Recent reviews by S!NN FÉ!N

BioShock 2 manages to convince on every level. It not only builds upon the foundation of BioShock 1’s amazing worldbuilding and themes, it improves upon them in just about every aspect.

The biggest and probably most objective improvement is certainly in the gameplay mechanics. Both the combat and the general exploration of the game world are massively less frustrating than in the first game. A new hacking minigame cuts down on the repetition the first game suffered from, and collecting ADAM through Little Sisters has gotten more interesting than just murdering her Big Daddy. Where the first game had some incredibly tedious escort missions, this game lets you carry the Little Sisters on your shoulder.

Arguably the only regression in this department is how long and repetitive the ADAM-gathering process can be. However, this gives some credibility to the option of harvesting them. Where in the first game there was simply never a reason to harvest a Sister, the second game actually makes it a viable option if you don't feel like going through the same 10+ minute process over and over again for every level.

Now to the more subjective and potentially more controversial part: the story. The general consensus seems to be that BioShock 1 has the superior story and setting. I personally disagree. While I liked BioShock 1, I didn't enjoy the story to the same degree others seemed to. Aside from the obvious plot point, there really wasn't all that much there that stood out to me. With both these things in mind, I went into BioShock 2 with pretty low expectations, only to get absolutely floored. The story takes some time to pick up pace, but the last 2–3 hours are absolutely phenomenal. The new villain is perhaps not quite as memorable as Andrew Ryan, and the political commentary, while still present, definitely loses some credibility, but she ties in nicely to the story in the end. Her constant presence throughout the game also manages to get you more invested in her story than Ryan’s.

Generally speaking, if you liked BioShock 1, play BioShock 2. If you didn't like BioShock 1, you should probably play 2 anyway. The DLC (Minerva’s Den) isn't quite as good as the main game in my opinion, but 100% worth the 3–4 hours it takes.

As a successor to Half-Life 1 and 2, it's safe to say that Half-Life: Alyx had astronomical expectations—even if it wasn’t Half-Life 3. While the VR exclusivity certainly caused disappointment among those unable or unwilling to shell out a thousand bucks for a headset, the game was generally well received.

Now that VR has become a lot more affordable, I felt it was time to give this game a try myself—and straight up, this game ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rules. It’s a complete success, both as a standalone VR game and as a Half-Life successor.

As a VR title, HL:A succeeds on almost every level. Everything feels intuitive, the world is as interactive as you could wish for, the mechanics work well and consistently, and the performance is solid. The game did crash on me a few times, but that might’ve been a SteamVR issue.

As a Half-Life game, it continues the series’ tradition of pushing new technology to its limits and setting the standard for games to follow. The story is arguably stronger than in Half-Life 2 and manages to entertain, even if it won’t make major waves. The gameplay already shows a bit of age, but it clearly set the tone for nearly all subsequent VR titles.

There are a few minor annoyances—like repetitive hacking Minigames that get progressively more finicky and annoying—but those are entirely optional.

If you have a VR headset, this is a must-play. Do play the earlier Half-Life games first, though—they’re very much worth your time.

Children of the Sun may look like a sniper shooter, but it plays more like a puzzle game. You control a bullet and alter its trajectory to tear through camps of enemies. The game progressively introduces new mechanics and enemy types, and everything it throws at you feels intuitive and fun. There really isn’t much more to say about the mechanics—they’re fairly simple (though they get quite intricate toward the end), but enjoyable throughout.
The story is a bit generic but doesn’t detract from the rest of the game. It’s mainly told through short cutscenes between levels.

This game would probably be a fairly forgettable experience if it weren’t for the absolutely wild art direction. It’s hard to draw any real comparisons because I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it before. It’s kind of a visual and auditory bombardment of bright neon colors, ultra-violence, poetic writing, and revenge fantasies, all backed by a soundtrack intense enough to give you whiplash. It’s something you just have to experience—I’d highly recommend giving it a try.

It’s a fairly short game at around four hours of playtime, but there’s extra content if the story mode alone isn’t enough to justify the price.

This review is a placeholder because I want to clarify some things regarding the latest news. I will write a better review in the future.

In my opinion, people are massively overreacting to the recent statement by Void. In essence, Void will mildly censor the game to comply with console requirements in order to release on those platforms.

Now, when I say “mildly censor,” that’s exactly what I mean. From what I can tell, only very, very minor details will be altered in the PC version, and most texture changes occur exclusively on the console front.

Most of these changes won’t hurt the game’s quality (aside from the child on Twisted Nerve, that change really does hurt that level’s storytelling), and it is going to remain a very, very good game. If you’re interested in buying the game for what it was, it’s going to stay that way, so go ahead and buy it.

I still have some hope that Void might revert their decision somehow, but the review bombing, while understandable, should not discourage you from buying or playing it.

BioShock is often credited as having some of the greatest writing in gaming, including what some people have called “the greatest plot twist in all of gaming.” I, personally, don't fully agree with either of these sentiments.

BioShock is one of the gaming IPs that I put off playing for way too long, not for any particular reason, I just never got around to it. Over the last few years, I have heard a lot of praise for its narrative storytelling, and since I love games with a heavy narrative focus, I finally gave it a shot.

The writing is good, no doubt, but it doesn't hold up to modern narrative-focused games like 1000xRESIST, Dear Esther, or other games that are more interactive art projects than video games. However, when you consider the fact that this game is not only a fully fleshed-out shooter with very well-thought-out gameplay but was also released in 2007, the whole thing becomes so much more impressive.

I tend to make this comparison a lot, but in this case it feels especially fitting: BioShock, in a way, is like the Citizen Kane of video games. Nowadays, neither would be considered very impressive for their narrative, but both majorly contributed to the development of their respective art forms by setting new standards and pushing for new ideals.

While there certainly were games with a similar level of storytelling before BioShock, games like the original Fallout titles or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, none of them managed to achieve the kind of mass appeal that BioShock had with its linear story, nice graphics, incredible art direction, and satisfying gameplay loop.

Gaming is still a very young art form, meaning that rapid development should be welcomed and - to a certain degree - expected. In a time when AAA developers and publishers prefer to play it safe with games that drive the same old tired formulas to appease investors and other leeches who see gaming as nothing more than another market to exploit, it is nice to look back on a time when artistic development wasn't confined solely to indie developers.

The Saboteur blends the mission style of GTA with the stealth of Far Cry/ Assassin’s Creed and the storytelling of the Mafia games.

That might sound a bit overambitious — which it is — but the game manages to pull it off surprisingly well. The driving is intuitive, the open world looks great, the stealth feels consistent and fun. Even the climbing system is impressively well executed. The enemies feel intelligent enough to keep combat from getting boring, but also give you enough of a power trip to stay engaged.

So, all that sounds pretty amazing. What’s the catch?
The writing. The writing kinda sucks. Especially in the beginning, a bunch of the dialogue sounds like it's right out of a B-movie action thriller, and most of the characters are entirely one-dimensional. The worst offender here is probably the villain of the story, who you spend half the game hunting without ever actually caring about. Yes, he’s a comically bad guy, but he doesn’t seem much worse than any of the other Nazis.

It has to be said, though, that the writing gets a lot better near the end of the game and actually culminates in some real gems of dialogue and meaningful character development.

Some of the tasks, namely the “sabotage minor objectives” part, get a bit repetitive over time, but seeing as it’s strictly optional, this doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

In conclusion, The Saboteur did a LOT right and only very few things wrong. While it does start to show its age in terms of graphics, it holds up very well when it comes to gameplay. If you enjoy open-world action games with stealth aspects, definitely give this a try, especially when it goes on sale for ~€5 again.

Hole is essentially a glorified tech demo. While this would generally turn me off from a game, in this case I don't actually mind it. The devs are pretty straightforward about the fact that the game will not get any updates and was meant more as a way to test mechanics for a future release, but considering the €5 price tag, that’s fine with me.

So, as I hinted at previously, the game has no story. It's essentially just a stripped-down version of your average extraction shooter gameplay loop: jump into an area, kill some guys, collect some collectibles or solve a puzzle, don’t get killed, and extract. You can complete tasks, customize your guns, and upgrade your base.

The things that Hole Does very well are the great gunplay, as well as the weird atmosphere. Everything has a strange, Twin Peaks-esque vibe to it. The stages/maps are all bizarre liminal spaces, the extracts are floating microwaves, etc. etc.

If you’re into “hardcore shooter” mechanics, mystery elements, and extraction shooters, I'd recommend giving this a try. It's a fairly short game at around nine hours to complete, but it’s a lot of fun and a nice preview of what might be coming. If they stick to this formula for their future game, I'm sure it will be a banger. I just hope they keep it a single-player or co-op game, multiplayer extraction shooters feel kinda oversaturated to me.

Project Wingman is the ultimate power fantasy for anyone who likes military planes. It doesn't try to be anything else, and it succeeds at doing so.
Just to get this out of the way—this is NOT a flight sim. If you're looking for any kind of realism, you're at the wrong address. Taking turns that would kill any human instantly? No problem. Carrying 6–12 missiles like a normal aircraft? How about 200+ missiles, bombs, and a gun pod. Stuff like that is the norm in this game, and it's precisely what makes it so good.

I am not an ace pilot. I would die before leaving the runway if you gave me a jet—assuming I could even manage to get the thing running in the first place. I don't really want to learn how to fly a jet, though. I'd rather just be good instantly and dismantle enemy forces on my own right away. Project Wingman (and the Ace Combat games) allow me to do that without reading manuals for hours like in DCS.

Speaking of Ace Combat, Project Wingman fits in with those perfectly. In terms of direct gameplay, I would say it is even superior to Ace Combat 7. However, the mission design and UI do lag behind a bit.
All in all, I can wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone who likes Ace Combat or fighter jets but isn’t looking for a simulation.

1000xRESIST is probably one of the most criminally underrated games I have ever come across, though underrated might not be the correct term. From what I can tell, everyone who has played it seems to have loved it, and rightfully so. I won't go on a pointless rant about how much I loved this game and what makes it so good; enough people have done that already. I'll just give a brief breakdown of why I enjoyed this game as much as I did, and hopefully convince you to give it a try.

The gameplay functions more like a walking simulator, consisting mainly of running around and talking to people, and while it is well done in its own right, the focus is certainly more on the narrative. Speaking of which, the narrative and writing are incredible. The story is original and engaging, and the writing is exceptional—to the point where it wouldn't feel out of place in classic literature. It deals with a lot of very complicated topics like generational trauma, oppression, cultural differences, immigration, revolution, post-humanism, and many more. All these themes are condensed into a relatively short game, however none of them feel rushed or like they didn’t get the attention they deserve.

The visual style is equally impressive. While the out-of-place-looking character models were irritating at first, they started to feel very fitting by the end. All the emotional moments of the game feel authentic, and the amazing soundtrack ties the whole thing together perfectly.

If you enjoy narrative-driven video games, you need to play this game. Fair warning though, it deals with some heavy topics and I needed a minute to digest everything afterwards, so maybe finish it on a free weekend or when you have some time on your hands.

I can't talk about Half-Life 2 without acknowledging what a monumental milestone it was in video game development and history. The fact that it was released in 2004 is completely insane to me because, even today, it holds up incredibly well. The storytelling continues in the same fashion as Half-Life 1—almost entirely without cutscenes, relying on dialogue and environmental storytelling. The physics engine still outclasses most modern games, and the graphics remain surprisingly passable.

That said, the game is far from perfect, and in some ways, it feels like a step back compared to its predecessor. The story, for example, doesn’t quite measure up to the narrative and world-building of Half-Life 1. You hardly have enough time to develop an emotional connection to characters like Eli Vance. While this detachment works in some ways, there are moments where the game clearly wants to build stakes and make the player care about its characters—something that, for me, never fully landed.

It doesn't go as far as some modern games that feel like glorified tech demos, but it leans in a similar direction. However, considering that almost all of the technology showcased in Half-Life 2 was and still is revolutionary, I’d argue that this isn’t much of an issue.

Overall, Half-Life 2 is an incredibly fun game that, while falling short of its predecessor in terms of story, was crucial to the evolution of video games as an art form. It’s absolutely worth a playthrough.


P.s.
Episode 1 and 2 are worth playing for sure. The story in these is arguably better than in the main game, and the gameplay is fun with some minor frustrating parts. Do check them out.