Recent reviews by Pèpè Silvia

Not a bad detective game with a pace that keeps you engaged. The game doesn't hold your hand in any way, and you will need to search everything. It's a good idea to have a way to take notes, as there's many different clues that you will need to re-visit futher in the game. The story was interesting enough to keep me playing, although hard to follow in some parts.

Performance was variable, as some areas would drop fps by ~50% for no apparent reason. The lighting and textures IMO were some of the games weak points. Textures are extremely low res, flat, and blury. Lighting and shadows are static, and they don't feel very realistic while just making it harder to find some clues/items. There is no day/night cycle, which I think would have added a ton of atmosphere to the game.

Another weak point are the he sounds. Music tracks consists of a handful of what seems like one minute long tracks, only changing when you enter a different area. You will hear the same tune over and over as you spend an hour in the same area searching for all the clues. I had to turn the music off after just a few hours because it was so repetitive.

Despite the flaws, the game still offered some good entertainment. If you can wait for a sale, it's well worth the money IMO
6.5/10

A well executed interactive story. Great artwork, design, and original concept. The story keeps you engaged by "acting" out dreams and fantasies as seen thru diaries/notes, although the game is pretty short at ~1.5-2hrs of playtime.

$20 might be a little steep, but definitely worth it on sale.

7/10

To sum up the scope and depth of this game would take too long, so straight to the good things:

Tons of content and customizations
Many unique maps with lots of detail
Looks great and runs great (for me)
Fair progression system that doesn't feel grindy (at least at the start)
Play however you want as infantry, or in land\air\space vehicles; but you will still need to use tactics and communication, or you're just easy frags.

The game does have a moderate learning curve, so don't expect to charge in and do good. You will need to use teamwork and coordination, or your team will loose almost every time, think something like "Squad" in space.

The only (but biggest) downside is the lack of players. I understand that the early access status probably keeps some from buying, but this game needs players to show it's full potential. The devs are also good about steady updates that fix\add features instead of "feature-creep" patches.

Please gift this to a friend, get the word out, etc. because games like these are pretty rare. And since Steam is obviously geared towards promoting popular>quality, it would be a shame to squander it due to lack of promotion.

Don't waste money on $60+ "AAA" games that have a one year shelf life, and have ♥♥♥♥ content with microtransactions\lootboxes; this game is less than $20 and it feels like a AAA game with polish and content. Don't sleep on this one!

A very short, narrative driven walking sim, similar to games like Firewatch. Total playtime was less than two hours; so if you think $10 is a little steep just wait for a sale like I did.

Overall the game felt average; the story was interesting but I had most of it figured out after just a few minutes of playing. The graphics are pretty standard UE4 visuals that keep you engaged, and the music score is probably the best thing about the game.

A very short, average game with decent visuals and good soundtrack. Not a bad game, but nothing mindblowing either.
6/10

I usually don't do early access reviews, but I'm pushing 100hrs in this game, so I wanted to give my opinions about the game and why I think it's worth a review.

If you're a fan of driving games I would highly recommend checking out Wreckfest, which offers many hours of fun and entertainment using extremely detailed visuals, great replay feature (although only available in sp), and a good mix of sim-heavy "sim-cade" style gameplay (if that's even a thing lol).

Note: This IS NOT a "Flatout" sequel (even if it's by the same devs); this is a bangers-style derby game. A lot of people buying Wreckfest seem to think it's another Flatout style game; with ragdolls and crazy jumps and NITRO!!! This game is more similar to Destruction Derby, with detailed physics and handling; but lots of destruction.

There's plenty of options to customize your driving style, but in the end it's always the same: Destruction! I'm more of a casual driving\racing gamer; but I loved the old Destruction Derby and Flatout games so I gave this a try. Instantly you'll notice the physics and particles from almost every object in the level. 90% of objects can be manipulated in some way, usually resulting in spectacular displays of destruction and mayhem.

MP is a blast. The MP community is small, but dedicated, and there's usually planned events to join every several days\weeks. But as with most MP games, it's best to find a friend\group just to weed out the random trolls. Even racing a buddy H2H can be some of the best fun in a racing game; and it gets even better with a group.

The SP is still fun and challenging; with the AI able to put up a decent fight most of the time (you can change their difficulty if needed). There's also mod support that has already produced some great addons like more tracks, cars, parts, objects, etc. to keep things fresh while the (albiet slow) development continues.



The main "con" with the game is that it's been a slow development process; but each update improves and refines the game into what the devs envisioned.

, but

A very fun and addicting tower defense hybrid, combining some RTS and shooter elements. While the ammount of upgrades and abilities is somewhat limited, it doesn't detract from the absolute fun this game is to play.

Overall the game is very polished; bugs seemed very minor with nothing gamebreaking in the ~30 hrs it took me to beat the game.

The game ran flawlessly on my system, fps was constant and smooth, no matter how much action was going on. The engine is top notch, having very high detail and particle effects w/o dropping fps. The "AI" was actually competent, and prioritized targets effectively.

If you like tower defense and strategy games, do not sleep on this one. Well worth full price, and I hope the devs release more content because I will definitely be coming back
9/10

Don't be fooled by the the gamelay videos, this game is NOT in the same state as the videos would have you believe. IMO this initial release is just to stress-test the servers. There's very little content, the performance is horrendous, and the player population is already dwindling.

My biggest issue is constant pauses\stutters\hitching\rubberbanding on every server I played on. I didn't expect 100% fluid gameplay, but it's so consistant (~every 30 seconds) that it makes it almost unplayable. It doesn't matter if the server is populated or completely empty, it happens all of the time.

Performance is spotty at best; going from 70+fps to drops in the 30's with medium settings just looking\moving around. Normally I don't mind so much, but because mouse acceleration is forced with no way to turn it off, aiming\moving accurately is near impossible when fps is constantly fluctuating.

Controls - They have a disclaimer where they claim that the controls are on the "back burner" for now because they're not a priority atm...wtf?? The controls are one of the most important things of any game; if you can't control things effectively then it gets very frustrating! Luckily they're not totally broken, but they need a serious revamp, and soon. Inverting the mouse axis doesn't work, mouse accelleration is forced on, some buttons can't be changed, some buttons seem to be missing or not implemented yet (i.e. no "freelook" button), the menus are barely functional, etc etc etc.

My final issue is that content and balance is non-existant. I was in an empty server for ~40 minutes looting every building I came accross and didn't find a single item of loot. Then I was in a different server and the first house I went to was FULL of loot...there doesn't seem to be any balance or consistancy right now. Which again makes me think that this release was simply to stress-test the servers.

I realize this is early access, but to charge money for a game in this state is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ travesty. They (both Steam and developers) should be doing more internal testing before charging money for an unfinished, broken product.

IMO, just wait. Look at the past track record for this game/devs and see how it's taken them roughly 4 years just to get to pre-alpha status, and I guarantee that it's going to take another 4+ years for this game to be finished. If you MUST buy another zombie-survival-crafting-KoS game then by all means; just don't expect a finished product for many years to come. For this reason I can't recommend this game in it's current state, or at the current price

A good game with great production and presentation. The narrative and setting keep you engaged and interested, and doesn't feel like the devs cut corners (as so common with a lot of other exploration type games).

As you explore the ship, you find notes, files, and clues that lead you to answers of what happened to the ships crew and passengers. You are supposed to communicate with the ships AI (Kaizen) to find those answers; but you soon realize that there's more to the story than Kaizen is leading on to.

The AI is interactive, and you ask it questions and give it commands. However, keep in mind that the game was developed by a very small team, so this feature is pretty limited. You'll soon start seeing a lot of repettitive responses when you say\ask something that isn't relative to the story (which is to be expected imo).

My only cons with the game is the relatively short story. I finished my first playthrough in just under 3.5 hrs; although I didn't take time to hunt achievements, or unlock the other two endings (three in all). Some players may not see the value in the game at full price, but if you like atmospheric exploration games then you will see the hard work put into the game; or just wait for a sale if you're still not convinced.

Despite it's short story, the game has plenty of atmosphere and depth to keep you moving forward to find answers.
8.5/10

Call of Pripyat continues the STALKER tradition of great story, variety of locations, and immersion. CoP is the most polished STALKER game, although it tends to run shorter, and the story isn't as interesting and can be hard to follow (new players to the series should start with Shadow of Chernobyl, but just IMO).

It's unfortunate that the series is now defunct, but luckily there are some VERY dedicated moders and teams that keep this series alive almost 10 years after release. (check ModDB for mods).

If you like immersive FPS action with elements of stealth, RPG, and exploration, STALKER delivers 100% on all fronts.
9/10

One of the best indi games I've played in a looooong time. The art, sound, and overall concept, are unique and original, instead of the plethora of copy\paste trash that plagues the industry. From the second you start playing you know that the devs put all their heart and effort into perfecting the game. I came into this never playing the first two Samorost games, but it didn't matter.

Instantly the art\animations jumped right out at me, and appreciated how detailed thier hand drawn, 2D world looked. Textures are crisp, models are intracately shaped, and every location is unique and detailed to the very last pixel. There is NO copy\paste in any of these scenes, which is pretty amazing. The "2.5D" art style adds a ton of depth to the scenes. Every time I'd switch to a new zone, I would move closer to my screen, trying to pick out every little detail.

The sound design instantly stood out as well, it is truely unique. While it's typical to build the sound around the setting; in Samorost, the setting is built around the sound as well. Most (if not all) puzzles are designed around audio and visual cues to help you solve them. Once you do, random sounds will combine to form musical "riffs" to form a flowing track.

Aside from the ambient music track, all of the sounds are voiced. They are made with a series of mumbles, coos, and grunts that create every sound. The ambient music was soothing yet haunting, calm but upbeat. Very hard to describe, but it helped set the mood even further.

The only con I had was some of the transitions between locations takes a little long, but it gives you more time to appreciate the hard work that must have went into this game for such a small team.

The game gave me ~8 hrs of play to complete the story and collect all of the achievements (I did use a guide to collect a few). There isn't really any replay value, but the game delivered 100% of it's value (for me) in the time I got out of it.

If you have ANY interest in the genre, then you need to play this game. I bought it on sale, but I would have easily paid full price.

9.5\10