Recent reviews by BlueDemon - 75

good

silly ahah space game is pretty good

Pretty fun, I love to shut my brain off while the pretty colors go off in similar games (vampire survivors) but Halls of Torment require a bit more brain cells, and gameplay is a bit more "than walk around and farm xp", there's a great deal of that still, but movement and ability aiming are key.

If you are not into powerfist CBT experience and just looking for xcom 40k this may not be the game you are looking for and perhaps should try the other turn-based games on the franchise.
Straight up, Space Hulk tactics is brutal, and will punish every single mistake you make without mercy.
If you are into the high tension and planning your turns carefully, it's great.
Multiplayer apparently doesn't work but I never bothered with it, and tbh there's the real board game and tabletop simulator for that. Still, buyers be ware.

Victor Vran is an okay, decently fun game, that tries to do a few things differently resulting in a streamlined ARPG.

There are no classes or skill threes, you are Victor Vran the monster hunter and your abilities are attached to the weapons type you wield, of which there are 8 (10 with the Motorhead DLC), 2 demon powers that burn a special resource akin to adrenaline, and a set of cards that grants a few perks, but overall it's not super versatile when it comes to build variety.

It's not a bad game, had my fun with it but it's clearly an indie ARPG done on a small budget. It's not something I would return for multiple runs as the lack of variety really hurts it.

As I see it, Victor Vran's simplicity is better suited for beginners of the genre, particularly those who feel other games are too overwhelming to get into. The downside is that everything lacks a certain depth, don't expect the gameplay to feel fresh for hundreds of hours like other titles in the genre can.

Many would frown upon the long early access period, but without it the game wouldn't exist at all. The developers post weekly news post on their website and the game receives considerable updates still. While deceptively simple on the surface, Zomboid aims to be a detailed zombie apocalypse simulator and achieves this goal with flying colors.

[Read the full review in my blog][bluedemonarchive.blogspot.com]

Imagine if you took all the best parts of a live service game and cut off all the bad aspects that come attached to it. Deep Rock provides that dopamine rush of getting shiny loot, fun online co-op, gratifying long-term progression systems, and a well-thought-out end-game. With none of the "aways-online" trappings.

There is no overpriced DLC missions, no premium currency, no cosmetics cash shop, seasonal cotent is free and avaliable for all. It's a full game through and through, 30 Dollars for the complete package.

Doesn't matter if you are a weekend casual, or a daily hardcore player, be it one or 10 hours of gaming a day, I can guarantee you that Deep Rock Galactic can offer more than enough fun for the price you are paying. Unless you have arachnophobia that is, then it's not that fun I guess.

[Full review on my Blog][bluedemonarchive.blogspot.com]

Is a interactive visual novel, developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, written and directed by Goichi Suda along with Masai Ooka, Sako Kato and Masahiro Yuki.

It was originally published in October 2005, exclusively for certain mobile phones in Japan, between license agreement changes and distribution problems, a large time gap between the release of new chapters and the quick advent of a new era of mobile phones, 25th Ward ended up becoming a piece of lost media, when its distribution was completely shutdown in May 2011. It later received this complete remake along with an english localization for the PC and PlayStation 4 in October 2018, and there is a Nintendo switch version coming February 2021.

The 25th Ward is also a direct sequel to The Silver case, and in parts also a sequel to Flower, Sun and Rain. So playing The 25th Ward without a full grasp on the events that transpired between these two past games is not really recommended. Even when doing so, the 25th Ward is a major step up in terms of ''difficulty'' for its interpretation when compared to TSC and FSR.

The game is set a few years after the events of The Silver Case, on the titular 25th Ward, a city planned from the ground up with the goal of achieving the perfect modern society and a perfect life. The story explores what the life in the ward is like, its inner workings and what goes into maintaining its life. It is told from three different points of view:

''Correctness'' follows the investigations of the 25th Ward's Heinous Crimes Unit on the series of disconnected suicides at the high-rise apartment complex and other crimes across the Ward.

''Matchmaker'' follows RA Bureau agents Tsuki and Osato, carrying out investigations and assignments secretly issued from the high up administration of the 25th Ward.

And lastly ''Placebo'' focuses on the return of the reporter Tokyo Morishima, to investigate a chat girl named ''Goddess'' while also trying to recover the memories he lost from the past few years.

How these three story lines will cross with each other and the what are the events that will unfold in each is up to you to find out and interpret. Similarly to The Silver Case, it is recommended to play the chapters in the order they are unlocked in. (Correctness > Matchmaker > Placebo.)

Let's talk about gameplay, despite being a visual novel, The 25th Ward has a host of interactive moments, where you can move, look, talk and use items. Simple actions, but they are used effectively for interacting with the world and its people. The numerical puzzles from Flower, Sun and Rain return, but they are no where near as hard or confusing, most puzzles are incredibly simple and easy to solve, save from a few deliberately tedious tasks and some trial and error ones where I feel some people might want to look up a guide to save time.

The 25th ward is the culmination of Suda51 unique style of presentation and writing, the perfect mixing of elements we had seen previously build up and evolve throughout Moonlight syndrome, The Silver Case, FSR and Killer7.

The 25th Ward provide commentary on rapid urbanization, mass surveillance, dehumanization, public desensitization to violence and how death is seen as a trivial matter in today's world, and of course, how a person's past can haunt them forever if they choose to not let go of it.

All of these along with many other topics are touched upon, not in a ham-fisted way, but in the unique and surreal way of story telling and presentation that only Suda51 and Grasshopper manufacture titles can offer.

It's themes remains relevant today more than ever.
Kill The Past.

Is a classic first person shooter, running on the GoldSrc Engine, developed by Valve Software, published by Sierra entertainment on November 1998.

In Half-Life the player fill in the shoes of Dr. Gordon Freeman, 27 years old theoretical physicist late for his first day of work at Black Mesa Research Facility. He gets in the Hazardous Environment Suit, the experiment goes wrong, Resonance Cascade happens. Soon enough the first day on the job turns into Gordon's fight for his life during a cataclysmic event.

Over the course of the Black Mesa incident Gordon will acquire a large arsenal of military grade armaments, experimental weapons and tools. From the humble Glock and trusty crowbar, to the exotic crossbow and destructive Gluon gun. There're aways a good weapon for your situation you are in. And what are weapons for if not killing things? throughout Black Mesa you will encounter no shortage of hostiles from all sorts of Xen fauna, HECU and black ops, there's good variety of enemies for the time, and they interact and with the player in different ways. However the threat is not only found in enemies, but the hazardous environment of Black Mesa is in itself a danger, sure the HEV suit does a lot of heavy lifting for Gordon, but it won't save you from dissolving in a pool of acid of getting crushed by the collapsing facility debris.

In terms of controls, Gordon is fast, his air control is insane, and the movement is good and responsive, however I've seen complaints about Gordon feeling ''slippery'' this is a Golds thing that comes from its Quake origins, you keep part of your momentum when you stop running, it doesn't bother me at all it is a tiny thing, but I see how it could bother someone else.
When it comes to soundtrack, it is rather shy, but when it kicks in its pretty iconic and fits well with the energy and situation the player is in.

Valve keeps Half-Life up to date, so the game runs flawlessly on a fresh install ''out of the box'' on modern systems and hardware. It doesn't need any mods for it to run properly which is a god send when it comes to older titles such as this one, most publishers just slap a DOSbox on their games and call it a day like Bethesda did with Quake.

Half-Life is one of the first FPS games to make the jump from disconnected abstract maps chained in a episodic format to a fully story driven game. While I appreciate the simplicity and merits of its predecessors like Quake, Half-Life would go on to raise the bar and set a new standard in terms of quality, not only for gameplay but for environmental story telling and writing, both aspects that were yet unseen for the FPS genre of the time.

a instant classic that would change the way FPS games are designed forever. It's influence and success would cement Valve as a gaming landmark and give birth to future iconic games and franchises equally successful such as Counter-Strike, Portal and Team Fortress.

It is for this and many more reasons I consider Half-Life to be a Master Piece.
Run, think, shoot, live.

Is a crime drama interactive visual novel, developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, published in October of 1999 for Sonny Playstation, running on the Film window engine, written and directed by Goichi Suda along with Masahi Ooka, and Sako Kato. It later received this unity remaster along with an english localization for the PC, and Playstation 4 in October of 2016, and Nintendo Switch version coming February 2021.

The game is set in 24th Ward, Tokyo, a series of brutal murders beggin and the Police's Heinous Crimes Unit soon discover that these crimes herald the return of Kamui Uehara, a legendary serial killer.

Two stories unfold at the same time, ''Trasmitter'' you as one of the detectives investigating these crimes and ''Placebo'' where Tokio Morishima, a freelance reporter is trying to uncover information on Kamui's return. Whenever Transmitter is unclear or missing critical information, Placebo sheds lights on it with Tokio's reports.

When you finish a Transmitter chapter, a placebo one is unlocked, so it's recommended that you play one Transmitter chapter and the Placebo chapter unlocked after it so you can get a more complete view of the story. Transmitter has the most dense story sequences, while placebo is more relaxed and easier to follow.

Speaking of interactive sequences, when in control of your character, you will be able to move around, interact with certain objects and people. These gameplay sequences are short and simple, however there are a few exceptions that feel overly long or tedious. In terms of controls they are rather simple and arcaic, but keep in mind that this is a PS1 title and that even the fabled Metal gear solid controls like ass nowdays compared to more modern titles.

Written at the turn of the millennium, it is filled with fear and paranoia of what the future may hold. Despite The Silver Case being 20 plus years old, its prophetic nature remains, still providing relevant commentary on how the media and internet reacts, and sometimes even romanticize, certain events and criminal activity.

Like most Suda games, it was not made to appeal to the lowest common denominator, so it's not something that can be easily recommended to a wide audience, however, I am here to review the game's merits and what it achieves, not if it will appeal to some dude bro that only play AAA games.

If you are into Suda's other works like Killer7 and/or are looking for a dense, well written world to get immersed in, then The Silver Case is a perfect game. Being one of Suda's earlier works, it is rough around the edges, but well worth the time. Like most of his games, it will leave you thinking about it for days if not months. Kill the Past.