Recent reviews by Tony Stark

Game is so good that this being the only way to contribute to the creator still feels like stealing, even at full price. 10/10 game, cool art. I have not made the pancakes yet, but someday :)

Spectacularly good game. Funny subversions of the genre. Only complaint is that there aren't even more stories. Spectacular 10/10

This is biased. Arkham is one of my favorite game series, and I have 100% completed Asylum once on PS3, once on GFWL and now the GOTY here on Steam. Arkham City is by far my favorite game of all time so knowing that I had a bit of pink glasses coming into the game in 2022, let’s go:

POSITIVES:

+Presentation+
Even this many years later the atmosphere is great. The island is dark and dreary and it really feels that a lot of work has gone into every inch. The whole place is dripping with lore. The Riddler’s challenges will focus your attention on some of them, but it pays to look at this game’s assets and discover minor details that will pleasantly surprise comic book fans. The art direction barring a couple of designs for me is absolutely amazing.

+Graphics+
The game holds up even this many years later, especially if you enable some additional bells and whistles in the modded launcher or manually within some game files. Textures and lighting, everything is beautiful, and it is amazing to think that this was a PS3 generation game. I have noticed a couple of shader glitches that got resolved by just reloading a checkpoint, and I do mean just two or three in 27 hours of gameplay. A notable glitch I did encounter was connected to the game’s physics engine. Foliage layers would just hover above the ground sometimes, and stacks of pages that were apparently modeled to fly apart with realistic physics when knocked from desks would instead just spread apart as if in exploded view. Neither physics glitch affects the game.

+Gameplay+
As the first game in the series, the ideas of my favorite combat system are there, but since this is closer to the prototype some of them are at this stage too simplistic. The number of possible takedowns in predator mode is not that big, especially compared to future entries, and the AI is somewhat stunted. Where the game shines, is the crowd combat mechanic. This is basically the dream of the martial artist where he/she is surrounded by enemies that he crumples to the ground with devastatingly precise and powerful strikes. There are essentially 4 enemy types and 3 boss types, each with its own mechanic. Batman chooses from a vast move set that is accessible via the face buttons, and the goal is to enter this amazing flow state, where every point on the combo meter fills great and every move presents an opportunity for triumph or failure. There are a couple of mechanics that seem to not work perfectly, however, which can be frustrating if you are trying to do a perfect freeflow playthrough of the game on hard like I was.

+Story+
The story and characters are all shaped in a classic comic book aesthetic, which works great in the game. Mark Hamill is flawless as Joker, and the rest of the cast is great. The only downside to the story is that while short, there are still a couple of places it manages to drag on a bit, but it’s a minor and easily forgivable sin given the total level of quality.

NEUTRALS:

=Music=
While the soundtrack fit the atmosphere perfectly, and there were a couple of standout moments, there is no singular track or theme that stayed with me after the playthrough. It is by no means bad, just not exceedingly remarkable.

CONCLUSION:
This is the first entry in my favorite game series. Playing the beginning even 13 years later still felt amazing, even though this time I did see a couple of minor stitches in this cozy magical blanket. Playing this game just makes me happy. If you haven’t played it, I can’t recommend it enough.

HOLY ****! PLAY THIS NOW! This game is amazing! These amazing devs have done more in 2D than most manage to do with all the bells and whistles in current gaming. I don't particularly enjoy horror games, but the way this one messes with you is just delicious! Completed my first playthrough just being the dumb horror protagonist and the story still felt great. 10 seconds in it already shows you its capacity to mess with you and never stops. Would gladly pay 70EUR for a full game of this instead of some over-hyped MTX-filled joyless collectathon.

A truly spectacular game. Usually I try to provide a bit of critique, but here it is pointless. From graphics and presentation, through story and world building to soundtrack and mood, this game is truly flawless. That is not to say that it is the best game ever or my favorite game, but as far as what it has set out to do, and what the developers have actually achieved, I cannot think of a single thing that could be done better.

Many games pretend or aspire to be art, but this one actually is. I feel ashamed to have bought this on sale. Will buy again on GOG for full price just so I can thank the developers for making it.

An excellent small unity puzzle game that you can 100% it in a couple of hours. Spectacular art and great techno music. CUTE WAIFUS :) Anyway, I highly recommend, and you can buy the soundtrack and art DLC if you want to support it.

PS The final boss will screw you a bit, but given the subject matter you might enjoy it :)

A nice and short little game with beautiful visuals and a Stephen King / H.P. Lovecraft vibe. It was a real pleasure to play, and the only criticism I have is that a bit more narrative would have fleshed it out more and prevented some aimless wandering. The soundtrack is game and as a whole it was definitely a worthwhile experience. Damn near flawless :)

A nice and short little game with beautiful visuals and a Stephen King / H.P. Lovecraft vibe. It was a real pleasure to play, and the only criticism I have is that a bit more narrative would have fleshed it out more and prevented some aimless wandering. The soundtrack is game and as a whole it was definitely a worthwhile experience. Damn near flawless :)

Amazing game! So fun. Playing for the first time on Nightmare, and it's sooo good. I got reamed by the first boss for a while, but I think it's because I played a bunch of Ubisoft games and got a little rusty. Crowds still can't touch me, but the flying swords were a problem :) Still I'm shaking off the rust and I plowed through him on the 15th try or so. That's what I get from staying away from the git gud games for so long :)

I am kind of biased because I love the AC franchise, and how it mixes historical and science fiction with conspiracy theories, and I have been a fan of stealth games since the original Splinter Cell way back when as well as the Prince of Persia franchise, which I’ve played to the point where each new playthrough would be essentially a speed run with some story interruption. It should be taken into account that this is a port of a PS Vita game, so it doesn’t have the depth and breadth of a typical AC entry, but it is still worth the time. So, let’s get down to it:

POSITIVES:

+Gameplay+

It is the gameplay of the original series, with the evolution stopped at AC3. You parkour your way through a historic population center, stalk and kill targets using stealth and plow through crowds of enemies using them slick Assassin moves. Pretty much the entire moveset that Aveline employs in combat has been lifted from AC3, which I appreciate since the brawling style of Connor was very fun. This however lead to some immersion breaking moments where her hidden blade does stuff that it shouldn’t, since Connor’s was a knife with a mechanism that allowed it to be gripped by the handle when deployed, while hers is the traditional wrist strapped hidden blade. It’s nothing major, but I noticed it.
The interesting bit comes from the Persona mechanic. Aveline can operate as either an Assassin, where everything functions like in previous games, a Lady, where she can bribe guards, charm men and move inconspicuously along the streets, but with severely limited mobility and arsenal due to her attire (“Well, women in London must have learned not to breathe.”) and a Slave persona, which she can use to blend into the crowds, incite riots, infiltrate restricted areas etc. Seeing how a mission can often be completed at least a couple of different ways was a bit of fresh air in comparison to previous entries.

+Story+

The story is above decent and exploring the viewpoint of a person who has been placed in a different place in society than what was intended for them. In a way Aveline is an outcast in every respect. Since the game was originally mean for the Vita, it is way more truncated than a typical franchise entry and it makes the game faster paced as the story ramps up, but will leave people who love to explore tiny different quest lines a bit dissatisfied. Still, there was enough quality there for me to be satisfied with what I got.

NEUTRALS:

=Graphics=

The game has pretty much the same engine and fidelity as AC3, but there was no place in the game that really showcased what was beautiful about its graphics like there was in the third instalment. Furthermore, while the fidelity of the game might have been the same, since the game is essentially a remaster of a Vita title, environments had simpler geometry and less asset density, which made the game world much sparser.

=Presentation=

The only standout area of the game for me was the swamp part of the Bayou which harkened a bit to the forest environment of the previous game, even though it had worse traversal flow, and a bunch of invisible walls, where there shouldn’t be. Still, the game as a whole has more than enough quality to it, and the voice acting is generally decent. There are notably awesome areas like underground caves, ancient ruins and a trippy final level, but all they did was whet my appetite and stop way before it was sated.

=Lore=

There is practically no story to follow up the modern story of AC3, while the historical part is more concentrated on a short glimpse into the Templar order and a First Civilization acquisition struggle. Still it’s satisfying enough, and I guess Ubi had to get their bearings after wrapping up the modern-day arc of the previous franchise entries.

=Music=

While the music is decent, there were no standout themes like in previous entries. I can’t think of a single moment that was “made” by the music.

CONCLUSION:

This is very much a bite-sized entry into the franchise, and while it is a thoroughly decent experience, if you have the AC itch like I had, it will leave you wanting more. As a quick palate cleanser from a live-service game and even as a short adventure, it performs admirably, but don’t expect something on the scale of a main entry to the franchise.