Recent reviews by Celestial Nuthawk

One of the most enjoyable co-op games and communities I've experienced in quite a while.

Unique gameplay that's reminiscent of Mass Effect Co-op, Tarkov, and Left 4 Dead with hilarious friendly-fire shenanigans.

Community is also fantastic and has fully embraced the uber-fascist shtick the game presents as it's world.

The developers and their community managers have been fantastic at responding to community requests and putting out quick and well-adjusted balance patches.

The "Dungeon Master" thing they have going on with the overarching war meta-game has also done a good job at building community engagement and keeping things interesting.

Pricing is also fantastic, with a AA base price and $10 warbonds (season passes) that don't expire and can be unlocked with earnable currency.

It's a real shame the game might be dead now because of Sony's enforced account-linking fiasco, despite it having been walked back at this point.

I hope that isn't the case, though, because Arrowhead and Helldivers deserves better and can still be a beacon of hope in this increasingly corporate and paint-by-numbers landscape.

9.5/10 - Fantastic Game with Room for Improvement

Did a very good job of what it set out to do: be an open-world RPG set in the Hogwarts universe.

Combat was fairly well-executed, aside from being limited to four equipped spells at a time (luckily, mods exist), and was enjoyable enough. Included an unlimited generic attack spell, spells with unique effects with individual cooldowns (think Mass Effect 1), dodge/parry/counterattack mechanics, spells combos, a slick object yank'n'throw spell, and a very satisfying ultimate move with a randomized animation.

Traversal can be done through 3 separate mounts (a broom with mediocre controls, and two spoilers), Floo Powder fast-travel, and my personal favorite: the magic-dodge mechanic with a mod to make it last as long as you hold the button (think of the white/black whispy magic the Aurors/Death Eaters use in the movies), which turns you into a human Sonic the Hedgehog.

Random loot exists in the form of armor, which is upgradable through resources (yuck, personally), and can be transmogged to the appearance of any other earned gear at will (nice).

Hogwarts and the world itself is FANTASTICALLY crafted and is actually filled with quests, enemies, creatures, and collectible lore, some of it not coming directly from the books/movies (though maybe coming from the Pottermore website? Not sure on that, maybe a decade ago I would've checked.). It brings back a lot of the feelings I felt playing Order of the Phoenix as a teenager. It is quite obvious a LOT of love went into creating this world.

RPG Story Elements leave a bit to be desired; dialogue choices affect a given conversation, but don't usually effect the larger plot/subplot. Using Unforgivable Curses has no effect on plots or NPCs. The main story itself is kind of middling; it can be difficult to craft fulfilling narratives within the confines of being a prequel, especially when using a nameless player-created character with no background. The ending also left a bit to be desired as far as closure and player choice go.

NPCs are all good; there weren't any main/secondary characters that I found excruciating to be around and the companion characters were mostly well fleshed out. You spend the most time with the most morally gray character, which I think served the game well, as that side-plot was the most interesting and has a lot of potential for future games.

Unfortunately, the companion system itself left a bit to be desired in that it doesn't really exist. Companions are with you only for the duration of their associated missions. In other words, you can't drag a companion around with you everywhere you go like Lydia from Skyrim. This is a massive missed opportunity and leaves the world feeling kind of lonely.

All-in-all, I feel that this game deserves a 7.5/10. If you're a Harry Potter fan, get it on sale. It's a solid RPG and feels like a lot of love went into it. It's certainly better than the Fantastic Beasts movies (though that's not exactly a high bar...). This one's more about the ride than the destination. Hopefully, any sequels can take this game and build upon it with some mechanical improvements and a more fulfilling main narrative.

The stealth gameplay is improved by some new skills. That's about the only improvement.

Weapon customization is worse, as there are few weapons and few attachments (where are my laser sights???).
Combat Perks/Skills are next to meaningless and nearly all based around a 10-second duration buff system and often don't interact with each other properly.
Very few maps/scenarios, even for a new game launch.
To top it all off, combat itself is as annoying as ever: a constant bombardment of bullet-impacting-you noises due to the overwhelming nature of the AI and lack of cover and now there is nothing like the Dodge Build to majorly lessen the damage you take.

Frankly, I wonder why we even left Payday 2 behind instead of just giving it an engine overhaul. This game feels like a soulless cash grab walking around in a Payday meatsuit.

Good foundation for a successor to the late and great SWAT 4. Definitely still an Alpha, but I expect good things based on what I'm seeing.

There is currently no way to queue up into a public multiplayer lobby with friends. You have to lobby-hop until you find one with space, which may never happen. While there is fun to be had in private multiplayer, I wouldn't say it's worth the cost. This is extremely unfortunate because the rest of the game seems well-built and fun and the nostalgia factor is very strong. Refunded at least until they fix this issue.

F*** Apex Legends. This game is Respawn's FPS Masterpiece.

This game is just a pale imitation of Titanfall 2's FPS mechanics. It's immensely frustrating.

This game, while a little difficult to jump into at first, is absolutely gripping from a gameplay perspective. No game that I've played has had gun-play that has felt more solid and satisfying.

Additionally, this game has a little bit of something for everyone.
You wanna be a space cowboy? You can. Space Ninja? Yes. Space Wizard? Yes. Thor? Captain America? Emperor Palpatine? YES.
It has PvP, PvE, PvEvP, and increasingly challenging content for those interested.

Also, the game looks gorgeous, not only from a graphics standpoint, but from an art design standpoint, as well. Bungie has made everything from beautifully crafted weapons and armor to visually arresting worlds, packed full of hostile aliens to melt and lore to find.

My biggest complaint is that the game is sometimes lacking in the story department. Their narratives often suffer from being generic, borrowing from other narratives (Star Wars, Mass Effect, etc...), or just being generally short or unsatisfying. That being said, they have begun to remedy this issue, starting with Forsaken and going on into Shadowkeep. There remain several plot threads that have yet to be tied up, as part of their "ongoing narrative". I'm not going to pretend that these stories are a Nolan or Scorsese film (we have Mass Effect, the Witcher, and Control if you want a gripping narrative), but for a Live Service game, there is no better narrative.

Another thing it has going for it is that the developers are constantly taking community feedback and tweaking and updating the game to ensure a good gaming experience. If you played this game (or Destiny 1) at launch and didn't like it, you'll find that it's a completely different game now.

All-in-all, I fully recommend giving this game a shot.

9/10