Recent reviews by Sydney Sweeney Wizard

Conceptually and perhaps in a different 1v1 environment (it has always been popular with arcade players), Virtua Fighter series is a gem. There are essentially no contemporary martial arts focused fighting games anymore. Tekken was the closest but it's moved on from it. It's such a shame. I'm a huge appreciator of Martial Arts, as I've been consuming media involving it and even performing since I was little. Having said this, with respect to its realistic expression in every fight, it delivers very well.

The online fighting game experience is awful. I despise it. This game is especially underperforming in this regard. Even with the introduction of rollback, it fails to provide enjoyable matchmaking.

Choosing "Best" connections (for matchmaking opponents) on my Fast Ethernet connection fails to even find me matches at all. Perhaps if you are running Gigabit you'll have a chance (even though latency is unrelated to bandwidth in this case) but I have no way of testing that at the moment.

As for how bad the connection actually is, mind you, I don't get a measly 1 or 2 frames of rollback (which are bad enough), on average it's way above that. With "Balanced" Rollback setting (which is supposed to regulate rollback frames to about 2F), I get 6F at best. Perhaps people in my region don't play enough so that I could get matched with opponents with under 100ms.

Because I only use Linux I feel obligated to include this in my review as to encourage other people to use it.

Proton
No issues, seems perfectly stable.

NVIDIA/DXVK
*Can freeze. (this may be a somewhat isolated case)

I haven't tested this thoroughly on this game, but there is a known bug with NVIDIA drivers where, upon somehow recreating the bug or it just occuring as it wills, games on linux freeze. However, concerning this game, with DLSS enabled, unless I switch workspaces and return to the one with the game it seems to run, I found no issues as of yet.

My final advice in whether to buy this game is such: as a martial arts fan, I don't regret buying this game; as a fighting game fan that wants to play and improve, I most likely won't be playing online much and will be waiting for VF6 for that.

Base edition price, to me, is fine. In terms of a "remaster" or whatever you want to call it, is sorely lacking.

Underrated gem. Find myself coming back to it once in a while but I don't always have the time or the motivation to join games while everyone else is on. NT Fridays that is. I call them NT Nights :)
Even though the community is small it's very dedicated. Honestly impresses me. They even host tournaments from time to time which look super intense. The map awareness you need to perform and how easy it is to make mistakes is absolutely bananas.

I am personally not an FPS fan generally even though I have definitely tried and enjoyed a fair share. When it comes to this game though, the setting and theme of the game is more unique and interesting than what you're expected to find on the market when it comes to popular shooter games. The maps are more authentic, detailed and their layout is actually similar to real life. Maybe it's just a Half Life engine thing but even with the outdated graphics I feel a genuine immersion and connection to the game that I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

What led me to stumble upon this game is the soundtrack. Once again the unseen algorithms (to be exact, Spotify's) dictate my tastes in both music and game entertainment:) Sadly though, you don't find much of Ed Harrison's concept album in the gameplay. Being a tactical shooter and such it would be impractical to have unnecessary sounds distracting you while the game also simply does not have much room for it I suppose.

I've been playing for some time now but looking at my gametime I remain disappointed that I did not invest more time in it:) The game is not very noob friendly. It's quite difficult to get accustomed to, even the shooting being a little different to what you'd expect (to me at least). I quite enjoy its feel though. The cloak mechanic (heavily inspired by Ghost in the shell like most of the things in the game xD) still gets the better of me most of the time. Also keep in mind it's a HL2 mod so it's not all that foreign.

Also became a ghost in the shell fan after playing this:)

Playing on Linux with Lutris worked for me. Don't recommend alt tabbing in this game whatever platform you're on though.

Natively on Linux the character won't even load while in-game but with Proton (9.0) it works. Tutorial doesn't though and the input delay on the character commands feels like ♥♥♥♥. Thought I could have some fun with it but in the state it's in it's impossible to do that.

-woke
-ugly character models (proportions, designs)
-you NEED to play a ridiculous gamemode or pay money for CLASSIC costumes using Fighter Coins.
Game is 60$. Having battle passes and digital in-game currencies is ludicrous
-not greatly optimized
-Appalling Denuvo DRM with an immensely exaggerated .exe file size of 638MB. Conversely TEKKEN 7 .exe is 271KB (SF6 executable is aproximately 300 times the size of T7's)
-Intrusive Software and License Agreements (worst case I've personally observed)

- Core fighting system: responsive, fast, satisfying
(also pretty intricate as you'll have to think about many different things while playing because of the new mechanics, which makes it even more fun.
-Netcode: Godly rollback implementation
(humanity needs to be disposed of all sentient beings who choose to play online using a wireless connection; let alone a game that's based solely on reaction time and execution).
-Feature-rich: (arguably also a negative)
-Plethora of gamemodes (Singleplayer "Story Mode", Retro Arcade games, Team Battles, etc.)
-Social Systems: Clubs (similar to guilds), Friend List, Follow list, Commendation System, Match Replay System (publicly viewable as well - good for learning from someone of higher rank)
-Amazing Tutorials for new players and vice versa along with an all-inclusive toolkit for practicing your character. (Frame data, Opponent Record Function, Command History display, Virtual Controller display, Combo Trials, etc.); essentially unlikely for you not to find a way to do something that the engine allows you to do with these settings provided you look hard enough.

I'm personally still going to play this as much as I can but it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. This is a product pleading to as many customers as possible but it doesn't do its best to appeal to it's core identity. World Tour mode is indeed a literal "Street Fighting" simulator but it is not why I bought this game. As I mentioned before, the core systems are great; It's the identity of the game that changed with all the new rubbish which demotivates me to play this.

i have no idea what the f*ck i'm doing but all I can say is I am proud to have annexed hungary as romania

I postponed recommending this game until after I'd finished it but it wouldn't have mattered if I had done it earlier because my opinion is the same.

This game is borderline perfect. It eludes me how a story can be presented under the same formula with different designations and still be completely goosebump-inducing. Still though, there is a bonus element in this game which partly removes the loneliness you feel in the previous ones (not saying it was a bad thing). I can't really explain it though because after finishing the game and progressing through the whole story I'm still a little f*cking confused.

Graphics and Performance - Utterly mesmerizing graphics but the game is not perfectly optimized. It is very likely you will have FPS drops or even worse: game bugs related to performance, if your system is not very new (below minimum/recommended system requirements). Besides low FPS in the open world, I haven't had issues if I correctly recall.

Story/World-building - Serene atmosphere in the open-world all the way to most wretched, putrid places/designs (POISON SWAMPS :D) you could think of.
The storytelling, I mentioned before, is fascinating, but also, it is mega cryptic and intriguing. You are a lowly tarnished in search of the Elden Ring. Will you be forsaken or will you overcome hardship and become a Lord? Sounds simple enough though, right? Hahahahaha you have no idea.

Combat System/Progression - Perfect. It is the accumulated experience of the FromSoftware development team and the combination of the systems from all the previous soulsborne games. They applied the best parts from each one and compiled them into an integral masterpiece.
You will need quite some time to finish the game fully if defeating optional enemies is on your list. Otherwise, the feeling of progression is, in my opinion, fairly satisfying. I had a bit of a hard time finding the correct weapon, figuring out what every crafting material/upgrade material does etc. (I haven't used crafting all that much, it is not a necessary thing at all; upgrading your weapons is, if you want to do any damage lol). I was, however, already familiar with the combat system and I adapted fairly quickly at the start. Afterwards, enemies become mechanically challenging and, more often than not, their attacks are hard to read, so I had to sit patiently and learn the mechanics/when to dodge attacks etc.
This doesn't mean you're prone to enjoying the game; it is a frustrating game sometimes; especially if you're new. All you need to do is focus, learn and adapt. This game offers many so called "easy mode" mechanics. You are free to use them. What I can say, though, is if you find yourself defeating hard bosses and proving to yourself you can do it, you will feel the greatest satisfaction.

Multiplayer and Co-Op - Although optional, sadly, the multiplayer's net code and peer-to-peer connectivity combat is pretty lacking in the sense that it's clearly displaying a delay. You can, on the bright side, adapt to it and learn to play with lag, since (depending on the opponent and how far away they are from you internet wise) it is pretty consistent and not a random, fluctuating lag. I am not a fan at all of the lag in multiplayer but you can still find very enjoyable adventures invading other players' worlds or playing with your friends helping each other defeat bosses.
Note: You will most likely only feel this lag while fighting other players and not while co-oping in PvE.


P.S. I offer my utmost malicious intent to all the people wishing there was an easy mode option in the game. If you find yourself lacking the interest to find items, strategies for overcoming difficulties, then don't share your opinion. Go outside lmao. It is not that hard of a game. It is not unfair in any way, shape or form.



In conclusion/TL;DR, I consider this game to be a masterpiece in the true sense of the word. This is undoubtedly the game of the year, most likely the game of the decade, probably one of the best games I've ever played. If it weren't for the sometimes unstable FPS, it would be objectively called perfect.

/the only reason this game has got mixed reviews is because of the server queues. get mad p*ssies./

I would like to briefly comment on the pay to win aspect of the game. I have reached max level (soft cap lvl 50) and from what I can see there is a limit of how much you can pay your way up. It will save you a lot of time buying stuff with money, yes, but I don't find it as bad as some people make it to be considering it's free.

There are some convenience factors that come with a monthly subscription for example but the game is totally doable without them as well. (the sub is obtainable without paying real money too it's just, as I said, a little more time and gold consuming)
*a note - I did not spend a single cent on this game*

Brief conclusion: The game is really fun. I spent something like 10 hours a day playing it and it's only been a week. The combat is amazing. The graphics are great although I'm sad the game doesn't run perfectly on an AMD RX 570 (I get frame drops frequently even on the lowest settings). Story is meh I skip almost every quest dialogue although the BOOBAS make up for it.

The first card game I've ever played. Figured I'd give it a chance since it's free and I'm a fan of The Witcher. I was not disappointed. Lured me right in from the start. Highly recommend it.
FOR SKELLIGEEEEEEEEEE

i got sent to in-game jail by the GMs after someone greeted me with "gamer" and I called them a r*tard poser

hello i cant hack oh ♥♥♥♥ im banned well ill just have fun killing prostitutes