Recent reviews by predamonk

nightreign is the pinnacle of fromsoftware's combat formula but it falls short in various other areas. the roguelite elements are barely there, the randomization is really just preset variations, and the grand majority of loot isn't very meaningful. besides your team's skill, the only real thing affecting the outcome of a run is what loot you get and how well you can make use of it. that's fun enough for me but it's not quite built for longevity

now onto the good parts. like I mentioned before, the new combat additions are fantastic and it's genuinely the most fun I've had playing a fromsoftware game. every character can use surge sprint which effectively lets you run as fast as torrent in the base game. some characters get special traversal tools, like wylder's grappling hook and ironeye's marking dagger. duchess has built-in speed and agility which is also lots of fun. each character caters to a different playstyle so you can use whichever one suits you best. or try them all lol

the co-op experience is really nice. doing co-op in base elden ring and helping people complete zones is fun but usually slower-paced unless the host wants to rush. nightreign is pretty much always rushing, trying to complete as much as you can during the day before the circle closes in. usually you'll want to stick together but it can be very beneficial for all 3 to split up, kill a boss each, and then rotate back around so nobody misses out on those 3 rewards. playing as a team is encouraged but not required. the ping system works well, you simply mark a location on the map and your teammates can choose to follow you or go off and do their own thing. I frequently find myself hunting for scarabs marked on the map while my 2 teammates clear a zone without me. someone ends up with a talisman (usually them lol) and then I can go collect the boss reward. everyone wins and it's more efficient

nightreign is very far from perfect in its current state but it's easily addicting enough to keep me playing for quite a while

I believe fallout 3 has the best atmosphere of all the 3D games in the series. you never feel truly safe out in the wasteland thanks to random encounters and wandering enemies, and the art style is done just right to make you feel uneasy in the majority of locations. I thought this was the scariest game ever when I was younger playing it, and it’s still pretty haunting at times (vault 87, dunwich building, DLC areas, etc.)

sure, bethesda’s writing isn’t quite as good as obsidian’s, but if you can overlook that, you’ll be treated to a more detailed world than new vegas. there’s something to see and/or loot just about everywhere in fallout 3, but new vegas has plenty more empty-feeling spaces and distance between points of interest. that’s not necessarily a negative but something to note at least. you’ll be finding more stuff more often in this game, and the DC ruins are even more densely packed

fallout 3 is definitely worth experiencing if you’ve never played it due to negative reviews or otherwise, just for the atmosphere alone. not many games come close to the level of “unsettling” this one does

easily worth getting on sale. you get lots of extra weapons to experiment with, and select cosmetics are included at no extra cost

I had no inventory problems like others were reporting, all my stuff showed up within maybe 10 minutes of keeping the inventory page up in-game

quite possibly the best dismount game so far and it's bound to get even better as early access progresses. it feels great to return to the dismount world so familiar to my kid brain, this time with nice modern visuals and highly accurate physics

normally a game like this would be considered a hidden gem, but given its popularity by this point, that wouldn’t be an accurate description lol

balatro excels at just about everything it’s trying to do. most things on the game’s end are heavily reliant on RNG, but most things on the player’s end are heavily reliant on smart thinking and strategy, acting as a bit of a counter to the randomness. there are tons of “so that’s what that does…” moments which add to the fun and add to your own skills if you can think outside the box

one of the best parts is that no section of the game is timed or makes you feel rushed. you’re allowed to stop, think, and take your time with every single decision in the game. this is a real *thinking* game

one big thing to remember when going in is that you will not always be able to win. some runs will end up being impossible whether it’s due to your early choices limiting you later on, or simply unlucky RNG. that’s just how the game is designed so don’t get too discouraged by it. there are high highs and low lows which keeps the fun fairly balanced

a game that could be very good, but it’s plagued by countless intrusive microtransactions and mobile game practices (fuel system being the most annoying)

it’s fun at first but you quickly lose motivation to play once you see progress is intentionally halted because you’re encouraged to pay for something and/or forced to wait for something

this DLC is very much a worthy addition to the base game

there’s a ton of content, a good portion of it is hidden out of plain view and exploration is highly encouraged. enemies and bosses are fun and a majority of them don’t feel unfair or cheap. I think midra is my favorite DLC boss, and some others who are easily S tier bosses

as always, you’ll have to read item descriptions to discover what items do and the reasoning behind them existing. I really like some of the references to the base game and new additions to the lore

I only have one real complaint which is the fight against leda and allies. there are no redeeming qualities to it and I found it incredibly unenjoyable. this is just one small part of the DLC though, everything else is so good that it doesn’t make much of an impact, especially considering it’s at the end

killer soundtrack + endless replayability + random BS that can help and/or hinder your run = frustratingly fun game

very fun and consistent rhythm game, not too hard to learn for beginners (like me lol)

a lot of these vocaloid songs are so good that you will end up replaying your favorite songs and not caring about scores. eventually they will be added to your music playlists and become permanently etched into your memory banks. I consider it a side effect of playing the game

extraordinarily satisfying fast-paced FPS combat. 110% certified bangin’ soundtrack, accompanying haunting environments. gianni matragrano. this is a very, very, very good game