The last few games you beat and rate them 5

[Unholy Diver]

Return to Grace - 7.5/10 - quick little walking simulator set on Jupiter's moon Ganymede, you play as an explorer searching for an ancient dormant AI that was housed there that was very important to humanity about a thousand years prior. Interesting story pieced together from old audio logs and the assistance of a handful of partially functioning AI systems that previously comprised the program you are questing for. Decent little game, probably around 3 hrs to complete, and recently added to Game Pass

 

[Osprey]

Return to Grace - 7.5/10 - quick little walking simulator set on Jupiter's moon Ganymede, you play as an explorer searching for an ancient dormant AI that was housed there that was very important to humanity about a thousand years prior. Interesting story pieced together from old audio logs and the assistance of a handful of partially functioning AI systems that previously comprised the program you are questing for. Decent little game, probably around 3 hrs to complete, and recently added to Game Pass

I played something very similar last week, called The Invincible, based on the Stanislaw Lem novel of the same name. It's a 3-hour walking simulator in which you play an astronaut on a distant planet. It's like a slightly interactive sci-fi movie. I didn't like it, but I'm not a fan of walking simulators and the story didn't really grab me enough to make up for it. Those who enjoy walking simulators might like it a lot better.

 

[Unholy Diver]

I played something very similar last week, called The Invincible, based on the Stanislaw Lem novel of the same name. It's a 3-hour walking simulator in which you play an astronaut on a distant planet. It's like a slightly interactive sci-fi movie. I didn't like it, but I'm not a fan of walking simulators and the story didn't really grab me enough to make up for it. Those who enjoy walking simulators might like it a lot better.

Yeah I am not a big fan of the genre, but I have played a few that were pretty enjoyable, Soma comes to mind as a good one. Return to Grace, had some puzzles and a little platforming in there too so it had a bit of stuff you had to actually interact with, the setting caught my eye, and the trailer looked decent so I gave it a whirl. I do like the sci-fi / outer space set games too so that helped sell it as well

 

[Voodoo Child]

Persona 5: Royal (Switch)

Yes, yes, I am late all the time because it's hard for me to play games and I did just get a Switch last June after leaving my PS4 half the world away. First Persona but I've played SMT IV and V.

One of the best JRPGs I've played in like 20 years, I'm not quite as fond of it as I am the last one I played and reviewed about six weeks ago (and that's excellence combined with nostalgia), but damn, what a good ride, I did two new game+ back to back to back and racked up a healthy 232 hours and may do another.

Like most JRPGs (again - last one reviewed excluded) it starts off a little mushy, but only for the first ten or so hours, once you have your starting four and are near the end of the first palace.

I've played games and looked at the timer and said 'This game is said to be 70-90 hours and I'm at 25 hours, when does this get good?', yes I'm looking at you Death Stranding.

Thankfully, it picks up a big time head of steam for about another 35-40...then puts you on the rails quite a bit which I don't really like but is just about my only complaint, and really only sucks because the game uses active time. Overall though an excellent pace to the game minus a few speed wobbles. I also don't like how you can't do things in the morning, but generally you should be able to max out most of your best confidants if you manage your time well.

Fantastic cast of characters; Ryuji, Sojiro and Iwai (gun shop) are in the Bro Hall of Fame, Goro is a great frenemy and a very complex character (even if his parentage seemed like a last minute shoe-in), Yusuke is kinda just odd (last one I got to level 10 in semester 3) and even Mishima grew on me. Maruki is also an excellent addition and I both agreed and disagreed with what he was trying to accomplish and as a(n amateur) writer, that is how you write a morally grey character; 'what he wants to do is objectively wrong but I get the motivation and understand why he's doing it.'

Morgana, Morgana, Morgana...I wanted to like him more than I did and he was an extremely useful character, I just wish that he didn't die so easily and that he didn't do what he did after the Hawaii trip. A certain character saying he's useless throws him over the edge while he constantly breaks that character's balls about being stupid, which he is but don't dish it out if you can't take it, also the Ann thirst got old super fast. The kid who was the Tower companion was just kinda there but at least he wasn't annoying.

Makoto is the best girl who has the best arc, the best persona awakening and is the best in most fights. She's the 3rd physically strongest behind Joker and Ryuji and nuke is borderline broken til the third-last palace, but Kasumi is close. I ditched Ann and romanced her in my first +...boring bog-standard Stacy versus sweet, cutie gymnast with identity issues, yeah way to make it a hard choice for me. Her dance scene at the festival is the second best cutscene in the game, behind that one that happens at the end of the base which is just on a whole other level.

Takemi (doctor), Hifumi (shogi player, romanced in 2nd+) Sae, Futaba and Kawakami (teacher) are all excellent. Ann is okay, more on her later. Haru just got introduced too late and was a generic 'nice girl' trope - though not like she's the only one; Makoto (goal-driven, sheltered goody two shoes), Futaba (gamer girl!) and Sae (girlboss!) are also different degrees of tropey but still remain excellent characters. The fortune teller and the reporter are meh.

If I do a new + I'm going harem because while that's not what I'd do now (been there, done that, tempting yes but it's too much work. If Sae was off the table I'd pick Makoto and maybe have one of Hifumi or Kasumi on the side), it's what I'd do if I was a horny teenager.

All of the characters also went through greatly-written tragedies and had realistic, excellent backstories. This is Hearts of Stone-tier writing.

That said, romances are boring. I did Makoto first, then on NG+ Ann*, then I left her for Kasumi (...). You romance a character and they get a new Persona, okay cool, then maybe 10 minutes of extra scenes spread out though mostly at the end of a 90 hour game? But you might as well do it - it's there. Fire Emblem: Three Houses did romances much better because they were much more dynamic, and once more, coming from FFIX, the gold standard, to this...

* - Already at rank 10 with her in Hawaii - why can't Joker crawl into bed with her and give Ryuji the sofa? I'm not talking about a Witcher/Mass Effect-style session where afterwards it looks like someone dumped a few liters of water on the bed while your boy watched from the couch, just some clothes-on-clothes spooning; this is Japan, which is somewhat prudish yet at the same time somehow being outrageously deviant. I also found Kasumi to be much more endearing and wholesome, Ann is just kind of a Stacy who feels isolated by her Staciness.

Excellent cast of villains as well, the only one I thought was weak and he wasn't super weak but just out of place was the mob boss. He makes up for it by having one of the cooler palaces (the bank), but everyone had a major hand in the lives of the characters - the first was especially memorable in this regard. Every villain except for three, two technically not being villains, I thought 'man this person is a piece of shit.', and the one 'villain but he's actually more of a foil' is also great, again, excellent writing.

I'd rank the Palaces: 1) Third Semester Palace, 2) Cruise Ship 3) Bank, 4) Pyramid and Casino tie, 5) Mementos, 6) Museum, 7) Castle and ----------------> 8) 'that' Space Station. It doesn't seem too popular but I thought the final puzzle and boss in the Bank as well as the music were excellent, the Casino and the Museum were both pleasing to the eye but felt a little short and easy, and no one likes that Space Station but its fine until the last puzzle and the boss is idiotic.

The 'final' palace is incredible, I won't spoil but beautiful music, excellent central aesthetic and a very diverse set of environments topped off by a challenging but not impossible final boss.

Lots of nice little subtleties throughout the game - false memories, characters appearing in the background, if you keep an eye out for it* and I knew as soon as a character said the word 'pancake' it'd have been called back.

* - Let's see; Goro and Sae walking past Joker and Ryuji after Ryuji awakens his persona. Maruki walking out of the school just as the core four emerge after beating Kamoshida, Makoto and Haru always in the background, don't even start me on Makoto following you around, that was just amusing - something tells me becoming a police commissioner is going to be a steep uphill climb for her.

Mementos is great especially once you reach a certain rank with Ryuji and Mishima and can clear floors for levels and farming personas in a few minutes, but you don't need to spend too much time there. Best to go 1-2 times a month and clear floors, requests and 8-10 levels, then once you get to around level 80 just parking and waiting to assblast the Reaper 5-6 times to get you to level 99 for the third semester palace...yeah, you're gonna wanna be at level 99 for the third semester palace.

Another thing the game does well is like most JRPGs there's generally a 'recommended level' but you'll grab 4-8 levels doing most palaces - you'd really have to slack to be underlevelled for a fight.

Great music and artstyle even if the stylization can become too much, and even looks great on a basic bitch Switch OLED, and even though sometimes I was like 'okay cool it with the stylization!', it had a very clean and easy to use UI.

But I can't objectively rank it higher in the JRPG pantheon than FFVI, FFVII (OG, not that new shit they're releasing any day now), FFIX, FFX, LUNAR 2: EBC (underrated), Chrono Trigger and Suikoden II, but it's on close footing and I would definitely rank it up above DQXI.

Thinking of getting P5: Strikers next...is it worth it? If I'm paying $59.99 I want at least 90 hours. I would get 3R but they aren't bringing it to the switch...the f***?

9.4/10

 

[Jovavic]

I hated that cruise ship, lol, easily my most hated dungeon in quite awhile.

Lunar 1 was released for Android a few weeks back, it's a pretty good port and I'm hoping it sells enough so they'll bring Lunar 2 over eventually.

 

[Osprey]

Yeah I am not a big fan of the genre, but I have played a few that were pretty enjoyable, Soma comes to mind as a good one. Return to Grace, had some puzzles and a little platforming in there too so it had a bit of stuff you had to actually interact with, the setting caught my eye, and the trailer looked decent so I gave it a whirl. I do like the sci-fi / outer space set games too so that helped sell it as well

Same. I thought that I'd give The Invincible a shot because I love sci-fi and some reviews compared it to Firewatch, which I sort of liked, despite it being a walking simulator. You're free to walk around a bit, but you can't interact with anything unless it's the current thing that the story needs you to interact with. There aren't puzzles or platforming. It's more like a visual novel than a "game" and not my cup of tea, but I finished it, anyways, because I did sort of want to see how it ended and it's only 3 hours (though, honestly, it felt a lot longer).

 

[Voodoo Child]

I hated that cruise ship, lol, easily my most hated dungeon in quite awhile.

Lunar 1 was released for Android a few weeks back, it's a pretty good port and I'm hoping it sells enough so they'll bring Lunar 2 over eventually.

I kinda switched on play throughs though the space station was always at the bottom (boss, puzzle, too long, mid-game dungeon but it’s almost as long as the third semester palace).

First thought the Casino was overrated but it’s pretty good, but the ship I loved the music, the aesthetic and the boss and just the fact that everyone had a role to play.

If any dungeon gets unnecessary hate it seems to be the bank which is admittedly a touch blah until that awesome final puzzle. Once you have your first four you can blaze through the castle in under an hour if you cheese it and everyone with endgame weapons and bring good personas.

The museum gets overpraised because while it looks good, aside from the painting puzzles it’s just not interesting and Yusuke is meh as a character.

My biggest complaint again is being placed on rails after the pyramid, in Hawaii (at least let me build bonds!) and after the space station but then at least you get hit hard with a casino-boat double whammy then the ending, then the Royal ending if you unlocked it (not hard but easy to miss if you don’t rank certain confidants).

 

[Turin]

Persona 3 Reload 0/10 f*** that game man

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Disjunction - 7/10
Disjunction is a decent top down stealth game which is a very niche genre. There are three characters that you cycle through between missions to keep things a bit fresh. The story is OK, nothing special but not bad. The stealth is the best part of the game but it's not exactly much to write home about.

The strange thing I find about the stealth that will ruin it for hardcore stealth fans is you can beat someone up directly behind an enemy but since they don't hear anything, they'll never turn around. You would think there's 0 sound recognition for the AI but there's not, they can hear you running behind them. I think the game would be too frustrating if attacking enemies would alert nearby guards though.

Each character has a few abilities and they all feel useful. It's nice to change them up between levels to keep things fresh. There are several different enemy types but you'll learn after a while that the best way to approach any enemy is to stand around a corner they walk to and just spam melee attacks when they reach it.

The game is just decent in my opinion but it's good enough if you're interested in top down stealth games. If you're not interested in top down stealth games, you should skip this one.

 

[Tw1ster]

Persona 3 Reload 0/10 f*** that game man

What’s wrong with it? I haven’t played Reload but loved FES when it came out

 

[Turin]

What’s wrong with it? I haven’t played Reload but loved FES when it came out

Just made me very sad. It’s actually a 10/10

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Good Knight - 8.5/10

I admittedly never heard of this game and ran into it as a throw-in in a Fanatical bundle because I thought the soundtrack was awesome from the trailer. I was pleasantly surprised and had an absolute blast playing this game. Obviously, the soundtrack is awesome. You can hear it in the trailer. But there's so much more to enjoy!

Good Knight is a bullet hell with a twist. Your character is always running around in a circle. There's a slow down button although I never used it. The only other button is to change direction. You either run clockwise or counter clockwise as you avoid all the bullets coming at you in every direction. The game is not punishing at all, checkpoints are very frequent. It feels almost more like a puzzle game than a bullet hell as well.

The best way I can describe this game is it's Super Hexagon if Super Hexagon was more of a bullet hell. The game is really fun, avoiding everything feels super satisfying. Genuinely a hidden gem on Steam. You should absolutely play this game.

 

[Andrei79]

Baldur's Gate 3 - 9.5 / 10.

It's difficult for me to give a review that'll do this game justice. However, I would say this is easily, by far and away, the GOTY of 2023 for me, to the point I personally don't feel any other game that came out this year should even be considered, Zelda included. It was a '76 Canadiens type of game release.

What stands out is the dialogue, the production value (including the exceptional voice acting), the "main" characters (Astarion, Gale, Laezel, ShadowHeart, Karlach) and their story arc the DND 5e adaptation for gaming, the amount of possibilities for every encounter and, in the same vein, the depth of choices and consequences. This game can truly be almost completely different from playthrough to playthrough. Astarions character arc in particular was exceptional, it reminded me of Lohse's from Original Sin 2. Just beautiful stuff.

I also enjoyed how they tried to be a true sequel to the other Baldur's Gate games while still being it's own thing. I'm not going to spoil anything, but there are recurring characters.

In terms of graphics, it's hard to complain. It's far and away the most beautiful cRPG that's ever come out. The amount of detail is astounding, in every act. Color pallet, cohesiveness, details, variety... the artists in charge of the game really outdid themselves. And the facial expressions are what I would qualify as truly "next-gen". The OST is excellent too, though I prefer Original Sin 2's.

The writing is so good as well. Characters feel alive and with their own motivations. They're reactive. They're genuinely funny and endearing.

The combat is much like Original Sin 2, but with DND rules. You can still blow up barrels, mix oil and fire, etc. People who haven't played previous Larian games will likely be very impressed by the depth. cRPG veterans might be a tad disappointed. Not because of Larians adaptation, but rather DND 5e lacks the depth that Pathfinder had for games like Wrath of the Righteous for example.

The story is good, but I wanted it to be just a tad bit better (its better than 95% of video games though). It's still interesting enough to want to know what happens though. However, I did feel more engrossed in Wrath of the Righteous (who's dialogue was inferior) and Baldur's Gate 2, which was very much carried by Jon Irenicus and the overarching theme of being the child of a god of murder. I really have to mention again how strongly written every character is. It's downright amazing at times and the act 2 boss would be an end game boss for about 99% of any other game.

So, in terms of negatives or more neutral aspects of the game: the overarching story as mentioned before, though it isn't bad by any means and a lot of people seem to love it, the combat can be trivial if you know the ruleset, it is very, very long (it took me over 150 hours) and you can be a bit burned out at the start of act 3.

In any case, this game is now at the top of my cRPG list along with Original Sin 2 and Wrath of the Righteous. Baldur's Gate 2 was for a long time my favorite RPG, but it hasn't aged very well imo. It's probably one of the best games to get into the genre as it's a low barrier of entry for newcomers.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War - solo campaign - 8/10

As a child of the 80's I found the Cold War story engaging and interesting, gameplay was solid, and campaign was solid and fairly short as usual for a COD title

 

[pistolpete11]

Dark Souls 1 - 8/10

Definitely grading a bit on a curve for being so earlier in the series. You can definitely see the ideas that they took and applied in later entries, but having played most of the other games first, they did it better and removed the more frustrating parts of DS1.

As I said in the currently playing thread, the one place that Dark Souls is as good if not better than the other games is the level design....at least early on. Some of the later areas are kind of 'meh'. The little hidden secrets, illusionary walls, drops, etc. were as good as usual.

Bosses were kind of simple. Most having just 1 phase. Took until what I think is supposed to be the last boss in the DLC (Manus) to be a challenge. There were a few that were cool spectacles like 4 Kings or ideas like Priscilla or even if I hated it, Bed of Chaos. Much of the difficulty was just finding a time to heal because most if not all of the enemies in the game have input reading.

Maybe it was difficult at the time, but I think the balance of souls you get was off. It was pretty easy to get to an adequate level, get my weapon upgraded, and just smash through everything with my ultrasword.

Only 1 left in the series, Dark Souls 2.

 

[PeteWorrell]

Dark Souls 1 - 8/10

Definitely grading a bit on a curve for being so earlier in the series. You can definitely see the ideas that they took and applied in later entries, but having played most of the other games first, they did it better and removed the more frustrating parts of DS1.

As I said in the currently playing thread, the one place that Dark Souls is as good if not better than the other games is the level design....at least early on. Some of the later areas are kind of 'meh'. The little hidden secrets, illusionary walls, drops, etc. were as good as usual.

Bosses were kind of simple. Most having just 1 phase. Took until what I think is supposed to be the last boss in the DLC (Manus) to be a challenge. There were a few that were cool spectacles like 4 Kings or ideas like Priscilla or even if I hated it, Bed of Chaos. Much of the difficulty was just finding a time to heal because most if not all of the enemies in the game have input reading.

Maybe it was difficult at the time, but I think the balance of souls you get was off. It was pretty easy to get to an adequate level, get my weapon upgraded, and just smash through everything with my ultrasword.

Only 1 left in the series, Dark Souls 2.

Izalith is really the worst area in any Fromsoftware game. Not only is the main boss a frustrating gimmick but the area is basically a big barren wasteland with copy and pasted bosses and other monsters from other areas.

People often mention Blighttown as frustrating but at least with was original. Izalith was just trash and the area i dreaded revisiting every playthrough.

 

[pistolpete11]

Izalith is really the worst area in any Fromsoftware game. Not only is the main boss a frustrating gimmick but the area is basically a big barren wasteland with copy and pasted bosses and other monsters from other areas.

People often mention Blighttown as frustrating but at least with was original. Izalith was just trash and the area i dreaded revisiting every playthrough.

Agreed on both points.

A lot of areas just felt undeveloped, too. Valley of the Drakes, Ash Lake, Crystal Cave, Darkroot Garden. Not a whole lot going on in these areas.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Agreed on both points.

A lot of areas just felt undeveloped, too. Valley of the Drakes, Ash Lake, Crystal Cave, Darkroot Garden. Not a whole lot going on in these areas.

Unrelated note, those frogs that curse you with gas used to give me so much anxiety lol

 

[PeteWorrell]

Agreed on both points.

A lot of areas just felt undeveloped, too. Valley of the Drakes, Ash Lake, Crystal Cave, Darkroot Garden. Not a whole lot going on in these areas.

Most of the areas you named are either optional or quick transitional areas. Izalith is sadly a necessary part of the game if you want to get to the ending.

 

[Andrei79]

Kingdom Come Deliverance - 9 /10

What an amazing game. I would score it higher, but the middle part of the game really slowed down and wasn't as interesting as the early and final parts.

It's basically a medieval simulator. You're Henry of Skalitz, an apprentice blacksmith living in Bohemia (Czechia), in the Holy Roman Empire, after Charles the IV's death. Charles the IV had two sons, Kings Wenceslaus and his brother Sigismund, who quarreled and fought for Wenceslaus' throne. The Sassau / Ratay region was still loyal to Wenceslaus and so as Henry, your liege lords end up being caught in that broader conflict, even being one of the survivors of an attack by Sigismunds troops.

Basically, to make a parallel, you're a peasant from the Riverlands, in Game of Thrones, caught up between the Tully - Lannister wars. You slowly build up Henry from this blacksmiths son who lost everything, to a legitimate man-at-arms in service of his fief / liege lord.

It's an immersive experience and a proper RPG. It's the immersive experience RDR2 pretends to be. You gain skills by actual doing the thing, and that thing can be horsemanship. blacksmithing, swords, axes, strength, brewing potions, hunting... there are a variety of skills and attributes. And, you absolutely suck ass starting. You're an illiterate young bum who had no prospects outside of continuing your fathers trade until your life gets turned upside down.

The world is legitimately breathtaking. As someone who lived in Czechia years ago, it's incredible how they perfectly captured the land. The forests are probably the most realistic forest I've seen in a game. There's a lot of attention to detail in houses, roads, vegetation, everything basically.

The combat is not for everyone, but I loved it. There are true medieval battles where each Lords levies and guards face each other in war. As an aside, anyone who picks up the game absolutely should practice combat and look for proper equipment, or else the end game will be very hard.

The story, voice acting and characters were all interesting. It's not Witcher3 / Cyberpunk / Baldurs Gate 3 level, but it's just well balanced enough to stay immersed the whole time.

Fully recommend it to any RPG fan, but specifically to fans of games like the old Ultima games (like Ultima VII) as theres no hand holding here.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

System Shock 2 - 9.5/10
I came to System Shock 2 playing it for the first time after playing and loving the System Shock 1 Remake. The fact that this is dated as a clear 1999 game does not affect my review. I get it, the game is dated and plays like a game from 1999. If you don't like that, it's not for you.

However, this game is incredible and you can 100% see the inspiration that so many popular games have drawn from this. The combat feels a bit clunky as expected but the exploration, atmosphere, and world story telling is top notch. Shodan continues to be one of the best villains in gaming history, completely underrated at this point considering how a younger generation likely never played these games.

My only complaint is the last level, or second to last level I suppose. It pulls a Half Life and finishes up on an alien planet that just feels so out of place and with poor level design. It's nothing but tight corridors and completely changes the pace of the game. Fortunately, it's not very long, especially compared to the rest of the game which is amazing.

It's a classic, a masterpiece, that hopefully gets a remake that it deserves. I may have waited 25 years to finally play it but I'm glad I did. I should have played it sooner.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

System Shock 2 - 9.5/10
I came to System Shock 2 playing it for the first time after playing and loving the System Shock 1 Remake. The fact that this is dated as a clear 1999 game does not affect my review. I get it, the game is dated and plays like a game from 1999. If you don't like that, it's not for you.

However, this game is incredible and you can 100% see the inspiration that so many popular games have drawn from this. The combat feels a bit clunky as expected but the exploration, atmosphere, and world story telling is top notch. Shodan continues to be one of the best villains in gaming history, completely underrated at this point considering how a younger generation likely never played these games.

My only complaint is the last level, or second to last level I suppose. It pulls a Half Life and finishes up on an alien planet that just feels so out of place and with poor level design. It's nothing but tight corridors and completely changes the pace of the game. Fortunately, it's not very long, especially compared to the rest of the game which is amazing.

It's a classic, a masterpiece, that hopefully gets a remake that it deserves. I may have waited 25 years to finally play it but I'm glad I did. I should have played it sooner.

The remake better be f***ing good. The only thing I hate in SS2 is the durability system for weapons. f*** it. It sucks.

 

[SimGrindcore]

Kingdom Come Deliverance - 9 /10

What an amazing game. I would score it higher, but the middle part of the game really slowed down and wasn't as interesting as the early and final parts.

It's basically a medieval simulator. You're Henry of Skalitz, an apprentice blacksmith living in Bohemia (Czechia), in the Holy Roman Empire, after Charles the IV's death. Charles the IV had two sons, Kings Wenceslaus and his brother Sigismund, who quarreled and fought for Wenceslaus' throne. The Sassau / Ratay region was still loyal to Wenceslaus and so as Henry, your liege lords end up being caught in that broader conflict, even being one of the survivors of an attack by Sigismunds troops.

Basically, to make a parallel, you're a peasant from the Riverlands, in Game of Thrones, caught up between the Tully - Lannister wars. You slowly build up Henry from this blacksmiths son who lost everything, to a legitimate man-at-arms in service of his fief / liege lord.

It's an immersive experience and a proper RPG. It's the immersive experience RDR2 pretends to be. You gain skills by actual doing the thing, and that thing can be horsemanship. blacksmithing, swords, axes, strength, brewing potions, hunting... there are a variety of skills and attributes. And, you absolutely suck ass starting. You're an illiterate young bum who had no prospects outside of continuing your fathers trade until your life gets turned upside down.

The world is legitimately breathtaking. As someone who lived in Czechia years ago, it's incredible how they perfectly captured the land. The forests are probably the most realistic forest I've seen in a game. There's a lot of attention to detail in houses, roads, vegetation, everything basically.

The combat is not for everyone, but I loved it. There are true medieval battles where each Lords levies and guards face each other in war. As an aside, anyone who picks up the game absolutely should practice combat and look for proper equipment, or else the end game will be very hard.

The story, voice acting and characters were all interesting. It's not Witcher3 / Cyberpunk / Baldurs Gate 3 level, but it's just well balanced enough to stay immersed the whole time.

Fully recommend it to any RPG fan, but specifically to fans of games like the old Ultima games (like Ultima VII) as theres no hand holding here.

This game sparks my interest as I like history in general and as I kid, I was obsessed with the Middle ages (I had a ton of castle Lego sets). I also like the fact that there is no fantasy elements like mystical creatures and magic.

But I know what type of player I am and I really don't think I will have the patience to enjoy de combat mechanics. I can't play a game that I will not enjoy of will feel like a chore to me.

Still it saddens me to not play that game for that reason.

 

[Andrei79]

This game sparks my interest as I like history in general and as I kid, I was obsessed with the Middle ages (I had a ton of castle Lego sets). I also like the fact that there is no fantasy elements like mystical creatures and magic.

But I know what type of player I am and I really don't think I will have the patience to enjoy de combat mechanics. I can't play a game that I will not enjoy of will feel like a chore to me.

Still it saddens me to not play that game for that reason.

You should try it and see. I thought I wouldn't like it either, but smashing people with my Warhammer was a blast. I liked how shit you are at first and the progression that takes place.

 

[Osprey]

System Shock 2 - 9.5/10
I came to System Shock 2 playing it for the first time after playing and loving the System Shock 1 Remake. The fact that this is dated as a clear 1999 game does not affect my review. I get it, the game is dated and plays like a game from 1999. If you don't like that, it's not for you.

However, this game is incredible and you can 100% see the inspiration that so many popular games have drawn from this. The combat feels a bit clunky as expected but the exploration, atmosphere, and world story telling is top notch. Shodan continues to be one of the best villains in gaming history, completely underrated at this point considering how a younger generation likely never played these games.

My only complaint is the last level, or second to last level I suppose. It pulls a Half Life and finishes up on an alien planet that just feels so out of place and with poor level design. It's nothing but tight corridors and completely changes the pace of the game. Fortunately, it's not very long, especially compared to the rest of the game which is amazing.

It's a classic, a masterpiece, that hopefully gets a remake that it deserves. I may have waited 25 years to finally play it but I'm glad I did. I should have played it sooner.

I'm glad that it still holds up for first-time players. It probably helps that it was so ahead of its time and most of its gameplay mechanics are still popular (audio log storytelling, minigames, vending machines, weapon upgrading, different ammo types, researching enemies and on and on). It's also helpful that Nightdive (the same studio behind the SS1 remake and upcoming SS2 enhanced edition) upgraded the renderer to D3D9 and added high resolution support and whatnot for the Steam release about 10 years ago.

BTW, since you loved SS2 and I know that you like stealth games, you might want to check out the original Thief from 1998, if you never have. It's from Looking Glass Studios, as well, and uses the same engine. It's a classic, like SS2. I just checked and Thief Gold (the original + expansion) and Thief II: The Metal Age (just as good, if not slightly better) are both on sale on Steam for only $0.97 each. In fact, I just added both to my collection. If you pick them up, though, you'll want to download and apply the New Dark or TFix (which includes NewDark) mods to upgrade the renderer (link) and make it run better on modern systems. I think that Nightdive was also behind NewDark, but it sounds like (unlike SS2) the Steam versions of the games don't come with it, so we have to mod them ourselves. Even with the new renderer, the games may feel more dated than SS2, but the gameplay is so unique. Even today, there are barely any first-person stealth games, but imagine what it was like in the late 90s, when the FPS genre was all about fast, frantic, bloody carnage and multiplayer and Looking Glass had the audacity to go against the flow and make an extremely slow single player game in which enemy encounters were discouraged.