Recent reviews by AirTheFallen

A game that is part calm/chill ship scrapping game, part tense puzzle game. Hardspace Shipbreaker is a game that deserves a bit more love, and hopefully eventually a sequel/spinoff.

+ Dry corporate distopian humor built into the worldbuilding that really helps set the tone of the game itself. Think of the corporations in Deep Rock Galactic or Satisfactory.

+ Satisfying ship-breaking gameplay, especially if you take your time and do things carefully. Always nice if you're able to scrap a nice big chunk all at once because you stripped away all the extra little bits.

+ The hazards help to mix things up a bit, and make you think a bit more about where to cut/break/disconnect.

+ If you want things to be just a bit more chill, there is a difficulty setting where you don't have to worry about oxygen or shift timers.

- My MAIN caviat is that on certain PCs (mine included), there can be a bug where your mouse may freeze for a split second before whipping suddenly. I recommend playing this with a controller if possible if you have this bug.

- You will eventually run out of new ships to cut, as the ships have been hand-crafted rather than procedurally-generated. I haven't had this issue yet, but I know it's coming. Here's hoping for a sequel!

Overall, I definitely recommend giving this game a shot, especially if you enjoyed games like Power Wash Sim or House Flipper, but wanted something with a bit more pressure or puzzle-solving involved.

As an old fan of the Armored Core series even before Dark Souls brought From Software into the limelight, seeing the announcement trailer for this game after a decade of waiting was truly a memorable moment. There were many fears among the Raven community once the game was revealed. A lot of hopes as well. And honestly? Fromsoft nailed Armored Core's return.

Pros:

• Intense fast-paced combat that rewards experimenting with whatever builds you can think of.
  
  
• Very high degree of customization, with parts buying and selling for the exact same price to encourage you to try them out.
  
  
• Mission-based gameplay structure is a refreshing change of pace, providing bite-sized portions to tackle.
  
  
• Photo Mode!

Neutral:

• PVP isn't unlocked until you reach a certain point of the game. While this helps avoid bots and provides you more options to learn and gather better parts, it also means you must wait until a certain part of the story to play against friends.
  
  
• While the music fits the setting very well, and there are some excellent tracks that stand out, much of the soundtrack might feel a bit more reserved compared to past Armored Core entries. If you've never played an Armored Core game before, feel free to ignore this part of my review.
  
  
• As usual for From Software games, be prepared for a difficult learning curve. If you've ever played through a Souls game, remember that feeling when you started the games for the first time? When you just started a new game in a series you've never tried before? How hard it was before it "clicked"? You'll be facing that experience once again.

Cons:

• For those of you used to the Souls games, the lack of a co-op mode might be a little disappointing. Multiplayer in this game is (at the time of this review) strictly PVP-only.
  
  
• The expanded stats screen can be a little daunting at first for new players. Thankfully there is an in-game "help" system that will let you learn what each stat of a part does.

Summary:

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is an excellent return of a rather niche franchise, built with the polish and budget the series deserves. Whether you're an old Raven or brand new to the series, the game is definitely the smoothest entry in the series. It may not be a Souls game, but I hope all you newcomers come to enjoy the game. Even if you're "not really into mecha." ;)

See you on Rubicon, Raven.

While I didn't expect so many newcomers to come into the Soulsborne franchise via Elden Ring, I would like to welcome all newcomers. Very minor gameplay mechanic spoilers below:

Pros:

-Excellent Music Score

-Wide variety of bosses available and areas to explore

-Different "schools" of magic offering a wide selection of spells for magic builds

-Interesting lore and backstory influenced by the hand of GRRM himself

-Access to a world map that helps you keep track of locations you have visited and where you have left certain NPCs

-Dual-Wielding/Power-Stancing from Dark Souls 2 has returned, without the "1.5x stat requirement needed" caviat

-Single-Player/Offline "Spirit Ash" Summoning System

Neutral:

-Invasions have been changed so that they only occur if the host summons a cooperator (or use a special item to lure invaders in). Depending on which side you're playing on, this could be seen as positive or negative

-Some of the animations are familiar from previous Soulsborne games. In some cases it can seem uninspired, in other cases it is a way to collect the mechanics of past games into one larger, grand tale

-Due to its open-world nature, the difficulty can fluctuate widely between dungeons/open-world areas

-Fire magic (formerly Pyromancy) is now considered an "incantation", meaning you'll find it under the "Faith" tree

Negative:

-Some of the minor optional dungeons can be a bit similar to one another, and it's not uncommon to find a minor dungeon that has the same boss as another. Think of the optional dungeons as being similar to the Chalice Dungeons of Bloodborne, albeit often with much better rewards

-There is no covenant system in Elden Ring, which is mostly just a minor gripe on my end

Overall, I definitely recommend the game, and I hope that it brings more people to give Dark Souls a try. Don't be afraid to experiment with the tools you have at your disposal, and, of course, have fun exploring The Lands Between!

Review:

While it does show its age in certain aspects, Nier Replicant, overall, is an excellent game, even if you have played Automata first.

Tip for New Players (mild spoilers):

Be sure to complete more than one playthrough. Additional story details are provided in subsequent playthroughs if you use the same save file, with 5 endings in total.

PS: Even if you play the game in English, leave the subtitles on, and DO NOT look at the achievements if you are avoiding spoilers.

Used to play this all the time back before it went on Steam. Unfortunately those characters have long since gone away due to inactivity.

Pros:

+ Attractive art style, for creatures, environments, and equipment.
+ Large world to explore
+ Can run on lower-end PCs (even lower on the browser-based version)
+ Multiple classes to choose from, each with their own special ability
+ Free players can train 1 "Passive Skill" and 1 Regular Skill of their choice, which continues to accumulate experience even while offline.

Cons:

- Progress can be slow if playing solo, especially once past Level 10
- Some items/skills/features have a pay wall behind them, as most free-to-play games do
- PVP can be a bit of a challenge without high-tier equipment. However, this game can definitely be played PVE
- Combat mostly involves auto-attack, along with castable spells. (Note: this can be a pro, as it can almost be considered an idle game if you are strong enough to not need to cast spells or abilities)
- You have an energy bar that accumulates "rested time", which is required to gain rewards from enemies. This can accumulate past the 1-hour you get daily, however. (Note: It's been a while, but I believe you still get experience.)


All-in-all, I recommend at least trying it out. It's free, and some people get absolutely hooked to it. However, it is understandable if you are turned off by its simplicity. It's an old game, but it has its own charm to it.

Warhammer 40,000: Regicide

Features

50-Mission Campaign (DLC Ork Campaign for $1)

2 Playable Races (Ork and Space Marines)

Skirmish Mode (Hotseat Multiplayer or Human vs Bot)

Online Multiplayer (Asynchonous and Real-Time)

2 Game Modes (Regicide and Classic Chess)

Multiple Factions (2 Space Marine, 2 Ork Unlocked at start, with more unlockable via in-game currency)

My Take

I personally found this game quite enjoyable, and it actually has rekindled my interest in chess. The combat animations and dialog add a unique flavor to each piece on the board, as well as each army. Kills are bloody, and satisfying, though if you wish to skip the animations of moving or the combat, just press spacebar.

The online multiplayer could definitely benefit from more players though, as sometimes you can find that there are not many people on at certain times of the day. Still, you can occasionally find yourself playing against one of the Developers themselves.

The Regicide Mode is played as a combination of Chess and a turn-based shooter, allowing you to kill units with both chess captures as well as unit abilities. More than once have I been saved by a unit ability in a game where defeat looked certain. Rule of thumb, Space Marines have more armor and more accurate guns, while Orks have more health and deadlier close-range attacks.

The campaign consists of entirely Regicide Mode, with various objectives (and secondary ones for bonus currency and experience) to mix things up. Currency can then be used to purchase more Ork Clans or Space Marine Chapters to play as online or in Skirmish, which have different abilities in Regicide. If you don't want to wait for one of your favorite chapters, they currently cost $0.99 each. (As does the Ork campaign)

Summary:

All in all, this is an entertaining twist on chess that deserves much more attention than it currently has.