Recent reviews by RabidHobbit

If Minecraft is like LEGOs for the modern world, Factorio is the advanced set.

If you like the Civilization series, you owe it to yourself to get this. Unless you're allergic to the idea of a game that does not progress past antiquity, there is so much good about Old World. It's more streamlined than Civ, but in a good way and in all the right places. Yet it also adds complexity by way of its royal families and political system. It also has an events system that would make other games jealous; the writing is very good and there are countless events if you end up buying the DLC.

As someone who loved the original Gauntlet and very much enjoys Vampire Survivors, I really expected to at least like this. But surprisingly I didn't, and the reasons why are easy to explain.

But first of all, is my review even valid? After all, I only have 1 hour in the game. Well if you're me, you'll probably say "no" because most games these days simply can't be reviewed in an hour. But this is the first game in recent memory that was so absolutely boring within the first hour, that I just couldn't play any more. Note that I only played single player. Here's why I didn't enjoy this game:

1. There is no enemy variation. There are 3 basic enemies: guy that takes 3 shots to kill, guy that takes 2 shots but is fast, and guy that takes 3 shots but shoots projectiles at you. There are very minor variations, like some projectiles which can be shot and those that can't, but that's the vast majority of enemy complexity. In addition to the basic enemies, there is an occasional elite enemy that has many more hit points and shoots several projectiles in a blast with a varying pattern. New levels don't introduce new enemies. You fight this same score of enemies at least all the way from levels 1 through (I believe) 6. The only thing that changes is their stats increase and their sprite changes.

2. Upgrades are meaningless. As you increase your stats, you power through the levels, at which point the monsters all have higher stats. This means that with like even 7 upgrades to your main weapon (a shiny, golden upgrade), you're still fighting enemies that take 2 or 3 shots to kill. Eventually, at the end of an upgrade line you can specialize your weapon, but this specialization is a sidegrade, not a more effective upgrade. At least this is true of the 2 characters that I played to that point. I'm just not willing to play another hour to find out for two more.

3. Every level is the same. There are 2 main elements to a level: keys for locked walls, and shootable walls. You walk through the maze, looking for a copper, silver and gold key, in that order. Once you have the gold key, you find the exit and leave. Sometimes you might find an exit where you don't need all 3 keys.

Here's the thing: if any one of these things above were not an issue, I think I would have fun with this game. It can be okay for the levels to be repetitive if the enemies aren't, or vice-versa. In this game there's just enough similarity that I never felt as though I was making any kind of choice. Most survival games have quite boring enemies, but the upgrades significantly impact survivability and gameplay.

There are many classes, and the one special class that I unlocked was the elf. The elf has a homing primary weapon and a primeable secondary weapon. It sounds fun on paper, but because there is so little enemy, level or upgrade variation, it doesn't matter that the class was designed this way. The game felt too similarly to the other two classes I played.

Maybe these issues are alleviated after 25 minutes into a run, but having to play through such a 25 minutes every time is just not something I'm eager to do.

As a Gauntlet fan, I want to make a final note that I haven't seen another reviewer mention. There are a lot of mechanics from Gauntlet that this game does not adapt, but the one most worth mentioning is that the levels are randomly generated, and relatively small. For anyone who remembers, especially Gauntlet II on NES, the original game had great level design. Sadly, while these levels are serviceable, no individual level stands out or enhances the gameplay experience.

Oh, the horrors...

I rarely play competitive games, but I enjoy this one. It's very cerebral, yet plays quickly. Every match I learn something new. It feels meatier than your typical auto-battler. There is PvE, but it's more for practice and learning, There are actually very good dedicated practice modes. This isn't a game you want to buy to play only against the AI, because it involves things like bluffs and counter-plays; things that game AI can't do well (yet).

This is a good game when you want to play a story adventure game, but you don't want any filler or time spent grinding, or walking around trying to search for things. All of your time will be spent trying to solve the mystery. There is no danger, you are simply trying to piece together the truth of a very strange situation that ended up in police records.

Gameplay involves watching short clips from multiple interviews and trying to think of words that can be used to find more useful clips. You will want to take notes while you play this, to keep track of chronology and testimony of events.

It has a satisfying ending, and doesn't take to long to wrap up once you get there. Don't be afraid to close the chat window and continue searching for clues, if you don't think you're ready yet.

There are other good reviews out there, so I'll just add my thumb hobb here as well.

Please don't interact with it. In fact, leave it alone, because it's happy here and there's a small chance it could metamorphosize. If it follows you home, then I advise you strongly to buy this game and receive instructions on how to deal with it.

Just adding my thumbs up to the scores of fans.

If you're someone deciding between this and Dark Souls III, here was my experience as a late-comer to the series. I started with DS3 thinking I would only play 1 DS game. I completed about 40% of it before moving to other games. It's fantastic, and utterly beautiful.

On a whim I decided to try playing DS1 to see if I could stomach it. Well, it turns out I like this game more. The gameplay is slower and more methodical, and it feels like the choices I make in both exploring and leveling my character just have more impact. DS3 is a great game, and obviously prettier; but if you're on the fence, I recommend starting with this one. Also, they are different enough that playing both eventually would make sense.

Final piece of advice: once you leave the asylum, if you encounter enemies that seem unfairly hard, there is likely an easier path you can take as a new character (hint: that path lies upward, not downward).

One of the most immersive video games I've ever played. I'm happy just to ride my horse around in a thunderstorm.

Wow, what a great game that holds up. I played it in upscaled 1080p (4K) and it's just beautiful on modern hardware and performs great.

Mark Hamill is the star of the show. His Joker narration drives the game forward and keeps you sucked in. And of course Batman's actor from the animated series is also here and is the consistent rock that anchors Joker's insanity. The immersion backed up by the fantastic "free flowing" combat system. I played the game on Normal but there is also Hard mode for those that feel it needs more challenge. I would even say this combat system is still better (in my opinion) that the Shadow of Mordor / Shadow of War that adopted it, if you've played those games. It's just a bit more streamlined and tighter feeling (but not as many moves). A lot of villains make an appearance and they are each satisfyingly portrayed.

Don't expect a superb boss fight for each villain; some are represented more as threats to deal with in other ways than in direct combat. It's more about the immersion, there.