Recent reviews by JustaFleshWound

Going for all P-ranks is a journey that will slowly break you down until you are a screaming neurotic rage filled mess just like Peppino.

The game is art.

This is the first "Hero Shooter" where I really enjoy playing every character on the roster. Each character has a main ability, a passive, two primary weapons, a sidearm, a melee weapon, and a set of perks. You earn money through kills and spend it to unlock/upgrade these items in whatever order you choose, really allowing you to specialize and play each character the way you want.

For example, I could play Dallas from long range with his great lever action rifle, or I could fully upgrade his pistol and have enough money to buy the perk that makes him silent and sneak around the map, executing people up close. There's a lot of ways to run each character that makes the variety fun and adaptable without ruining balance or making it a complex chore.

The main issues I have with the game are matchmaking and map balance. There seems to be no mmr for non-ranked matches, so about half your matches are a complete stomp one way or another. The other half are the actually fun ones. Certain map objectives heavily favor one side over another, providing safe high ground to one team with little options for flanking for the other.

It's still a great shooter that's worth your time for the low price of free.

This game is actually legit. Rocket League 2.0, super simple to learn and play, impossibly hard to master. I *never* spend more money on a game than I need to, doubly so for games owned by EA. After 3 days playing the free trial I actually bought the deluxe edition for $10 more, not because I wanted the token cosmetics, but because I just wanted to support this game that much.

No microtransactions that affect gameplay! The majority of cosmetics are earned exclusively for free through leveling up rather than the shop. $20 is well worth it for the amount of customization options you unlock, although I wish there were more unique faces.

I really hope this fully takes off because the esports scene for this game has potential to be insane.

This is more a neutral review. It's a really really interesting idea based on neither player having direct control of their units, but being able to spend resources on manipulating the paths they take. I like the concept a lot. However, the game is incredibly rough. The game feels VERY early access. In it's current state, it's something worth keeping an eye on. Something worth playing? Probably not quite yet.

This one is hard to thumbs down. I don't think it deserves a negative review for what it is, but it isn't exactly a great puzzle game. Personally, I decided to give it a thumbs down on this criteria: "If you don't play this game, are you missing anything?" This game doesn't really bring anything to the table.

QUBE 2 is a puzzle game in the same vein as games like portal, antichamber, magrunner, and of course, QUBE 1. You get a device that can generate squares and cubes off certain panels, and use these to progress through a series of chambers containing progressively more complex puzzles. At first you can only generate one color of cube, and by the end you can generate 3 different kinds, along with spheres, and they have to interact with different doors and buttons to get you to the end of the room.

There are two big issues with the game that I have with it. The first is difficulty. This is very subjective, as is the nature of puzzles, but for me, this game was incredibly easy. It was like solving a very long maze that didn't have any dead ends. I was constantly progressing, but never really challenged. "Paint by the numbers" was another feeling I had while solving puzzles. There was exactly one puzzle that had me stumped for longer than 30 seconds. I personally prefer much harder puzzles that you have to think through and work out.

The second big issue is the story. It is a continuation of the original QUBE's director's cut version of the story, and told in the same manner. You have amnesia, and there are two conflicting voices talking to you through radio, a human woman, and a mysterious being, who are telling you opposite things. In the end, you have to choose who you trust. This is almost identical to the first game. In this game however, I found the story and voices incredibly cliche and boring. Each voice is obfuscating information in annoying ways for no reason that lead your character to shout "what?" or "just tell me!" several times. The main character is also painfully stupid, to the point where she reacts to giant fans blowing air with the line: "I've never seen technology like this before!" In the first game, there's a sense of urgency and suspense that doesn't exist in this game. I wasn't really engaged for the whole story, except for mild curiousity of what the end held. At least it provided some details about the events of the first game.

The best part of the game was the sound design, the music was atmospheric and each sound effect was great. Despite having to fire off the same sound effect for every cube, it never got grating.

The game is about 3 hours long, which is par for the course for these sort of puzzle games. However, the puzzles are not as interesting as other puzzle games, and the story/dialogue isn't as good as other puzzle games. It's a very clean game, with good graphics, no bugs, good sound, but nothing about the game felt engaging. It almost felt like it would have been better as a short film than a game.

So, first off, if you have any doubts about Metal Gear Survive, watch this clip: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/231839913

If you don't like what you see in that video then this game is for sure not for you. However, if you thought that was 2:30 of awesome chaotic combat, keep reading.

I would recommend taking every review under 10 hours with the largest grain of salt possible. Due to a huge learning curve, and several developments in both story and game that don't occur until hours 8-10, low playtime reviews will be flat out wrong about many things. This game is truly greater than the sum of its parts, and that does not fully shine through until after the beginning hours of the game.

This review is focused on the singleplayer campaign as it is where the majority of my playtime is in so far.

The melee in this game is very hard and has a steep learning curve. Many say it's clunky or slow, but it just takes time to get used to. Eventually you will be able to bob and weave, and shatter crystal skulls with a baseball bat or giant blade. If you are not patient, or hate learning new melee systems like your first time through dark souls confusion, you will not like this game. If you depend soley on the spear you will begin to fail the further you get into the game.

The early game is also very difficult. You are learning several new systems, none of which really exist in familiar forms in any games of today, all while juggling your food and water supplies. Eventually food and water become much easier to handle, but the start is harsh. Lingering in base or in the dust will be fatal later on. Once you find "Chris" things get much easier in this regard.

At the start of the game, stealth is pretty much irrelevent. There is not much reason to hide from the zombies as they are slow and stupid. However, later on, stealth is *required* lest the gigantic horde decends on you. You also get lots of bonuses for stealth kills later as well.

The story is...interesting. Most of what you have heard about the story is thrown out the window at the start of act two. I would rather not spoil things here. It is overly convoluted as you would expect from the writers of MGS3 and 4.

While I like the concept of the story, the script and voice acting is subpar, almost The Room-esq in some parts.

Graphics and performance are phenominal. On par or better than MGSV.

Combat controls are great most of the time, as long as you turn OFF aim assist on mouse and keyboard. Flipping through the different tools and menus can get a bit fiddly especially when you are under pressure. I have not used pad controls.

Combat feel is fantastic. The encounters spike in difficulty rapidly, and you have to think your way through handling them, rather than rush in and be overwhelmed. Pulling off a plan and sending twenty crystal zombies shattering into the sky at once feels great. The game has many tools to approch a situation with, as you would expect from the same engine as MGSV.

Microtransactions were irrelevent to the game in mgsv, and they are so here as well. You cannot affect single or multiplayer in any meaningful way with microtransactions, at least not as far as i've discovered.

I would recommend the game to pretty much everyone, with the disclaimer that it is hard, and with no way of making it easier. It's not a game for casual players, or those without a lot of free time.

Please make sure to ask questions to clear up any confusion about the game or the review, I will happily answer.

In addition, if you need more information you can watch all 15 hours of gameplay this review is based on here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/231489036 (hours 1-7.5)

and here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/231705848 (hours 7.5-15)

Oh man this game is great. It's very satisfying, controls are super simple, this might become my go-to 'demo' game for first time vivers. The best part is if you play hard it's a workout. You are pumping your arms running, punching, jumping, and you do move around a bit. I worked up a sweat within an hour. I haven't punched anything IRL while in VR since rec room, but this game got me and a buddy acidentally punching tables and walls again. That may not sound like a good thing, but trust me, it means that the game gets you moving and active, and you lose yourself in the game. Put up a big glowing chaperone for this one haha.

At the time of writing this, the price is 8.99 and I think that's a steal. If they keep working on this game and polishing it up, this game will get to the top of my vr list pretty soon.

I got this game for free as a code from the developers themselves at VRLA. He even gave me an extra card for a friend. I would gladly buy it for *full* price, and have bought some of their other games to support them.

Finally, if you want to see gameplay for yourself, you can check out my stream VOD of the game here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/137933447

Great game.

I've been playing For Honor since the first alpha test. I probably have over 120 hours in the game total after playing through 3 alpha tests, 2 beta tests, and the final release. I believe I am very justified in making this review.

Final Conclusion: Connection errors, terrible menus, and poor decision making by ubisoft really shows they don't care. This game has had connection issues throughout the tests, and ubisoft has hardly done a thing to change them. In the end however, this has become my favorite PvP multiplayer game, and i'm still playing it just as much now as I did back in August 2016 when the first alpha test launched. Buy the game, try it for the two hours, and if the connection errors are too much then drop it. However, if you can play the game, stick with it, because the multiplayer experience is fantastic. Full analysis below.

Pros: The gameplay. The gameplay is fantastic. The closest comparison is to a fighting game, but the barrier to entry is much lower. Anyone who's played street fighter knows that the first few months of playing are like a Rocky training montage, trying to get good enough to actually play the game. This game is much easier to get into than a standard fighting game.

However, that does not mean it is simple. Every hour you spend in the game you will learn something new. Whether it's hour 2 or hour 50, you'll learn a new technique, a new counter, a new way to beat someone who you have had trouble against.

The balance: Everything has a counter. You will hear complaints about people 'spamming' or cheap tricks, but literally everything has a counter. Every character can beat every other character (with one exception, see negatives). Any time I think 'that's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, how is this in the game' I'll spend another hour fighting that same tactic, and by the end i'll know exactly how to beat it. Take the time to learn how to beat gimmicks and you will dominate the field like no other. Again, the skill ceiling is very high.

The AI: The ai players are actually very smart. There are 3 levels of ai, and the 3rd level bot WILL kick your ass when you first start. practicing against bots is very good practice, so you don't need to hop right into pvp without a clue of what you are doing.

The graphics: The game looks great, it has great blood, executions and other animations look fantastic.

The controls: Using keyboard and mouse **IS** effective! You don't need a controller for this game. If you have both, try both. It is completly personal preference. I prefer controller, but I know players who tried both and stuck with KBM. Not having a controller is a NOT a limitation.

The options: graphic settings, control settings, ui settings, languages. Pretty much everything you could ask for is in the options.

Neutral: The campaign: It was the most mild experience. I played it on the hardest difficulty, but all that did was remove UI elements and checkpoints. Enemies were still incredibly simple to kill, despite there being harder bots. The story was ok, the missions were mostly ok, with a couple good ones. It doesn't prepare you for PvP at all. The best reason to play it is to get cosmetic rewards for the multiplayer, which there are actually a lot of. Unique paints and helmet ornaments for every character for beating it on the hardest difficulty.

The gear system: In the 4 vs 4 game modes, there is a gear system used to improve your stats. This isn't neutral because it's bland, this is neutral because there are some great things and there are some terrible things about it. At the start, the difference with gear is irrelevant. After leveling a character and collecting high tier gear however, it gets ridiculous, to the point where you can 3-shot heavy classes. It feels like a well deserved reward, as it requires dedication to a class to be able to get this far, but being on the recieving end of it is terrible. It also feels bad to switch characters, as you are now at gear score 0. Fortunatly, the 1v1 and 2v2 modes, which are the most competitive, have gear disabled, so it can be ignored for the most part if you wish.

Game modes: Nothing to write home about. 1v1 and 2v2 is very competitive. 4v4 modes are more silly with gear and 'feats' (killstreak rewards) being enabled. I wish they were more creative with the 4v4 modes.

Cons: Let's start with the simple stuff, because there's a lot to unpack here.

Music: The music sucks. The menu is just a low hum with violins playing at random intervals. The in game music is just a loud trumpet blast and some victory fanfares. I got about halfway through the campaign before I remembered that I had turned off the music. I went about 2 more missions before turning the music off again. Get out your best hype playlist, put it on full blast, and turn off the in game music.

Uplay: If you buy the game on steam, it will still have to be played through uplay for some godforsaken reason. They improved the uplay overlay, but the client is still terrible. If you want to play with friends, you have to add them and invite them through uplay. Why ubisoft insists on doing this, only their contract with satan knows.

The UI: The user interface doesn't seem to be designed for or by humans. You have to hold button presses to select things. Towards the end of a 4v4 round, the losing team starts 'breaking' meaning they can't respawn. The edges of the screen get covered in a dark shadow and one side the screen is taken up by portraits of the breaking team. When a breaking player dies, a bright white skull flashes in the direct center of your screen. God forbid both teams are breaking, because now half your screen is taken up by player portraits, and the center of the screen is taken up by these skulls that keep appearing whenever someone dies. Who decided this should be in a fighting game?

The Balance: The Lawbringer is the most embarassing attempt at character balance. In the alpha, people said he was too slow to work. So on release, everyone discovered that, suprise, he's even slower. The higher your opponent's skill level, the less options the lawbringer has, until he can only use skills any class can. If you are good at lawbringer, you are better at literally any other character. Ubisoft has shown the patch notes of their first big balance patch, and it contains absolutly nothing about lawbringer.

The Matchmaking/Peer to Peer: Oh boy, this is the big one. The REALLY big one. In beta, everyone complained to ubisoft about how peer to peer matchmaking is infamously terrible, and that they need to use dedicated servers. Rainbow 6 Siege had P2P in beta, and it was so bad they switched to dedicated servers. So, after hearing the community, ubisoft responded by switching to dedicated servers on launch and OH WAIT NO THEY DIDN'T.

Instead, they offered some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ explaination about how their P2P system was this magic simulation and was better than servers. Guess what? It's not. Matchmaking is an exercise in patience. When you queue up, you have about a 40% chance of getting into a game. You have a 60% chance of seeing a message like 'there was a network error' or even worse 'the game you were trying to join is already full.' What? Why should the game ever tell me that it's matchmaking system put me into a full game? Then it kicks you back to the main menu, and you have to search again.

Then, if you do get in game, pray to the lord god almighty that no one leaves. Because if they do, the entire game stops for about 10 seconds, and then starts again, with the past 5 or so seconds rewound. Also, whoever has better connection to the host will reconnect a split second sooner. Mid execution animation? Suprise! You are now being stabbed to death. Alternatively, the game could just get lock up on the reconnecting screen, and force you to close out. If ubisoft ever changes this I will literally eat my socks.

Well, thanks for reading the whole review. It was long but we got here together.

Thumper is loud, intense, stressful, uncomfortable, and above all, fun.

The music and visuals tell you something is wrong, there are writhing mechanical tenticals, dark industrial music, and a huge ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ head that grows bigger spikes every time you kill it. And you see all this out of the corner of your eye as you fly down the beetle superhighway. However, sometimes there's a break, where nothing happens to you for about 30 seconds, and you get to sit back and just take it all in.

And then the music starts again.

The gameplay is chaotic and complex. For using only one button and the joystick, there are a suprising amount of mechanics that you have to worry about. It's very intense and almost stressful, and more than once I found myself hunched over my controller gritting my teeth in concentration. Take the time for a deep breath every now and then.

The difficulty is very interesting. The game doesn't have a difficulty setting, like easy, medium, or hard. Instead, the game is only as hard as how good you want to be at the game. There is a score system involving hitting consecutive beats and performing combos that is very hard to pull off perfectly. However, if you just want to survive, you don't have to hit a single beat all the way to the boss. Although, just because you can skip the beats doesn't mean it will be a walk in the park.

When I quit the game for the first time, still on the main menu, there was only one thing going through my mind. "I can't wait to play this game again."

This game's value goes much further than the $20 price tag. I reccommend it very much.

It's the most innovative shooter I've played in years.