Recent reviews by Rodeblock

Omega Strikers, aka "Anime Air Hockey," has the potential to be the best competitive multiplayer game since the launch of Valorant.

+ Simple to understand, yet complex and difficult to master
+ Little to no toxicity as the ONLY form of communication between you and others is via emotes / gestures
+ Playing as a coordinated 3-stack will consistently beat out rando solo queue teams
+ Matches are fast-paced -- each individual set is only a few minutes long, and even a full 5-game match is over in 20 minutes tops, while most are done in 10-12 minutes
+ Ability draft between rounds is an incredible concept that rewards strong performance, allows for builds and synergies, and can still give a team that is behind a fighting chance
+ Removing the boring and overly wrought Trainings system in favor of the abilities and draft is a GENIUS change!
+ Engaging characters that have their own unique aesthetics, playstyles, deep lore, rewards for playing as them, and character themes that are dope as hell and will play mid-match if your character tops the scoreboard at the end of the round
+ Very fair free-to-play model that, as of this review, is not predatory or pay-to-win AT ALL
+ The developer, Odyssey, is VERY active with the community (and have been since the first closed alpha test) and listens to feedback
+ A variety of fields that are all unique and, for the most part, fun to play, and it really allows for variety during long play sessions
+ Smart marketing with outreach to creators and contacting esports organizations to coordinate events
+ A huge degree of polish for the developer's first title, and it has come a LOOOONG way since the first alpha tests
+ An absolute banger of a soundtrack that will expand with every new character added to the game
+ The opening cinematic by Studio Trigger!! My God, is it good!
+ Lots of great customization with emotes, nameplates, titles, skins, and more!

Now, to be fair, the game does have a few down sides:
- Currently not very many options to let players practice and learn outside of regular matches. As of writing this there IS a co-op VS AI mode which helps and Odyssey has stated they're working on a true Training mode, so this will improve!
- Playing on a controller feels clunky at-best and a bit awkward, including menu navigation
- Too many things are buried behind layers of menus in unintuitive places
- Current battle pass is listed as 120 days, or 4 months -- that MAY be too long, time will tell
- Changing your profile is awful right now -- the menu is poorly constructed and needs an overhaul
- A stage ban phase or comp map pool (similar to games like Siege) would be nice to have once the game has more maps to choose from
- The newest characters feel a bit overpriced for both free credits and-real money -- in my opinion characters should ONLY be purchasable via free currency or some kind of premium pass akin to Smite or the different editions of Siege that give you new characters in perpetuity or in a bundle
- A few glitches, albeit nothing game breaking, at the moment (devs are aware and working on it)
- No great solutions or punishments for AFK / leavers as of now, even in Ranked

Clearly a single person project made by somebody who was pretty young at the time.

That said, I did have some fun with this game playing it on a holiday games livestream. We even stuck it out and beat it!

Got REALLY stuck on the 4th level trying to find the last bowl of porridge -- took almost an hour to find it. The one I couldn't find was WAY over on the right side, right near the edge of the map.

Anyway, had some laughs with the endless stream of pumpkinhead snowmen, and had the greatest elf of all time return the favor and save us after we saved them.

If you want to check it out, take a look: https://www.twitch.tv/profrodeblock/clip/ResilientSweetStingrayGingerPower-aNSHjGpf9-l7QQS_

Anyway, cheers. Overall, had a fun time with this free little game. Would love to see how you've come along as a developer.

Happy Holidays!

For the first true Monster Hunter experience North American players have received on PC, it is a hell of an inauguration. I've played past MH games, always dreaming of what they might look like on next gen hardware. When MHW was announced, I nearly had a heart attack -- then they said it was coming to PC the following year and I nearly shat myself. I have a PS4 but wanted to wait and experience the game in all its glory on PC, and oh man was it worth the wait. The game feels exactly like MH should, but with amazing visuals and sound, and I think it provides the most satisfying MH package to date. I'm just creeping into HR quests now with over 60 hours to go, and the hooks are set deep. I slowed down playing a bit so I could play with a friend and because real life took priority, but now I've got mroe time to play and enjoy it again and I'm loving every second. The game has a few rough edges, but they are very minor for a game that overall has a lot of polish and substance. These "rough edges" I refer to are some of the launch issues that are now resolved, and the way that the Rotten Vale can tax even a good rig (that being said, my machine is finally starting to show its age). This game is a must have for any self-respecting Monster Hunter fan, and its first major foray into PC gaming is my game of the year -- no contest.

Finely tuned classic ARPG mechanics + Lootfest + Colorful stylized graphics = Awesome!

Disappointed with Diablo III? Play Torchlight 2 for 1/3 of the cost and at least 3x the value and fun!