Recent reviews by shakespeareanDingo

me likey old source mods. i'm also a huge slut for chivalry 2 so it's fun to go back and play this from time to time when i get bored of it. 10/10

the story mode carries this game pretty much

i really hope this stays as the only game i've ever 100%'d

as someone incredibly JRPG illiterate, only ever watching them from a distance, (i kept getting my ass handed to me in fights an embarrassing amount of times during my first couple hours) hylics remains as one of my favorites from the genre. story and art direction are exceptionally good, too, being the main motivators to keep me going. ten out of ten, hylics gets a big ol' sloppy kiss from me

pretty good times were had on my 360, and even then this still holds up impressively well on both ports. game still looks alright on incredibly low settings, and the base aesthetics have been and always will be my favorite out of any game. ten outta ten, L4D and L4D2 will forever get a big ol' sloppy kiss from me

this is, hands down, the most enlightening game I've had the pleasure of going through - a tedious experience to play? for most, yes, the walk speed in this game is notoriously bothersome when a lot of quests consist of long treks between places - but I genuinely mean this when I say it, the writing and direction of this game is exceptional, and has touched me in ways I'll probably scoff at back in retrospect.

I'll put this as a disclaimer; do NOT go into this game expecting some super refined game like Pathologic 2 might be, neither should you expect an incredibly straightforward, easily digestible story with shallow dialogue. you gotta give this game its own space!

still, this is an amazing game with mediocre gameplay, yet it's story is one-of-a-kind. taking it at surface level is something that might happen during your first playthrough, but once you look into the overarching themes, the reasons for why (X) is like (X), and I mean REALLY look into it, - read up on the concept art, forums, ARGS, whatever! - you'll find a very strong project made with the intention of provoking one introspective question at the *very least*. I find it strange how people might get filtered out from this game due to the shabby graphics (might not square up to its' contemporaries, but who cares? it's from nearly 20 years ago, somehow!) or it's janky walking sim spirit. I beg you, if you're one of those people, give it another chance. power through it if you need to, dislike it if you have to, but pay attention to the story!

there are so many other things I'd love to yell out about this game, but I find it a strangely wordless experience. experience the soundtrack for yourself - experience the locations for yourself - talk to the characters and think with them for yourself - 9 times out of 10, you'll end up with your own feelings and takes on people that might differ from others! and *that* will say a lot about you - even though that's one of the smallest aspects from this game

I absolutely, sincerely, and completely recommend this game to anyone who's even mildly interested in seeing a more drawn out, introspective story paired with its own janky 2005 walking sim
as a PSA, PLEASE read up on more of IPL's projects! ARGs! forums, websites, dev interviews, BTS, development builds and all - and that's just for THIS game! Pathologic 2 is its own thing, and it's way more complex! on top of that, Pathologic 3 is slotted to come out 2025, if all goes well. much love!

unbelievable how i never got into the series earlier, sure it's got its' jank but it's charming to see the product that came out of the efforts of the devs - i do recommend to go through the series in order before getting into any mods like GAMMA or Anomaly, the originals have their charm that needs to be explored and appreciated thoroughly
fingers crossed S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 matches sidorovich's chicken physics

Metro 2033's original release stands as one of my favorite games to date. its' visuals, mechanics, and storytelling has sat on the top of my list, and will stay there for god knows how much longer.

everything feels like it's amped up and thought out; enemies have separate bits and pieces of armor that can be shot off, you loot every pouch individually, and everything can be reliably done without a HUD since visual cues are presented to you physically: you consciously raise your arm to check your watch's remaining filter time and the 3-stage detection gauge, your throwing knives are something you have to manually select (unlike in Last Light and the subsequent Redux releases, where throwing knives are only bound to a key, and the watch is simplified into a Nixie-type watch with a binary detection gauge. in retrospect, these are big QOL improvements! and on the bright side, the original watch returns in the Redux versions when playing on Spartan.) - and you hold the remaining amount of knives on the other hand. your UI tells you how many you have left either way, but it's always stood out to me how grounded everything felt, visually and mechanically.

Having played almost exclusively on the Ranger difficulty and above, the game never felt dull. (namely, this review is focused through the lens of my experiences with the Ranger difficulties.) in fact, it helps you think things through; you start weighing your choices, whether you should shoot everything you see or sneak around it. combat feels tense, and even a one-on-one fight with an enemy can drop you without hesitation if you mindlessly walk up to them or expose yourself. one thing that I've never gotten over was the pacing of your different actions. for example, with the universal charger feels SLOW. you have to set aside a generous amount of time to recharge your headlamp or NVGs, something that was "remedied" in the subsequent releases by making it much faster across all difficulties.

While Redux is brought up as the "definitive" way to play 2033, (better performance, for one!) I've always been strangely reluctant. deep down, it's a matter of personal choice, really. (well.. in the case you're able to choose between the OG and Redux. this OG release got delisted a while ago from the steam store..) but simply put, it's like 2033 becomes Last Light 1:1 in terms of UI, visuals and gameplay - this is not an issue in the slightest, since it makes the transition from the Redux versions incredibly swift and accessible to newcomers, unlike the transition from the original release to Last Light - but it definitely makes me miss the gritty and hands-on UI, mechanics, and aesthetics of the OG 2033. (though.. one glaring issue is the "model" artyom uses in this game. sometimes crouching through a tight space is difficult due to how apparently bulky it is! nothing you can't brute force, though - but I'm incredibly happy this isn't an issue in any of the other games)
cutscenes are a big example! there are cutscenes in this game that are presented from different angles. (funnily enough, due to engine limitations, the camera can't - or chooses not to? - swiftly change angles, so instead of going from point A to B, it hitches a little neutral angle in between for a couple of frames or two.) flaws aside, that's genuinely cool! the attempt is cool, at the very least. it lets you see Artyom as a physical part of the scene, instead of having us stuck in his POV from beginning to end.
plus, the main menus change slightly between both versions. small changes, but definitely noticeable ones. the OG menu feels more interactive - with two Rangers reciting voice lines told throughout the game as you hover over the EXIT button. the biggest offender of all, however, is that the Redux version doesn't have a squeaky teddy bear while hovering over the credits. that's a big thing to lose!

Bottom line is, although I've most likely missed out on some details here and there, I firmly maintain my belief that the 2010 release of Metro 2033 is one of my favorite story, survival and FPS games so far. I'm pretty passionate about it, almost as passionate as I am about the entire game series! much love.
solid 7.8 / 10. maybe a flaw here and there, but nothing that'll hold you back if you seriously like this game.

extremely based game, drains my soul whenever i launch it