Recent reviews by Pomi

Solid DNA that needs some balance tweaking, especially in the mid-late game. For an early-access absolutely phenomenal state, everything that matters - graphics, music, ambience, possibilities for different builds, first 3 acts of campaign - all at top level. Everything else should be addressed in coming months.

Terraria meets stardew valley mines.

What a letdown.

Outstanding in so many ways.

I picked up the Halls of Torment again after the last patch. At first, I was disappointed with how the game felt after all the changes and nerfs, but it grew on me after a few hours of just experimenting with new build possibilities.

For a game in early access, there are certainly ways to improve it, for example:

- UI: There is a lot of important information missing; I'm still not sure what Force does for like half the characters and abilities. It would also be a great idea to show relevant info on the leveling screen (how does a perk exactly improve my stats since that 7% Attack Speed is different based on Base Attack Speed, etc.);

- A way to plan the build before a run without having to constantly check the wiki page on the 2nd monitor (with the introduction of marks, there are a lot of choices to remember, like what did I want to double pot, what can I use the oblivious bottle on, etc.);

- More balance patches: there are some really fun and clever builds on paper that just need some number tweaking to be viable.

Other than that I like that HoT has a bit of a different approach to the Bullet Heaven genre, with more depth to builds and boss fights. Even after 100% the game there are still builds I wish to explore, and the shift in the difficulty level encourages experimenting (like that Shield Maiden with Warlock Mark and Spirit Warrior build I tried for memes, which turned out to be surprisingly strong).

Perfection.

EDIT: Had to change my old review. As time goes by, the AGS dev team proves they are out of touch and are literally incapable of communication.

New World has its issues, but overall devs go in the right direction. No sub makes it easy to hop in from time to time, the only questionable monetization so far is putting gear slots behind a paywall. Their regular videos make them one of the best companies at communicating with their audience (and they're slowly getting better at it). They actually address feedback and started doing more frequent balance patches based on it.
The game has one of the best crafting/gathering systems (a bit dependent on RNG, but over time they are introducing ways to better target desirable gear). I think New World is the best casual MMO on the market. You can enjoy playing it on your own pace. The house/furnishing system provides long term goals for anyone that wants to show off their wealth.
I fell like the combat system is what will make or break the game for most of the players. If you are used to tab-targeting, you may have a hard time enjoying this type of gameplay. For me, body blocking is the most frustrating thing, especially as a tank in PVE content - body blocking + moving forward with AA is terrible. In PVP, though, there is a lot of room for skill expression with this type of combat system. The game needs more PVP modes, which they are working on. This + upcoming changes to the territory influence should make PVP a lot more enjoyable.
Overall, considering the really rough start, the game is in a good shape already. It's not for everyone, and that's ok, but if you are considering trying it, I would grab it on the sale and see for yourself. They are constantly improving it, they are committed to 4 seasons and 1 expansion per year, so the future looks bright!

Highly recommended, worth the price. Bit of connection problems on the day of launch, but the interest is so high it's nothing unexpected.