Recent reviews by Parazeit

Look, if you're reading reviews to make your decision you've probably seen dozens of down-votes due to performance issues by now. So I'll skip that, especially as of writing this I have none, a steady >90FPS on a 5070 and things are only getting better. So instead I'll focus on the gameplay, story and design.
Gampelay: If this wasn't branded as borderlands you'd immediately think "Huh, this is exactly what I wanted from Borderlands 3. It's all the best bits of the previous titles, with actually interesting gun mechanics. It has a wealth of meaningful combinations, skill trees to complement your equipment without dictating your playstyle (or simply being modifiers as some FPS games cosplaying as RPGs do) and the vehicle system whilst not being an integral part of the gunplay, allows genuinely seamless "jump in and play" capability (seriously, boot up the game and within second you could be doing a quest, finding a collectable etc so you don't spend the first 10min trying to find something to do). Speaking of collectables, every single one is on the minimap, sometimes as a ? but nonetheless findable. Then, if you tag it the map shows the path to it and if you're still lost there is a helpful navigation overlay in FPV. SO if you want to 100% it, you do so by engaging with the core gameplay loop more rather than playing migraine simulator like other titles.
For the story, I like it, a lot. Is it the most inspired "story", hell no. Is it "ironically" crigne like 3, also no. It's grounded, provides reasonable hooks for character progression whilst not trying to pontificate too much that it would end up contradicting the visuals and style of gameplay. There's humour, but it's more quippy than zaney. It won't make you laugh as much as 1 or 2 did but in return the characters and situations feel more fleshed out and part of a living world rather than a comedy sketch-show. So when the odd bit of humour hits right it doesn't get lost in the weeds.
Which brings me to the characters, which are fantastic. I've only played Raffa so far but his voice-lines are incredibly well done and delivered. I don't feel like I'm being robbed of payer agency unlike other voiced rpgs (cough, Fallout 4, cough) because it's clear from the get go that I am playing Raffa and this is the kind of guy he is, there's no rug pull. Instead you can bask in his Spanish glory (I have 0 understanding or appreciation for the language so I can't vouch for its authenticity).
Lastly design, it's visually definitely borderlands but bigger. The guns, as well as being mechanically more varied also have magnitudes more designs, the core gameplay loop feels tighter and travelling the world feels like exploration rather than a chore. It's no skyrim, but its closer than any of the previous games were without needing to be.

Overall, if I were rating this game without considering the performance issues, this'd be a solid 9/10.

There are always games that either invent or define a genre. Stellaris is the latter. There are many games in the same setting/genre as Stellaris but all of them (regardless of relative age) are compared to Stellaris. It is, and will likely remain for the forseeable future, the definitive Space Grand Stratergy Game.

Don't let the Early Access tag fool you, this is very much a complete game. especially for the price tag. TBH, I'm not sure EA is an appropriate tag anymore, I've seen no bugs, balance is fairly good and the online connectivity hasn't failed me once.

But enough about my gripes with other EA titles. Imagine you want to play Supreme Commander, or Total Annihilation by don't have the time or focus to make it to the fun part (end-game). That's where you boot up MB. It's an auto-chess game where you decide the line-up and strategic placement of your units, then sit back and watch the outcome. If you fancy yourself an amateur "strategic analyst" this is THE game for you.

An amazing return for the king of the genre. The only downside is the constant use of the word "hound" reminds me of another franchise that is sorely missed in the mech game sphere.

Factorio in 3D is one way to put it, but that doesn't really do Satisfactory or Factorio fair justice. The similarities start and end with manfuacturing logistics. Where Factorio focuses on micro and space efficiency, Satisfactory deals with this through the addition of the option to build up. What Satisfactory lacks in space management, however, it more than makes up with in story (though still WIP) and exploration. Perhaps the best descrition would be Factorio+Subnautica=Satisfactory.

It will devour your life, it will make you rage quit at the end of every session and you will keep coming back.

Comparing this to Stellaris is a bit misleading; it's neither a multiplayer nor built around matched competitive play even in single player. A far better comparison would be the X series, or a realtime Glactic Civilisations. Customisation is immense and though at the start the gamut of automation may appear to suck the fun out of things, it's very much a crutch for either new players or those looking to just chill and simulate. Even with most things automated player agency is still very much important, afterall if Paradox AIs are any standard to go by nothing can compare to a player's ability to long-term stratergise. Research tress are immense and complicated, very few of which are simple number boosts. Graphics are amazing for the depth of the game and surprisingly ships do change appearance based on loadouts.

TL;DR this is very much a Space SIM not a Stratergy Game. If you love stellaris you may love this but probably not for the reasons you would typically think after seeing such comparisons so keep that in mind.

Civ where the only win cons are domination or completing an interesting quest line, unique to each factions. Unlike Civ, each faction behaves very differently despite sharing most of the same resources. Games feel fully fleshed out but can be finished in 5 hours even with 4 or 5 of you. The DLC is pricey, but just like the tabletop game you can easily have fun with only one army.

This game is everything I've been looking for since completing Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The combat is smooth but chaotic and full of opportunities to develop strategy whilst visuals and pacing keep things interesting. The only downside is that if you want to hear every word each companion has to say, its going to drag out a lot of the earlier chapters.

Already better than any other game in the genre. Despite the early access tag, this game is already more feature complete and optimised than many lie it that have left EA. 19 hours in and the only bugs have been basic visual issues. Regarding visuals, think Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for character models but Skyrim and better for scenery/world.

The map is procedurally generated, so the pressure to look at maps for the best spots to mine ores etc isn't there. Its a predominatly PvE focused game too, so the world doesn't feel empty if there's only a few of you playing (we play on a server ~5 people and lve every second).

The building mechanics are incredibly functional, from your basic viking long house up to a bridge over a man made canal linking two seas!

TL;DR: A viking themed game that actually makes exploring by foot and boat feel rewarding and exciting, where character models are functional and the scenery can be breathtaking. Worth every penny at £15.