌ Studio leadership is condescending and out of touch.
❌ Pricing is absurd in many regions.

If you have DLSS + Frame Generation + high-end hardware — and can ignore the mess — it’s worth playing.
Otherwise, just know what you're getting into.


+ Best gunplay in the series — responsive, sharp, fun, solid animations, but weak weapon visuals and sound.
+ Best movement — double jump, dash, jetpack, grappling hook. Adds verticality and momentum.
+ Story so far is solid — less cringe than BL3. The new villain isn’t Handsome Jack, but definitely better than the TikTok twins. Importantly, the game doesn't desperately lean on fan service. Legacy characters do appear, but the focus is shared with plenty of new characters.
+ Humor isn’t painful — some jokes feel outdated, but it’s a step up from BL3’s awkward writing.
+ The graphics generally look good — stylized, vibrant, and consistent with the series’ identity. However, it's not impressive enough to justify the game’s steep hardware demands. The cel-shaded look isn’t photorealistic, so the performance cost feels excessive.
One notable visual letdown is the UI — it feels strangely flat and minimalistic, lacking the energetic, chaotic flair Borderlands is known for. Compared to the dynamic holographic interface of BL2, this version feels like a placeholder, disconnected from the game’s identity.
+ Endgame looks promising — vault dungeons, pearl loot, raid bosses, licensed parts system. Might actually last.


– Terrible optimization
DLSS Quality + High = ~70 FPS. Only with Frame Generation (x2) I get 144 FPS. Native? Don’t even ask. Calling this “premium” is a joke — even the recommended settings for a 5090 suggest DLSS Balanced + Frame Gen for stable FPS. While I personally haven’t experienced crashes and stutters are rare on my setup, many players are reporting frequent crashes and major stability issues.

Unreal Engine 5 has always been challenging for performance in modern games (except Fortnite), but I still believe much better results could’ve been achieved here through proper optimization and thorough testing.
If open world design is the issue, then maybe it’s better to focus on meaningful content rather than simply having a large open world.
In my opinion, this is one of the worst-performing UE5 games to date — if not the worst.

– Absurd pricing
$70 base price with no regional pricing. In Ukraine, it’s more expensive than in the U.S.

🧙‍♂️ The “Great Magician” problem
Randy Pitchford (Gearbox CEO) on performance issues:
“This is a premium game for premium gamers.”
“Most people have a 4-year-old cellphone.”
“If you don’t like it — refund.”
“True fans will find the money.”
“Write your own engine, then we’ll talk.”

Pitchford needs a PR manager. Seriously. Right now, he's just making things worse.

I couldn't tear myself away from the game. I can't say that it's full of new ideas or that this game is on some completely different level compared to other party based RPGs. But the level of quality of every aspect of this game, in my opinion, definitely puts it on a higher level than the competitors, and it deservedly earned the title of Game of the Year 2023.

While this game isn't for everyone, because many people don't like party RPGs, I still recommend to newcomers give it a chance to show off the good aspects of the genre: narrative, dialog, world exploration, quests, and a pretty in-depth combat system.

For those who are familiar with the genre, but for some reason haven't played Baldur's Gate 3, I'm 100% sure you should give it a try!

I would like to specially mention the composer Borislav Slavov, he did a great job on the sound.

Don't buy it till they optimize this game for PC. And I don't think this will be optimized anytime soon since this game deved by Avalanche. Seems like here is ram leak + game doesn't works or works poorly with RTX cards and not only RTX. Regardless of your graphic settings. I get crashes even on hd resolution with the lowest settings. Just let's hope it gonna be fixed with 1st day patch.

Baldezh (If you do not play multiplayer and do not buy it every year)

Not baldezh

Mick Gordon 10/10

Not bad. Certainly there are flaws in terms of logic (tumbling with a lightsaber? blocking animal attacks?), in the plot (very Disney). The combat is not perfect, in general it works, and can be fun (especially closer to the end, when you will get most of upgrades), but it works crookedly. There's no dismemberment (Disney). And of course backtracking. Lots of backtracking. 80% climbing/running/jumping 20% everything else. Graphics and sound are great, animations are sometimes buggy, but overall okay. As a Star Wars fan I enjoyed it, but the game is clearly a one time thing (maybe someday in years I'll complete it again, but I'm not sure).