Recent reviews by Distant Utopia

An excellent follow-up to Cultist Simulator, Book of Hours takes a slower-paced and more relaxed approach that I've described to my friends as "comfy eldritch horror". Hush House is a delight to explore, and every room feels rewarding to invest the time into unlocking.

It wasn't until I started setting aside certain books to re-read for their memories that I realised I had become the Librarian of Hush House, cataloguing and organising books while inviting guests round and serving them tea and bread, chatting about the weather, showing them my cool silver globe or lens apparatus - just a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy.

Of note, and something that I neglected to mention in my Cultist Simulator review but which equally applies to that game, the soundtrack for Book of Hours is sublime. Every track hits a whimsical emotion, and the silence between gives you time to your thoughts,

It goes without saying that the writing is just as good here as in Cultist Simulator, if not better. The world of Secret Histories is vibrant, storied and deep, and I can't wait to explore more in future games, but for now BoH will suffice.

My only complaint about the game is that some parts of it were clearly designed with the upcoming DLC, House of Light, in mind, and that without that DLC there are aspects of the game that feel incomplete. I imagine this problem will fade away like a memory in Numa once House of Light releases, and I eagerly await that day.

An incredible experience from start to finish. Despite the card game format not seeming to live up to the Simulator title, it becomes apparent very quickly that you, the player, are researching esoteric lore and bargaining with eldritch beings - simulating being a cultist, as it were.

The writing is phenomenal and the gameplay is addictive. I cannot praise this game enough.

Whilst I love this game and I have had nothing but good times with it, the recent change in policy to mandate a PSN account for Steam players has been and unwise and unkind move (and I have a PSN account and own a PS5, so I can say this whilst not being negatively affected by the change).

I understand that Arrowhead is not to blame and that the impetus for this decision has come from Sony, and so it is to them that I address my complaint. How can it be fair or right to allow people the world over to enjoy this game for 3 months, well past any reasonable hope of a refund, only to change the policy in a way that excludes the inhabitants of over 100 countries from around the world?

As it is, despite the hard work of everyone at Arrowhead, despite the excellent standard this game has set and upheld (a standard to which all other live-service games should aspire), despite the openness and transparency of the devs as they have laboured to improve this experience, in light of this immensely consumer-unfriendly move from the publisher I cannot in good faith recommend this game.

Had a PSN account been required from the beginning, instead of being pitched as optional, the circumstances would be different. However, making the change several months into the games life-cycle is both unethical and indicative of naked greed.

EDIT 06 MAY 24: With Sony backtracking in the face of public outcry, I can safely say once again that I'd recommend this game to everyone. Well done to the Helldivers 2 community, well done to Arrowhead and their hard-working team of excellent developers, and a hearty "good luck on the job hunt (sarcastically)" to whichever Sony executive thought this was a good idea in the first place.

One of the best FPS games ever made, deserving of more praise than it has ever gotten.

Best FPS I've ever played.

Everything about actually playing this game is amazing, but the lobby system and the loading screens need serious improvement.