Recent reviews by chompmonster

I bought the game based on some incredibly positive overviews in the press - an innovative, procgen immersive sim? sign me tf up. it has an interesting concept, and the technical implementation deserves recognition. this is a very ambitious such a small team, and it's clear they have a lot of passion for the project.

I cannot recommend this game as is, though. the concept is clever but the execution leaves a lot to be desired; I can't help but feel that the procgen nature of the game works against its potential. controller support is inconsistent and unintuitive, and you'll be exploring the same rooms (why are there so many two-dozen storey skyscrapers with two flats per floor?) dozens of times the the point where you feel like you're less solving distinct cases and more learning how to min-max your procedural. i was becoming a doordash investigator. asking a dozen npc's about evidence or a person in distinct cases and receiving identical canned responses every time feels jarring at best. playing with a controller makes navigating both the world space and ui a frustrating chore.

I'm not sure if the game just wasn't quite ready to leave early access, or if procgen doesn't allow for the depth required for a satisfying immersive sim.

the game does look really good, I'm not a huge fan of the art style but they use it and it's limitations well, particularly with the lighting.

as I spent $30 on it and still want to support the devs, because I have to emphasise that what they achieved toward their vision really is impressive, I'm going to keep revisiting it and giving it a chance.

i wasn't expecting so much of the core gameplay loop to revolve around collecting golf carts and navigating them around challenging terrain

it's aight - i'm torn on the lack of quick saves, on one hand it forces you to think on your feet but it makes early experimentation less attractive. also i f'n hate that diagetic inventory.

it visually looks a lot like dusk did - that 'new blood' neo-premillenium stylisation that's not quite how you remember early 3d games but you can't quite put your finger on why. it definitely still feels like a unity game (more 'sir you are being hunted' vibes than thief ones)

it's only two days into early access so i'm interested to see where it goes.

it's *good* and i did really enjoy what i've played of it, but going into it with the expectation that it was a spiritual thief game sets up the wrong expectations.

deep-dish frankfurter school philopastry

Loved playing the first two multiplayer with my partner - the addition of couch co-op made us jump at this entry, but the implementation is so fundamentally broken that it's unplayable, so we refunded

If you play with two controllers, they both control different aspects of both players - and if you use a kbm and a controller, the controller just doesn't work at all

if you want to play split-screen, your only option is the switch port of the original - and that's a little broken too, and doesn't support pro controllers

it's an interesting idea, especially from a small team, but the hammy writing and frankly bizarre characterisations (fan-service... for other games? 'in my time' fourth wall things? they just don't really fit) detract from the potential of the overall experience - and I'm not buying a whole other game just to see where it goes

given how disappointing this was at launch (i was a kickstarter backer), it's turned out very respectably a few years later - if all you're expecting is the UU/dark messiah-style game modernised, this is it. any other expectations will probably not be met.

The tech is really impressive, and the game lots of fun - the missions get a little repetitive after a couple of hours, but the dev is adding more variety each update, and it'll be exciting to see what new ideas come next.

The game introduces you to the mechanics in a really natural way - you can see that all your targets are alarmed and instantly snap into an 'I need to plan how this will go' mindset and you start creating your planning-versus-action phase separation intuitively, which is really clever.

Sandbox mode is great when racing against the clock becomes too stressful - I'd love some casual puzzle maps to wind down from the heists.

The original was campy and loose but the charm made it a memorable part of my childhood - I tried to like this remake, I really did - but actually playing the game felt like a chore. At the most basic level, it didn't even support my monitors resolution, which is unforgivable for any game released in 2020. Technical issues aside, a game like XIII has to be fun, and I kept thinking "If I slog through this next bit, it might get better". It didn't.

I keep coming back to the steam store page to see if it's been overhauled and is exciting again. I can forgive a game for being bad, if you can still have fun with it. I still go back to Deus Ex 2 to mess around with it and that was a bad game eighteen years ago. I've picked up second hand no-name budget games for a buck at an op shop that I've had more fun and spent more time with. The XIII remake is worse than bad - it's disappointing; it's charmless, uninteresting and I've yet to find a reason to revisit it. The potential that is wasted here is the greatest tragedy of all.

When people point to Cyberpunk 2077 as the gaming disappointment of 2020, I show them this. The damp squib of the year of COVID.

oh man, this is kind of wild, cynical eurojank is my jam. A+++ would have a drone vomit on me again