Recent reviews by CRAFT

----Edited after around 16 hours of play.----

This is a great game at the $6 sale price, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes narrative-driven FPS games, and anyone who likes the RoboCop universe. It's a deeply dated and flawed game that does a good job of pacing a story where your choices do matter. The maps are small by today's standards, and this really makes the game feel like it was made in the late 00s. There's also not a lot of game mechanics on display here outside of uninspired but satisfying gunplay. There's a neat little mini-game when customizing your gun, but, like a lot of the details in this game, feels a little flat and lifeless. It's not all bad though. RoboCop is a perfectly serviceable little game. It's just that you have to accept that it's little. It's a shame that we can't get the best possible iterations of every idea because I think that a RoboCop game that looks and plays a little more like Grand Theft Auto V seems like it would be an incredible game.

Anyhow, I'd only recommend purchasing this game at full price is you understand that this game is a budget title with budget gameplay. It's a B-grade game with a A-grade vibes.
+
----Initial Impressions Below----

To be fair to RoboCop: Rogue City, I've only played about 2-3 hours of the game, and perhaps the game's mechanics really open up at some point. Perhaps I will return to this review if/when my experience changes, but for now I just wanted to leave some thoughts on my time with game up to this point.

RoboCop: Rogue City is decent but dated game that takes advantage of borrowing from an Intellectual Property that feels like it could be perfect AAA game material. Unfortunately, the RoboCop universe is, by far, the best aspect of this game. If RoboCop: Rogue City included some deeper immersive sim aspects along the lines of Deus Ex then I think this game would be a much more compelling experience. Instead, it's a bland but fun-enough shooter that requires you enjoy the setting and plot as much or more than the physical gameplay.

If you like and want to explore the cynical and satirical universe of RoboCop then I'd recommend this game for the $6 I paid. I'm not sure I'd feel the same way if I had paid more than this deep sale price.

Clearly, given my time played, I have not explored this game enough to give a fair and comprehensive review. It's also important that you know that I bought this game on sale for $1.

So, how is The Crew 2? It's a perfectly generic casual arcade driving "game". I put the word game in quotes because there doesn't really feel like there's a lot going on here. The map is huge, and there is something sort of charming about driving across an entire country. Unfortunately, for me, the charm falls flat when you quickly realize that there isn't much love or attention to detail involved in any of these locations. I quit and uninstalled when I opened my second play session to drive from Miami to New Orleans. I didn't know I was ever in Miami, a city that I lived in for years, until I opened the map to notice. Once I saw I was on my way to New Orleans, I got curious about how NOLA was represented. It was disappointing to see such an incredible play be reduced to a lifeless, generic stretch of virtual roads that lead to so many other lifeless and generic places.

It would appear that you can unlock new cars and upgrades along the way. I'm not sure that could hold anyone's attention for very long. At full price, this game is a bit insulting. At $1, eh... to each their own.

Nova Drift is a fantastic game to pop in and out of when you aren't feeling too committed to a more demanding gaming experience. It plays well, has a good bit of variety within its narrow gameplay style, and has pleasing sound and visuals. Due to the variety of upgrades, there's some nice room to experiment with builds too. There's a lot to like here if you just want a simple, well-made, game with a good bit of replay legs.

It's Hades II! I'm grateful to be back in a Hades early access experience. Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about this title as it currently exists in 05/2024 Early Access.

This is a good game, and if you liked Hades then you'll probably enjoy Hades II. It's pretty much the same game, but with a little more impactful base-building than what exists within the first game. This is where the game starts to fall a little flat for me. A lot of the changes, additions, and improvements in Hades II don't really do much to make the experience more compelling.

The combat and boon synergies are what make Hades fun. Seeing your run blossom into an interesting and effective playstyle is the cornerstone of the Hades experience. Hades II doesn't expand the possibilities in new and exciting ways. In fact, at times the possibilities seem less than the original Hades. Instead of radically expanded combat, we get mechanics that help you farm items to use as currency for base upgrades and unlocks. It's not that satisfying to have to to silly busy work to unlock needlessly gated content.

I wanted to see more environments, more weapons, more boons, new combat and movement mechanics, and whatever else that enhances the experience of playing the game portion of Hades. Maybe that shows up in the coming weeks, but right now it really is just Hades II with even more busy work. That's still a recommend from me because the game is well made and fun, but I really was hoping for a little more from this title.

I'm a bit torn on this game. I definitely recommend this game to puzzle lovers. It's a challenging and fun game loop presented in a nicely designed package. Unfortunately, I don't think this game is a great rougelike/lite game. While the unlocks do change the nature of your playthrough, the actual gameplay per-run is generally the same. You may be trying for certain types of poker hands per each individual run, but nothing about the actual gameplay really changes.

It's a great game, and I don't want to criticize it too harshly. It definitely deserves is "overwhelmingly positive" rating, but it's probably not going to satisfy you in the same way that Slay The Spire might.

Is it worth the (FEB '24) $15 price tag? I guess? It's a sophisticated form of solitaire. If you are looking for a game you can quickly pick up and play, get in and get out then Balatro is absolutely worth the cash. If you are looking for a game with deep and varied mechanics then you might be disappointed at $15. If this game were to ever find itself at less than $10 then it's an easy purchase. You'll get at least 5-10 hours of fun, and it may take you into the 100s of hours if you love the loop.

I tend to not like souls games. After 90hrs in Elden Ring, I'm still not sure that I care for this type of game. That doesn't change my opinion that this is one of the most impressive games I've ever played. The art direction and passive world building are incredible, and I continue to play this game in spite of the fact that I really dislike a lot of the systems in the game. Thankfully, this game, for the most part, allows you to avoid a lot of the frustrating systems and interface by enabling you opportunities to out-level the portion of the game that you might be struggling to progress through.

I don't know that I'll have the patience to ever complete this game. What I do know is that I do believe that this is one of the best games ever made. It's tedious, clumsy, needlessly punishing, and it can feel repetitive, but the game is fair and beautifully presented.

This is my very basic review as of Early Access 01/24:

This is a very basic action rouguelike that has a satisfying feel and gameplay loop. I would say a lot of the progression feels a little underwhelming since most of the many different classes feel like they are all about the same. Perhaps that changes as I unlock more stuff, but as of now it seems like the game never really changes all that much as you progress. Never the less, what you get here is a satisfying mindless action rpg with a nicely designed combat system. It's worth $14 if you like boomer shooters and rougelikes.

Within the first 15 hours of this game I was convinced that BGIII was in the Top 10 all-time greatest games ever made. After over 100 hours, I'd still say that this game is in the Top 25.

There are mechanics to this game that are really annoying. In particular, the UI when it comes to inventory during combat can be very frustrating. There's a lack of organizational clarity within the inventory screen that can really bog down the pacing of combat. There's also some story beats that feel a little flat once you get through Act 1. I could probably list a few more elements that will test your patience from time to time, but this game doesn't allow the negative aspects to stick with you for too long because there are just so many other lovingly crafted details within all of the other systems and stories in game.

The voice acting is crazy-good for a game of this scope. The wild and creative ways you can work through quests and conflicts is really inspired. The choices you make during your game will significantly impact the story and your playthrough which really will encourage you to play through it again as a different character with different motivations than that of your first character. There's also the wonderful touches where your character class and race will routinely open up dialog options and skill checks that you wouldn't have seen otherwise.

There's so much good to say about this game. In my opinion, one of the highest praises you can give a story-driven game is to compare it to the original Deus Ex. Crafting a world that allows players to deal with situations creatively while also giving them a rich story full of great world building details is a feat that few games manage to reach. Larian Studios, whose Divinity games I didn't care for at all, are now a studio whose games I will take note of from here until they inevitably are gobbled up by a giant publisher and forced to release unfinished, buggy, and wholly uninspired titles. Even if that happens, the team responsible for this game can hopefully feel pride in making the best large-scale story-driven game in 10 years or so.

It's difficult not to sound too hyperbolic in my praise for this game, but it's a masterpiece. cRPGs aren't for everyone. I think that's worth considering when deciding whether or not to pay full-price for this title, but I think any gaming fan who gives this game a shot will find something compelling about it. Whether it's the gameplay, the story, or the fun character choices, there's just so much here to enjoy and appreciate. Baldur's Gate III is a game that all studios would hopefully be striving to match in quality, and I can only hope that the success of this game will serve as a message to publishers that gamers expect more than what large studios have been offering lately.

I've not logged much time in Vail at the time of this review, but the game is simple enough that I don't feel uncomfortable sharing my thoughts.

In short, this game feels nice. The gunplay is tight and fun, and performance is good. It might be the best feeling VR shooter that I've played. Onward feels great, looks bland, and promotes some, imho, pretty boring gameplay. Pavlov looks pretty good, feels okay, and has a more arcadey time-to-kill. Contractors has a great balance of gameplay between the previous two, looks a whole lot better, and feels good. Vail feels great, looks great, and has Contractorsesque ttk.

Unfortunately, I don't love the maps. They feel pretty small, and, while balanced and well designed, they are also pretty visually boring. Also, in the 90 minutes of play that I logged, I wasn't ever able to join a game that wasn't TDM. It would be preferrable for me to be able to play the bomb-planting gamemode as the default way to play. TDM feels uninteresting after a couple of rounds, but objective based gamemodes really promote teamwork and strategy.

Shout out to the throwing physics in this game! Definitely the best feeling VR grenade I've ever thrown. They feel really satisfying.

I'm of two minds when it comes to recommending a single VR shooter. Contractors has larger maps and a more diverse and fun set of gamemodes. I think it looks pretty nice too, even if Vail has "better" visual design. Contractors also has more guns with decent amount of item customization. Now, Vail does feel like the gunplay is more balanced, and that may ultimately be why it's the "better" VR shooter. I think, until Vail adds more content, I'd prefer to play Contractors, but Vail definitely feels wonderful. If tight game and gunplay are the most important aspect of a VR shooter than Vail is probably the current king of the hill, but I don't know if I think it's the most fun.

I've played a lot of pc games over the years. I'm 42, and some of my earliest memories are playing Apple IIe games. At 14, in 1994 I was playing DOOM deathmatch against my neighbor over dial-up. Hunt: Showdown isn't a perfect game, but it's a deeply satisfying gaming experience.

Hunt: Showdown is one of those rare games that invites and rewards creative and smart gameplay. There's a LOT of room for skill expression in this game that extends beyond your ability to place your mouse pointer on a character-model's head. The pace of movement and world interaction requires that the player have good situational awareness and patience. It's a strange nuance that most multiplayer FPSs ignore, but that adds a deep and interesting layer of gameplay.

Personally, I find the art direction in this game to be really off-putting. It's incredibly well done, beautifully crafted, and an art and gaming experience to be appreciated. For me, I just find it a little too intense to immerse myself in repeatedly. This game, imho, would feel much more bingeable if there was a lighter theme.

Great game. As far as multiplayer shooters go, Hunt: Showdown is a 10/10. Even if you don't like it for the first few rounds, give it a chance. I'm 99% sure you're going to find an appreciation for this game.