Recent reviews by WyrdNexus

It's a good game, and it's fun, but...

Years after release, and still riddled with bugs and giant holes. I'm into newgame+, and just can't enjoy it because of basic performance issues (graphics and audio stutter, audio desync, etc.) What's particularly frustrating about this, is that it worked fairly smoothly when I first played it, and nothing about my system has changed.

Once I got to Newgame+, I just couldn't play anymore. There was so much potential, and so many story possibilities, especially with +, that are completely missed. I was really looking forward to seeing where the story and conversations would go when I told the main characters the whole truth, and the big reveal, but... that option isn't there. It's just the same story, with same dialog and choices, with a little bit of random surprises and fun references maybe sprinkled in, depending on the rng when you [finish the artifact].

I really wanted to explore what they've done with the game and the ship/base building, and community content "creations", but the game just isn't playable with such a flat story and constant stuttering. Makes me sad to see the crumbling of something with such potential.

Great game. Well polished, and full of fun.

First time anyone has made a game that does justice to the 40k lore.

My one complaint is about a core gameplay mechanic, which some people may actually like. I have an extreme aversion to quick-time events. Parry and dodge are core and constant mechanics which are effectively quick-time events. That's right, you have two different actions (buttons) who's only purpose are constant quick-time event reactions. Failing these events are the only way to take significant damage. It's a whole game where the main elements are power-fantasy vs quick-time-events.

I'm so very conflicted about this game. Should you get it? If it's on sale, maybe.

In the grand scheme, it's a very good start, and could turn into to something great, but it needs work. If you look at this game as the first version of a new engine/mechanic, world, and progression system, it's solid. It plays clean and smooth, and is mostly fun. However, there are mistakes. Melee, the gear progression system, core mechanics needing a skill unlock, and heavy-handed partisan politics woven into every thread of the story. All that said, it is fun and smooth as it is, with the potential for greatness if they clean up the spots that fall flat.

• Spells and ranged combat works well, and is fun to play.
  
• Story is rich and interesting, with deep lore and smatterings of comedy everywhere.
  
• Interactions with the "voice" can yield some very interesting depth and philosophical commentary.
  
• World and graphics are beautiful, and run well on mid-range systems.
  
• Progression system let's you build whatever kind of character you want, leaving all skill trees wide open, making interesting combos possible.

• Melee combat is squishy. Better blocks, parry, dodge, are each locked behind skills. Once obtained, those skills are very unreliable, often leaving you dead due to vague timing hints, unpredictable controls, or the general squishiness of melee combat.
  
• While the overarching story and main points are deep and interesting, everything else falls flat. Many of the side quests and NPC dialog are... not necessarily bad, but often plain and boring.
  
• The world is trying to be simultaneously open-world, and linear, which makes for a deep disconnect in your playthrough. Happily progressing down the main quest, only to run smack into a dozen roughians you probably couldn't beat if there was only one of them. Shortly after, you happen upon on sidequest you'd forgotten that was meant to be epic, but is over in 10s without a scratch. I'm really not sure what the right approach is, but somewhere between whatever this is, and Skyrim's flat level scaling.
  
• Progression system has clearly be redesigned several times, with the latest iteration meant to simplify. "To unlock the second tier of skill C, you first must unlock the third tier of skill B, which requires being level 5, and having the second tier of skill A." There's also core game features hidden behind these skills, and without careful study of the whole system, it's not clear where you should spend your points.
  
• Worse, are things like the magic system, which allows you to spend points on spells, if you already have a spellbook for them. However, if you have a spellbook for a spell, you can cast it from the book without spending a skill point. It would only be worthwhile after investing at least 2 skill points into one spell. In a system where basic abilities are unlocked via very limited skill points, that could mean food is practically useless to you, or you can't dodge, or you have to wait 2 more levels before you can use that level 10 spell in the book you have. All to unlock a slightly better version of you already have for free?

American left political agenda woven through every fabric of the game. Don't get me wrong, I'm fiscally conservative, and socially progressive. I believe everyone should be safe and free to be true to themselves, and that bigotry in all forms should be called out and mocked. That's why this game needs to be called out and mocked.

• A side-quest about delivering outlawed abortion medicine, where the dialog choices are clearly, "abortion rights are just," "i don't care," or, "you deserve death."
  
• I'm all for representation in video games, and am happy to see some non-traditional relationships here and there. But this game has almost no heterosexuality anywhere. Which I wouldn't mind if there wasn't any romance or sexuality anywhere. But that's not what this is. Every time there's two NPCs sharing a romantic moment, or there's a mention of love or romance, it's always homosexual. The only exception I've found was a side quest of a married couple living in the gutter and on the run.
  
• The main questline dialog is contantly pigeonholing you into, "fighting against oppression is worth any sacrifice," vs, "for society to exist we must adhere to the law." Both of those perspectives are flawed, and the context is clearly a reflection of current political dogma.
  
• There's much more. It came up so often that I had to call out the shameless injection of political agenda into the game. I expected better from you, Obsidian.

Almost a great game, but plagued with balance issues and artificial difficulty.

I had fun with it for a bit. Then I started noticing the problems. It's the same problem as the other Mechwarrior games. Rather than give us interesting AI and tactical problems to solve, we get a battle of attrition against hordes, with the occasional OP "boss." I want battles like the cutscenes, but what I get is a constantly repeated slog through a battle of attrition, followed by an OP end-battle. I want positioning and tech to matter, but what I get is a fancy slap-fight.

Clan mechs are supposed to outclass the IS, especially in range, accuracy, and heat. But here, heat is not a concern for the IS, and the range is meaningless because of the maps. That leaves every battle the same. Trade shots until you get to the "boss," and hope you have enough armor left.

Story mentions defeating an "inferior" mech, that just sat there soaking focused fire from 5 of our mechs for 3 minutes straight while it didn't have a hard time 3-shotting our mechs. Some missions are a breeze, while others leave no real option but cheese or die.

All it would have taken is a little more care with the balance, and some better and more varied AI pilots. One small team of 6 devs a couple months. That's all that stopped this game from being great, and instead made it quickly get stale. I'm so tired of mech games being driven by producers who don't care about the world or the genre.

Takes a bit to figure out, but has become one of my favorite strategy games since RUSE.

Just make sure you have chaff, enough anti-chaff for your opponent, then find the late-game balance with mid/large/giant units.

Generally a good game, but it's plagued by major issues:
1. Game modes. Pretty much all you ever do is 2-team attrition battles, making both bombers and scout tanks nearly pointless. There are story missions, but most of them are not worth playing.
2. Balance issues. (expanded later, but I'm always in matches where my vehicles are severely outclassed)
3. Microtransactions. They're not a must, but basically everything in this game is monetized, and getting past tier 3 will take hundreds of hours, or $20.

Fundamentally, the matchmaking system seems like it is built to keep you outmatched. When you're always fighting against a team where half of them are a tier above you, there's really not much you can do but try to grind to a higher tier. Guess what happens when you do that? You're still in matches where half the players are a tier above you. As a money-making scheme, it makes sense. Push players to always be upgrading, "you just need the next level up, and you'll be on equal footing," ...forever.

- US tanks are nerfed.
- Most matches will have one squad of people playing together that will determine the outcome of the match.
- Want to win? Buy German or Chinese premium vehicles a tier above where you're playing. Done.
- Don't do US or Russian vehicles, they're all nerfed to death. Speed, armor, penetration... all worthless unless you play German or Chinese.

I've taken a closer look at their update history, and it's not good news. Game with so much potential, but they couldn't or wouldn't push through the homestretch of polishing it up. Originally released Nov 2021, just launched on Steam Feb 2024. Their steam launch gave them a huge influx of sales and cash, but all they've done with it is add Skins and paid DLC.

Sadly, DOA, unless they actually try to polish it, but that's not looking likely. I'll update this review if that changes before 2025.

Is almost a great game, but it's still too rough in places. Probably shouldn't be considered a full release yet.

Beautiful, and very deep. Multiplayer survival crafter that focuses on PvE instead of trolling? Yes please!
Beautiful world and environment? Awesomesauce.
Huge skill tree and tech tree.
Giant worlds to explore. Seriously, the game world is huge... but that might be part of the problem...

There's three big things holding it back:
1. Combat mechanic is very squishy. Plays more like WOW than the medieval combat style they were going for.
2. Construction and base building... needs work. Seems like it works well anywhere that's flat... except that nowhere is flat, and you can't make it flat. Basically, you can't clip through terrain, and you can't build off foundation, and you can't build a foundation very high about terrain. The result is you either must build in a wide flat area, or you'll have gaps and disconnects all over your buildings.
3. Empty. I played for 4 hours straight, and never saw another human. I was looking to avoid populated areas, but still.

FUN! EVERYWHERE.
(one major pain point: MP quest progression)

For a long while I've been pissed off that developers had forgotten the, "rule of fun," so they could chase whatever overdone style was currently popular. Not Enshrouded and the Keen Team.

I cannot stress enough how polished this game is, through all the growing list of features:

• Better, and more detailed, base building than anything previous.
  
• Flexible, easily respeced, skill tree with a variety of skill combos.
  
• Crafting system that's just complex enough to be fun, without needing wiki research to figure it out.
  
• Adaptable, flexible, combat that feels fast and punchy, while also giving you space to be tactical.
  
• Exploration with flying, digging tunnels, placing new teleport locations, and discoveries to be made everywhere.

... there's at least another ten things that can go on that list, but I think you get the point.

This game ticks all the boxes for Action RPG, Sandbox, Base-Builder, Exploration. TOTK meets Valhm, with a dash of Eldn Rng and a pinch of MineCrft, and an (almost) fully destructable environment.

The Catch
(but it's still very much worth buying and playing)

Multiplayer quest progression... isn't quite right. Keen says they're working on it, but they're also sending some mixed signals about it, saying, "...the (quest) the system as it is now will not be replaced." The trouble with the system as it is now; anyone playing multiplayer will miss out on some quests.

Honestly, that shouldn't stop you. It won't stop the fun.

Action packed flying, dashing, blasting. Honestly some of the best time I've had with a game in a while.

Unfortunately, it's short.

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There's so much great to say about the movement and control. While a bit to handle at first, it quickly becomes the best part of the game. Dashing, flying, drifting, all feels fluid and natural, even in the middle of battle. Many combat mechanics play into this as well, with attacks, blocks, and dodges that combine movement and power.

Add to that, a simple yet engaging customization system, and you can really adapt to however you want to play. Granted, you'll max the movement and combat trees eventually, but the journey there is a fun one. The weapon customization really hits well, with a selection mods you chose for your limited (but upgradable) mod slots. Those mods combine in some really fun ways. Want a weapon that acts like a full-auto shotgun? Done. How about one that can blanket an area in stacking damage-over-time to clear out crowds? No problem. One that acts like a gatling grenade launcher? You can do that too.

The world is beautiful, and made fun to explore by the liberal unlockable fast-travel "portals," and that you can essentially jetpack-glide everywhere. That jetpack is so fun, and keeps getting better the more you unlock.

All of the missions are unique, and many are interconnected. While there are a handful (okay, a dozen), "gather X and bring it here," quests, no two are the same. And most of the other quests are very unique. The only quest that keeps repeating are the base assault quests, which is really where you get to play with all those fun unlocked skills and weapon customizations.

The story is a great continuation of the last game, and brings the story to a satisfying close. It also stands on it's own, so you can enjoy it without knowing another game even exists. Some of the voice acting was a little forced, but most of it exceeded my expectations.

Seems to me that there were three game features (sidequest markers) which could have used more attention, but seem to have been rightly ignored in favor of focusing on the more fun bits.

- The Gork. Go here. Kill crowd. Done. -Needs more depth, more complexity, and something of a story. There's potential here for another 20 hours of gameplay.
- Crafting. Really looked like there were plans here that were just completely dropped. Probably a good thing.
- Parkor Challenges Go here. Jump and jetpack a course. Done. 15exp. No real reason to bother with these, which seems like a missed opportunity.

The only other minor complaints I have:
1. Some parts are very dialog heavy. 80's action/comedy movie dialog heavy. I wound up just running around talking to all the quest-givers, skipping the dialog, so I didn't spend an hour running around unlocking quest goals. It didn't start that way, but due to the nature of the open-world, it was too often out-of-sequence anyway. (Toward the end, I kept triggering friendly dialog with a character who, at that point in the story was very-much not interested in talking.)
2. It ended too soon. 25 hours of action. Totally worth the price, but I still wanted more.
3. There were a few spots of blatant sexist militant feminism that really didn't make sense, and rubbed me wrong.

I don't have enough words to describe all the ways in which this game is awesome. Not dude-bro "awesome," but awesome in the real meaning of the word. This is not only a tremendously fun and engaging game, but it's also a wonderful example of environmental storytelling. With mountains of examples of the "rule of fun," in a huge world to be explored, it's hard to ever feel bored.

There is a bit of grind, collecting resources to tier-up your gear. However, that grind is also the main motivating mechanic. Go on an epic adventure across the sea and into the mountains, fighting werewolves and dragons on your way to gather the silver you need for Thor's hammer. That's not hyperbole, but one of many adventures you'll create for yourself on your way to conquer the world.

Really, there's just something about this game that hits the sweet spot between open-world, survival, crafting, action, adventure... and it manages that balance by inviting the player to push themselves toward the next goal they've set for themselves.

Valheim has quickly become my all-time favorite game.