Recent reviews by FuzzyJuzzy

Another retro style shooter from 3D realms that gets the aesthetics of a 90's shooter so right but fundamentally misses the mark on gameplay. In this case, the game tries to be Quake but fails to understand (or capture) what made the game great.

The enemies and weapons look fantastic but are utterly boring in practice. All weapons are direct fire and there are no interesting or dynamic enemy behaviours. Walk into a room and unload on enemies that essentially stand or float, rinse and repeat. The levels lack any interesting design or flair and enemy placement is careless and unimaginative.

After finishing one level I couldn't remember a single interesting encounter and the entire experience felt like a repetitive slog. The hub is admittedly a cool idea, but a beautiful hub that leads to nothing of substance makes for a poor game. I know it's early access, but typically at this stage you need a compelling gameplay loop or some strong fundamental mechanics to build on. Wrath lacks any semblance of this and therefore has a tough uphill journey if it wants to become a good game.

Half-Life 2 has been faithfully and respectfully updated by a team who are obviously passionate about the legacy of one of the greatest games of all time. The graphical touch ups are tasteful and subtle and respect the original visual style; bugs have been thoroughly fixed and the game has never been in a better state. On top of that, the included commentary featuring some of the most prominent members of the Half-Life 2 community is both insightful and professionally recorded. This is without a doubt the definitive version of Half-Life 2 that more than deserves a revisit or first play-through.

This is an absolute gem of a game. With such a low cost and gameplay so simple and breezy, you’d think there was little depth. You’d be wrong. After almost 20 hours sunk, I’m still captivated by the complexities that arise from such an elegant game design.

The zen like relaxational state this game induces combined with the “one more turn” addictiveness make for one of the best game experiences I’ve had this year.

It blows my mind that a few university students created this!

A very convincing looking Build engine shooter but lacking in compelling enemies or weapons. Most enemies pose the same challenge and behave the same way, while weapons are nearly indistinguishable in their utility. The level design on the other hand is intricate and creative at times. Overall though, this is all show and little substance.

Much more than an amazing retro throwback to 90s shooters, this is one of the best shooters ever made. The gunplay is simply sublime, with weapons feeling and sounding incredible to wield. Dusk also features great enemy variety and frantic, blazingly fast gameplay. David Szymanski has really nailed both movement and shooting mechanics.

What surprised me the most however, was the god tier level design. Simply put, this game has some of the most creative and innovative level design I've ever seen in a shooter. There were many moments where I literally gasped out loud at what I was witnessing on screen. To top it all off, the game has a great sense of progression through the episodes and the level variety is impressive.

Get this. Easily the best shooter of the year and deserves a place among the greats of the past.

Into the Breach is basically a perfect expression of mech fantasy in the form of kaiju chess. It's gameplay is so incredibly designed that it manages to be constantly stimulating and infinitely replayable. The progression systems and even the story justification for them are extremely well thought out and will keep you hooked.

This is a tactics game of exquisite elegance and profound depth. I can safely say that it's topped FTL for me, and that was one of my favourite games ever. Get it.

Caves of Qud is an incredibly fun and deep roguelike set in a richly unique and retro-futurist world. It's brought to life with some of the most evocative prose I've ever read, excellent ASCII style art, and incredible otherworldly music.

If you even have a passing interest in roguelikes, memorable open worlds, or deep RPGs you owe it to yourself to try this one out. It's in Early Access but there are updates every single week and there is a clear roadmap to a full 2018 release.

Really didn't expect this to be the follow up spiritual successor to System Shock 2, but it is. A fantastic immersive sim with even more open ended gameplay than the greats from the 90s, wrapped up in a compelling setting and narrative that is thought provoking and really gets under your skin. The game is also reminiscent of Bioshock and Dishonored, but stands very well on it's own. The reviews have been surprisingly tempered for this, but trust me, if you love immersive sims, this is an incredible example of one that we just don't get these days.

This is a terrible game. It tries to emulate the visceral action of a 90s shooter but completely fails.

The fundamental gameplay loop is fatally flawed. Since all enemies immediately zero in on the player in a direct line, the player is encouraged to run backwards while funnelling the enemies into narrow corridors for maximum kill potential. A game like this should encourage a player to run into the fray and strafe around, but this game does the opposite.

Everything else about the game is poor too: Levels are just randomly joined together square rooms with no semblance of level design at all; The powerups and weapon pickups are either useless or are worse than your default weapon; the armor and ammo are ludicrously expensive and the progression is unsatisfying.

On top of all this, the basic gameplay is not fun or impactful. Guns lack impact and the enemies are boring. The physics are floaty and everything feels weightless.

Avoid.

Don't let Beamdog's previous efforts disuade you - this is a remaster done right. Right away, you'll notice fantastic upgrades to the UI, while still maintaining it's style and graphics from the original. No amateur art here! The customisation options are excellent and really make sense for a modern experience. The game plays smoother than the original and the mouse control feels much more precise. In terms of the gameplay, it's completely unaltered and there have been no changes to dialogue, which is what everyone wanted to see.

This is by far the most definitive PS:T experience right now. Get it.