Recent reviews by Ice on Officechair

Space Marine 2 is one of my Game Highlights of 2024.

While the story is entertaining it is also nothing special. I still wait for a Warhammer 40k game that dives deep into the lore of the world and creates an experience that rivals or equals games like Witcher 3, Baldurs Gate 3 or Cyberpunk 2077.
But while the story is probably your entry way into the game you will most likely not spend the majority of your time in there.

The core of the game are it's PvP and PvE game modes. While I can't say anything substantial about the PvP experience (because I suck and keep my hands off it) I have spent plenty of hours in the PvE mode.
And this is what motivates me to come back to this game regularly with my friends because Saber Interactive built a Co-Op mode that is just fun to play. The progression system for your gear is entertaining and the live-service elements of the game are fair and guarantee new content for at least the next year.

If you want to play a horde shooter in the Warhammer 40k setting that delivers it's best moments during Co-Op with your friends then you will have a great time with this title.

This is the most difficult "review" I have ever given on Steam and I have written one for Lightfall already.
But what about Destiny 2 in general?

It is my most played game on Steam and there is no other game out there that gives me the same experience that Destiny does. And for all it's bad moments I experienced with Destiny in 10 years there are twice as many good ones.
The potential of this franchise is still huge and when they excell in their execution no other game comes even close creating obsession for weeks in me.

But this obsession is bolstered by experiencing the world and story for almost 10 years. And in the case of Destiny 2 so much of this experience is missing in the game.
Seasons, Expansions and even the base game story is no longer playable.
Yes those stories were in most cases not as great as the story "Witch Queen" told but they were part of the path we took to get where we are now, only a few weeks away from "The Final Shape".
New players can not experience this game as I can and usually new players need a experienced player to guide them through the game to not get overwhelmed and pissed by it's fairly complex and unintuitive systems.
And then they either require a two hour quick briefing by a friend or a marathon of YouTube videos to understand why things are what they are.

If I had written this a few months ago my verdict would have been negative but with the "New Light" Update Bungie really showed what this game can be for seasones, returning and new players.
Still Destiny is not for everyone.
If you are new to the game I recommend to get a seasoned player to play with you. Watch YouTube videos regarding the Story and mechanics. And most important, right now I have to accept that very important content for the story is missing in the game. That is no excuse and I hope that at least story content will return some day to experience the whole journey from start to finish. But right now this is the hand we need to play with.

To wrap this up:

Destiny 2 is for you if:
-you like top tier gunplay
-you want to experience a PvE shooter like no other
-you want to create the optimal character build to tackle fairly hard game modes
-you want to play the unique experience of beating MMORPG-like Dungeons and Raids in a Shooter
-you like Sci-Fi/Fantasy settings and stories and you are willing to watch content on YouTube to get the whole picture

Destiny 2 is not for you if:
-you want to play a game completely from start to finish
-you do not want to be reliant on help from outside sources to fully enjoy the game
-you do not like grinding content

I will still leave a positive review and I will probably play Destiny even after "Final Shape" for years to come.
But I know that this game has BIG flwas and needs some attention on its old and lost content after the next expansion to draw in new players.

Helldivers 2 is a fantastic Co-Op game and has one of, if not the best, live service in the gaming industry.

I'm happy to change this review to a positive one after Sony changed it's decision to keep the PSN Account linking optional.

The more important stuff:
Helldivers is for you if:
-you like action filled co-op shooter action
-Sci-Fi Settings
-good gunplay
-you want to play a live service game

Helldivers is not for you if:
-you do not tollerate bugs (I'm aware of the pun)
-you want to play a PvP shooter
- you want to play a tactical shooter like Arma

I never had more fun in an RPG than in this game.

I've played a few round based RPGs before but I mostly favored the action RPGs for a long time.
The Witcher and Mass Effect Trilogy are my benachmark for almost perfect games that I like to come back too every few years and I'm still finding new stuff to talk abou to this day.
Baldurs Gate 3 is as good and maybe even a bit better then those legendary trilogies.
I still have plans for re-runs that will keep me returning to this game years in the future.

There were many bugs in the game when it released but Larians commitment to bugfixing and improving this game is commendable. They care about the product and it shows.
There are still Bugs in the game and I doubt that it will ever be truly bug free but it's getting improved at an impressive pace.

I think this game will stay relevant for a long time and deserves the overwhelmingly positive reviews it right now has on Steam.
Buy it, play it and fall in love with the game and the world of Baldurs Gate.

Dear Bungie and potentially interested buyer,
before I begin my critique I neeed to give some caviats: I really love the experience this expansion had to offer. The locations are awesome, gameplay is great, strand is fun, the raid was thematically nice, the lore is great as usual and I'm putting more playtime into Destiny 2 then ever before.
BUT the expansion faces some big problems. And even if I'm playing the hell out of Destiny right now: This reviews conclusion is for new and returning players without a friend to guide them through the fun but messy experience:

The Narrative: Destiny's Light vs Dark Saga is running for almost nine years now (2023). The final Shape will be the last expansion in this era of destiny and Lightfall should have been the point to start answering long standing questions within the games story and lore. Yet the story delivers more questions that need to be answered (What is the Veil?). It is frustrating that major characters like Osiris and Rohan act like they now what the MacGuffin is that we are chasing even though they do not. Bungie already declared that the mystery will be explored and lifted over the whole year and I will be there for it but I'm also a player that put unhealthy amounts of time into the game and I'm not the benchmark for the experience new or more casual players receive in the game. New and returning players will have trouble understanding what is going on in the story of Lightfall. Sadly Lightfalls story did not manage to live up to the hype and the expectations set after Witchqueen, which was an excellent story experience, with precise writing.

The current state of Destiny: I love this game. I'm invested into the story and the characters. I watch Destiny content since 2014 and I'm playing D2 since it's release in 2017. I know where we came from in the narrative because I have experienced it myself, piece by piece over the years. And if players want to jump into D1 they can experience it's complete story. Sadly this does not apply to D2 and yes: I'm aware that this game probably works, on a technical level, like a Ork vehicle from Warhammer 40k - you just have to believe really hard that it works.
But this leads to the problem that new and returning players are not on the same page I am.
We need new players in the game and right now the experience is lacking at best even more after Lightfall.

Verdict: If you are a new player I can not recommend Destiny 2 and Lightfall right now unless you have a friend willing to be your guide. You can always pour dozens of hours into watching videos on YouTube that explain the lore of the game but this does not make the play experience any better. I hope it will get better and more accessable over time because I want more people to fall in love with the game like I did. But right now this is very hard to achiev if the content strategy and coming expansions continue the course Lightfall took.

This game is probably the best city sim available right now.
It sets new standards in modability and the community delivers great new content every week.
You are truly able to build the city of your dreams.