Recent reviews by DocWatsonPhD

I want to like this game because the concept sounds pretty good on paper: a big open-world mech fighter with tons of mech customization and stuff to do.

Unfortunately, the combat (i.e. the important part of the game) feels incredibly clunky, the open-world seems to be mostly fodder, and the second time I ever went back to the base I was so beset by graphics glitches that I had to close the game.

I'll see if another hour can redeem it, but given the quality of the combat I'm fairly certain it won't.

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To be a little more in-depth regarding the combat: You can equip multiple weapons (and shields, etc.) to both hands and both shoulders. To cycle through your weapons you use left and right on the D-pad, and everything after that gets really awkward. In the thick of combat you generally don't want to have to stop moving, but it's basically mandated by the default control scheme. One thing that really vexes me is that reloading is done by holding B and pressing right on the D-pad. It feels like madness, but when you have to jam all sorts of functionality onto a limited set of buttons I can understand why things might go so awry.

Beyond the wonky control scheme, combat itself is lackluster. Nothing really feels like it packs any "oomph", and every combat encounter no matter how minor feels like a series of wet noodles being flung back and forth until the enemy finally explodes and you can get some loot. Movement around the world is generally pretty good, and I do love the verticality the mechs afford the player, but movement in combat is pretty boring. You lock onto someone, maybe dodge a hit, then do your combo, grab them, and maybe hit them again. Rinse and repeat. You might fly around a bit (which is made all the more confusing when in close quarters), but that seems to be about it.

If you're looking for mech combat, just go to Armored Core.

This recommendation comes with the caveats that:
* I got this for 90% off
* I tend to play these open-world exploration collect-a-thon games until I'm well and truly absolutely tired of them because the mechanics at play tickle my ADHD brain

On the whole I'd call this, like most open-world exploration titles, a solid 7 or 7.5/10. Overall it's worth checking out if you find it on a good discount or for some reason really _really_ love Fallen Order.

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The movement feels good, the combat is not quite to my liking but still punchy, and the story starts strong and then by act 3 feels very ham-fisty in order to do the things it wants, which includes some very typical Star Wars fanservice (No we did not need Darth Vader to show up, and we also did not need Boba Fett) and some strange narrative decisions.

I should also note I hit a TON of crashes playing this game. Strangely, mostly in the middle 65-70% of my time and not in the beginning or ending of it. I can't tell if it's a hardware issue on my end or a software issue stemming between Unreal Engine and Nvidia. So if you have a machine similar to mine: save early, save often.

This is a a great pick-up if you're into real-time tactics games similar to the ones made by Mimimi Games (Makers of the Desperados series among others (also, RIP)). This one is a departure from that particular formula, however, in that while it is real-time and encourages stealth, you aren't exactly discouraged from picking fights. It certainly behooves you not to, obviously, considering the resource management you have to do, but you'll have an easier time if you can deal with as many xenos as possible as quietly as you can.

The character progression felt very XCOM to me: your marines gain XP during a mission, they level up and unlock a class, new gear, and new talents. Any injuries and trauma need to be deal with in downtime between/during missions and you'll need to rotate marines to keep a fresh line-up. The devs did a good job making the different talents and items matter on both a team and individual level, so picking up new talents felt like I was actually making decisions that mattered. There are obviously certain talents that seem to matter more, but that's not really a problem that's easily solved.

As for the writing/story and acting, I'd say Aliens: Dark Descent feels something like a polished budget title. It's clear that the acting was done in separate locations and probably handled by separate people given line deliveries are a little awkward at times and how different characters pronounce certain names differently from one another (Is it Oh-tah-go or Or-tay-go? Book-ard or Book-erd?). Overall it's not much to ding the game for--it's still a workable story with plenty of lore to go through in collectable datapads.

The way the game handles the environments, lore, and overall Aliens setting is superb, arguably nailing all three of them perfectly. The ships, the environments where the game takes place (ship interiors, dingy mines, alien goop-infested rooms, etc.), the one-liners from your marines, the overall look-and-feel, all come through as a perfect extension of the Aliens universe.

The only really rough edges to the game, I think, are some minor annoyances I had:
* Certain menus use the escape key to go back, while others use it to go to the pause screen, meaning I'd have to physically click a "back" button on the UI instead of tapping my escape key
* Certain environments made the camera act a bit wonky, since it wanted to be at one height but there was some physical object of the map in its way so would have to jostle for position
* I had a few crashes throughout my campaign run which were annoying, but I was usually never set too far back thanks to auto-saves

Overall I'd say this is a great purchase if you'd be into real-time tactics games alongside the Aliens universe.

I think I got this as part of a Humble Bundle at some point, so the total cost would have been equivalent to a few bucks. For that price I think it's a worthy little puzzler with some charming sci-fi art and a fun little distraction for a couple of hours. I'd say the current $8 asking price is pretty fair given the total experience, if you enjoy escape rooms and the like.

It's really unfortunate that I decided to ultimately give this a "no", because the prequel was just so good.

Everything about WOL2 feels like they took WOL1 then put it through a middle management focus group to make it look and feel like a mid AAA title based on the bones of WOL1, while missing out on making the game actually fun.

The art is fine, but it looks like any other cartoon-style fantasy title out there. It's like all the personality got sucked out of it in order to appeal to a mass market when WOL1 was already good by not necessarily trying to do that. When I first booted up the game I could have sworn it was 1 of any of the other many titles that have this exact same art style.

Gameplay-wise, all my runs feel basically the same:
* Biomes are always done in the same order
* As you advance in a run, enemies in biomes are basically the same as previous ones but with 1 or 2 added moves or a shield
* Bosses get their order shuffled but never really change otherwise (besides damage scaling I suppose)
* I always drift towards the same items because making a cohesive build just doesn't work well with the way the game is set up (too much RNG without allowing player agency to mitigate it)

The NPCs get old very quickly, and the grind of collecting gems every run to buy a handful of items afterward also gets old very quickly.

WOL2's challenge mode and even its rewards are very lacking. There are only 5 tiers which--apart from additional, meager bonus rewards--only differ in how many positive effects versus negative effects you can add (3 positive at level 1, 2 positive and 1 negative for level 2, etc.). There are only 5 total negative effects you can play with and even those require unlocking with gems first.

Overall it's like they took WOL1 and tried to make it only look polished while not actually improving on the formula whatsoever. This is a pretty big let-down of a sequel, which is a big shame. From what it looks like, it was not made by careless people, but feels like something that was designed in a board room and pushed out in a way that the people who made it weren't able to give it the attention it deserved.

I'm writing this as the credits roll mostly to note that this was probably one of the most original, imaginative platformers I've played in a long time. It's a very impressive title for what looks to be a team of 3 core people. The polish of the art and gameplay really feels like this team knew what they wanted to do and how to do it, and then did it pretty much flawlessly.

The art and graphics are beautiful, the gameplay is fluid, and the physics feel excellent. It doesn't necessarily do things that other games haven't done before, but the whole package is really, really good. I'm not sure what the regular price is since I got it in a bundle, but I'd say whatever they're selling it for is worth it if you want to experience a fresh indie platformer.

I'm correcting this review after being informed that the arbitration clause was present from the beginning, and I had apparently missed it the first time. That's a strike for me, but that said: if you don't want to accept arbitration clauses, avoid this game for its EULA. Otherwise, I'd say it's a really great pinball platform with a ton of tables including originals and classics (some, obviously, better than others).

Previously I would have gladly recommended this game, but as of August 16, Zen Studios decided to update their EULA to include a binding arbitration clause.

This is unacceptable, especially after having put so much time and money into the title only to be effectively locked out after the fact because of a new, objectionable EULA, unless I commit to playing in offline mode through Steam.

Shame on Zen for such a stupid move. At the very least they could update the client to allow local-only play so I don't have to accept bad terms without warning. Until that happens (or the EULA is reversed), I'm calling this title a no-go.

To really appreciate this game I think you need to allow yourself to experience what it is that Kojima Productions has put in place for the player. There is an overarching message of connection that is present throughout every part of the game, from the overall plot to individual story beats and all the way down to the gameplay itself. If you have a habit of playing offline I strongly encourage you to go online for this one, because it really makes a difference in play and perception.

Overall the game is a Kojima masterpiece in style, storytelling, and technological expertise. It's a gorgeous game with beautiful art and environments, a very well-optimized engine, and an engaging story that, while complex and a little confusing if you don't read the messages and interviews from NPCs, will keep you wanting more.

As for the story, it has the usual hallmarks of a Kojima title: places and characters with their names literally describing what they are, dialogue that lays bare what characters mean, and a cinematic end sequence that will run you about 2 hours (of which only the front half is a bit of a chore, in my opinion). The cinematic work in this game is gorgeous, by the way. I'd strongly encourage not rushing any of it the first time through.

The game is not without flaws, however. Personally I found the vehicle physics positively agitating at times, as essential vehicles like the Trike simply don't have a suspension worth mentioning, and handling in general approaches feeling abysmal. The UI is a little much at first but very easy to navigate once you figure out the flow of operating it (as I remember the first few times I entrusted cargo without meaning to).

Those problems, though, are pretty easy to overlook given the focus of the game itself, and overall not needing the vehicles to do much beyond hauling cargo quickly. I understand the sequel has improved on that somewhat, so it's good that the studio isn't so hard-set on keeping that experience the way it is now.

The "walking simulator" critiques I think are underselling the game as a whole, and it's definitely worth checking out because it is not an average experience by any means.

Overall I would recommend this because it has the bones of a good Hades-like, but in my opinion still needs some balance updates and potentially an upgrade rework to be really good. In its current state I'd say it's about a 7/10: it's fun, but runs start to get stale and begin feeling like a slog after you've unlocked the important bits.

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My main gripes with the game in its current state (v1.80, post-Junkyard update) are that the upgrade grind is still very grindy even after the latest balance patch, and that combat balance in solo games feels a bit spongey.

The upgrade tree has a lot of very low, very incremental upgrades which frankly is something that game designers need to toss out in general. It's especially frustrating when the first level of some upgrade starts as a +10% boost, but then takes a few hundred dragon coins just to bump another +2.5%. Such a small jump feels practically useless, and the upgrades ends up maxing out after only a couple levels, so you spend multiple runs to get the currencies required (of which there are about a dozen, no joke) just to get something that barely feels like you moved the needle.

If I had my way, I'd rework that upgrade system to make everything feel a bit more punchy. To take my previous example, I'd much rather keep each upgrade level at +10%, and let it max out at 30%-40% instead of 15%. Even if it means the player might benefit greatly more often, it's just a lot more fun and meaningful that way. Certain in-round combat upgrades could use a similar change.

My combat gripes stem entirely from playing single player. The challenge portal system I think is kinda cool, but it takes away player agency by making available challenges totally random without giving the player a way to influence it. Additional combat difficulty in gauntlet challenges comes down mostly to throwing more junk on the field, which results in battles that feel more like slogs than fun challenges. Enemies turn into damage sponges that you can't really lay into until you wear down all their barriers, since there's so much on the field that you have no real choice but to hit an enemy once or twice then immediately dodge away. Few gauntlet challenges update a boss's move set, but most often add tons of health and sometimes toss in a bunch of extra adds so the fight now takes several more minutes to finish. Karai might be the only gauntlet challenge I can think of whose move set actually changes, but that's mostly because she gets an additional, hard-to-predict (for me, at least), set of environmental attacks in her second phase. In all cases I only take gauntlet challenges now if I need to collect the specific challenge currency from it, because I just don't find the extra time spent in them to be very fun or worth the extra rewards.

To be concise, it's one of the finest modern platformers/metroidvanias you could come across. Excellent art, fantastic platforming mechanics and feel, and plenty to see and do. There is a good amount of backtracking (which comes with the metroidvania territory, frankly) but the map and memories feature make it less painful to deal with than in other games. My one gripe on that front is that fast travel isn't unlocked until progressing the main story a bit, and the better fast travel isn't until even later than that. Luckily the game itself is pretty densely-packed, so even if you need to hoof it for a bit, it usually goes by pretty quickly.

The regular price might feel a bit steep, but I think there's plenty of content and challenge in here for even the most discerning of players. It goes on sale pretty regularly for around 50% off, so if you're on the fence, just wishlist it and get ready for a great time.