Recent reviews by Zombie Element

FOR DEMOCRACY, LIBERTY, AND PROSPERITY!!!!

Edit: Changing to negative until Sony reverses the PSN requirement so everyone can play again. Over 1/3 of the world are countries that can't make a PSN account but were originally able to purchase the game.

Edit 2: Sony responded to the community and did not enforce the PSN requirement change. This is literally democracy manifest, well done to the Arrowhead team for backing up the community too.

People like to call this a walking simulator (derogatory) when it is actually a walking simulator (affectionate, complimentary, enthusiastic). This started out as a very awkward and hard-to-immerse-into game for me but the extraordinarily odd story and bizarre parallels to real life (covid, quarantine, etc) kept me interested and devoted to familiarizing myself with the controls and style. Once I got familiar with the flow and controls the game really clicked for me in a way not many do and is strangely addictive. Norman Reedus and the Funky Fetus has since become my comfort game with slow paced and relaxing but fulfilling gameplay that is well paced with intense action sequences that are as visually stunning as they are daunting at times. I recommend this game but only if you go into it with a willingness to be patient in learning the unique gameplay style and enjoying relaxed pacing and build up between significant events.

Devil May Cry 5 is one of the greatest masterpieces of the action game genre. The story is fine for returning fans of the series and newcomers can get caught up on the games backstory with a short little summary movie in the title screen, but as always DMC is ambiguous as hell but that easily becomes its strength because it doesn't take itself too seriously.
5 is easily Devil May Cry at its visual finest and it's soundtrack still slaps. This is by far the best looking DMC to date, explosive effects, finely designed character models, cool weapon designs, V's demon summoning's, Dante's devil trigger, Nero's explosive devil breakers and more; all make this game a joy to look at while you're cutting demons down. This game makes it clear to me that hack and slash games are far from done. Id say my biggest complaint with the game is the predatory microtransactions, but they are optional and cheap as hell when on sale so not a huge detractor.

it's ok i guess

First some notes:
1. This game is not a normal shooter despite the initial impression. It is MUCH slower paced and gritty than even games like L4D2 and the like. Do not go into it expecting Killing Floor 2 type shooter pace.
2. The difficulty of this game is monumental. It has no player count scaling, so playing with 1-3 people will be the same enemy count, damage, and health as with 4 people. Without a matchmaking system in the game (which would be bad anyway since random unskilled players would likely be more harm then help) you must find other skilled players either irl or through their official Discord.
3. Most things in the game have underlying mechanics the game wont explicitly tell you. For example: enemies that aren't active have a way to approach them without alerting them (aka by moving between pulses) or pressing your sprint key while strafing gives you a small dodge with i-frames. Without learning an utilizing these mechanics the game difficulty will be insurmountable.
4. There is MUCH more to the game than you will experience even within the first 3-5 missions. The deeper levels have more new enemies, story, environment, objectives, and challenges to experience even going so far as to completely change up the pace of the game for certain missions. Do yourself a favor and don't give up if you like the game, it has a lot to offer deeper in the complex.
5. There is currently no real progression system other than unlocking deeper/harder missions in the complex. There may be one in the future and I will periodically update this review.

I have waited for this game about 2-3 years since it was first announced at E3 and now it's finally out. GTFO is a very promising game, and you can tell just how much effort the devs (a team of 9 people, all very dedicated and honest) have put into making this. As an Early Access game, it still has work to be done, but it is surprisingly polished and has unique pacing. The game devs are actively asking their community for feedback and suggestions through their Discord, and I'm keen to see how this game fares on full release.

Don't be fooled though, this is nearly unplayable for less than 3-4 man squads. Playing GTFO Solo or Duo is extraordinarily frustrating and near impossible without exploitation or abuse. Even with a full 4 man team it is a very tough game that will strain your patience and put your communication skills to the test. That said this challenging experience is made fantastically fun by the atmosphere, inbuilt lore, and mechanical depth of the game along with the cathartic payoff of escape. If you've got enough friends, and want a good challenge, I highly recommend GTFO.

Keep an eye on the Roadmap and the GTFO Discord, usually any questions that you have are already answered outside of Steam!

Edit: As of Rundown 4 the game now has a great matchmaking system with language and mic/ no mic preferences. They also introduced in game difficulty scaling where you can take on secondary objectives in order to up the difficulty of a given expedition.

The reboot is fantastic. The game plays like a dream as a scavenger, you don't have to rely on your teammates anymore to have fun or succeed, but playing together is rewarded with more resources at the end and possibly greater success. Game's optimization is surprisingly good too, you can play on Ultra with just about anything and still have a stable 90+ fps.The hunter gameplay is a tad bit clunky but could easily be smoothed out and it currently doesn't take away from the amazing power trip of dominating the scavengers.

I see many reviews talking about how easy it is to be executed but I see that with high level scavenger abilities and some skill it makes it very difficult to get caught and even if you are caught getting killed quickly is what creates a feeling of danger.

I am also surprised by how well balanced the game is in its current state. The scavengers are strong but not overwhelming to the hunter (like bullying them with crowd control) and the hunter is an untouchable force of nature but not something that cant be overcome. I find that when put up against a skilled hunter it is very challenging but not impossible to win as a scavenger.

Many people have also commented on how you can "win" by just waiting out the 8 minute timer as a scavenger by hiding the whole match, but the drones, turrets, mines, etc make this much more difficult against an experienced hunter and by merely hiding the whole match you end up gaining next to no experience or resources so the "win" is a Pyrrhic victory. And technically the hunter wins when they kill 4 scavengers, the last scavenger to escape doesn't "win" they just "escape".

Early access done right.

Fairly well polished game that has aced the transition from 2D to 3D and incredibly retains all of it's predecessors legendary level of fun. Here is the reasons you should get it and like it:

Great fast paced game-play with plenty of unlockables and unique characters and abilities.

Tons of items to combine stack and exploit to become godlike, creating an immense level of replayability.

Big open levels that have algorithmic item spawns and are partially randomized portions that reward you for exploring (lots of hidden collectibles and secrets).

Plenty of enemy diversity and intense boss fights that continue to escalate and change.

Very challenging with a well balanced and unique difficulty progression mechanic.

Visually pleasing as a simplistic style without looking cartoonish.

Sound design is phenomenal, from distinct audio queues for each enemy, item effect, and ability to an incredible game soundtrack that never gets old and seamlessly adapts to the intensity of the combat.

The icing on the cake is that there is non-buggy multiplayer that fits perfectly and scales to create a unique role-based dynamic that encourages players to work together.

Devs are highly transparent and have a clear progression of content planned for the future of the game that removes the gamble of "will there be more good content?" from the early access purchase. Don't sleep on this game.

A great multiplayer rework of a classic survival exploration game. Amazingly engaging and well balanced gameplay and well smoothed over procedural generation makes for massive replayability. Don't forget to add lots of mods, they are made very easy to use with the Steam workshop.

THANKS FRIEND. - Dallas 2013

This game has some of the best dialogue I have ever experienced. The music is phenominal. And the story is probably the greatest I have ever played through. The speach at the end made every second and every penny I spent worth it to play this game.