Recent reviews by Dr Diremongoose

We weren't sold on the mobile control system at first, but it works fine when you get used to it. The gameplay is fun and the somewhat placid story can even occasionally let you go to some darker places than expected - side missions can have consequences for the town. Between missions, every player gets to go around town talking to NPCs entirely on their mobile device. It's an interesting mechanic and I'd love to see it expanded more.

If I had one criticism, it's screen sharing - if you aren't playing in the same room it can be fiddly to get it working well. We tried both steam play together and Discord (non-nitro). Steam had audio-streaming issue (music being choppy) and Discord has a default of 5fps steaming, which I had to learn to configure to 30fps. The devs aren't responsible for these streaming services of course, but they do rely on them for non-local multiplayer. Ideally I would like to see a built-in steaming service or a free 'view only' client.

Despite the minor issues with streaming, we've had a ton of fun with the game and unreservedly recommend it. If nothing else - it's unique and pushing the boundaries, and it deserves to succeed to we can see more games like this.

It's both janky but immersive. An update on the best bits of the older Stalker titles. More cohesive story and a lot more hard sci-fi story elements.

Catch mutated fish, search for otherworldly artefacts, race back to port before your insanity summons lovecraftian horrors to murder you. Do not trust the lights in the distance. That amazing fishing line made of weird sinew that you got from the robed cultist probably won't have any side effects.

The original 1994 game was a favourite of mine as a kid - so this review is a direct comparison with a game I played far too much, many years ago. Some mild story spoilers and discussion.

Action:
It shares a lot of the flaws of the original (eg being stunlocked by enemies), but with a considerably improved
jumping experience. The stance system in the original wasn't great, even in 1994 - it's gone now and that is a good thing. Running in to walls does not hurt in the remake - another good choice. There's supposed to be a lock on system for throwing, but it didn't do anything for me. Perhaps it's disabled with keyboard and mouse? Aiming was easy without it, no issues there.

Inventory:
There are too few items to need multiple tabs of inventory - this could do with a do-over. The original 1994 inventory was quicker to select items for use. It's functional could be improved.

Music:
Good (but I prefer the symphonic remaster of the original version available on Spotify - a tough standard to beat)

Story:
In the remake, Twinsen does not have apocalyptic dreams and it's not clear why Funfrock wants to get into the Sendell's well. The world does not explode in cutscene if Funfrock gets into the Well. In the original he intended to steal the planet's magical power from the entity at the centre of the world, causing it to explode. In remake? Because he's eeeeeevil? it's not explained.

The conspicuous addition of a new character is fine - you're no longer saving Zoe, Zoe is opposing Funfrock and you're saving Twinsen's sister. That's not a problem in 2024. I was not impressed with changes the ending at all - it went from the reveal of a secret behind the world to "Thanks protagonist and family, off you go!" - the reason for the mysterious Sendell(s) are not revealed. Not keeping the Sendells giant babies/POP Vinyls with receding hair? Another good choice IMO.

Bugs:
The game is clunky and buggy at times, where I had to load autosaves a handful of times after animation bugging out looting boxes or going down sewer elevators to area transitions (elevator moved but Twinsen was on the edge of the tile and didn't go down), but this was just a minor inconvenience. One time, Twinsen got hit while crawling through a vent and the NPC kept attacking, softlocking the game.

Design quibbles:
The endgame sabre has the same range as fists and very basic attack animations, which makes using it an unpleasant experience - I frequently attacked enemies from too far away, but still close enough to actually hit them based on the range of the sword in Twinsen's hands. In the original there is ramp in the desert you can use to skip jumping with the protopack - it kills you in the remake. Jumping is much better in the remake so this is less of an issue.
Clovers do not save you from water - this is true to the original, but perhaps teleporting you back to land like in LBA2 would be a better choice?

Overall:
I can understand the developers being pulled in two directions - faithful recreation vs improved playability. They mostly got the balance right, but lets be honest, it was always going to be a tough sell to anyone who played the original when it was released and is looking back with rose-tinted-spectacles. They mostly succeeded - but I would definitely recommend watching the original 1994 cutscene with Sendell, and think the devs should redo the voiceover. I enjoyed playing through, but I'd take a look at other reviews if you're new to the series! I look forward to the remake of the sequel.

I've deleted my old review and I'm simply going to say "buyer beware".

The game has NO functional customer service. Did you fail to receive something that was paid for or promised? You can expect 1-2 week wait before the customer service AI bot closes the ticket with a poorly-translated platitude like 'I wish you a happy life'.

Here is a small selection of the responses I received (verbatim with no edits from me). Each time the ticket was closed with no action taken:

07/11/2024
"Dear players,

Thank you for contacting us. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your feedback. We have reported it to our relevant team and they will fix it as soon as possible, please be patient. Thank you for your understanding.

Once again, I'm sorry for the bad experience for some of you. Thank you for your support and love for this sport. We will continue to improve the game and customer service.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. We are always here to help you. Thank you for your support. We hope you can give us a rating for our service. I wish you a happy life."

27/11/2024
"Dear Player,First of all, thank you very much for sharing your feelings and experiences with us. The situation you mentioned is indeed troubling, and we sincerely apologize for it. We value each player's feedback and hope you can understand that resolving such issues may take some time, and we cannot solve them for you immediately. We will report your case to the relevant team again so that we can assist you as soon as possible. We fully recognize the time you have invested in the game and greatly appreciate your love for it. Please believe that we will do our utmost to ensure that the rights and interests of all players are respected and valued. If you have any other questions or need further assistance during this time, please feel free to contact us. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we look forward to resolving your issues as soon as possible. We hope you can provide us with feedback on our service. Wishing you a happy life."

18/12/2024
"Thank you for your patience, and we sincerely apologize. After our investigation, we are unable to grant you the relevant rewards. We recommend that you refer to the actual display in the game for accurate information. Thank you for your feedback.Please feel free to come to us whenever you have questions in the game. Appreciate it a lot if you could rate our service. Wish you a good day."

Wearing a hard hat stops you getting escorted out of building sites

Entertaining and brief indie 'mascot' horror.

Legally distinct Half Life 1 from the scientist's point of view. Make mad science weapons and try and escape the Not Black Mesa. It's very refreshingly different from other survival games, as it has linear progression with a storyline. At the time of writing it's not yet finished, but the content to date has been very enjoyable. I look forward to exploring new areas and sub-dimensions.

Update: With the game's release, they've added more of everything and I love it.

It's a really long JRPG but a really good one. Half of the game is a 'social simulation' that allows you to manage relationships between the various characters and party members, with effects that that are felt in combat. Combat is robust, with enemies having weaknesses and resistances to different elements. Combat remains good until the late game, where there are some balancing flaws (certain elements become less useful as they don't have endgame-powered moves). Many bosses are immune to status moves and critical hits, making Technical attacks impossible. These small gripes aside P5R is well worth your time.

Brief but enjoyable survival horror. I would have liked slightly more lore on the overall Amnesia universe. Having beat the game on normal in 7h I don't see much replayability, but modding support might change that.