Recent reviews by Soviet

This game is really good in some ways that I am reluctant to get into on account of not wanting to spoil the mystery. Just, it keeps adding twists and turns in ways that escalate, i recommend it.

This game is pretty good. Lot of systems to consider and optimize, but they get introduced at a gradual enough pace that you can avoid getting overwhelmed. I'd recommend avoiding the wiki until you find your way to some things organically, but you do you. Pleasant surprise: the story and lore are more interesting than they need to be for this game, check it out.

I picked up this game right at release, when it wasn't necessarily stable (at least not on my laptop, which admittedly has some peculiarities). The dev team has been active in the community from the start, and has been patching the game at breakbeck speed, game seems to be running smoothly now.

That out of the way, this game is great. I'm hardpressed to think of a game that makes me feel this exultant when I outsmart the AI. This probably has something to do with the AI, which is very good at this game, and consistently surprises me.

Character customization supports a multitude of different playstyles, and putting points into different skills leads to unique dialogue options and wacky solutions to your problems. Like all of the Bethesda Fallout games, the world feels wide and immersive. Unlike Fallout 3 or 4, the game also has a lot of depth (thanks Obsidian). The characters are interesting, the combat is a bunch of fun, it's easy to avoid getting weighed down with too much junk, and all of the storylines are intruiging, whether it's the main plot, a random sidequest, or a companion's loyalty quest.

Pros: it's total annihilation
Cons: I still inhabit a mortal form and am therefore faced with the chilling reality that I may someday enter a state of being (or lack thereof) that precludes my ability to keep playing this game.

*shrug*

I played it for a bit. I'm not usually one to take chances on racing games, but I picked it up as part of a bundle thought I'd give it a go. Played with a controller, maybe it would have been better with a wheelthing?

At any rate, the cars just don't feel fun to drive. The controls felt kind of loose, and generally sluggish, maybe it gets less bad as you unlock other cars?

It is common for developers to tout their "dark and emotionally complex" character arcs, and it's usually just an excuse for grimdark angsty plots that do not engender emotional investment in the characters. No matter how sad a character's fate is, its emotional impact is limited by how much the game can make you care about the character in the first place.

Dragonfall genuinely made me care about its characters (with the possible exception of, uh, what's his face, the rigger, he felt like an afterthought). The gameplay is more polished than in Shadowrun Returns, but the story is just on an entirely different level. The dialogue trees are engaging and full of surprises that play with genre conventions, the main storyline is intriguing, the loyalty mission chains are fascinating and occasionally heartwrenching, and basically I recommend the hell out of this game.

I recommend all of the DLC - the complete edition goes on sale every so often, and is very much worth it. Still doesn't quite have all the complexity and great lore of Alpha Centauri, but it's the closest you'll get in a modern game. Multiplayer can be great fun, especially if you feel like like forming big anachronistic alliances with your friends.

I didn't end up playing much, the control scheme seems like kind of a wreck though.