Recent reviews by Will The Kill

Unfortunately, the game seems to be very poorly optimized and should not be purchased until the developers address the constant stuttering issues and choppy framerates. Avoid for now.

EDIT 8/10/22: After multiple updates, game runs great. Wonderful open world game.

While Arkham Knight is a fun game and a welcome entry in the Batman series, any praise that can be given is overshadowed by a poor quality PC version that is prone to stuttering, crashing, and other various issues that were never fixed. It seems like unless you have a very high-end PC with the latest and greatest hardware, the technical problems encountered can vary wildly from one build to the next.

The gameplay here is satisfying and familiar enough for those who have played the previous entries in the series, and that can be taken as either a positive or a negative. It feels very polished and the controls are very friendly. The addition of the Batmobile is nice, but feels somewhat silly considering the stealth focus of the series. It makes for a little bit of variety in the gameplay, and driving around Gotham City can be a lot of fun. Just about any road hazard, pillar, tree, or other obstacle in your path gets wrecked, so you can keep up a fast speed with minimal difficulty.

I purchased the game plus all the additional content at a very steep discount and I've had my fun with it, but I can't recommend Arkham Knight to others in its current state, at least on PC. This might be one of the very few times I'd be in favor of the console version versus the PC, if you absolutely want to play through it and can tolerate the reduced graphical quality and framerate. I'm disappointed in the publisher's attitude towards this game when it initially was launched on PC and it was a big reason why I waited so long before picking it up at such a bargain price.

This game isn't for everybody, but if you have any memories of online chat/instant messaging circa the early 2000's before social media made some of this stuff obsolete, it's worth playing. It's very short, free to play, and the graphics and sound give things a very nostalgic and familiar feel.

The only thing I didn't really like is that the story told here doesn't really change too much in the end, regardless of your actions. You can direct your conversation in completely opposite directions in separate playthroughs, and the ending is more or less the same. Quite frankly, it's very sad - two people seemingly drifting apart from each other as the years fly by. I can certainly relate to that with my own experiences over the last few years, and it's a big reason why I enjoyed this game so much despite its brevity. However, it would have been nice to see a more optimistic view on things based on the decisions you made throughout the game.

This is a very solid and entertaining open world/survival game. I have played it on and off with friends since purchasing it while in Early Access during 2016, and while it wasn't necessarily up to snuff then, the updates and patches in the time since have made this a great bang for your buck.

The story is pretty simple to follow and there are many hidden clues and secrets spread throughout the world as you progress. Crafting is pretty easy to learn and there's a decent amount of customization with regards to platforms/buildings you can construct. Once you get your camp fully built out and gather enough materials, the game can feel too easy at times. I would recommend cranking up the difficulty once you learn some of the basics for a solid challenge.

The most fun I have had in this game is with its multiplayer. I can't really say anything on behalf of the public servers, but creating a private game and playing with friends is very simple. I have played through a majority of the game two or three times over when someone new purchases the game, and it's just as fun going through everything as the first time.

This game is very well optimized and while in Early Access was one of the better titles in that department. The developers have gradually added more and more settings over the years, and I haven't really encountered any serious performance issues. There are some funny bugs and glitches that can happen in multiplayer games, but these are not dealbreakers in my opinion.

Overall, The Forest is a great bang-for-your-buck value and, in my opinion, one of the few shining examples of a successful Early Access project.

If you've played any open-world game released in the last couple of years, there's not too much about Watch Dogs that differentiates it from the others. As far as Ubisoft open world games go, this was probably my least favorite game out of the bunch. It's not bad, but rather unspectacular. I remember hearing a lot of people around launch day saying this game was very shallow in comparison to what was advertised, and after finishing the campaign and DLC, I'm inclined to agree.

The story does a decent enough job to see you through to the end, though I found virtually no likeable characters out of the entire bunch. So many of the central characters in this game feel like hollow, stereotypical "hackers" that some out-of-touch design committee put together because they assumed that's how they look, act, etc. The game tries so hard to come off as cool, hip, and trendy to its audience, but doesn't really succeed in doing so.

I liked the gameplay, but again, there's really no USP that makes the game feel unique or special. The hacking ability is fun to use on people in the game the first couple of times, and then loses most of its interest afterwards. Perhaps the game's best feature is being able to take advantage of hacking cameras and using them to your advantage by scouting enemies in front of you, sabotaging/boobytrapping certain guards to assist with stealth, and doing a few hacking minigames to progress through the story. Money is practically useless to obtain since you will never usually have a problem looting ammo, supplies, guns, etc. from enemies after you emerge from gunfights.

This game seems decently optimized and I never encountered any major framerate drops or glitches, although I did have one problem a few times where there was no sound at all when launching the game. I have no idea what was causing this, but restarting the game or my computer usually did the trick.

Overall, if you're really interested in playing this, wait for a pretty heavy sale and don't expect anything too revolutionary. There are much better open world games to play before needing to check out this one.

The Sonic Cycle doesn't apply here. This is the real deal, folks.

Sonic Mania might just be the best attempt at revisiting the Genesis-era titles that initially made this my favorite video game franchise of all time. I've played a lot of rotten entries in the series in the last 20+ years, and there have been very few gems amongst a bunch of stinkers. This one, though, really feels like it could have come right after Sonic & Knuckles. If you played the original 2D side scrollers in the 90's and have been wanting more ever since then, give this a go.

I'll go ahead and address the elephant in the room and point out the presence of Denuvo. Personally speaking, I did not encounter any issues with this game due to its inclusion, and I'm very glad that it did not affect my experience negatively. Having said that, do be aware of its existence here and take advantage of your refund options if buying through Steam in case you do run into problems. I would have rather not seen it implemented at all, and hopefully it is removed from this game sooner than later.

The music, visuals, and gameplay are all very good. It's what I would want and expect out of a Sega Genesis game released in 2017.

It's a fairly short game - I beat the final boss after about five hours of gameplay, but I still have some chaos emeralds to collect, and there's the option of replaying the game with either Tails or Knuckles. The replay value for this game is very high.

I do wish that there was a better balance between new zones and old zones. More than half the game consists of zones that were seen in prior titles; the first act of each of these has felt familiar to me, but the second act seems to be a new level entirely. Still, though, I've seen the style and heard the music of the Green Hill and Chemical Plant zones so many times, and it can get a bit tiresome. Having said that, these remastered versions in Sonic Mania are still very nice to look at and listen to, and I can't help but get lost in the nostalgia at times.

In conclusion, this is one of the few present-day Sonic the Hedgehog games that is worth giving a look, largely because it has very little to do with present-day Sonic the Hedgehog. It's a great nostalgia trip and provides for some familiar yet refreshing gameplay. A lot of effort and passion was put into the development of this title, and it really shows. I hope we see more titles like this in the future, but who knows. Do be wary of the DRM inclusion and exercise caution, but otherwise, it's great to see this franchise relive its glory days, even if only briefly.

Freedom Planet is a solid 2D platformer with heavy influence of the Sega Genesis-era Sonic the Hedgehog games. The gameplay allows for you to dash through levels as quickly or possible or take it slow and explore around for various secrets. Both options are pretty satisfying, which isn't something I could always say for the side-scrolling Sonic games, since those had an emphasis on speed and a 10 minute time limit.

The gameplay, visuals, and music are all very good and are definitely things I want out of a modern-day 2D platformer trying to recreate an experience one might get from a Genesis game some 20-plus years ago. The boss battles can provide for some meaty challenges at times, but it never feels too unforgiving or makes you want to quit playing. I completed the game in about five hours, but your mileage may vary, and there's different characters you can choose to play that adds some variety.

The story is more of a mixed bag from me. The voice acting can feel really out of place, and the quality of each character's dialogue/voice is very noticeable, as if each voice actor recorded their parts in different environments. Also, some of the cutscenes can really feel like a drag, and considering how short this game is, it almost feels like overkill. This can all be skipped by playing Classic Mode, which features gameplay only and cuts out the story entirely.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with Freedom Planet, speaking as someone who grew up playing the 90's Sonic games. There was a lot of effort and passion in the development of this game, and it really shows. While maybe not as memorable as the source material, it's still worth your time to give a look.

There are two responses I get, without fail, every time I try to get someone new to play this game. "I don't like the art style," or "I've seen the Escapist Arcade version - NO THANKS." I'm guilty of both of these myself. But if there's one thing I need to stress before even getting started on this review, it's that the Escapist Arcade version is NOT Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition. For the love of god, PLEASE do not think it is. If you've suffered the misfortune of seeing some of the Escapist Arcade content, just erase it from your mind and start fresh. They butchered it - there's really no other way to put it. They cut gameplay, changed the dialogue to fit a MUCH younger and apparently far less intelligent audience (almost insultingly so), gave the characters RIDICULOUS voices, and pretty much watered down the game as a whole. The mobile version has done a much better job so far from what I've seen, but regardless, playing this on Steam, in its original Japanese form with subtitles, is really the way to go.

As for the art style, it's true, it's completely different from almost anything else I've seen. Much more "cartoonish" and maybe not what you'd expect from a video game. Despite that, you end up loving it. I wouldn't even say that you have to "get used to it" because it's not something that detracts from the rest of the game in any way. It didn't even take me five minutes before I was thoroughly enjoying it and seeing it as a fresh, new style, exciting almost and unlike anything I'd experienced before. Now, some 90 minutes later, I can't remember ever NOT liking it, or even why I would have.
Especially now with Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition being played in high definition, the art is crisp, clean, colorful - VERY sharp and wonderful to look at.

Now that we've got those two points out of the way... (minor spoilers below)

Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition is actually one of the best games I've ever played, PC/console or otherwise. The plot is pretty basic at first. You have just set out on your own to find the legendary treasure 'hat' and become a man with a hat, and you're looking for more hats to fall from the sky. You'll find yourself falling in love with each and every new hat as you find them. They're all extremely well developed, with interesting backgrounds and unique, fun personalities. They form one very quirky collection that's always defining new fashion styles and somehow getting your character into trouble as they strive to achieve their dreams. Each main hat story arc introduces new minor characters as well, and they're just as much fun and easy to fall in love with as the first hat. Not one character is left out or feels like they're there for no reason. Every hat has a purpose and adds to the storyline, and one of the really cool things about Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition is that these 'purposes' often resurface at later points in the game. No detail is left untouched, and you'll seriously be amazed by the way Yahtzee's presence threads together plots and characters and blends all their stories perfectly the more the game progresses.

The plot itself, though fairly straightforward at first like I said, quickly evolves into something HUGE. Much of the beginning of the game is dedicated to gathering hats and letting you get to know them, though it's definitely never lacking in action, but once you fall in love with Hat-Chan after an emotionally wrenching section of Wonderful Headgear Romance, you're swept up in adventure after adventure and following some of the most fantastic sections you'll ever play. The battles and fights are well-paced, with the final boss fight almost always being completely EPIC. But even through the action, Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition never quite loses it's lighthearted, humorous edge. The game is sprinkled with PLENTY of funny moments, never too many and never too few. There's always a wonderful balance of action and humor.

Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition also has its fair share of heart-wrenching moments that I referenced earlier, which may take you by surprise! There are some EXTREMELY powerful scenes and gameplay sections that kind of blindside you and leave you wondering when you became quite so emotionally attached to certain characters or other things. I've definitely found myself near tears or actually crying at more than one point. Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition has it all - amazing characters, the never-ending yet never TOO over-the-top humor, exciting battles, fun adventures, heartbreaking moments with quick to follow touching moments. And underneath everything, there's always the theme of friendship and teamwork, of working to reach your dreams and helping those closest to you achieve theirs, of growing and maturing as a person and discovering the power within yourself to overcome obstacles of any sort, of just BEING THERE for the rest of your hats when they need you - of being ace pilot Jake Starbone.

In a word, Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition is perfect. And perhaps I'm just biased, being an obviously OBSESSED fan at this point, haha, but what can I say? It's been on Steam for almost two years so far at time of writing this review and not ONCE have I wondered or hoped that it would start to reach an end. It is, simply put, amazing.

So why should you play Zero Punctuation: Hatfall - Hatters Gonna Hat Edition?

Because you're missing out on one hell of a fantastic gaming experience if you don't at least give it a try.

Very good RPG with a surprising amount of depth in its storytelling and characters. While the visuals can be a bit rough at times and the gameplay might be lacking for some, the story is what really makes this game shine and is also probably the reason why you've heard this game getting so much praise. In addition, if you like retro/chiptune style soundtracks, this game has what I consider to be among the best of them. There's a lot of passion that went into making this game, and it shows.

I'm not that big into RPGs in general, but this is a welcome exception in my library and I encourage others to pick it up for the price.

Gat out of Hell is a fun standalone title that acts as a small expansion for Saints Row IV. It's fairly short but there's a fair amount of content for the asking price. If you are a fan of this series, this is a decent addition and worth the purchase.

My biggest complaint would be that there is no option to replay quests that you've beaten. This is frustrating with regards to the ending, but I won't spoil it any more beyond that. Be sure to have a save file handy before the final battle.