Recent reviews by Roll_DMG

I enjoy trying demos and decided to try this after reading a preview for the game.

I am going to be a bit brutal in this as I don't feel this is ready for a demo.

Setting/World Design:
The world design is detailed though it feels empty. The premise of the setting is exploring a monolith (the dungeon) on an unexplored planet to uncover secrets of a civilization.

This is a demo so it's acceptable to not sway players by exposing the entirety of the story, but it is a haphazard introduction as you are thrown into character creation and your first two options are to test out combat in training or jump into the monolith.

The world design is well done, however when you enter the monolith there's plenty of remnants of some civilization but our protagonist never mentions anything while walking leaving the player to question if this is an intentional design choice or a lack of integrating an option to interact with objects in fame.

Combat:
There's some noticeable issues with enemy AI. Enemies don't attack simultaneously and seem to act based off of proximity. Hit detection needs severe work. I dodged numerous attacks, was prompted with a successful dodge but still took damage.

Combat is clunky as targeting can generate a miss even when successfully planting an attack against an enemy.

Character/Enemy Design:
The character creator is lacking as it is all presets. Very limited. Enemies are set to sizes that infer their type, larger enemies are often tanks, smaller enemies are used for fast or support roles.

Currently the game feels like an ARPG synonymous with Diablo. The game focusing on the monolith makes it seem as if most of it will take place in this dungeon tower, but the lack of interaction with anything aside from enemies makes this more of a one sided dungeon clearing game than an RPG.

This demo should have been postponed. I experienced no crashing but there were some noticeable drops in framerate and artifacting with both enemies and the environment.

A haunting tale told within a cyberpunk setting is rare. Genuinely akin to the same types of discovery like Ethan Carter, the main character Daniel (played by Rutger Hauer), is not one sided, his delivery of lines is that of someone weathered by their environment and sacrifices made to their humanity (he is an observer - filled with cybernetic enhancements).

Jacking into the neuro chips of near-death or recently deceased characters is a jarring experience, and the developers did an incredible job at taking an out of body experience on how living through a memory would be perceived through a third party, that being Daniel. The environment is not the high fidelity colored neo-Japanese influence in cyberpunk themes, it's dark, and consistent with what a future run by a mega-corporation could be.

There's a constant tension here in the game, as Daniel's implants have impacted his vision, where you'll be needing to take meds to essentially cool his implants and stress levels down. Fundamentally this is not an action game. The downside of it is the "cat and mouse" portions where the player is forced to hide from mutated enemies.

The work done on establishing such a well rounded story is whacked over the head when closing in on the plot, as the storytelling is woven so well into a world we first don't understand gets ruined by when we are hiding by weird mutant creatures that aren't fully explained as to why they're significant.

It would have been almost more impactful if there was some minor instancees of feverish combat, where we're not quite a super soldier like Adam Jensen. Daniel, our protagonist in >observer_ is older, and his implants have taken a toll on his body.

The mutants are really the only big downside, as it end up being a "hide in this ventilation shaft" and keep crouching, out of their view. It's not a ruiner, but it does take away from the immersion that was so well done.

I do think this game could have benefitted from being a full length title. This is definitely a dark horse within gaming, and probably will be overlooked. A dramatic, horror-cyberpunk detective criminal investigation gone wrong story of our protagonist slowly fading into insanity is a story that might not be for everyone, but is a dive worth taking.

I've been a fan of Dawn of War since it started, this game is very clearly an attempt to reach a broader audience, losing touch with the fanbase that had developed the following of the series. The implementation of bases to create units is very close.. borderline a ripoff of Starcraft. The combat itself is a mess - it's very much in line with modern MOBA titles, DOTA, League, if Relic wanted to make a MOBA, they should have made a MOBA.

Dawn of War is built on customization, as well as real time strategy. There is no cover system in this title as from other games in the series. Unit customization is fairly barren - the special weapons and armor found in the other titles in the series has been scrapped as well. I would be less critical of this title if it were not attached to the series, and in fact Relic's work towards making a MOBA.

This is a bad mark towards a great series that built on the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and of course it may not have had the best story, but it was the gameplay and unit customization that made it special. It was one of few RTS titles that incorporated some roleplaying elements with the weapon and armor options that were available to units. That's all lost - especially in a series that was grounded in not trying to be mainstream.

The amount of hype surrounding this title built on a grandoise story, which seemingly falls short as it jumps from mission to mission as a different faction, making it hard to really get a good grip of each faction's ability. Orks eat up scrap for upgrading, space marines gun the xenos down or hack them to shreds with chainswords, while eldar are teleporting or running in and out of skirmishes.

I can't recommend this title. It's trying to do too much, and either Relic had too many cooks in the kitchen from a creative standpoint - or the sales and marketing team was breathing down their neck, so they opted to try and go more "mainstream", while in the process slapping their fanbase in the face.

I regret having purchased this title, and if you are a Dawn of War fan, just go back and replay either the first or second title... this is one you can safely skip. As far as people into MOBA or RTS titles? Stick to DOTA, League, or heck if you like RTS, try out Total War if you've never tried it.

At first, I did recommend this title. I have to take back my review, and rewrite it without nostalgia glassess on, as this game is not what it appears to be. It's awful.

I will commit to saying this game is brutal. The art itself is very well done, however the story is atrocious as it is compiled by terrible writing, not including typos, for example “there are definately wolves in this forest.”

It gets worse, as even some bosses with use drivel that you would see in a teenager’s text messages “WTF”.

Moving beyond the terrible writing, the combat becomes repetitive, and because of the extreme difficulty level the game sets as a standard, the slow-swinging hero Bathoryn has a hard time of dispatching enemies.

Even after being able to shapeshift into a wolf, the game is so unforgiving that at times it almost seems capricious with enemy locations and traps instant killing you.

Checkpoints are somewhat frequent but that does not make up for this half-assed mess that takes inspiration from Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood.

The protagonist isn’t as fast as you would expect from Alucard, nor is he nearly as quick with his attacks. I understand the developer wanted this heavy metal theme for the game, but the keyboard mapping is questionable at best. There is even a dedicated keystroke for decapitating enemies… which only regenerates mana.

You start the game waking up in a tomb, and there is no tutorial.

This game has so much potential, it is squandered on poor development. If the developers invested more time, they could have implemented RPG elements, and a bigger weapon variety, maybe even armor.

Avoid this game like the plague, and just enjoy the art that you can do a simple search for. Otherwise, after having played this game for longer than I would have liked, I wish I had a physical copy to destroy while listening to Behemoth and send it to the developer.

This game is shameful to even compare to SOTN, or Rondo of Blood (both of which are both better choices than this joke).

If you ever wanted to live in the shoes of an 80's action hero, now is your chance. One of the best ending sequences for an fps game in a long time... It's serious. Rex Power Colt serious.

It's a cult classic. Dost thou even hoist?