Recent reviews by breakbeast

Who knew Bungie could stick the landing? I wasn't entirely confident about The Final Shape, what with Lightfall's subpar story and lack of interesting content in its endgame, but it's safe to say my expectation was wrong. This is, by far, Bungie's best expansion for the game, and the best story that's come out of this studio outright (even including Halo and Marathon!). I'm glad to see the newer writers have found their sweet spot, and the rest of the dev team has managed to sync up to creating a harmonious blend of environment and gameplay mechanics to their narrative. And kudos must go to basically everyone on that team, because there isn't a single thing I could give a major complaint about, the new destination is fantastic, Prismatic is extremely fun, the new enemy varieties and weapons are very creative and versatile, and all in all, it feels like with TFS, Destiny 2 is finally in the shape (hah) its wanted to be for years now ("Play your way" was a marketing phrase and game philosophy they've been cooking for years now, and now it's finally done in the oven, it's an absolutely delicious meal).

This is not the expansion to start Destiny 2 in. To gain the full value of enjoyment from this, you need to have some love for what's come before. But if you do, if you've looked at Destiny 2 for so long with eager eyes and a wish for it to just find its footing among its many experiments and ideas, this is what you've been waiting for.

In the interest of useful critique, my only negative critical feedback are that the campaign difficulty curve is slightly uneven, some of the weapons' colour designs aren't to my taste, and... no, actually, I think that's about it. I hope this year isn't the end of D2, but if it is, it's going out with a bang.

This is a game for a very particular type of person, the type who likes to pour over the same paragraphs a few times for clues and take too many notes and stubbornly work things out by themselves (moreso at their own relaxed pace than one might have with Weather Factory's previous title, Cultist Simulator, which had much more peril in its course of W.I.O.Y. (also known as work-it-out-yourself, a new acronym that as of this typing I am no longer trying to make 'a thing')). This is definitely a game for the spreadsheet lovers, and the venn diagram intersection between that type of shut-in library nerd and those with an almost academic approach to digesting cryptic, weird fiction and interpretations of history and theology, a similar yet distinct type of shut-in library nerd (and oh, what a specific treat that type of nerd will have, with writing so clearly based on a deep understanding of real-world history, ancient theology and post-Renaissance occultist philosophy, built upon as foundation for an emergent and beautiful little fictional setting cooked up for our plates, the emergence of which I shall no longer speak on as it is rather wonderfully discovered for oneself, though those players of Cultist Simulator will be quite familiar with some established tenets and very unfamiliar with these newer ones).

Anyhow, it just so happens that I am so specifically that kind of shut-in library nerd, and if you are also of like mind, or of some sort of mind in the vague periphery of that, then this is not just a good fit for you, it is most likely a perfect fit for you. Go in with blindfolds on, candles lit and curtains drawn, and you will be shortly left asking why on earth no one else has tried a game like this before, and also rather quickly, why on earth no one else has been quite this good at it.

in my top 3 for the best gunplay of any shooter i've ever played (and i've played a lot of them). it kind of feels like this game was designed for me specifically and the fact everyone else likes it is just happy coincidence

If you're looking for a relatively easy to start Mario Party clone for PC this is basically the best you're going to get right now. With that being said, I find it difficult to recommend to anyone who's looking to get a lot of bang for their buck.

The map selection has little variance between them, each differing by structure and a single gimmick (one has a serial killer who stalks the nearest player at the end of a turn, another has an action button that reverses the layout of the stage) but these gimmicks rarely affect gameplay in my experience. A lot of the mini-games suffer from some major flaw, whether it's the quite awful controls for the plane-flying mini-game, bad map design for the hot potato mini-game (you can basically just play cat and mouse around an obstacle) or the fact the cars in the karting mini-game control like hot garbage (its called "accelerate" but it stops you immediately when you let go and brings you to max speed instantly...), and most of them become kind of boring to replay later. Items are kind of unclear on how they work, especially the giftbox, which doesn't really make it clear that there are multiple "good" outcomes.

In addition to this, sometimes the maps just do not work properly with the game. I tried to use a boxing glove on someone to the space next to me and the boxing glove didn't hit because the space was very slightly raised due to the map's vertical height difference. Another time, the serial killer walked right past me and towards another player even though I was right next to him. There are also numerous misspellings, grammar and punctuation issues.

In my opinion, if you want to play a party game with your friends and you don't really care, this will probably last your group a bit if they also don't care too much and have more fun with each other than on the game. Otherwise, I would just set up NetPlay on Dolphin, because this lasted my group 3 games before everyone got permanently tired of it.

Small misc. comments and nitpicks:
- The board actually being a physical map that things other than players can move around freely in is actually a really cool concept and the eggplant bomb is an extremely fun item to use.
- Most of these mini-games are wholesale ripped off from other party games or just other games in general. I spy Tron and Bomberman alone in the promotional screenshots.
- The rulesets have customisable trophies at the end, but one condition is least mini-games lost, which is literally the same as most mini-games won except in extreme edge cases. If you're thinking "maybe I want to reward people for *losing* the most mini-games", you can just do "least mini-games won". For this reason, I have no idea why this rule exists.
- If you take a beehive out and use it in The Rift, you can hover it off a platform and build up speed, and then move it away and the selection cursor fires off. This doesn't break the max radius or make it act weird in any way, I just thought it was funny.

This is frankly one of the best and most emotional game experiences I've ever had. I don't think I've cared more about a protaginst than Niko. Please play this, please tell people to play this, it's so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ good, I could write essays on how good this game is.

I've played this game as it released through to completion, no rush, stopping by and talking and exploring, taking small breaks, and I write this as I've just finished. This game might be one of my favourite things ever. Everything was so good, the artstyle and animation is deceptively simple and yet expressive, the dialogue was amazingly well-written and captivating, when I moved it didn't feel like I was getting from point A to point B, it felt like I was experiencing a world. The amount of flavour and immersion added to it is beautiful. Everything has life and it doesn't only make you appreciate that, but it makes you appreciate life itself.

This is something I needed for a long time and I didn't realise it. I love this. I want everyone to experience this. Please get this if you can. Thank you to Scott, Alec and Bethany, I think you just changed the way I see life now.

i am very much enjoying walkies simulator and hope to see more soon

You will see people tell you that Undertale is overrated, overhyped, and has an obnoxious community. Forget what those people are saying and play this game for yourself, whether they are right or not, it won't matter, because for better or for worse this might be one of the best experiences you'll receive for a good long time. You really shouldn't read an in-depth review even over mechanics, it's somewhat better just to go in without really knowing about it intrincally. That said:

Pros:
- The writing is really nice and flavourful, it reminds me of Earthbound (you will hear this a lot) on how every character has something interesting to say and nearly every object has some fun description instead of a small detailed one of what it does. The game also knows when the best time to drop certain humour in place for a moment it's not needed, in which case those descriptions suit themselves to the tone needed. Good stuff.
- There really is just flavour everywhere, the game feels very alive and wonderful because the world feels real, and its quirkiness reflects on it much more wholey, other than just feeling like individual characters or parts are weird or silly, the whole world of the underground has this difference that not many other in-game universes can attest themselves to.
- The pacing feels good, a little slow to start, for a reason that you can imply from when you play it, but basically it feels like this game is exactly as long as it needs to be while just leaving you with a desire for more of it. Not more of the individual storylines of whichever route you take, more just a desire for it itself.
- The stor... you know actually I think I want to cap off this review with something different.

I want you to look at the overzealous undertale fan you can first fine. Look at who they are, look at their blog or their youtube comments, or their twitter, or their steam. Find a time when they weren't this. I can gurantee you, there will likely be a time when they thought this was all cringey, and that it was weird and immature, for any kind of fandom or whatever. Look at it like this: Undertale managed to break down that person's insecurities and rejection of fully outwardly loving something, and letting people know they did. Yeah, it might be annoying or obnoxious, but look at how much they're enjoying themselves, unconventionally fufulling themselves with the fandom of a video game. That overzealous fanboy is a better review than any I could make, it's not to say that this is what this game will do to you, more than it will, at any least, make you realise that it's okay to show love, and it's okay to be comfortable with it.

Think about the first sentence of this review. Think about why Undertale might be overrated, overhyped and have that community. The first reviews came before the larger community picked it up, no one is being bribed (people actually think this? it was almost a one dog team come on), the reason it has so much love that makes people adore a game so much isn't coming from anything pre-conceived, or artificial, the game naturally creates that love in you, more than any pre-established series can. Why does it do that? Well, go and see for yourself. That's why this love you can see wherever you go is a better review than this could ever be.

Honestly I don't normally write reviews seriously but this game shocked me with how beautiful and imaginative it was. The puzzles felt fun and original and it neither felt like I was reusing old solutions nor was the main core mechanic of each set being under-used (i.e. being introduced then taken away for another mechanic).

The exploration is really nicely done, it felt like that nicer type "do it yourself, we're not giving you a map or anything", and while it was confusing at first until you realise how pathing works, it made me feel a lot more free and immersed within the game.

The artstyle is something I was a big fan of, very Tron like yet it wasn't sickening with neon. The colours stood out and made key areas and visuals clear, as the rest of the game is rather dark in shading.

The music was atmospheric and beautiful, and probably the game's highlight. Every little part of the game, from the puzzles (which I noticed changed either modulations or notes on the main synthesizer) to the little expanding platforms changes the music in some way and makes the world feel magical and mysterious. The atmosphere it creates is one that enchanted me from the beginning to the end.

The little unlockables at the end that unlock parts of the synth to use are probably one of the most desirable unlockables I've ever come across in any game. Unlike Crackdown's orbs or Meat Boy's bandages (both games I enjoyed but did not feel invested in the collectables, even though they changed the game in some way), this game goes for short but sweet collectables that add modulations and functions to the additional synthesizer which can be used to make pretty tracks without needing too much experience in music design itself. In fact, the game sort of teaches you about certain aspects of music design and effect through its puzzles, like one for instance which works on timing decay.

If I had to say there was something lacking, it would be the loss of (at least I don't think there is) a story or underlying message. But in this element I feel perhaps a directed story may have spoiled the looser narrative of exploring the world. Also, there isn't much replayability outside of the synth, but the synth does kind of make up for that by itself.

All in all I had a great time playing this game and I continue to play around with the synth. I would absolutely recommend buying this game if you can, it's well worth your time and money.

Dota 2 in terms of what it offers as a game is excellent. It's a mostly* well-tuned game with a steep difficulty curve that mostly** feels rewarding, and when you play it well, it's a very fun time. I would recommend*** playing in a full party with people who also play and trying to expand your ability at every given opportunity if you want to get the most enjoyment out of it. I would personally recommend this as my go-to MOBA over any other.

* Mostly as in, many patch cycles will have heroes that dominate the meta. This is natural for metas, however, the amount they dominate can be absolutely frightening and the response can be very delayed or be insufficient. The degree to which you can effectively "counter" a PA for example with MKB is overstated and relies heavily on drafting which is easier said in hindsight. Many times, a game can be ♥♥♥♥♥♥ from the draft onwards, and while this makes sense, it makes for an agonising 40 minutes of gameplay, usually down to the fault of anyone but yourself when your party is full of random people.

** Mostly as in, the game's reliance on team fights/actions for the majority of its conflict can effectively blueball you no matter how well you play if your teammates are bad. This, again, is natural for MOBAs, but it causes an issue of being unable to get better or learn anything about the game when your progress is being walled, especially in ranked gamemodes. The issue isn't the reliance on teamfights, it's the matchmaking, which is admittedly very difficult since "skill" is so arbitrary, but many games I've played recently have had at least one or two smurfs, and at least one or two players who are simply playing a different game at times.

*** Playing in a party of five can effectively iron out these two issues if you play or learn well, so for that reason I strongly recommend it.

(As an added note, I disagree with people's umbrage over Valve not "caring" about the game. As a CS:GO and TF2 player, they very clearly care more about Dota 2 than either of those games. Regular balance patches are not ones that find their way into these, nor such elaborate and well-designed cosmetics and events.)