Recent reviews by Praedyth

It's been a while since I reviewed something from Destiny, but I need to contribute to fixing a narrative here ASAP.

Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate is freaking awesome.

There were a lot of aspects of this DLC that made me nervous in the build up, but my expectations have been shattered in a way that only a couple DLCs have before. This is a game that I put almost a thousand hours per year into, I've followed it across 5 platforms and over a decade. I've been down this road before, and I can confidently say that I am impressed by this one.

This campaign tries something new, and I've seriously enjoyed it. I think the general plot has been fun, it hits a lot of the genre aesthetics that I really enjoy and it's such a nice change of pace from the organic chitin art style of the Hive/Deep that has been the standard for a long time. I don't go into an expansion expecting the story to be winning awards for masterful writing, and it's not going to, but I've found the story to be a fun new chapter for Destiny. It hits a lot of deep lore points and adds some really cool intrigue for the future!

The new Portal system was a real eyebrow raiser for me going into this, but I've rapidly fallen in love with the freedom it gives you to create the perfect level of repeatable solo challenge. Sometimes I want to just crush the fastest solo Whisper I can, and sometimes I want to make something brutally hard. This gives me that chance.

There are things I'm still not sold on, I still don't think >100 stats should apply in Crucible for example (honestly, I don't think any stats should apply in Crucible, but that's a non-Edge of Fate topic in general), but the good in this DLC far outweighs the negative.

I wholeheartedly recommend Edge of Fate.

Over the past two weeks I have played 112 hours of this game. In that time I have spent 80 hours at my full time job. It's good. Ultra Hard is life.

---

Horizon Forbidden West is a more than worthy successor to its masterpiece of a predecessor. It grows upon the first in almost every way as you explore its vast and jaw-droppingly beautiful world. It's a game to get lost in, a flow state to be absorbed by in your entirety. A truly monumental achievement in gaming.

However, there are a few details that simply must be mentioned. As spectacular as HFW is, and despite all the ways it improves upon Zero Dawn, I still do consider Zero Dawn to be the true masterpiece between the two. Forbidden West gets oh so close, and yet a couple tiny details hold it back. Foremost among those, there are moments where it feels as though the near perfection of the mechanical movement of the first game has slipped just enough to be noticeable. Getting stuck in an awkward to leave climbing state in the middle of a fight or the literally less than 5 times I've had my player or an enemy clip into something irreversibly are not *major* problems, but they're the kind of moments that stick with you.

The world also suffers without the mystery that built the first. It feels like there is a smaller density of findable lore, and frankly I understand why. The first game was magical with this creeping realization of the horrifying truth of the end of the world, but that question is now answered, and it's not quite as captivating without it.

And yet, all of that is OK. Not exceeding a masterpiece is hardly a bar for recommendation, especially when this comes so very close to it. The massively improved inventory system, the fantastic spear combat overhaul, and the phenomenal world itself are huge strides forward. The core activities continue to feel satisfying and the machine combat remains the finest system in any RPG.

I absolutely recommend Forbidden West. And please. Play it on Ultra Hard or at least turn off enemy health bars. The game is so much better for it.

It's an impossible game to refund, you'll have played two hours before you notice

This game speaks to people's souls. It's tight, frenetic, and beautiful. It is the pinnacle of its genre to the point that it perhaps is a genre of its own. 10/10.

Below is my original review, and I consider it to be important context. I will eventually update this with a more comprehensive retrospective of my time in this complicated game, but I was rightly called out on not having adjusted this review despite over 130 additional hours played since my original negative rating. It is moments like these that I wish Steam had an option to rate a game neutrally, because I retain a strong degree of frustration over the state in which Starfield launched, however, that context has changed, and I do believe the game itself to be quite good. I will leave this at Recommended for now, but do understand that it does come with an asterisk.

----------------------------

I cannot in good conscience provide this game with anything other than a cripplingly negative review. I all but never refund games, but in this case I am genuinely considering it. While I am certain the game itself is likely quite good, the utterly debilitating performance issues on even high end Nvidia based systems are entirely inexcusable. If you purchase this game in its current state there is a seemingly random chance that your specific system configuration will render the game unplayable. I have friends with lower end systems that can run the game with minimal trouble and I with a near maximum consumer spec PC cannot even play. The only thing that is preventing me from simply refunding what is currently essentially just 120 GB of wasted storage space is the promise that the modding community has apparently developed some limited solutions. If they work, I will gladly continue to play the game, but I will not change my review unless there is an officially released update that addresses these issues. As a games engineer myself, I would not expect my own work to be judged in the context of a volunteer third party fixing my work for me, and I will likewise not extend that luxury to anyone else. The comments made earlier on the day of this review by the studio stating that "you may need to upgrade your PC" are something that I would normally support, as I do believe that it is a fair requirement to have current hardware to play a current game. I have current hardware. There is nearly no level to which I can upgrade this PC while still staying in the bounds of consumer grade components. It's inexcusable.

Take the classic Flash game Motherload, add a wave based horde mode defence twist, and throw in a pinch of roguelike and you'll end up with this delightful indie gem. It's not big, it's not groundbreaking, but it's tight, intelligent, and cohesive. The perfect example of how nailing a solid core loop can easily outclass the many larger titles that fall short of grand visions. Absolutely worth picking up, and it's a great addition to any Steam Deck library.

ANNO: Mutationem is a visually stunning Cyberpunk gem. Using a blend of gorgeous 2D pixel art sprites and a 3D world space ANNO build a compelling atmosphere and carves out a unique graphical identity among its peers. The game provides you with a highly original story and well fleshed out characters that will keep you with it through to the end. Really the only thing holding the game back is a couple moments within combat and platforming sections that feel a tiny bit rough around the edges, but I still found the game's positives to vastly overwhelm the individual moments of frustration.

I would highly recommend ANNO: Mutationem to any fan of Cyberpunk themed games.

This game slaps. The cyberpunk aesthetic plays into a grimy sci-fi style that I'm a fan of, and I mix drinks as a hobby already, so I knew this game would be a good fit, but it far surpasses my expectations. I adore what I've played of this game so far, and it turned what was supposed to be "I'll play half an hour of something before I call it an early night" into "oh crap, what time does that clock say?"

I really don't know why I haven't reviewed this game before now. Quite frankly, there isn't much I can say beyond the simple fact that this game is my Best New Game of 2020, and I play a lot of games. It's the perfect mix of cathartic and competitive, and (while not needed to enjoy the game) if you have the slightest background in cars or motorsports it packs a heavy punch of nostalgia. The movement flows beautifully, the controls are tight and responsive, and the art is breathtaking. This game is a minimalist masterpiece, and I could not recommend it enough.

Still my favorite single-player RPG of all time, the port certainly isn't perfect, but the story, art, and gameplay is stellar.