Recent reviews by menaechmi

Control is fun and worth playing. It's a very solid, but not great game. It feels like the gameplay and the setting were designed in separate rooms and then mashed together to make a game.

It's a game about a building that can re-arrange itself randomly, but it only ever does it scripted. There isn't even a semi-random maze in the game!

You can levitate, but it's really a double jump and glide. No hovering or air mobility because you have to land to gain height.

You can rip concrete out of the walls and floor and throw it at your enemies, but there are 6 different gun forms and 18 mod slots to manage and craft. Oh but don't worry, the gun is weaker than the concrete and has less ammo, in case you were worried.

But it's very fun to explore and there are many hidden things to find. One achievement is bugged but can be worked around using mission select. The load time when dying is the same as when loading up the game - which can make some battles super annoying. 75/100

This reminds me of my many hours playing the flash game Motherload. Dig down. Dig minerals. Fly up. Sell minerals. Repeat.

Particulars doesn't deserve the negative reviews. It's great for the value (it's even great for how much I paid for it in 2015) and works well on Steam Deck. And you don't need to understand particle physics to play it, all of those reviews just need to git good*

As a game, I'd rate it 70-75/100? Great idea, below average execution. The game couldn't decide if it was a puzzle game or physics toy (it should have picked physics toy).

The logic of the puzzles isn't hard, but the execution of the answers can be. 3-4 chapters would be easy, and then a level takes 20+ tries to beat because of timing. Other levels are super easy to bypass.

The story is basically non-existant. It's some comic panels per chapter, and a quote each level. How you interpret it might be awesome or lackluster.

I think the visuals are the weakest part of the game. What exists has a nice style, but mechancially too much information relies on telling colors apart. Antimatter and matter particles (black and white), electromagnetic force (Red - Purple - Blue gradient), Weak Force (Purple and Blue), and Strong Force (Red, Green, Blue, White) are all in the area around particles and aren't well distinguished. And then the background changes in the next chapter, and all of the colors are slightly different.

The achievements are a little annoying, basically popping up at random when you accidentally make a combo, but become more fun when you're intentionally seeking them out.

It's fair that people don't like it, but if you enjoy trying to beat challenges until you get it right it's a fun game. Like I said in the lede: git good*

* As shorthand, of course, for "Keep playing until it clicks. To take a shortcut in improving a skill is taking a shortcut in your life. You'll only find it makes life shorter, not better."

Its not worth $15, but fun enough. Read reviews to make sure its something you'd like first.

I first played it on mobile, and the steam version is a massive upgrade. Sadly, it looks like there are no plans to bring the home planet (a customizable base) to the Steam, which loses a major drive to play the game.

Really well designed game. I played most of the way through, paused, came back a year later, and could still figure out and remember where everything was and what to do.

If you don't like the core mechanic, you will not like the game. This game relies on you gathering items to craft objects to gather a different item. The crafting lines don't get too complicated (I think the last one was only 3/4 layers deep), but it's worth knowing before you buy.

It's a good story, but a medium game. It feels like the game was drawn out to meet the story they wanted to tell.

It's designed to be a ~30 hour completion and 50 hour 100%. I played fast and 100%'d it at 32 hours. It would be better as a 12-20 hour game. You can end it around there, without meeting every spirit. I think that only highlights that the problem exists - the game is about meeting these characters and learning their stories, but it knows its a slog to do so.

Many mechanics are there for no real reason. Spirits have a mood, which is supposed to provide rewards or negatives. Rewards are incredibly rare, and mood is so easy to manage I never saw any negative. Most characters only have benefits. Collection completion mostly unlocks outfits, which are color palletes - except the player can set colors on their own to the same thing.

It's worth playing, but expect it to be for the story and not because the game is inherently fun to play and well designed all the way through.

brogramming at it's finest

Just not fun to play. Its gorgeous, easy to 100%, tells a touching story, and has a really cool idea. But it's such a slow game to play that makes it unfun.

I bought it because there are some DLC-locked achievement for this game. This DLC adds so much to the game, and really completely changes playing Everspace.

this game is gorgeous and really fun to play. I can't suggest only the base game, because the DLC adds so much. But this game is fun and has a good story.