Recent reviews by Zarrastro

[EDIT AS OF 1.2 UPDATE]
PSA: Do NOT download the update if you have mods installed. If you already have the 1.2 version, be careful installing mods, they can completely break the game.
Update 1.2 is a slap to the face of the community, which has been painstakingly creating mods for this game for months. Until the absurd incompatibility measures are patched out, this review will be changed to negative.

[ORIGINAL REVIEW]

First of all, if you have a good memory of the original game, or even a nostalgia feeling, stop reading and just get this.

If you never played Oblivion and come from Skyrim, I would definitely recommend it. In many ways, it is superior to it, but it will feel dated, clumsy and even goofy. You have seen the memes, now you will witness them.

I am writing this after unlocking all achievements by doing the 4 main sub questlines, the 2 DLC ones and the main story. A few notes on those:
-The main quest is very short compared to Skyrim's, but has a badass ending.
-Dark Brotherhood quest is vastly superior, don't miss on that.
-Fighter's Guild is very long and involves dungeon crawling and direct fighting.
-Mages Guild might be the one that feels underwhelming compared to Skyrim, but it still stands fine.
-Finally, Thieves Guild is the strangest and has the most bugs, but it's cool. The last mission involves a bit too much dungeon crawling for my taste, but great stealthy bits.
-Then you have the Shivering Isles (longer and in a new area) and Knights of the Nine (shorter) DLC quests
-And don't forget the Arena!

And yes, there are bugs. I absolutely recommend installing the mod that enables achievements despite the use of console commands. Because you will need them to fix some issues. I have experienced fewer than with the original, but there are some still there, so be warned.
Modding is slowly getting on its feet and shows promise.

As a starting tip, the moment you hear about Battlehorn Castle, do the quest for some free real estate.

The most interesting thing about Oblivion Remastered is the contrast between the flashy updated graphics and the goofy 2006 core behind them. This is indeed a remaster, meaning that the old engine is running, and UE5 provides the graphical update. I think releasing a game that is mechanically dated almost 20 years is a bold move, but a welcome one. There is a lot of charm in Oblivion, and it is intact in the remaster.

Vermintide 2 is, simply put, one of the best games out there. It's not perfect, by all means, but if it clicks for you, it will provide hundreds of hours of simple but effective fun.

The game features a number of levels which are infinitely replayable thanks to Ranald, the RNG God. Each time you play a map will be unique, as the enemies spawn at random. As you advance through the level, you will find different threats set on it and others will be spawned at you.
The enemies you will be facing are separated in 4 main types:
-Mobs: Lesser enemies, most dangerous when they come together in the form of ambushes (smaller groups) or hordes (bigger groups)
-Elites: Big enemies, that have more HP and deal more damage They are usually mixed with the mobs but can come in groups called Patrols, which follow a set route. Engaging or avoiding them is up to the players...
-Specials: These enemies have specific abilities meant to disable players or crowd control them. They always make a noise when they spawn so be ready to face them. They always spawn by surprise.
-Bosses: Huge enemies that have a lot of HP and are a serious threat. They appear always at specific places and sometimes at certain points.

The combat is pretty straightforward. You have 4 melee actions at your disposal: Attack, block, evade and push (done by attacking while blocking). Wisely combining these is the key to victory in almost all scenarios. There is more to combat than just attacking, so remember to push the hordes, dodge those Chaos Warriors and block them Plague Monks!
Ranged combat is also pretty straightforward. Focus on optimizing ammo use and you will be fine. If you use heat instead of ammo, try to avoid blowing up, but don't worry too much when it happens the first few times.

While Vermintide 2 does not exactly fit the classic DPS/Tank/Support categories, as there are no healing classes, each character fills a role within the game, which are basically, but not limited to:
-Tank: Resist damage, make enemies focus on you and bother them while the teammates focus on the most dangerous enemies.
-Horde Killer: Focuses on quickly destroying lesser enemies so they don't overwhelm the group.
-Elite/Special/Boss Killer: Same as above but focuses on killing a type of enemy.
These can be mixed and matched, and you can build a character able to destroy hordes and Elites but not very good at dealing with Specials.

Difficulty scaling is another of the most positive aspects of this game. Not only it allows you to slowly master it as you progress, it also allows you to learn mechanics as you do. You will begin by playing on Recruit, starting each level with a healing item, which is removed on the next difficulty level, Veteran. Then comes Champion, introducing Friendly Fire, before you finally reach Legend. There is also Cataclysm, if you feel confident enough.

As you can see, I have logged more than 1 thousand hours at the time of this review, so I could ramble on and on about the good, the bad and the ugly of the game, but I want to finish my review with a point that, I believe, is not said enough:

The characters are one of the strongest points of the game. They are incredibly well written and, while some of the dialogue gets tiresome after so many hours, their relationships are very well made. You get to feel that you know the Ubersreik Five, their pride, their fears and their hopes. The DLC classes add a lot of interesting dialogue, and they explore a lot of the lore of Warhammer while talking to each other. This is the main reason I stay here instead of moving on to Darktide. I just can't stand that game's "default" feeling characters.

TLDR: Left4Dead but in the Warhammer setting and with a focus on melee. If you like any of those two, it's a sure hit.

First of all, if you liked Kairosoft's Pocket Academy games and you are here because Let's School reminds you of those games, stop reading and go buy the game. If you enjoyed this game and don't know what Kairosoft is, go check on their games. They are available on steam and mobile stores.

Let's School is a cozy school simulation game, clearly inspired by Japanese schools. It's quite easy to understand and the pacing is relaxing. You can also set yourself a custom difficulty, which is always a plus.

You will begin with a run-down school which barely stands and soon be able to build a beautiful place for your students. They will need functioning places, like classrooms or a cafeteria, but they will also need them to be well lit and at a decent temperature (You will love the first cooling option the game gives you).

Keep in mind that this high school might not be exactly like the one you remember. In this one, just like Japanese high schools, the students stay for threeyears, which might not exactly fit other countries educational systems. Just so you can plan in advance the construction of classrooms. By the way, as of the time of this review, classrooms will be set to the same group of students, so it's not possible to build one floor per year without having to manually move everyone.

You will recruit students from different areas. Each area has all students pursuit the same goals, which is weird but works mechanically. I still prefer Pocket Academy's approach of a mixed bag of students but this allows you to focus on their goals and makes it easier for them to reach full marks. In my case, I built a full set of 3 classrooms for each area, so I could set a timetable fitting their expectations.

One mechanic that seems a bit weird to me is the research. You will need free teachers to work on researching subjects to unlock everything needed to build and improve the school. Effectively, you can just build a sort of classroom for them to research, and that leads you to hiring teachers to just sit down there like students, which doesn't ring quite well with me.

Another important feature is the management points. Each room costs management points and the Headmaster (that's you!) can only do so much. You will need to build extra departments to handle those rooms. It can be a bit of a mess, but it works well, because you can specialise those departments. I recommend to handle classrooms and research to them, because they can unlock perks to improve them.

Students will move around, talk, play, fight and do some mischief. The conversations between them need A LOT more variety, but it's really nice to see them strutting around, minding their own business. The general ambien of the game is incredibly cute, a fact enhanced by the presence of cats.

I find it visually stunning. Performance is top notch, even on Deck (more on that later) and the school itself and the variety of decorations are beautiful. The graphics are cartoony and simple but work very well and the outside look of the school can be beautiful.

Let's School works well on Deck but the controls are a pain. I have played Two Point Hospital and Campus on Switch and I know this kind of games can work well on a portable, especially with a touchscreen, so I hope the devs will add actual Deck support at some point. It might not be their first priority after release, but it should be done at some point.

I bought this game to have something to play until the release of Starfield and it's turning out to be a jewel.

Por favor, no cometa crímenes. Es ilegal.
(Please, do not commit crimes. It's illegal)

I found that sign in my first minute of game-play and knew I would love En Garde. I was very surprised to find out the studio that developed it, Fireplace Games, is based in Montpellier, France. The game oozes Spanish culture and references. As a Spaniard myself, I find myself marvelled at them, from a portrait of Charles the Second to names like Fulano and Mengano. These fellows really did their homework with the setting and I bow to them from Spain. Well done.

Combat feels like a mix of classic parrying games like Sekiro or Ghost of Tsushima and the good old Batman games, with their different enemies and ways to defeat them. It's fun and satisfying and the diverse difficulties make it approachable. It's simpler than its references, which helps a lot.

The scenarios look very appealing. The graphics are very stylised, but it's the lighting that makes the city look warm and cosy. The music is very enjoyable and fits the setting perfectly. But it's the texts, dialogue and banter what wins it for me. From the "Do not... it's illegal" signs (Apparently, it's illegal to swim, pile up more than three barrels or steal spoons) to the dialogue coming from defeated enemies. That "Her vision is based on movement" line had me laugh out loud.

The character are cheeky and the dialogue is cheesy as hell, but t works perfectly fine. Having the "Conde-Duque de Olivares" as a villain is interesting, especially given that I live mere meters away from the Prado Museum, which displays the Velazquez painting of the noble that was used as the main reference. As I said, the setting hits home quite nicely.

En Garde! features interesting combat game-play, nice and cosy graphics and very funny dialogue, all wrapped up in a very well done Spanish setting, which relies, of course, on stereotypes, but works well and is done with care and respect. Oh, and a female protagonist is always a positive for me, especially one based on "La Maupin"