Recent reviews by Expendecy

Overhyped and Overblown – Elden Ring Falls Short of Expectations

I don’t understand the unending praise for Elden Ring and its DLC. After sinking countless hours into this supposed masterpiece, I walked away feeling more frustrated than satisfied. For a game that prides itself on "freedom and exploration," the world often feels empty and repetitive, with cookie-cutter dungeons and reused bosses that quickly kill the sense of wonder.

The story? Practically nonexistent unless you enjoy piecing together cryptic, vague item descriptions. The much-hyped lore collaboration with George R.R. Martin feels like a gimmick — I honestly can't tell what he even contributed. If this is what "deep storytelling" is, I'll take a straightforward narrative any day.

Then there’s the combat, which is undeniably the game's core mechanic. While some might call it "challenging," I'd call it punishing for the sake of it. Unfair enemy placements, over-tuned boss fights, and the ever-present "git gud" mentality make the whole experience more alienating than rewarding. I don’t play games to be berated, but that’s exactly how Elden Ring made me feel.

As for the DLC, it’s just more of the same. Sure, there’s a new area and a couple of new bosses, but they lean so heavily on rehashed mechanics and recycled ideas that it feels like an overpriced expansion rather than meaningful new content.

To sum it up, Elden Ring and its DLC are the emperor's new clothes of gaming — a triumph of marketing over substance. Unless you enjoy frustration, repetition, and convoluted storytelling, I’d recommend steering clear. There are far better games out there that respect your time and offer a more balanced experience.

1100+ Hours Later – Brawlhalla’s Flaws Outweigh Its Fun

After dedicating over 1100 hours to Brawlhalla, I’ve reached a point where the game’s flaws have overshadowed its positives. While the concept and initial gameplay are engaging, the experience has become increasingly frustrating due to poor decisions and ongoing issues.

One of the biggest problems is the removal of meaningful offstage play. Offstage interactions were once a defining aspect of Brawlhalla, rewarding skill and creativity. Now, they’ve been stripped of their depth, feeling like an afterthought rather than a core gameplay element.

Matchmaking is abysmal. Whether it’s casual or ranked play, the system consistently pits players of vastly different skill levels against each other. As an experienced player, I either steamroll newer players or get crushed by seasoned pros far above my rank. This imbalance ruins the experience for everyone involved.

The combat mechanics also lack depth due to combos being built directly into weapons. Instead of rewarding player creativity, the game forces you to follow predetermined playstyles. This rigid design grows stale quickly and limits the variety of gameplay.

Adding to this is the overabundance of new champions and weapons. While variety should be a strength, Brawlhalla has turned it into a weakness. Every new addition throws the game further out of balance, creating an endless cycle of adjustments that never seem to resolve the core issues. The constant introduction of characters and weapons feels more like a cash grab than a genuine attempt to improve the game.

Technical issues make things worse. The game crashes far too often, and lag spikes or input delays are common during matches. It’s especially frustrating to lose progress, ranking, or even an enjoyable match because the game decided to crash at the worst moment.

At this point, I cannot recommend Brawlhalla to anyone. For new players, the steep learning curve, poor matchmaking, and lack of meaningful guidance make it an uphill battle. For veterans, the frustrating changes, removal of strategic depth, and endless balancing issues offer little incentive to return.

Despite the 1100 hours I’ve put into Brawlhalla, I can’t recommend it in its current state. What was once a fun and engaging platform fighter has become a frustrating mess of unbalanced mechanics, poor design choices, and technical instability. For anyone considering investing time into this game, I’d advise looking elsewhere until these issues are addressed—if they ever are.

Edit: this new chakram weapon is the dumbest one yet adds a whole new set of bull crap built in combos basically undodgeable that do just as much if not more damage than the great sword. THIS GAME IS STRAIGHT GARBAGE AND THE DEVS DO NOTHING BUT MAKE IT WORSE WITH EVERY PATCH