Recent reviews by recsynthesis

Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is an incredible RPG that feels like a lovechild of Elder Scrolls, The Witcher 3, and the dark intensity of Lords of the Fallen. I’d call it a Scrolls-like, capturing the open-world exploration and rich lore of Elder Scrolls while infusing the hopeless, monster-ridden atmosphere of The Witcher 3’s once-prosperous lands now overrun with creatures. It’s got that same bleak, lived-in feel, complete with beasts like drowners and other creepy monsters that could’ve crawled straight out of Velen. Yet, it also channels the gritty, dark fantasy aesthetic of a soulslike, especially Lords of the Fallen, without being as punishing.

The visuals are breathtaking, with misty, decayed landscapes and grotesque enemies that scream soulslike but echo The Witcher’s haunting world. Combat is a standout, tougher than Elder Scrolls with more frequent arena-style boss fights that demand strategy and precision. Wielding a two-handed sword is a joy, with the weighty, satisfying swordplay of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, where every swing feels impactful and deliberate.

I’m in Act 1, and the story is phenomenal, steeped in Arthurian myth with a mix of epic stakes and personal depth. King Arthur is a commanding, inspiring leader, a better fireside companion than Elden Ring’s Melina, with a mythic aura rivaling the Emperor from Warhammer 40K. He grounds the narrative, which pulls you in with its mystery and grandeur.

The music seals the deal. The title screen score is so epic I keep it looping, its cinematic sweep perfectly matching the dark fantasy vibe. Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is a unique blend of Elder Scrolls exploration, The Witcher 3’s desolate atmosphere, and soulslike intensity, all while forging its own path. If you love deep, dark RPGs, this is an absolute must-play.

Veilguard takes the Dragon Age franchise in a direction that feels completely disconnected from its roots. Taash, in particular, embodies everything wrong with this approach. Her identity issues are constantly pushed front and center, and the game expects players to sympathize with her struggles even though she comes across as an entitled, spoiled teenager. Her abrasive personality and the relentless focus on her gender identity make her one of the most grating characters in the series, detracting from the story rather than adding to it.

The overall tone of the game feels like it was designed exclusively for women and homosexual audiences, sidelining the broader appeal that made the earlier Dragon Age games such a success. The constant emphasis on who people can sleep with and how everyone should accept everything feels intrusive and unnecessary, overshadowing the actual plot and character development.

The design choices add to the disconnect. The game includes details like visible trans surgery scars and an overwhelming focus on hairstyles that are predominantly African or close-cropped curls—yet it neglects to offer meaningful variety in body types. Female characters with curvier or more diverse builds are nowhere to be found, leaving customization options feeling oddly limited and skewed in focus.

On top of that, the art style—with its cartoonish, Pixar-like design—completely removes the gritty fantasy atmosphere fans loved. Pair that with dialogue filled with modern therapy-speak, and it feels like the world of Thedas has been gutted and replaced with something overly sanitized and out of touch with its medieval-inspired setting.

This game feels agenda-driven rather than focused on delivering the immersive storytelling and rich character development Dragon Age is known for. It's a disappointing entry that alienates longtime fans.

I played this After Elden Ring (my first souls game) and the DLC for it. I was blown away. While this game doesn't quite have the same feel of a Fromsoft game it is darn near close or rather adjacent in it's own way. The atmosphere, art, graphics, level design, enemies, models, weapons, art, atmosphere, music, controls etc are all super fun and it has a unique mechanic of the Umbral which I love. The land of the dead is amazing and a whole new map too that you can go in and out of. I would say this game suffers from the common issues all games of this genre do like the quests being tricky. But if you played Elden ring or Lies of P recently and want a souls game get it! TONS of updates and free content and theyre still updating it

Far Cry 6 feels like a DEI/girlboss version of Far Cry 5 in every way. After the disaster that was New Dawn, this seems like Ubisoft’s attempt to salvage what they can from the goodwill built by Far Cry 5 and earlier titles. That said, the world in Far Cry 6 is absolutely gorgeous, and the game runs incredibly well for me, so the gameplay itself is solid. For that reason alone, I recommend it—especially if you can grab it on sale like I did.

I’ll be honest, I don’t care much for the wackier attachments and homemade-looking weapons. I miss the grounded, semi-realistic gear from Far Cry 5, but thankfully, later in the game, you unlock more military-grade stuff that feels legit. It’s nice to have that as something to work toward. If you can lean into the whole guerrilla-warfare vibe, the game becomes a lot more enjoyable. That said, I still find myself skipping a lot of the dialogue and cutscenes—they just don’t grab me.

I prefer my games more grounded, so I tend to remove or ignore half the crazy weapons, vehicles, and outfits. If you’re someone who loves the wackier side of Far Cry, you’ll probably love this one. To me, Far Cry 5 struck a better balance—yeah, it had its silly moments like the shovel launcher, but everything still felt plausible. Even the armed vehicles were trucks or something heavily modified, not completely over the top. Meanwhile, Far Cry 6 gives you a 50-caliber machine gun strapped to an old sedan and an anti-aircraft missile launcher on your back within the first hour. It’s just too goofy for my taste.

I will say, I love Chorizo (adorable little guy), but the animal companions in Far Cry 5 were better overall in my opinion. And while I skip a lot of the cutscenes in this game, I don’t skip a single moment with Castillo. Giancarlo Esposito absolutely kills it as the villain. He’s easily the best part of the story and worth paying attention to.

If you love Far Cry for its chaotic, over-the-top fun, this game delivers. But if you prefer a more grounded experience, you might find yourself doing what I do—picking and choosing what parts of the game you embrace and toning down the rest. Still, it’s a good time, and if you catch it on sale, it’s worth a playthrough.

Amazing open world zombie game. Same actor as Force Unleashed and the voice of Darth Maul in SW the Clone Wars. His story is great, the world is pretty immersive, the characters are interesting, the dialogue feels like real people talking, the gameplay is super fun (if you like cinematic style games like God of War 4/Last of Us/Red Dead maybe) and it gets super creepy at night with zombies and hordes. Reminds me a little of Deryl Dixon from the walking dead. Played it on the Ps4 back in 2019 but the PC version seems even better

If you are a massive warhammer fan (like me) then this game is amazing. If you love the idea of being a space marine killing the enemies of the Imperium with your friends as a squad this is the game for you. Its got the weighty feel of a Gears of War with amazing executions too. The game runs pretty well albiet a little intensly but its never gotten in the way of my gameplay and I run a gaming laptop with a 3070ti and a 32:9 Ultrawide monitor. Speaking of screen size it's only 16:9 but in a week or two they are adding wide screen support.

The missions can become repetitive but there is a lot to unlock, level up and earn. If you play with other people it gets so much more enjoyable as the environments aren't what you focus on but its fighting to survive and save your brothers, The missions are very long and with enough varied objectives and enemies it keeps it fresh,

They have a roadmap that looks great. If you're on the fence wait for a sale but with the promised content if it looks interesting get it we have never had a 40K game this amazing

Its a more forgiving version of elden ring with similar quest styles, art, visuals and sorta similar mechanics. After playing that I feel much more prepared when I play this and Im sure vice verse. I would say this game is worth $50-60 but idk about $69.99. If you want to play it absolutely get it but know youll miss a lot of content the first time without a guide. If youre on the fence but like elden ring or the concept I say still get it, its really fun and the outfits are nice

I am not an RTS player and after this game I can easily tell they are not for me but I like this game. I got this game to enjoy a cinematic AOS story written by a black library author and 4 chapters in its really well done cinematicly. If you're getting this as a WH fan and for the story do!!!! If you are getting this because you love RTS games first then this may be a bit disappointing compared to more technical titles

It may be the same concept overall but there is a story and multiple maps with a progression and each one has enough of a unique spin on it that you feel comfortable with the mechanics but have to learn new things or discover new scares for each area. The enemies are creepy enough and for 3 to 4 bucks I mean its great if you want a fun spooky game to play with friends for practically free but not broken/janky

Its worth it I don't even remember the price anymore and you can use it to set any vibe you want with music, lighting plugins and animations. Just get it thank me later.