Recent reviews by Hardy

Paradox should be sued for this release by the EU consumer lawmakers.

If someone ever said Cyberpunk 2077 release on PC was disastrous, they should fire up this game. I don't know where to start describing all the wrongs present here, and I don't think I even want to, cause it’s heart-breaking. The abysmal unplayable performance slaughtering people’s GPUs? (The Sims 4 plays technically like a next-gen wonder compared to this.) Horrible, horrible graphics with muted art style that was supposed to be more realistic, yet made visuals awfully bland and uninspiring? The bare bones of a base game Paradox product with extremely low variety when it comes to assets, which in consequence uninspires players even more? The significantly bigger maps with shockingly jagged shorelines and rivers ending abruptly somewhere within the actually buildable area (goodbye immersion)? So much more to mention, but I’m already so sad, I don’t want to continue this paragraph.

What stings even more is that this game had the best marketing campaign any game had seen in the last years. Perfect regular videos for six months ahead, extensive developer diaries etc. Biggest fans of Cities Skylines 1 thought they are in for such a treat, but it looks like much more of the budget was allocated to marketing than actual development resources.

At the time of writing this I’ve played CS1 for 1066 hours. Lately I downloaded an awesome, creativity-inspiring map from the Steam workshop which reinvigorated my passion to play CS1 even some more. I can imagine the pure tragedy of people who spent thousands of hours in CS1, now firing up CSII, because it is my tragedy too. I got CSII for full price on Steam, then refunded it, and obtained a dirt-cheap key that was still too expensive for what the game offered, which is almost nothing. I will still follow updates, but I think this title has at least a few years before it comes anywhere near CS1. I will never change this review, even if it eventually does, which I very much doubt. 1/10

I was excited when I read that the guy who created Dead Space was going to make a title described as the spiritual successor to DS. I knew it was going to be very similar (and on the surface it certainly is, to last little detail). I didn’t mind it at all. I’m in the second half of Callisto right now, and oh boy, do I have a lot to say.

Initial horrible stuttering due to shader compilation has been mostly mitigated with day one patch. This can probably only get better with future patches. I haven’t had any other technical issues, but once you stop having to fight the tech aspect, you start to see this game for what it is — a decent attempt at reaching for the fairly earned fame and respect of Dead Space franchise, but that’s it.

It's exquisite in terms of graphics and sound design. Unfortunately, combat mechanics are not up to DS standard. It wasn’t, delicately speaking, the best decision to lock our character in place while fighting multiple enemies, with only options to constantly dodge (I’m not sure if that word should be even used here since you literally can’t move then), use very weak melee weapon or a gun which has like 5 bullets, or use a pulling mechanism that lasts like 5 seconds overall and then recharges for eternity.

The game is hard. You’ll die repeatedly. I don’t mind this, if the combat is satisfying, but I’m afraid that’s not the case here. The arsenal of things you can do while fighting is too limited. You’ll need a lot of patience to push through the story, which doesn’t seem too interesting either.

The biggest downside for me, though, is the poor enemy variance. DS slaps Callisto in the face here, but I guess this goes in hand with the one type of fighting that we got. To add to that, field of view is so low, it sometimes makes you want to throw up, and results in adding another layer of difficulty when exterminating enemies in tight spaces.

I am having fun, and I am recommending this game. I’m loving re-experiencing the overall concept, just as I loved it in Dead Space for the first, second, and third time all those years ago. It’s just that the execution is not something that could push the predecessor down the throne. Not yet. 6/10

A decent title for what it is – a time-based platformer. Outstanding visuals, sound etc., however I feel people deciding to buy it should be very conscious that it’s one of those titles that can be fairly easy to beat but are very hard to master. Maybe it’s because I’m not the youngest, or because it’s only my second game ever that I play using a controller. The fact is, I’m struggling a lot and run out of lives often, having to repeat levels. For me here it’s forget about 100%, be happy you finished. My muscle memory seems to be almost non-existent as far as controllers go – I’m still waiting for the moment when I stop mistaking Jump button for Slap button etc. Till then, the struggle is real. And to let you know, controls can be fully re-mapped for keyboard, but I seriously doubt it’s possible at all to play like that, unless you want to get yourself crazy after a few hours.

Second important trouble I’ve had so far is that the game managed to shut down my entire PC and reboot it. Then I was greeted with the info that my save file was corrupted and would be deleted. Seven hours of initial playtime down the drain. I immediately cut off the internet and tried to re-download my progress backed up on Steam cloud, but to no avail. I found the path to the local save folder, and now I back it up after every session. I’ve had no such problems with any of my games before.

Apart from the above, although my playtime is sometimes a bit frustrating, it’s also very satisfying once I beat a level, so I’ll definitely continue. The struggle may be real, but the fun is as well. There are 5 main worlds containing several levels each, some additional location with its parts scattered between each of the main worlds I think, and totally separate Trials. The accompanying story is OK – I’m expecting a happy ending, but I have yet to see about that, if I'll get the patience to beat the whole game.

This is for sure a true completionist nightmare unless your muscle memory, reflexes, and observation skill are top notch. For people who don’t take these things too seriously and enjoy time-based platformers, it’s really worth a try. 7/10

This time I’ll start with how I usually end my reviews – highly recommend this game, especially to religious people! Crusades, rituals, confessing, polyamory bringing jealousy, fasting, cannibalism, mushroom-induced behaviour – it’s all here, and more. All dressed up in a very cute visual style (audio is nice too), with dungeon-like fighting and exploration. There are also several side locations, and most of all a meadow where you set up your camp and upgrade it over time, persuading more and more followers to join your adorable cult.

The gameplay may feel a bit repetitive after some time, but I’d say it depends if you’re a fan of games constructed this way. I was well entertained, taking care of my base location and my flock before going on yet another crusade, or traveling to one of the mentioned side locations to fulfil my quests there. For this kind of game, I felt the amount of content was decent.

I was playing after many initial patches, so haven’t encountered any bugs really. Gameplay was smooth, this title is not very resource demanding. Overall, I had much fun.

If you ever secretly wanted to prove yourself as a cult leader, now it’s the perfect time. 8/10

Looks like I finally stumbled upon a racing game that will pull me from my Forza addiction, at least for a while. I wasn’t sure I want to check this one out, but I’m glad I did.

I never played any Dakar game before, so I don’t have any comparison in that regard, but I played quite a few racing games in general. What I found here is a decent rally title which I would place almost in the same league as DiRT Rally 2.0. Maybe not as glamorous as Forza, but with graphics and handling model both better than latest WRC efforts (for me at least). Also, much cheaper than said Forza when it comes to Polish regional pricing set for this title – finally, a sensible publisher.

No game-breaking bugs on premiere day. No other bugs, really, besides occasional stutter and frame drops during a race, and this is, frankly, a bit inconvenient at times. I hope this will be ironed out shortly, or perhaps new drivers will take care of it.

Dakar setting looks very eye-catching. Racing especially over those huge dunes in the sunset stood out for me the most so far. Real-life locations and dynamic weather system provide variety in the scenery, too. There are bikes and quads available. I’ve never used a bike in a racing game, so I mostly race on bikes and quads now.

AI needs a bit of tweaking, which is already acknowledged by the devs. At the beginning of a race, or at any point really, it can happily ram into you as of now, so you must put some work to try and actively avoid your competitors. Also, you mostly race in the sand, so be prepared for abrupt changes in your driving line, should you — more or less consciously – decide to implement the pedal to the metal rule. This game is not about that, and thankfully. Don’t worry if you crash once or twice – given the number of stages in an event, you’ll still have many occasions to be faster elsewhere and take the overall win.

Lots of controller mapping settings, graphics options – a proper PC game I’d say. The accompanying background soundtrack has a potential to not irritate after five hours. What can irritate is that you need to spend at least 15 to 20 hours to unlock the sim mode. I like progressive nature of gaming, but some may be impatient here. Oh, and no photo mode yet – is allegedly promised in a future update.

Still, I recommend this game to DiRT Rally and WRC fans. Maybe a bit less to Forza followers, but those with open minds will find many good things here as well. 8/10

I’m being told this game has almost nothing to do with Minecraft, but it’s rather a Diablo clone in Minecraft skin. I’ve never played any of these, but that’s OK, cause I’m really liking this one.

It’s an entertaining dungeon crawler with funny art style. Unfortunately, DLC disease hit it hard, just like many other games nowadays. In the all-access version there is quite much to do here, though. There are even some attempts made to turn this title into a more permanent form of entertainment, with randomly generated surroundings and two battle passes.

All in all, a pleasant game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, offering satisfying, yet simple combat mechanics. Very much recommended. 7/10

Oh, how I miss you, Aperture Science! 10/10

I certainly won’t add anything ground-breaking to the unanimous chorus of praises, just wanted to point out some things from my own perspective.

I’m grateful we don’t need additional launcher to play it. I admire the art style in every part of this title, and how it suits the game genre so well. Even the menus are done with utmost care to detail, including font or tiniest sound samples used for going in / backing out (whole audio is superb). It’s the same with frogs, crabs, all those smaller creatures wandering around when you walk through the world. Also cutscenes, seamlessly intertwined with gameplay, no black bars, immaculately immersive.

Worlds are not the biggest, but each certainly has that distinctive look. Aside graphics, I am amazed by the vertical design and the way puzzles are incorporated, sometimes possible to solve only when you progress through the main story.

The narrative itself flows naturally, successfully including bits and pieces of Greek and Nordic mythology, but also having that personal side to it. If you had at least a bit troubled relation with the father figure in your life, you’ll know what I mean. Because of all that, you may find yourself at 4 in the morning still playing.

The pinnacle for me here, though, is that what the game tells you to achieve in life (learn to strike a balance between physical strengths that you’ll gain and the mind that should knowingly control it), you must actually use as a tactic in your gameplay to be successful. Mindless charging at enemies won’t do, which I had a hard time with in the beginnings, and probably so will you. If this game is somewhat brilliant anywhere, it’s right here.

Love and appreciate gaming? Do yourself a big favor and buy this one. For me it places at the top, somewhere between Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Technically it plays awesome too. 9/10

I’ve known about OMNO after seeing it on a Steam friend’s feed, then decided to pick it up as I’m a fan of puzzle games. Turns out it was a very good idea.

It’s several hours of mostly environmental puzzles in five or six worlds. Very reminiscent of Journey, although maps are not as varied. Thankfully, every arena introduces some new creatures and mechanics, I also found the overall design (both style-wise and puzzle-wise) very captivating. Another good thing is that we are not required to complete all puzzles in a given level to progress to the next one. You can be as much of a completionist as you want to be, which is a very good choice for this type of title.

Presented story is as shallow or as deep as you want it to be. For me more important was the emotional aspect, and that one hits the spot in OMNO with a big help from implemented music. It is coded in a way which makes it more intense as soon as you move further with your puzzle. This does the trick and works perfectly. Music tells a story here as much as text notes, if not more.

The 20$ price tag may seem a bit steep, but I think it’s accurate if the whole experience is as good as in this one. It may also be treated as a form of support for that one person who created this entire game. Among other similar titles brought single-handedly (Darq, The First Tree), this one shines as bright. 7/10

This review is for the free-to-play multiplayer component only. To be updated once I play the campaign.

I come into Halo world with this one. Haven’t touched any previous instalments, Cortana is only a Windows 10 voice assistant for me. Wanted to sink a bit into an online FPS again after several years, and Battlefield 2042… oh well.

I like what Halo Infinite multiplayer has to offer at its core. It is fast paced, the movement / weapon handling is nice, and maps are mostly small. This is all within my taste. Time flows nicely from one match to another, there is absolutely no problem with finding yet another game. Clocked 15 hours so far. I think this will be my new go-to shooter to play for up to an hour every evening. But…

The experience right now is quite barebones. There is no specific playlist for what you actually want to play, and the progression… oh boy. The free battle pass is a joke with XP boosts and challenge swaps being the only rewards really. Premium rendition is better but far from perfect. It is reasonably priced, though, which cannot be said about horrendously expensive shop items. Fortunately premium pass will give you quite a few customization pieces throughout following months. Sadly, so far I can see only two distinctive armor cores.

The progression system itself has just been overhauled as I’m writing this, finally making the game worth investing our time into. After six matches a day you will always progress to the next level. Previously the XP payout was outrageously low, and any substantial progression was achieved only through specific challenges, many having little (or nothing) to do with your current match type’s objective. These improvements together with already announced separate Slayer playlist (where your goal is just to frag) are certainly a move in the right direction.

Game indeed plays like it’s built for PC. I haven’t had any issues on my old rig (GTX 1060 6GB) setting graphics to medium on full HD. Looks very nice too.

What’s more important is that it provides the fun factor which I’ve looked for in a shooter. I recommend it despite the many flawed design choices I’ve mentioned. Here’s hoping 343 will mitigate even more of those in the future. 7/10