Recent reviews by BlindSp0t

Portal is an amazing game. One of my favorites.
This is not it.

The good:
- secret codes to change the design of the storage/companion cubes

The bad:
- the ray tracing feels half-assed. Does ruin the original art direction in quite a few places. Reflections are way too accentuated to look realistic. Every metal surface looks like it amplifies light instead of just reflecting it.
- the performance is literally abysmal. This is the new Crysis. I have a 4090, and can't run the game natively in 4K. I have to use DLSS + Frame Generation to have it run at a "playable" 60/70fps, which is atrocious for the artefacts it creates, AND doesn't feel good because frame generation doesn't make gameplay more fluid, it just simulates it being more fluid. It's an acceptable framerate for the eyes, but the actual game is rendered at closer to 30fps, which feels choppy when you turn quickly. Not pleasant.
- Weird sound issue for me where the voice lines where muffled and felt distant, drowed out by both the music and environmental sounds.

While I like one of my favorite games of all times getting some love, this feels rather like though love than true love.
(cue "look how they massacred my baby" meme)
What made Portal what it is is an amalgamation of witty writing, incredible level design, smooth gameplay and smart puzzles. What is left in this is smart puzzles, everything else is a downgrade one way or another.

I wouldn't recommend this as a first playthrough of Portal. To sate one's curiosity about ray tracing, why not. But definitely not for a full playthrough. It is just isn't fun if you don't have the highest end gear possible AND fiddle with the options to reduce everything, even the ray tracing (especially the ray tracing), which makes it pointless at the end of the day.

Genre-defining open world RPG. The gameplay is a bit slow, which is a positive in my opinion as it makes everything more grounded.
The writing, the acting, the graphics and the art direction are truly spectacular.

Predatory microtransactions, very slow progression, completely not worth it. Even paying isn't worth it lmao.

Somewhat of a good game. It's hard to get into it for someone new to FromSoftware games.

From the ashes of depravity rises the phoenix of quality.

How else to describe the Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe?

Such a revolutionary step forward in the lineage of one of the most beloved video games properties of all times. The additions and changes made to this expansion will surely resonate in the annals of the history of all media ever made.
It is perhaps true to say that no mistakes are ever etched in stone for the stone into which the Stanley Parable is carved has itself been transmuted, offering a message of hope to those who have ever erred in their judgement.

You are not beyond redemption. You may change. And you may become more, so much more than you were before.

If there is any message to be taken from the Stanley Parable: Ultra deluxe, it is this:

"What a fortune, a privilege, a joy it is to have had such an experience. It leaves me hopeful that as a community - as a world!
There is time for us to become our greater selves, as great as we ever could dream of in our wildest, most ambitious visions for a brighter future."

The free to play model is very poorly implemented in this game, the limitations are felt quite quickly, and quite strongly as well. However it allows people to get through arguably the best part of the game, which is the main class stories.

There's a ton to say for and against this game, but I feel like the game is best experienced without too much information. And also I'm quite lazy.

Interesting and beautiful game. It's an Ubisoft open-world game, so prepare to have to visit every single square centimeter of the map to do repeat quests and such, but the main story is quite engaging, the characters are well-written, and the world is gorgeous.

Well, it's the OG! Buggy goodness from days past. One of the best RPGs around, and one of the most moddable ones. You can basically turn it into anything you fancy.

There are few games that left me, when I finished them, with a deep feeling of emptiness. Like, you've let the outro play until the end, and then stare blankly at the main menu, not even realizing it. To the moon has done it to me, and now this one.

Those two games are a world apart, and yet very, very similar. For starters, both treat of mental illness. I have no idea if this is a subject that resonates with me, or if it's just that this type of subject works well with story-driven games. Both are also quite short, very lacking gameplay-wise, but full-packed of emotions.

Let's talk about this game though. Here are its ups-and-downs.

Ups:
- Amazing ambiance. Like really, this is really the main draw for the game. The visuals and sounds are truly a work of art.
- Great voice acting. Really puts you in the mood of the game
- Graphically, one of the most photo-realistic games I've played. There are, I think, videos interlaced in some cutscenes, but I definitely can't say for sure as I couldn't find a definite demarcation between 3D images and real ones. And you don't even know when a cutscene starts, because the graphical fidelity doesn't even change. The game is visually impressive.
- Story. The story is weird, there's not much to grab onto in game, you have to pick up elements left and right, and listen. The voice acting is responsible for most of it, your imagination for the rest. But with the combination of the two, it's really deep and involving.

Downs:
- Gameplay. The gameplay felt a little bit overdone, like they felt forced to add content to appease people. Don't let yourself be fooled though, if you're not into walking simulators, and don't like contemplative experiences, this might not be for you. The puzzles are a nice touch, which intertwine with the story, but the combats however were draining and sort of waking me up. Like getting in the way of my involvement in the story. At least they were quite easy, but too long. Also there's a lot of backtracking, although that is not as much of a problem as there are usually story follow ups during the backtracking phases.

Overall this is in my opinion a very great game, with a very deep subject and offers a strong idea of what suffering from psychosis can be like (hint: hell).

I think I went on for long enough, and as I'm recuperating from the haze I found that there was another game somewhat similar, and that is The Talos Principle. Hellblade however is more story-driven, and less puzzle-solving. But I'd rate the two quite similarly in how I felt engaged.

Really, really liked this game.

Everything in this game is beautiful. Except for combat. The combat system sucks. Still a great game nonetheless.