Recent reviews by Robert

Conceptually, I like the idea of a puzzle platformer that shifts from 2D to 3D, but controlling the character feels glitchy and unintuitive in this dynamic environment. The story is simplistic and feels short at 4 hours of gameplay. Despite these drawbacks I'd still recommend this game. It's unique, creative and the pallid, film noir style and antiquated soundtrack create an engaging, authentic atmosphere.

Digital Logik PC Gaming[dlgaming.net]

I never played Metro 2033, so at first glance; I figured I was in for a Fallout 3 clone. An expansive 25-hour journey with a compelling story littered with tangential side quests set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. While the setting is the same, that’s where their similarities end.

Metro: Last Light is a very linear first person shooter, incorporating stealth and resource management. Neither of these seemed necessary when playing on normal difficulty, so for the intended experience, I’d suggest a harder mode. It paces itself well; shifting between slow moments of atmospheric storytelling, faster paced combat and the occasional boss fight. But the FPS side of this game is not it’s strongest attribute. Your character never levels up in any way, or gains any new abilities (unless you count night vision). Aside from increasing the Kalash’s ammo, the weapon modifications made little difference on any of the wide selection of guns. If you’re looking for a shoot’em up gibfest, this isn’t the game; but certain mechanics enhance the realism and improve the experience. The best example of this being the gas mask, which the player must put on when going above ground, replace when damaged, recharge with scavenged filters and wipe off when covered with blood, debris or water.

The part of this game that really shines is the storytelling, or more specifically, the tone. It’s classified as horror, but it lacks the jump scares and excessive gore one might expect from this genre. Instead it has a more mature and suspenseful disposition reinforced by the dimly lit yet detailed level design. Unlike a run and gun shooter, Metro: Last Light encourages the player to patiently explore it’s environment, taking in the scenery and appreciating it. Notes revealing more of the story are randomly scattered throughout the levels, forcing the player to search in areas that would otherwise be passed without notice.

Graphically the game is great, considering the budget this studio had. Sure, the character animation is a bit stiff and the child voice acting is awful but the character models are good enough to not distract from the story and, like the movie Gravity, this game is a rare example of a product that becomes a different experience when using 3D. I’ve found 3D becomes tiresome in most games and I turn it off after a while, even 3D Vision Ready ones such as Metro: Last Light. But I played all 10 hours of this game with Nvidia 3D Vision enabled and it intensified the immersion in a way that couldn’t be accomplished otherwise (most notably when the gas mask was cracked or dirtied). As unpopular as 3D gaming is, I’m glad I have it for games like this. It’s also worth noting that the game runs on Mac as well as Linux.

I don’t like moral choice (karma) systems in games, but I don’t hate them; and there are ways of ameliorating them. One such method, employed by Metro: Last Light, is to hide it completely from the player, allowing them to make organic decisions during gameplay. The game has a good or bad ending, depending on certain choices and actions but the player is not told when something affects this moral meter or what their reward is for following a righteous path. Unfortunately, any semi-experienced gamer will recognize the telltale signs of a moral choice system (such as the option to kill or spare a defeated enemy), but at least this game tries.

These aren’t my favorite type of games, but playing through Metro: Last Light was one of the better single player experiences I’ve had, and if you have the patience to let the ambiance build I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

Digital Logik PC Gaming[dlgaming.net]

The required criteria for something to labeled a game is up for debate, but it really doesn’t matter. Ask yourself: “Is it enjoyable?” If it is, then whether or not it’s technically a game is irrelevant.

I enjoyed Gone Home despite it lacking typical aspects of a “game.” The main character is a girl who’s just returned from traveling abroad but there’s no one home. By scavenging the house for clues, information is revealed at a steady pace until the main plot is resolved. During this process, details about her family are uncovered, forming several subplots that I assumed would tie together. While only the big question was directly answered at the end, speculations can be made about the others.

Set in the 90s, the game is packed with nostalgia; from SNES cartridges to magic eye posters (that actually work). It’s a great touch and it got a few laughs out of me, but the real value is in the mystery of the story. Curiosity kept me going, and the game kept giving me just enough motivation to keep pushing through it. At two hours it’s a little short, and I would have liked to have seen more about the parents and uncle. For $20 I can’t recommend it but if you catch it on sale, definitely pick it up.

If I had to rate my level of enjoyment on a scale of 1 to 10, it would be a 6. The brevity really killed it for me, but it’s a solid story and probably deserves a higher rating. Either way, Gone Home is a great debut by the Fullbright Company, and I’m looking forward to whatever they’re next project may be.

Digital Logik PC Gaming[dlgaming.net]

Guacamelee! is a humorous 2D platformer with a Mexican Día de los Muertos esthetic. Consisting of side-scrolling combat, jumping puzzles and boss fights, the gameplay strikes a balance, being challenging yet fair.

Progressing through the game unlocks new abilities and areas. There are also new enemies and puzzles that provide opportunities to use these newly acquired skills, so the game becomes more complex and harder. Compensating for the difficulty, the game allows you to respawn from numerous checkpoints or whatever ledge you fell from. This prevents frequent deaths from breaking the game’s flow, and allows the player to learn from failure and quickly adapt to overcome a hard part.

I hate excessive dialogue in games, but fortunately Guacamelee! has just the right amount. It has enough to move the story along and even work in some comedy, but it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. This is necessary in a game where parts must be repeated until gotten right. Having to scroll through the same dialogue over and over again just to get to the point you failed at before is an annoyance from an obsolete era of gaming.

Guacamelee! is not without its flaws. It can be a bit repetitive at times and get slightly boring, but it’s not enough to hinder the gameplay significantly, and the soundtrack and colorful animation inspired by traditional Mexican folklore give it a unique style that almost had me buying this game on looks alone.

Digital Logik PC Gaming[dlgaming.net]