Recent reviews by DayDreamer

Overall a good game, probably my favorite anime action rpg! The story telling was usually pretty minimal, which is almost typical in souls-likes, but I liked the grand scheme of it all by the end. Gameplay-wise I probably wouldn't recommend this one for beginners though.

Great Things:
-I really liked the mana/energy/mud resource; Attacking makes the bar go up, getting hit makes it go down. This resource is everything, it's what lets you block/parry/cast spells/use weapon abilities (which every weapon has its own unique skill) or hold on to it for passive buffs for you character.
-Armor stats have pretty minimal variation so you're able to mostly wear whatever you want. It's nice that it doesn't REALLY matter but I would love it more if I had the option of min-maxing and just choosing what it looks like.
-Good enemy designs and variations, except for the monks.
-STRONGLY liked the ui design as well as the hud's contextual nature, which is where it hides parts or all of it unless needed.

Critiques:
-For some reason I went into this game only trying to parry and oh my, that was painful... Enemy attacks can be sporadic, have long strings with a lot of variation and are filled with unnatural delays which, if you prioritize dodging, isn't the worst thing but trying to parry them sucks. Though I haven't played it in a LONG time it feels very Dark Souls 1.
-The world is post-apocalyptic, so everything but the end game isn't much to look at. Has the Nier Automata look and minimal environment clutter but way better textures and a comic outline. Which begs the question "Why does it run so poorly?", it runs OK but a little heavy for what's presented even with the environments being separated by loading screens. We've had ps3 games that look about as good but run way better.
-Audio was probably the weakest thing in the game. Played in English but a lot of voices were pretty breathy, like it's asmr in my ear trying to whisper to me. Ambient music was fine but the boss music, for at least the first two bosses, were not to my liking so I just turned it down and forgot about it past that point.

Overall great 2.5D metroid-vania with tight combat, amazing platforming, beautiful backdrops and fantastic full 3D anime-esque cutscenes/interactions that are all fully voiced. All the praise gameplay-wise.
If there's any reason this couldn't compete with something like Hollow Knight, it'd be: IMO, that this game has an uninteresting story and the world and majority of enemies aren't aesthetically fantastical/mystical/flashy enough.
Really unfortunate that this game didn't get more attention because of it's originally high $50 USD starting price and backlash on the main character's design...

Other Notes:
-Strongly recommend you actively check out combat tutorials given by the your Immortal friend, Artaban, in the Haven.
-Introduces a fantastic quality-of-life where you can take screenshots of places and items you currently don't have access to and plug them right into your map as a reminder for yourself.
-Because it's 2.5D the backgrounds look great but the foreground walking area, which is where your focus is most of the time, tends to feel flatter than I'd like.
-Didn't like the aesthetic of the user interface/menus.
-REALLY needs HDR, the effects and highlights are screaming for it...

More Dishonored 2, which is great! The gameplay of this series was phenomenal and the 3 new powers you're limited to in this one, once you've learned what they can do, are really strong! I also enjoyed the new side quests/contracts that this game introduces.
IMO the portrayal of the story in this game was better than it's predecessor, Dishonored 2, but the actual content of it was not to my taste.

Beware: Like Dishonored 2, if you have an amd + nvidia based system, you'll need to download the latest version of " amd_ags_x64.dll " for the game to launch otherwise it crashes. You can find a link to the github download in the Steam Guide "DDFix". You don't need to download the whole fix suite it lists from nexus, there is a link specifically to this in there as well.

Next is a small comment on the story that's mentioned in D2, but if you haven't don't read it..
||I didn't like how rather than making the Outsider a mystical entity he instead becomes a tragic victim. Also Daud's conviction is a little forced and his reason for being so worn down doesn't make sense.||

Overall, one of those extremely rare cases where a sequel succeeds in being bigger and better; containing more varied and detailed levels without sacrificing any of the freedom the original offered.
Strongly recommend you play the original first if you're thinking of picking this up.

Beware: If you have an amd + nvidia based system, you'll need to download the latest version of " amd_ags_x64.dll " for the game to launch otherwise it crashes. You can find a link to the github download in the Steam Guide "D2Fix". You don't need to download the whole fix suite it lists from nexus, there is a link specifically to this in there as well.

~Rambling Subjective Thoughts~
The Good!
-The graphics were stunning and the game performed beautifully, experiencing consistent 120fps throughout my run on high settings on my 3080 system without a hitch was a treat.
-The difficulty, no matter what setting, is as hard or easy as you want it to be. Offering more tools, than the first game, that will get you to the end of the level in whatever fashion you wish.
-I did 2 full runs:
The first with powers, ghost and no killing, more specifically meaning that no one saw me and I didn't kill anyone. The second with no powers and a more lethal approach: "trying" to only kill street thugs, no civilians and only guards that were btwn me and something I wanted. Having my second run of the game be a "No Powers" run, brought a whole new perspective and appreciation to the game for me. Where using powers and going ghost really distanced me from knowing my targets; no powers brought me closer to them, seeing how they interact with me and others helped me decide their fate.
-Of note, doing a "No Powers" run only locked me out of 2 bone charms though I was able to get them with a glitch / buggy jumping.
The Bad...
-I didn't like how they made the Outsider "more human", rather than having him be a mysterious and neutral being, they gave him a tragic backstory and a motive to aiding us against the antagonist.
-They recycled the Antagonist from the Dishonored 1 DLC... Which isn't a bad thing but it was never mentioned her ties with other characters and that connection felt really shoehorned in. They showed what she was capable of in the Dishonored 1 DLC and it would've been more interesting if it was implied if this power was used to force this connection.
-I never understood why others disliked voice protagonist but after doing a 2nd run as Corvo I understood. It's not that I disliked his new voice, but when you play the first game as silent Corvo, painting your own narrative, you kind of establish your own impression of what your character is like. So when I played as Corvo this time around even though I'm usually all in on dark brooding edgy grizzly type characters, he didn't really fit the narrative that I unconsciously established playing the first game.

Game looks great, runs great and can throw hundreds of zombies at you at once. Story didn't really pick up for me till 3/4 of the way through but I had a lot of fun roaming the world, upgrading and customizing my bike.
If this was a brand new game I think it'd be a passable $50 US game but by 2025 standards I think $30 US is a good price.

A fantastically smooth and challenging platformer with tons of levels which, after the main story, is not for the faint of heart. Strongly recommend even at full price.

Easy Top 5 of 2025 for me and will be there day 1 for any large expansions.

Played this solo at the hardest difficulty and holy moly, I'm not big on survival games but I had a fantastic time. You don't have to play it like me though, there are plenty of sliders to tailor make the difficulty to your liking.
There's no detailed map but I'm a psycho that doesn't mind getting lost so the world/s were extremely fun to explore, get lost and learn about.
Loved the way you needed to work to level up your skills like Runescape.
Built my base in the security office at the beginning of the game, optimized the layout several times and just never moved. All routes eventually lead back to the Office Sector.

Can't recommend it as an overall package, especially for the original price, but if you can squint past the negatives and want to have some fun, buy it on sale.
At most I'd pay ~$20 US.

- Was not impressed by the story. World graphics were poor but spell graphics were great. Performance was okay. Open world content was Ubisoft-like but the rewards were fine.
+ Probably the best action magic combat I've ever experienced to date. Starts slow but as your kit grows you're jumping around, dodging enemy attacks, shifting through elements and slinging every effective spell in your arsenal with only an individual spell's cooldown holding you back.

As a veteran to the genre, probably the hardest/most frustrating "souls-like".
- Everything essentially 2 shots you even after building for both health and armor.
- Dodge i-frame window is small and the parry mechanic only works on small frame human enemies.
- It's mission based, so no open world, and the levels have death holes and ledges everywhere.
- Of the 2 regions I've played through, not levels, no mission area was visually appealing to me.
- Story was not interesting or at least not to me.
- Has transmog but no way to preview it aside from a 2d image of the individual piece.
Second attempt at trying to get into the game due to hype over 2 and 3.
Guess I'm just bad.... Going to skip this.
Overall, this game just stressed me out. Even more than fighting Consort Radahn...

TL:DR Ubisoft's Silly Breath of the Wild-like.

Game is pretty and runs extremely well on Ubisoft's Anvil Engine compared to anyone trying to do even smaller open worlds on Unreal Engine.
Good keybind options, started on controller but switched to M&KB. I couldn't function with the default controller.

Combat/Movement was smooth and felt good. Perfect Parries, abilities, dodges, and double jumps.
Enemies come in 3 tiers of difficulty, shifting the world based on your character's invisible overall power level it seems.

Story is basic but it's supposed to be simple and silly/comedic with all the hidden innuendos/double entendre-esque dialogue, think original Tom & Jerry. Really disliked the accents though, took away from the silliness more than it helped FOR ME.
Usual formula of 4 minor stories to hit in different parts of the map then finally heading to the finale.

Big collect-a-thon world with most rewards either adding to your cosmetics or currency to strengthen your character.
Good creative variations for the puzzles and dungeons, aside from the few arena dungeons. Majority of the puzzles were easy and was always pleasantly surprised when I got a platforming dungeon. If you try them and want something more difficult, apparently there's a DLC with tougher dungeons.

(venting) Biggest, but personal, gripe: Wasn't a big fan of the scouting. You can press V to scout treasures and reveal icons for the map when you hover over it. My problem is that you can find things through walls as long as it's within range. So I would get dizzy being compelled to do 360's scanning the map to make sure I got everything. Rather be able to place waypoints then go there to reveal the icon. I might miss things but that would've eliminated the tedium and dizzying scanning I had to do.

Overall great experience but it's a little too silly for adults and I would assume it's not "cool" enough for kids. Good but definitely not the "you should really play this" kinda game.