Recent reviews by Sushi

Solid space fun. The ships feel great to fly and customize, The environments are fantastic and ooze atmosphere. Things blow up in satisfying ways. I'm a sucker for 6DOF anything and this scratches that itch nicely. The "looter shooter" format isn't usually my favorite but I got along with it just fine here.

Getting the controls tuned "just right" took a bit of effort, and ultimately I needed to use Joystick Gremlin so I could customize sensitivity curves so my twin joystick setup felt good to play with. But really anything beyond a controller or even kbmouse is overkill.

A true labor of love, fun and imaginative from end to end.

If you liked Subnautica, you'll probably like this too. It's not *quite* as good but what is?

Below Zero does a great job at encouraging exploration and giving you enough hints to not be stuck. There's something worth finding practically everywhere. In some cases, the something is a terrifying sea monster. But you gradually get more comfortable in your exploration, between learning how things react and equipment upgrades, so you can gradually proceed further & deeper, returning to base to drop off collected supplies and craft new tools & base parts. And the environment is wonderful throughout, mysterious and beautiful and alien.

The story is pretty good, but it has some linear-ness built into it that's easy to skip over: for example, there was one early clue I only got right at the very end of the game, and it only told me what I'd already figured out). The end result was that I wasn't entirely sure when that subplot was "finished" since I got the proper ending to my initial quest midway through. The other main plot thread is clearer, and ends the game properly.

It's Halo. Hits perfectly right in the nostalgia.

Exactly what it says on the tin: it takes the best bits of Left 4 Dead and Minecraft spelunking, slathered in a thick sauce of its own unique charm and sass.

My only complaint so far is how long it takes to get a promotion, and until then a ton of content is locked away. After 30 hours I still have a long way to go unless I focus on just one dwarf class.

*December 2024 update:* this is still one of my favorite games ever, and I still play it frequently. The procedural generation is excellent and leads to a great variety of challenges. Most of all, somehow GSG has figured out how to create and maintain an almost perfectly nontoxic online community. I have *never* played another game where I can so consistently drop into a squad of random strangers and have a great time. It's astonishing.

It has its flaws, and it does eventually get repetitive, but it's still a fun experience. The latest refinements have made it feel fairly well polished now too.

Hearing the music gives me anxiety now.

But I finished it, so take that, Super Hexagon!

A++ Would PTSD again.

An excellent example of how you can have quality without complexity.

A masterclass in a game silently teaching you its mechanics and leading you along. You get stuck and frustrated, but never hopelessly so, and the breakthrough moments are sublime.

The Descent formula honed and polished to something approaching perfection.

* Works with basically any control scheme or peripheral I've thrown at it: Mouse & keyboard, 360 controller, dual joysticks, all great.
* Runs stable and smooth
* Excellent range of difficulty options
* It's friggin Descent and it's beautiful and it's perfect