Recent reviews by eeFoGee

Factor of Games [linktr.ee] Steam Deck Preview Here: https://youtu.be/xlkVJlP08Es

It's been a bit since I last jumped in the ring with a Yuke's wrestling title. It feels like it was Wrestlemania 2000 on the N64, but most likely 2k16. Regardless, AEW Fight Forever feels just as solid as my 90s brain remembers, and that's what I was looking for in this game. I have been unhappy with the mainstream wrestling games that 2K has been kicking out annually for quite some time. I had stepped away from playing them, partly for the source material and partly for the gameplay, so you could infer that I had stepped away from watching wrestling for that period.

AEW Fight Forever didn't require me to be a franchise fan to enjoy the game. I picked up the controller and felt like I had already played it, which in some ways, I had so many years ago. The hit and grapple timings felt familiar, the maneuvering in and out of the ring was solid, and it was essentially pick up and play for me, and that's what I remember from their games on N64 and PlayStation. There are various match types, a decent Career mode along with w/customization, and online. Overall, the game shines in areas that are important to me, like the actual wrestling mechanics, and for the not-so-important parts, like the Career mode, it still does a serviceable job. The Seasons Pass and the Matt Hardy DLC feels a little lite for the price unless you buy the Elite Edition up front, but even then, I'm not sure I see the value. Why was Danhausen not able to be unlocked for free in the main roster?

I'm looking forward to seeing what else they bring to the series, but as it stands, all bases have been covered on this initial outing. In the end, its nice to see more competition in the genre.

RoG Ally Preview Here: https://youtu.be/-EEZNADAAJM

Enjoy!
🎮eeFoGee🎮
Factor of Games Curator Page

Factor of Games [linktr.ee] Steam Deck Preview Here: https://youtu.be/M7x4KBXStfQ

I may be in the minority here, but I've had little exposure to Starship Troopers. I am old enough to have seen the movie and played the previous games, but it wasn't something that had my attention. Fast-forward to Extermination; having received a key for review from the devs, I might have missed out. While the game may not be an extension of the movie or other games, it is an online multiplay CoOp experience. The base-building and resource management components are light but remind you of Command & Conquer. The combat feels good, and as the game grows, this is a solid base to start from.

My only concern is any new games requiring online play with no offline experience. If not enough players populate the servers, you're sitting in a DOA queue. Thankfully, this is currently not the case, and I was able to join a match in less than 15 seconds, which was a positive start.

The other item to note is that the Steam Deck is supported right on launch. I'm unsure if they intended it, but all my matches were on the Steam Deck, and the experience has been positive! We need to see more of this from New Releases.

Overall, I'm feeling good about enlisting in Starship Troopers Extermination, and I'm interested to see where it goes. You can check out the Steam Deck footage for the game above.

Enjoy!
🎮eeFoGee🎮
Factor of Games Curator Page

Factor of Games [linktr.ee] Steam Deck Preview Here: https://youtu.be/vZ0iknphIoo

Coming into The Invisible Hand, I wanted to know if it was more of a narrative game or an actual simulator. The video they used to promote it made me think it was an FMV style movie game, which is not what the game actually plays like. What you actually have is a fun 3-4 hour story with an excellent buying and selling mechanic. Beyond the core experience is a nicely done Endless mode, which will most likely become stale at some point, but an hour after finishing the story (based on the achievement) I was still going strong.

I picked up the game in the latest Humble Choice Bundle (May 2023 at the time of this review) , so it was well worth trying it out. After enjoying it and seeing that the sale price is around $3-$4, if you're interested, I say give it a shot.

You can check out the Steam Deck footage for the game above!

Enjoy!

🎮eeFoGee🎮
Factor of Games Curator Page

Factor of Games [linktr.ee] Steam Deck Preview Here: https://youtu.be/BxfPGb3KwEg

The game from the outset looks like Back 4 Blood for apparent reasons. There are some nice improvements, notably there is a single player component, and graphically it's a better-looking game. The real issue I have with it is that even with a Singleplayer campaign, it will live and die on the support from the CoOp audience. At $69, with many folks being let down with AAA PC releases in the past couple of months, a large portion will be holding off until substantial discounts for the game start hitting. This has me on the fence around recommending it at this point, unless you have Xbox Gamepass and just essentially play free for the next few months, then see where the Steam audience stands towards the end of summer.

Otherwise, my thoughts on the Steam Deck performance are good. It usually runs in the 40 - 50 fps range (It can dip to 30fps and climb to 60fps) and looks good on low settings with FSR 2.1. My main concern, again, is that the lack of audience will be problematic for Steam players early on. I have a poll up on my channel, and about 4% of the votes say they will buy the game on Steam. It's not 1000s of votes, but it will likely end up with hundreds of votes, and if it tracks anywhere near other new release polls I've done, it will stay in the single digits. If that holds true, it won't make me feel fantastic about paying such a high price out of the gate.

You can check out the Steam Deck footage for the game above and vote on the poll while you're there!

Enjoy!

🎮eeFoGee🎮
Factor of Games Curator Page

Factor of Games [linktr.ee] Steam Deck Preview Here: https://youtu.be/VxO18s1mOd4

How can they release this game during a national Adderall shortage?!!

Enjoy!

🎮eeFoGee🎮
Factor of Games Curator Page

Factor of Games [linktr.ee] Steam Deck Preview Here: https://youtu.be/M_citpHNKnY

Let's get straight to the point; Zen Studios has delivered another solid Pinball offering with excellent licensed tables and in-house creations. They have built a better Pinball FX3, and technically the latest installment is superior to its predecessors in almost every way. Additionally, they now include instant access to Cabinet Mode, which works well for owners of Virtual Pinball Cabinets. There are also updated physics to mention, and the exclusive tables for the new game look gorgeous!

The biggest problem that most Pinball FX enthusiasts will face is that they own up to 80% of the tables and have paid only a fraction for each through the various Pinball FX3 sales over the last five years. There is no way to move these tables to the latest platform, which is just another barrier to enjoying Virtual Pinball. Don't get me wrong; it's not like Zen will pull Pinball FX3 from Steam and somehow remove the owner's access to the tables they already own on the previous version. They are just creating a distaste for PFX3 owners and potentially confusing prospective consumers for the new version of Pinball FX.

It's bittersweet that such a solid offering can drag itself down by not giving the most loyal fans a path to bring tables forward and take advantage of the apparent benefits without repurchasing every table. The alternative option is to spend endless money purchasing monthly or annual access to the tables, which is nothing I am interested in. These access passes may be a good option for others, and I will encourage everyone to play these tables as they see fit.

In the end, I'm going to hold off for the tables to go on sale and pick the ones that I don't own first and slowly ( and cheaply) pick up the remaining tables that I deem worthy of a second purchase.

Enjoy!

🎮eeFoGee🎮
Factor of Games Curator Page

Factor of Games [linktr.ee] Steam Deck Preview Here: https://youtu.be/cUM14KNb7yk

Being a fan of both Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft's Cosmic Horror, I was excited to see Sherlock Holmes The Awakened get a remake from the 2008 title. The updated graphics and the more open feel to exploring the world are welcome additions, and the storytelling continues to be excellent.

As for the performance, the game runs well on older PC specs, which definitely benefits the Steam Deck owners. You can drop all settings to low and achieve a mostly 60FPS result on the Deck while still having excellent fidelity for the 800p screen.

Ultimately, you have an excellent game that focuses on solving mysteries rather than heavy action and runs extremely well on most machines under 10 years old.

Enjoy!

🎮eeFoGee🎮
Factor of Games Curator Page

Factor of Games [linktr.ee] Steam Deck Performance: https://youtu.be/fXGGxX0cCvY

This may come as no surprise, but Returnal is a fantastic game! There is so much that is right about the game, and Sony should get some props for opening it up to the larger PC audience. Originally developed as one of the first truly dedicated PS5 titles, Housemarque delivered a fantastic bullet hell-style adventure. The initial PS5 version delivered every possible feature (4K, Ray-tracing, Dualsense haptics triggers, etc) along with the addictive, and somewhat controversial, Roguelike mechanic. Amazingly, everyone one of those items has carried over to PC, in addition to Ultrawide and Super Ultrawide support, which is mostly unheard of from a Console port. Housemarque needs some kind of humanitarian award for going the extra mile!

Again, there is so much that is right with this game, and I don't want to detract from the positive release, but I had to refund it. Over the past year, I have become a Steam Deck advocate, and this has led me to be overly critical of releases that don't run well on the device. Regardless of your feelings about mobile PC gaming, it is driving new players to Steam from the console world and will continue to be a growing factor in the gaming world at large. Returnal is one of the games that does not run well on the Steam Deck. Quite honestly, this probably isn't surprising to most people. I wasn't surprised or that upset, I mean, I was trying to play a current generation game, built for 4K gaming at 60FPS on a handheld unit that is less than the cost of the system the game was built for...crazy, right? I will give it the benefit of the doubt and say that with everything on Low Settings you get close to 30fps, but it's not solid, and the larger boss battles will definitely impact performance. And while other games can handle this, Returnal should be played at 60fps to give the precision required to meet the challenges in the later stages of the game.

I don't want to deter people from the game, and if you have a PC Rig with a 2080 or thereabouts, you will have an excellent experience. My overall review is mainly about the Steam Deck, and the challenges it faces playing games like Returnal. I hope maybe there is something that Housemarque can come up with to increase the performance of the device, but I would understand if they couldn't. I've included a video of the benchmark tool running on Steam Deck, so judge for yourself.

Steam Deck running the Returnal Benchmark Tool: https://youtu.be/P2wW-0filzQ

Enjoy!

🎮eeFoGee🎮

The Sinking City is a masterpiece of cosmic horror and eldritch terror. The game captures the essence of Lovecraft’s influence and brings the grotesque and incomprehensible to life. The graphics are stunning and truly transport the player to the decaying streets of Oakmont, where the very fabric of reality is unraveling. The atmosphere is suffocating and the sense of dread is palpable. The gameplay is intuitive and engaging, immersing the player in the investigation of unspeakable horrors. I highly recommend this game to all fans of cosmic horror and those brave enough to confront the unknown.

Factor of Games [linktr.ee]
Full Steam Deck graphics comparison: https://youtu.be/XrXYS7hafbo

What a nice surprise for the holidays! One of those surprises flying under the radar but, on release, gets the attention of a solid base of players. The reviews point to a lot of interest in the title, and rightfully so! I'm not sure if it's due to centering around a train you command while hunting Charles or the fact that Charles is a Spider Train hell-bent on killing you, but the game draws you in and keeps you playing till you finish.

Choo-Choo Charles offers just enough horror to increase the intensity factor but not enough to drive those who might be squeamish and stop playing most horror titles. The upgrade system is simplistic, and the weapons are mostly "point and shoot." Also, it runs on the Steam Deck well, which is a nice bonus. You can lock it into 60 FPS or up the graphics and hold a respectable 40 FPS. Nothing is overly complicated, but the exploration is fun, and Charles is utterly absurd, making this short horror game one of the best releases this year. Check out some of the video gameplay above and below.

Steam Deck gameplay at 60FPS: https://youtu.be/ueUPBAYGsuM

Happy Hunting!

🎮eeFoGee🎮