Recent reviews by Pèpè Silvia

I fun little platformer with some great art and levels. The game took me ~5hrs, but longer if you want to farm all achievements. I never tried the local coop\mp so I can't comment on that, but it looks like it would be fun.

I did run into a few bugs, only one of them was "gamebreaking":
A piece of the ship I was salvaging fell thru the "ground" and was stuck so I had to re-do the level; I guess not gamebreaking but a little frustrating (didn't happen the second time).
If you die with your grapple hook deployed, the "static" background noise it makes will continuously loop until you load a new game\level. Very annoying but easily fixable.

The art\gfx is very cool and unique, but I think the music is what made this game for me!

Worth it for <$10, just for the soundtrack alone!

7.5\10

A fun little arcade space game that has quite a lot of different types of ships and customization. The story and dialog is pretty weak, but there's still enough here for a few hours of fun.

While there are side missions, they consist of just a few "canned" missions like transport, attack pirates, trading goods, escort, etc. They're a quick way to make money and don't add to the story. There are a few npc's that will sell you charts to "hidden" systems or special items.

For a game that tends to focus on trading, they didn't make it very intuitive. There's no way to store goods, so you either have to get a ship with LOTS of cargo space, or just sell anything you get right away. There's also no economy map. You can look at the highest\lowest known prices for each item; but prices change a lot, and so you have to constantly check which turns into a click-fest. If they just added an economy map all this could be remedied.

AI is mediocre, usually the only challenge is being outnumbered 10-1. Fighting a couple ships at a time usually isn't a challenge once you get some better weapons and items. But watching AI battle each other can be painful.

Graphics look decen't, but for some reason the background stars look blurry and washed out. Planets and special fx look really sharp and crisp, overall they get the job done.

I'd highly recommend a controller, and to get the game on sale ($20 seems a little steep).

5\10

I've only just started playing the game during the free promotion, so my experience is limited. Overall the game is an absolute blast (with a good group). But instantly I noticed the DLC paywall that needs to be purchased to have full customization and to able to progress at a decent rate.

I noticed that at ~lvl 60 progression slows dramatically; and you need to do high-risk jobs on difficult levels if you don't want to grind as much. But, that's when the game gets incredibly hard, and if you don't have certain DLC weapons (like grenades lol), then you will have a very hard time completing missions when 2-4 Tanks (heavily-armored troops) storm your position.

The game comes with a very minimal tutorial, poor SP, and every job is trial and error for newcommers. It can get frustrating because the "vets" of the game will most likely just kick any "noobs" (or just filter them out completely using 3rd party software); so trying to learn the levels and jobs is a job in itself. If there is no teamwork, then you will fail almost every time.

Performance is decent; with FPS usually holding steady around 50-60+ (using an FX8320/gtx770 4gb/16gbRAM). But, performance is dependent on the host system; so if they lag then everyone will get fps drops for a few seconds that feels like slow-mo. Not a show stopper, just a little annoying.

I would rate the game much higher if there wasn't DLC paywalls and if the community was a little more patient with newbs. Overall, it should give you at least a few hours of fun w\o having to buy the DLC

6\10 - ONLY buy if the game is on sale; or you have disposable income

A very atmospheric fps with a few puzzles, and great story. While the game is fairly short (~4 hrs on my first playthrough), there are 3 different endings to add a little replayablility.

The story will keep you interested and looking for more clues as to what happened to the ship\crew as you try to sneak around security 'bots' to progress which will keep you on edge. There are no cheesy jump scares or pointless puzzles, it's straight forward and engaging!

There is no "hand-holding", you will need to use a little bit of your brain to figure out where to go and what to do (this is made easier with maps and clues placed around the ship).

The gfx are mediocre; but this was created mainly by one guy, and anyone who enjoys gaming knows that while gfx can make a good game better, they don't always make a good game on their own. If you can look past that minor flaw then it will be much more enjoyable IMO.

If you like sci-fi games with immersive stories, and a small touch of dread\horror, this is a must buy!

8.5\10

This War of Mine is an excellent little gem that takes on a different perspective. Instead of surviving the 'zombie appocalypse' and running around causing hell, you're trapped in a city besieged by war. Every decision will affect the outcome later down the road; so you must carefully plan your moves; much like a game of chess.

First, I don't think I can say enough praise about this game. I fell in love almost instantly with the concept, characters, setting, music, and even the 2.5d gameplay.

Second, this game is HARD at the start. It took me until my 5th try to beat the game; almost 20 hrs in. This is not for people who get frustrated easily; as there's a lot of trial and error involved with your first few playthroughs; at least until you get the hang of how stuff works. There is no tutorial or walkthrough; they throw you right in the middle and you must learn to overcome any obstacles.

There's a very delicate balance of risk vs. reward, so as I said earlier you must plan each day out as best as possible so you don't waste time\resources going to places that won't benefit you the most. A lot of times you won't even be able to do a "recon" mission because you will be pressed to find food, medication, or materials so you can survive another night.

During each day you must stay in your shelter and build equipment, upgrade your house, cook food, comfort other members, etc. There's plenty of stuff to keep you busy, and usually you will be pressed by time to finish any tasks before nightfall.

At night you use the cover of darkness to travel to different areas of the city gathering supplies. Some will be abandoned; but most will still have occupants. Some will be neutral or even trade; but most will attack if provoked. Levels have multiple paths that you will need to navigate thru, using shovels to clear debris piles; or a saw to cut metal bars. Each action makes sound; so (for example) if you're trying to be sneaky, use a lockpick instead of a crowbar to open a door.

It's also not wise to kill everyone you come accross; as this will send some members over the breaking point. and they will refuse to take orders; or they may just leave; making survival even tougher. In some situations, killing is inevitable; so you must be prepared for the concequences.

The game does an excellent job at connecting the player with the characters; so when (not if) a member dies, you actually feel like you lost a friend. But, it's at this point you must press on; because sooner or later the war will end.

Game design is top notch. The music is fantastic, with a Metro2033 vibe that adds a lot to the mood. The interface is simply point\click, with icons highlighting interactive spots; very simple and easy to use. The level design helps with the mood as well, with excellent graphics detail of partially destroyed buildings; lighting, and the overall feel of a war-torn city.

The main story even has randomn events and characters, so each playthrough is a little different. Once you've played the main story, there's also custom "stories" that you can either build from within the game, or dl via Steam Workshop; so there's many hours of play from this great game.

--Bottom Line--
Don't pass this up, the game has a little bit for everyone IMO. This proves that you don't need the latest 3D engine and hundreds of staff to make a good game. If you can look past the lack of tutorial\instruction, then this game will not disappoint.

10/10

Evochron is an expansive sandbox space combat simulator that encourages exploration. Don't blow this off as some clone or half♥♥♥♥♥♥♥attempt; this will give everyone who enjoys space sims and exploration plenty of entertainment.

This game has a fairly steep learning curve; it kind of throws you into a universe and sets you free. The controls and GUI are daunting at first, but if you just take the time to learn (look for some tutorials) it starts to become second nature. You WILL need to learn how to properly navigate!! Fuel is limited, and (I'm assuming) your time is limited as well. To save fuel, time, and headache, learn how to navigate! Flying "dead stick" thru space will probably just get you killed, or at the very least waste a lot of time.

The star system is vast, mostly contained within our own Milkyway galaxy...TO SCALE. I'm sure that no person has enough time to completely explore the whole area; as it would take thousands and thousands of hours to do so. While there are plenty of inhabited systems that you access with jump gates; there are many uncharted areas that are left for the player to find on their own. You'll find most of these areas through missions and buying information; or by building survey stations that will search uncharted sectors.

You can purchase\craft base structures to collect fuel, hold cargo, mine asteroid fields, or find uncharted systems in nearby sectors. To get materials and money, you'll need to explore and ask friendlies about any information or missions. Missions range from finding lost cargo, gathering materials, escorting friendlies, or attacking enemies. They're all fairly basic but can lead to rare loot that you can sell or keep. This is where it's best to have a friend or two to team up with so you can complete objectives faster.

There's a fairly robust ship customization mechanic that allows you to change the type, performance, weapons, cargo/crew, and arrange the different sections of the hull. You can customize your vessel almost however you want; from re-arranging the chassis and different sections, to customizing weapon platforms and even your character/crew.

The only cons that I have is the small (but active) community. So few people play that it's rare to see anyone else playing. Graphics aren't the best, but they're definitely not terrible. They actually look better than a lot of other indi games, and are still easily passable by todays standards. And if you add mods or ENB fx, it will look even better.

There's really too much to write about, and I have barely scratched the surface. It's best to support a great and dedicated developer, who is constantly improving the game even years after release. It's cheap, it's fun, and IMO has more content than most AAA titles.

8/10

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

Yep, twice I've bought ea titles from this dev (previous being StarForge), and twice I've been burned.

The game itself can still offer hours of entertainment and fun; but overall it's just not finished. Movement has always felt clunky to me; performance is sub-par with frequent pauses\hitches during play, and fps is all over the place.

Hackers are also more common than I'd like; but luckily if you find a good server with good admins, they shouldn't be a problem.

Only get if on sale and you have friends that already play it...otherwise save your money.

4/10


On a side note: Avoid games from these devs. I gave them the benefit of the doubt when they released StarForge incomplete; saying they've "learned from their mistakes" and they "know what they're doing now" bla bla...pretty much lies to customers faces.

It's a shame because if they would simply complete their games, they could have had some real gems; but right now they don't seem to know how to do that properly.

Classic Bait 'n Switch. While there is some value here; the main focus of the game they sold us on went out the window; and instead went the micro-transaction route.

Wait until F2P; or only pick it up if on sale, and only if you have friends that play as well.

edit: Not F2P anymore, and not worth $20.

While the game has a good premise and great atmosphere; it suffers from abstract puzzles and design flaws.

First off - If you don't like jump scares, probably best to stay away. There's several in this game; and while they're not so prevalent that they get annoying; some just seem unnecessary.

Level design felt average; with nothing standing out that made me excited. Some were cool ideas, while some felt tacked on just to add another puzzle.

The dev's have gone with a sort of "abstract art" sheme with polygons and 'blocky' models. While this is all good when done right; sometimes it seems they did it simply to "cut corners". Some models look straight out of a game from the mid-90's (i.e. the airplane). Round objects like pillars and orbs have straight edges; a lot of textures are very low quality or non-existent, and lighting felt very basic. It's as if they went for a cell-shaded game but didn't quite commit.

This doesn't necessarily take away from the game, but it definitely doesn't add to it; and there several times when I was left wondering "why did they do that?"

The puzzles range from your typical "library maze" and "simon says" to some that are so abstract and "outside of the box" that they become frustrating. Most of the puzzles are "trial and error"; with nothing really explaining what the goal is.

Some are so "out there", that it takes incredibly long to do something that should be simple. This leaves you wandering around trying to find anything that you might have mised; when usually there nothing else and it's just by chance or luck that you figgure it out.

Some puzzles are designed well, but are frustrating because of poor level design i.e. switches that don't work unless you're in the perfect spot; activating switches that are close to others will activate the undesired one; or something hiding in the shadows. It feels very clunky and unintuitive compared to most puzzle games.

The story itself is interesting; but it suffers from the long "pauses" of trying to solve these abstract puzzles that don't relate in any way to the story, and you start to loose interest. There's also no voiceovers for the cutscenes showing the "past"; so you sit in complete silence watching the story unfold.

In a game like this, lighting is key. However, while the "ambient" lighting is fantastic; lighting on objects and models is horrid. There is no dynamic lighting, so you don't get the "shadow play" effect that creeps you out even more.
Static shadows are grainy, murky messes. The flashlight (which is only in a few levels) only lights up a (polygon) cone and doesn't cast shadows and is full of glitches. Most un-lit corners are pitch black while there's a light 2 feet away. This actually takes away from the game as it keeps players from exploring, (or even seeing) most of the level.

All in all, it's an OK game with very few good puzzles, and while the story is presented poorly, it's not a terrible premise. If you get this game I'd recommend getting it during a sale, so if you get frustrated you don't feel so guilty about letting it go.

I can only recommend this game if you get it for cheap, and\or if you REALLY like puzzle games no matter how abstract or obtuse they are.

6\10