Recent reviews by MaVe

So far I'm enjoying what's here, yet there's some things, that can't be overlooked.

Gameplay-wise, my largest issue is, that it's just simplified Persona 5. That might not sound so bad but Persona 5 already isn't a very complex game, so it just feels like it's overly holding your hand. It takes quite a while till you get into actual "gameplay", though that's been an issue in Persona 5 too. There's of course the micotransactions, but I've seen worse. Do keep in mind that it's the studio's only way to make actual money that matters. It's not great but understand why it's there.

Overall, I'm going to continue playing, so that I'll see everything that it has to offer. I'm mostly looking forward to multiplayer, a long lost dream of many Persona games.

Very happy to see that Funcom learned a lot from Conan Exiles, I was initially worried, that they didn't see the bad stuff that was there.

Compared to Conan, there is a whole lot more polish, mechanics and game stability alike, survival doesn't feel like a chore and you get a reasonable amount of resources. It's also simple to find the more rare resources. As a survivalcraft game, there is of course some grinding here, I don't recommend playing alone if you hate grinding. The game does assume, that you're playing with friends.

Combat is good but melee is still a little clunky, it's nothing terrible, just could be a bit better. The abilities are probably the best thing about it, visuals and sounds are great. I like that combat is faster because of them.

Exploration is pretty good too, the Hagga Basin looks great and there's always something to explore. The sandworm does keep you on your toes, they didn't lie, it's faster than anything I've tried so far.

Overall, quite happy about the game so far, will update after playing with friends

Arma Reforger has quickly risen as one of my most played games this year.


I've never really played milsim games before, tried Arma 3, but I never got to properly play since I didn't want to download 30gb of mods for a server that only has 12/248 players. Besides that, the tutorial was a bit much, which made the game seem more complex than it is. So I have given up on Arma 3.

Then, I see a sale on Arma Reforger. It is to note, I have Czech blood in my veins, my ancestors would frown upon me if I didn't give it a try. So I did.

To my surprise, the new player experience is running laps around Arma 3. A way better tutorial, simple, easy and not too much, the game trusts you to pick up on some things yourself. I had to actually scroll down quite a bit, to find a server that wasn't full. Mods are still taking up good space, but at least it's worth it. The community has been wonderful so far, many friendly people from different places. The game looks wonderful too, lots better than the previous engine. There's not much music, but what's here adds a bit of tension. Sound design is generally good. Gameplay is good and responsive.

Of course it has its faults too, random crashes or disconnects, optimization is passable but could be better, I'm really missing some jets and you'll always have a bad apple on the server.

In total, I'm very happy I got the game and will invest lots more time

Updating my review after significantly more hours of gameplay:

Overall 8/10

story 8/10
gameplay 10/10
audio 8/10
visuals 7/10 (will get upped if optimization gets fixed)

Rise of the Ronin is a good game, poor optimization will give you a bad impression at first but after tweaking some settings, my game looked pretty good and was at a stable frame rate. The port is probably my biggest complaint, they are fixing it currently so hopefully, that gets resolved soon. Other than that, this is a fun game, it's not the best at anything, but still highly enjoyable.

Story: I did not yet finish the story, but I already played a bigger portion of it. At first, the story didn't really interest me that much, it just seemed alright, like that one show you binge when there's nothing else. I thought that was all but after roughly 10 hours, it started to pick up quite a bit and I actually enjoyed it. I love that the two sides you can support are both grey, there's no good or evil, both have some good intentions but end up doing some ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up stuff in the process. It's not easy to pick a side and that's good. So yeah, I'm having fun

Gameplay: As with pretty much all KOEI games, combat is good. It's a mix out of Wo Long and Nioh, tho I think I'd prefer if they'd stick more to Nioh since it seemed a bit more fluid. On Dusk difficulty, combat seems balanced just right, easy enough to follow but still punishing if you mess up. Other than that, the world is quite big and feels alive, giving you some side quests that are rewarding and worthwhile. You do start feeling like the hero of the people.

Sound and Music: Sounds are pretty decent, nothing really stands out in bad or good ways, it's just ok. Music is also alright but does have some good tracks that stand out more.

Visuals: In its current state, my game doesn't look as good as it could've, if the port would be better. Still, the game looks nice and very beautiful in the right moments, a shame I couldn't see it at it's best. The optimization issues that are present right now seem fixable, so hopefully it gets fixed soon. For now, play on 60fps locked and DLSS on Performance, and be careful at night, you might get flashbanged out of nowhere.

A lot of people are comparing it to Ghost of Tsushima, but don't go in expecting it to be the same. Both games look for very different vibes and have a different combat system and pace. There are similarities but they play very differently.

Get it on a sale with all dlcs, the new player experience is pretty overwhelming but if you do get over that hurdle, you'll have some great fun. There is a good variety of content and builds you can play and unlocking new abilities feels very rewarding. Overall, Destiny 2 is pretty good and I didn't expect to have this much fun after hearing all the bad stuff that happened since release.

I played Destiny 2 when it released on my PS4, while the story wasn't that compelling, it was a fun game even back then. It sure had its flaws too, the biggest, lack of content once you reached endgame. This has improved albeit at the price of dlcs, thankfully, sales come often, but at full price, it's horrid how much you'd have to pay to have fun. I do also kinda miss some of the direction at the start. I complete the tutorial and I could instantly go to Savathun's Throneworld, which would make it very confusing for anyone new to the game and ulitimately, appreciate the location less. The enemy progression in Destiny 2 was more satisfying, going from the Fallen, essentily scrapper nomads, to the Red Legion, an elite army of invaders. Now, if you don't self regulate, you could go from fighting scrappers, to fighting an alien cursed space hive in a dream of the Witch Queen. You are also pretty lost on where the story is and what is happening at first. There is barely any guidance and that sucks, since Destiny 2 lore is very interesting. Also, I'm never a fan of content deletion and Destiny 2 is for sure no stranger to it

You can now buy a catalogue of exo weapons, that now had their original content deleted. Both a blessing and a curse, gives you a good head start and hunger for more but also makes you miss out on the story behind them or the grind that usually felt more rewarding.

Since Destiny 2 is a live service game, changes that it gets better are there. I hope that with this sale, it compells Bungie to rework the new player experience, as well as just making everything more comprehensive instead of tossing it at you.

The atmosphere in this is one of the best I've seen in this category. It takes some very heavy inspiration form the Thing, a secret to no one, if they've seen the main menu. It does this to great success, from music, to visuals, it's almost perfect. For a single dev, this is very impressive. The roadmap is very ambitious, if not a bit too much. However, if the dev follows it trough, this will be the best game in it's category.

The good:
Gameplay is therefore highly enjoyable. A solid variety of weapons and items let you defend yourself from monsters, who's variety will keep you on your toes. Objectives are pretty fun too, not to mention the locations. Combat is solid, it does what it needs to.

The meh:
QoL and polishes mainly. Overall, animations need some improvement, and some sound effects unfortunately take you out of the immersion. Nights are usually waited trough since there's not much to do and outside is dangerous. The dev is planning to add things however.

Overall, good game, worth buying now and following its progress

just a first impressions review. This will eventually outclass Diablo 4, but it still needs quite some time. At least it runs well.

Gameplay is very fun and intuitive, great animations and effects on all fronts. Audio is good as well. Visually quite the sight for sore eyes, well made.

As of right now, I don't have much bad to say, my biggest itch is the abundance of sharp melee weapons. There are maces, big maces and staffs, which are unfortunately the exact opposite of my tastes. I know it's early access, but I feel like some of these are very basic weapons. It's a shame but ultimately it's good that they prioritized game stability and optimization. Lastly I do wish there was at least some degree of character customization, seeing as there was non in PoE, chances are low. Looks don't even need to be advanced but gender locked classes are meh for me.

Overall, great, stable core, will play again and more after more content comes

I've already played hours on PS4, completed the story and got the better amount of moves available unlocked. I still got Absolver on Steam, to experience it all over again. I am a sucker for martial arts and to say that this is right up my alley is a grave understatement. I love Absolver, but I won't see over its flaws, just as I do with other games.

good stuff:
Possibly the best martial arts game there is. Game runs incredibely stable, no bugs, no stutters. Music is not always strong but sometimes it hits real hard. Animations are very well made, a lot of care went into them. Gameplay is near perfect, at least for me. It relies on you to figure things out and on your skills in order to learn new moves. The art and aesthetic of the game is beautiful. Limited voice acting but what's there is good. The story is very interesting to me, doing a good amount of show, don't tell but telling you when it needs to.

The meh stuff:
"wait that's it?". Just as the story starts rolling properly, it ends. It's a shame since as said, what's here is interesting. The ending is very cool but I still wish there would be moreeeeee. DLC is fun but it doesn't do much story wise, besides dumping some lore on you. PVP can sometimes be a bit iffy but I didn't have many issues overall. Also PVP of course has a meta, things can get stale but luckily, the remaining players mostly just do what's fun. There aren't many bad things to say other then, I just wish there was more, a sentence you can say with every good game.

Final thoughts:
Absolver is a great game and a must try for every martial arts enthusiast out there. Unfortunately, and I never say this, the game was ahead of its time and probably undersold the possibility of a sequel. Sloclap moved onto Sifu, another great game that carries Absolver's DNA. I pray they someday make an Absolver 2 or something similar, since there is so much potential in this game and the devs gathered even more experience and resources.

Project Zomboid is probably one of the best zombie games I've played. It doesn't have the strongest combat or gunplay but that's because it wants you to focus more on survival, which is also where this game thrives. I've played this game before and made the mistake of not checking out any of the mods. Some mods for this game are almot essential and can improve the gameplay a lot. I have a bunch of things to say but apparently a significant overhaul of the game might release soon, so I'll wait for that. Currently, highly recommended.

Blade and Sorcery is a must have for anyone that has a VR headset, it's a good start to see how far a VR game can go but also what limitations it has. The wide variety of mods let you test the engine and have some fun along the way. However, as good as it is, I feel like Blade and Sorcery "walked so others can run". There is not yet a game where I had as much brutal fun, but one day there will be something better.