Recent reviews by Pit

Rivals of Aether 2 (Stylized as Rivals of Aether II) is like Rivals of Aether, except with more 2 (II). The only "2" missing from Rivals of Aether 2 (hereafter referred 2 as Rivals 2) is the 2D presentation of the game as Rivals 2 seeks to closer emulate the elements and stylings of it's direct inspiration. To casual players, the steam workshop will be the 1 thing missed most of all, as the playable characters of Rivals 2 are constrained to its original cast of 2 dozen furries with too many elemental powers. Without a Goku, Satoru Gojo or Steve II even the playing field for the less competitive furry, Rivals of Aether 1 remains the more novel and casual friendly option while 2 awaits its time 2 shine.

From the mind of the world's most eclectic romhacker and webcomic musician comes a new game, the original fever dream from which the essence of UNDERTALE is understood to have first originated. Outgrowing the former's simplistic story which revolves around the subversion of tropes common within the RPG genre, Deltarune invites it's cast of characters and you the player into a fantastical world where sleep paralysis demons want for affection, playing cards plot to end the world and laptops get drunk off battery acid while tormenting teenagers.

If Undertale could be described as "Alice In Wonderland-esque", Deltarune more closely resembles something like The Chronicles of Narnia, or it's more modern cousins: the "Persona" games. With a more defined, focused narrative and a heavier emphasis on the lives and relationships of it's core cast, protagonist included, Deltarune commits to telling a complex story which promises to only have 1 "ending." But beware, my little "epic gamer", the small white dog has not lost his touch, even in the absence of an outright "genocide run", the choices made by the player can still take the story down a particularly weird route, if one has the stomach for it.

How Deltarune's story ends is currently unknown. It's present state, ~60% of the game's story is available to play, with later chapters to be released on an annual schedule, free of charge. However, in spite of lacking a conclusive ending, Deltarune's episodic but deeply interconnected chapters were and still are a joy to experience, with or without knowledge of Toby Fox's previous projects.

When Atlus was making their relatively unknown cult classic "Persona 5", the developers had dreamed of a globe trotting adventure, where the characters of the story would travel across the world, visiting awe inspiring sights, encountering various cultures, making new friends and overcoming unique challenges. Unfortunately, Persona 5 had to abandon those dreams early on, but where Persona had failed, Atlus' next big project would finally fulfil that vision.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a different kind of JRPG, one set in a world that's more developed than the usual backdrop for your quarterly isekai show but not as crazy as some Final Fantasy entries. Much more than many JRPGs, Metaphor embraces the spirit and thrill of adventure by factoring in the element of route planning as you travel a colorful world map during limited time allotted you by the Persona calender system. Together with it's unique world building, lore and characters, Metaphor weaves together a story that feels surprisingly topical in the real world.

You might wonder, is Metaphor is just a Persona game in a fantasy cloak and cowl? Rest assured, Metaphor only borrows the most successful and interesting decisions from Atlus's other franchise while still making certain to carve out an identity of its own. The Archetype system, combat mechanics, exploration and many other details Make Metaphor: ReFantazio a welcome breath of fresh air for long time Atlus fans and newcomers alike as time marches on, and the age of a new king draws nearer.

Tony Hawk for president, would brush my teeth again.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SITTING INSIDE YOUR CIVILIAN DOMICILE AND THOUGHT "WOW, I REALLY WANT TO GO TO WAR AND DEFEND SUPER EARTH FROM ALIEN THREATS WITH MY LIFE" IF YOU HAVE, THEN ITS TIME TO MAKE THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION OF YOU LIFE AND BECOME A HELLDIVER!

BECOME ONE OUT OF FOUR CRACKED OUT 19 YEAR OLDS EQUIPPED WITH SUITS OF STATE FUNDED ARMOR AND WEAPONS WITH ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR OR WHO YOUR ENEMIES EVEN ARE, BECAUSE ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT YOUR OPPONENTS ARE AN ACTIVE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALL OF THESE FACTIONS ARE FIGHTING BECAUSE SUPER EARTH WAS THE REAL AGGRESSOR ALL ALONG? MADNESS, SUPER EARTH IS THE PINNACLE OF LIFE IN THIS GALAXY AND ANY ONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE SHOULD BE KILLED ON SIGHT FOR TREASON!

10/10 WOULD GIVE MY LIFE FOR SUPER EARTH AGAIN!

SIGNALIS is one of those fantastic retro-style indie games that goes beyond making something that just looks like it came out on the 90s but rather uses it to create a new experience molded by the classics of that era.

You are LSTR, a replika android on a mission to find someone important to you in a cruel, nightmarish journey through the suffocating halls of an authoritarian mining facility as an otherworldly force encroaches, twisting it's inhabitants and forging grotesque obstacles for you to overcome. Even if some concepts might be nebulous, the excellent worldbuilding more than succeeds at spinning a fascinatingly tragic tale for you to unravel.

Much can be said to quantify SIGNALIS and it's elements ranging from it's use of UI as storytelling to it's excellent visual style, but perhaps the less said the better as you enter a survival horror experience inspired by the classics but not bound by their limitations.

Oh, by the way there's lesbians,
did I mention that?

The current incarnation of this review is an update to a previously negative review that I personally considered "mixed", which I will occasionally call back to when discussing the game's flaws.

Tactics Ogre is an incredible game by any measure. Akihiko Yoshida's artwork is a joy to look at, the soundtrack highlights the experience, the characters are interesting and the gameplay is thoroughly strategic.

In many ways, "Reborn" is a great way for old and new players to experience the game for the first time or replay a timeless classic. The addition of fully voiced dialogue elevates this complex narrative to new heights, combined with the option for top-down view, removal of random encounters and a variety of cards littered about the battlefield which provide buff and debuff modifiers to characters that collect them, Tactics Ogre Reborn makes it difficult to name any previous incarnation as a superior version.

However, rather oddly as a modern remaster, Tactics Ogre Reborn does not feature any difficulty or Accessibility options for players not keen on new systems or the game's overall difficulty. Further, Reborn goes out of its way to introduce the "Union Level" system, which caps the max level for player units very low until it is raised incrementally at various points in the game. This means that players can no longer simply out level their opponent's unit and are forced to fight on equal ground, or worse. Much of my initially negative review relates to the decision of introducing the Union Level and how that affects the experience as a new player unfamiliar with the game. I found myself genuinely stuck when confronting Oz and his knights at Boed Fortress, unable to progress as his forces simply overwhelmed mine time and time again. I was only able to just barely defeat him due to a lucky combination of his AI making bad decisions and recruiting a dragon to my party as a damage sponge.

Depending on who you are, the previous section might sound unbearable to you, or perhaps it'll make you even more intrigued in the way that the game truly asks you to consider all of the options at your disposal in creating a competent party. However, as a newcomer to the genre primarily seeking to experience the game's narrative, I found the added lengths I had to go to just to progress to be an unnecessary chore, largely because of the new level-caps imposed by the Union Level at various points in the game.

How did I overcome this? I modded the game of course, and circumvented the Union Level system. Without it, the game feels much easier to pick up and play for beginners while still offering those hard hitting options while building your team for those who want to make the most of everything. removing the Union Level makes this game a lot closer to the PSP version, which this remaster is based on.

While not everybody will require mods to enjoy their experience with TO:R, those who would like the ability to level-up more freely in response to challenges may want to consider downloading them.

Just over 100~ hours in Baldur's Gate 3 and the experience feels not unlike a real D&D campaign. Barring some obvious limits, BG3 does it's best to take feeling of playing D&D and transfer it to a videogame format. Part of what makes it so successful is the dedication to providing unique and interesting options based on who your character is; In one playthrough you might only be able to fight your way through a goblin ambush, another as an adequately intimidating barbarian might see you able to just scare your enemies out of causing you any trouble, making for a great many interactions that help your "Tav" feel just as important as the other party members on your journey.

Baldur's Gate 3 also does a great job of rewarding your curiosity, tucking interesting outcomes to scenes, whole new characters, fun magical items and more into random caves, behind trees or after unique dialogue choices that emulate the feeling of a dungeon master tailoring the story for you and what you are interested in. Even early on in the game, there is much to stumble across just off the beaten path that helps make your playthrough feel more personal.

It is most important however to remember that Baldur's Gate is not a perfect game and has its share of limits and flaws. Character customization affords you many colorful options, in some places literally, but you'll be hard pressed to make EVERY type of character the same way you might imagine without in-depth facial customization and an even greater variety of hairstyles choices.

Baldur's gate 3 is not a replacement for the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop game and all the creativity it fosters, but it does do an excellent job at faithfully integrating it's rules and systems into a videogame who's narrative flows not unlike something you'd hear at many tables.

If DARK SOULS III was a game-ified self-help guide told throughout a decaying gothic kingdom and it's surrounding squalor, ELDEN RING is the adventure that makes you feel alive. Be it rotten swamps, verdant fields, magical lakes or sparkling kingdoms, each and every area is filled to the brim with unique challenges to overcome and plenty of loot to plunder in return, empowering you to continue taking on challenges in whatever way you can.

ELDEN RING comes as a masterful jump to an open world format that I can recommend to anyone, expertly adapting the series' style of exploration to a wider open space without losing those classic tailored spaces of castles, caves and dungeons. If ever there was a "Big DARK SOULS" ELDEN RING would be it.

Is Half-Life 2 good? I'm not sure, but fully first person narratives where the player never leaves their character's perspective are still great and a large amount of destructable props and physics objects certainly make game areas feel more alive. Does Half-Life 2 surpass modern games with it's superior design? absolutely not, it's old and dated and dated and old and full of things even valve would change, but that doesn't matter. because that's not what's important about Half-Life 2.

And yet, even in all it's age, Half-Life 2 still more than succeeds at nearly everything it tries. It's gunplay still feels responsive and engaging, it's puzzles still strong and the setting is something that speaks for itself if you're someone who's into it.

Monster Hunter Rise is Monster Hunter world, with a little different. You kill monsters, make clothes and weapons out them so you can kill more monsters then rinse and repeat, but this time you've got a cool wire bug that lets you parkour real good and sometimes hit things a bit harder and that's about it. If you liked Monster Hunter World and you don't mind the arbitrarily distinct singleplayer and multiplayer progression, you'll certainly enjoy hunting these monsters too.