Recent reviews by hal dente

push me to the edge all my cats are dead

cool game

base game is very good and very polished, never felt like I couldn't figure something out. reveals felt earned and logical.

roottreemania is less so, but still pretty good. still has those moments where you feel like a genius for connecting dots but also has more dead ends and a specific story beat that I thought was fairly superfluous no idea what the point was of the whole Ron Roottree part. did not feel that connected to the greater mystery whatsoever

yeah this game's pretty fun

genuinely incredible game. the moment to moment gameplay is robust and engaging, the build customization factor is satisfying, the exploration and side content is everything it needed to be. the game streamlines many stalwart JRPG staples such as item management by refreshing them at "bonfires", which has the effect of instead of opening a chest and finding an ether you find a piece of gear that'll improve a build or some currency towards that end. combat system often requires you to understand individual enemies' movesets and leads to very satisfying moments where you execute perfectly and completely destroy a boss that was previously destroying you for, on the hardest difficulty, literally hours.

past that, the art direction and cinematography really push this game over the edge. the exploration of grief and how it affects how people think and act is executed so strongly that by the end of the game you'll likely have a pretty weighted opinion on why your choice was justified. and that opinion will ultimately be based on enumerable reasons such as how much side content you did in the game but also including your own personal lived experience outside of the game. which is not such a difference in response from the reactions of the in universe characters to their own personal gommage. I think that sort of reaction is what many pieces of art aim for and I feel that this game has hit that mark. at the very least, you can see the thought behind many of the decisions and story beats in the game; the brush strokes, as it were.

minor gripes: not having a minimap certainly makes the game more immersive but can be disorientating at points especially coming out of battle or a menu. side content is difficult but can make you overleveled for main quests which in turn make those battles too easy. of course that's something you have the choice of opting into however. small things in the long run.

incredible presentation and atmosphere. a very clear sense of vision permeates through every step. resource management leads to some genuinely tense situations and the character cast should keep multiple plays feeling fresh.

just an all around tastefully presented eldritch horror game. if you have any interest in that sort of thing I highly recommend this game

CINEMA

it's peak

perfect for the steam deck

good story, incredible presentation.

main gripes would be some performance issues I had. and also games like this make me very motion sick. and it's a bit short but a good experience.

the latest patch (5) is such a nice gesture of goodwill towards its community. Larian's continued willingness to listen to the criticisms of their players is so very refreshing considering the modern landscape of game development.

if you have any interest in this game whatsoever you should buy it. it is a very rare gem of a game, becoming rarer still unfortunately.