Recent reviews by Darth_Rattigan

Since the latest update, I can't play for more than an hour before the game crashes. The newest update has introduced a lot of stutters and freezes during conversations. There's no autosave feature, so if the game crashes, you have to pick up somewhere in the past. I quicksave often, but I've had to redo some large battles that have drastically changed the outcome. Cannot recommend a broken game.

Running this game on an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X with an AMD R9 5950X and 32gb of ram.

This game isn't fun. I think I was expecting something a bit more realistic. I'd probably enjoy this more if I was 10 or 11 years old and really enjoyed ramming cop cars till they can't move anymore.

This game has such a great foundation, I just wish I could recommend it. I loved the premise and how I was drawn into the story right away. The characters are interesting and developed with thought and care. As a game, however, it lacks a solid identity. It is some sort of hybrid between a platformer and a turn based tactical shooter, but it doesn't do either in a masterful way. The movement isn't smooth and actions like sliding and jumping aren't precise like I would expect in a platformer. During combat, I was constantly getting frustrated with the interface. I finally gave up. I really wanted to give this game a chance, but I ended up returning it.

Pros
-Main character is voiced by Elias Toufexis. Awesome.
-Main character sucks the blood of his enemies... as a Mosquito. Freaking cool.
-The bullet mechanics and unique enemies are great.
-I really enjoyed the subtle humor in some of the dialog.
-The idea of reloading and using the pistol outside of combat is ingenious.

Cons
-Frustrating combat

Combat frustrations:
-Forcing the user to open a menu to select actions is quite cumbersome, especially when there is a timed animation associated. I was constantly having trouble selecting the action I wanted to perform. Other games like X-Com and Steamworld Heist have streamlined these options so they can be selected without thought. (Ever watched a pro select his equipment in csgo? wicked fast without even thinking about how to do it)
-Selecting where a character should move to is the biggest pain point for me that caused me to return the game. The action of moving the camera across the battlefield is bound to the same control as selecting the next direction in a movement path. This allows the camera to be looking somewhere other than where the character will move. Please break these into separate bindings. Why can't I use the d-pad to select directions? The movement selection was slow, and in some instances, I would experience a bug where I couldn't move because my character and the starting point of movement were in separate locations.
-This is a minor nit, but some of the games actions were not explained in a way that I grasped them until I had done them a couple times, like gaining health from dead enemies, gaining health from live enemies, how dynamite doesn't explode on the turn its thrown, how dynamite doesn't actually stop in the location indicated by the trace reticle, or how dynamite will do damage to anything in its radius including characters on the other side of cover. This could be a design choice, letting the player discover these things can be attractive to some players.

Platformer Frustrations:
-Objects in the world didn't always match their animated shape. Example: while running from the spider, I would hit webs even when the animation did not show my character touch them. The spikes in the ceiling do not damage you in some places even when the character overlaps the animation.
-The pace of the platforming makes it feel like a chore rather than something exciting that enhances the game. I didn't feel the pressure of nearly getting eaten because my character lightly jogged away from a walking spider.


I love the idea behind this game. If the combat could be transformed into a smooth experience with intuitive controls, I might pick this game up again.

When sitting down to write this review, I have to ask myself, "Why do I play games?" There isn't any simple answer to that, but it effecively comes down to this: on some sort of level I'm looking for entertainment, whether I'm trying to escape the real world for a time or if I just want to feel good. Some games are designed to ellicit a thrill, maybe through jump scares or perhaps the thrill of being in control of your own world. I'm sure the creators of this game wanted it to have a psychological impact on their audience, and I know it certainly had one on me, but not the kind I enjoyed or appreciated.

Something in me is used to being in control of the world I enter when I game, whether I control the flow of a multiplayer fps or if I create a world for the various npcs to exist in. This is one of those games where there isn't a win or a lose, and the player has no control. You can make whatever choices you want but it really doesn't effect the outcome.

I can see how much thought went into making this game, and I have nothing but respect for Team Salvato for what they've created. It's definitely impactful, which is more than I can say for most games. But when I get down to the core of the game, it doesn't add anything to my life. They've created characters that seem like they have depth to them, only to reveal to the player that they really had no meaning and there is no story in which they belong. In the end the dilemma I have with the game is that I'm left with a feeling akin to disgust or dissappointment (or somewhere in between).

Don't get me wrong, this game held my rapt attention for 4 solid hours, but I almost regret the time I spent on it because of the mood it's put me in. Team Salvato isn't kidding when they post that warning, and I would go a step further to say if you are easily depressed, don't touch this game.

A lightly competetive CO-OP with fast paced action and tense moments of chaotic but classic gameplay make this game one of my new favorite CO-OPs. This is a great rendition of a classic arcade style multiplayer.