Recent reviews by ɠųąཞɖıąŋ ąŋɠɛƖ!

(mini-review.)

Still Wakes the Deep is a great horror game now followed by a clever and chilling DLC borne of a fantastic core idea -- you're a lone diver, exploring the remains of the Beira D 700 feet under water. You play as Brodie's daughter, Mhaire. As you investigate the events of the game, you become trapped and must find your way to safety. The game is a bit of a walking simulator but the chilling atmosphere, as you wend your way through the trapped bowels of the rig, are easily worth the price of admission. This title is sure to please fans of the original.

Buggy but worth a look.

7/10.

Dear Slitherine:

1. This game isn't a "pro" or "tourney-competitive" game. No one is "Pro-MLG" at this title. Stop trying to make it a thing. It'll never happen. There are sub-200 gamers online. Stop trying to focus on impossible odds/ladders.

2. Your job is to provide a good campaign story, which Black Lab admirably achieved during the Blood Angels original campaign. This doesn't qualify. By mission 3, you are literally facing 6-1 odds against Burna Boys, Nobs and Choppas. Your units aren't stronger. They don't hit harder. They aren't tankier. They don't have any significant advantages. Enemies wipe entire squads leaving 1-3 survivors in an alpha strike while your hits often take 3-4 concerted squads to kill anything. This is at medium difficulty and it smacks of lousy game play.

3. This title doesn't accurately represent the universe, or the TT game in a remotely faithful fashion. You don't square off against an opponent that has 2 Choppas, 1 Shoota, 1 Nob, 2 Gretchin, against 1 squad of Sacresants and 2 Sister squads. And in TT, their saves are power-armored which means they're more tanky, not less. Save up 3v4.

4. Missions 2 and 3 are identical. Defend the rhino. But wait, now they've included all the same units, plus burnas and rokkits! Oh and FOUR Nob squads! You see? Game play!

Seriously. You released the game years ago with no co-op. You included two measly races with only about 10-15 units per side and charged FULL PRICE. You focused on a non-existent tourney scene despite having sub-100 players staring you in the face. Players begged for other campaigns. You instead spent FOUR years vomiting races for 15-16 dollars a pop. By the time any player gets all races, he has easily spent 200 dollars USD for a game that Dawn of War and other games like it did a better job realizing at a fraction of the price/time.

Now you drop a campaign with over-tuned difficulty, and you represent replaying the same mission over and over and over as game play?

Get a clue Slitherine. Seriously.

Not worth your time. There are better games that scratch this itch available. Hell, making Popsicle stick marines and playing with them like a 12 year old man child, trumps this car wreck.

6/10.

(mini-review).

Still Wakes the Deep is an ultra-atmospheric horror game from Chinese Room, that focuses on Caz, a Scottsman on the run from the police, who takes a job on an oil rig in the middle of the North Sea. The game does a great job of introducing the mundane nature of oil rig-life and Caz' family into the game, prior to the horror that quickly ensues when the oil rig strikes a pocket of what can only be explained as a massive, communal, mutating alien organism that assimilates all life into itself. The graphics aren't state of the art but still convey the massive oil rig and horrors within superbly. Voice acting is top notch and some of the best I've heard ever, in any media. Sound effects, music and art design are all excellent. The game does a fantastic job of showcasing realistic relationships and the title is genuinely scary, with a variety of fears from monstrous, body horror, jump scare, darkness, underwater and heights all represented with aplomb. The game manages to tug at the heartstrings during various instances.

A Near Death/Thing lovechild.

Highly Recommended.

9/10.

(mini-review).

A brutally boring, absurd, cliched TBS "fantasy" game created by people that think that Dragonball Z represents Shakesperean intrigue. The story, plotting, characterization are all trite and shallow. The main character is called "Eden", no doubt by a Korean that thought it sounded cool. Combat is a chore. Graphics are good but antiseptic. Voice acting is laughable. The game starts off in the middle of a fight, without context, and the game consists of a mish-mash of concepts that have all been done more competently elsewhere. I bought this game for 20 USD but I'd rather box the game than finish it. There are too many other games, or other hobbies to participate in (people to spend time with, things to learn and experiences to have), for me to spend the requisite 20 hours to experience a title that was written by a 12 year old who has never experienced life beyond DBZ. At least it runs well.

Not worth the time. There are better g...things to do out there.

5.5/10.

(mini-review).

Nonsense story. Little-to-no decision-making. Limited agency. Weak, 2010-ish level graphics. Laughable voice acting and sound effects. Bad performance/optimization. Minimal set-pieces in 2 hours of play. Flaccid gun play. Cheap-cheesy enemies in place of decent AI. Lifeless environments. The game just feels like a B-grade FPS from the mid 2010s. This title doesn't contribute *anything* to modern gaming. You're better off just playing Metro Exodus, which has better storytelling, better scares, more combat variety and better combat game play.

Refunded. Not worth the time. There are better games available.

5.5/10.

(mini-review).

Gears Tactics is an accessible X-COM 2 clone that transpires in the Gears of War universe. Voice acting is good. Music is adequate. Graphics fulfill expectations. The game is reasonably performant, the UI is spot-on accessible and the game play/loot cycle is sufficiently engaging to keep you playing until you reach the end. The story is trite, predictable and dry at times but, then, you're not likely playing a Gears of War game for its story. Loot is a bit of a blur after awhile and good builds are accessible far too late into the game to scratch the itch to keep developing new ones. The game is relatively forgettable but for TBS/Strategy gamers, this will scratch a particular and rare itch.

Recommended.

7.5/10.

(mini-review).

I loved RoboCop in the theater. It was a fun movie that I had the chance to watch in person, as a child. Unfortunately, this game feels like a woefully ancient throwback from the mid 2000-aughts. Graphics are a mixed bag with great atmosphere and environments but terrible character models and UI elements. The game promptly throws you into combat and it feels *wonderfully* visceral and punchy. Unfortunately, you're soon pulled out and you realize that the item pick-ups, leveling abstractions and go-nowhere, predictable plot comprise the vast majority of the game. While shooting play is great fun, you'll find yourself spending time aimlessly scanning for question marks or wandering dark city streets in a positively tiny rendered portion of Detroit. Bonus points for dragging the game out with pointlessly comedic side-quests or countless plot walls that are blocked by absurdly high stat requirements (engineering, deduction, basket-weaving, et al.).

It's not that RoboCop is a bad game. In 2009, this game would definitely be rated as a 7 or even an 8. It's just in today's age of countless good games that demand time, the fact is that this title is miserably outdated in plotting and game play. You're better off watching the movie on your PLEX server.

Not worth the time. You'll find better games elsewhere.

6.5/10.

(mini-review).

The Casting of Frank Stone is the newest "choose your own horror adventure", produced by Supermassive, in conjunction with Dead by Daylight's Behavior Interactive. The game is a short, polished, visually sumptuous retelling of the original events that lead to the Entity entering our world. The story deals with antagonist Augustine Lieber and her attempts to distill the pure cruelty of slasher, Frank Stone, as a means of punching a doorway between our world and the realm of the Entity. Tons of atmosphere abounds, as well as a healthy dollop of gore. This is definitely not psychological horror. You control a series of relatively compelling characters as you attempt to put a stop Lieber's machinations. Things don't end well. The title lacks the usual Supermassive cooperative mode and is a bit short but game play is mostly on point.

Buy this title if you want to play a Cabin in the Woods and Mouth of Madness love child. The title is packed with a healthy helping of Dead by Deadlight member berries and secrets. Supermassive's best horror tale since Until Dawn and the Quarry.

Recommended.

8/10.

(mini-review).

I played That's not my Neighbor (TnmN), until the wheels came off, on Itch.io. The premise of the game is simple: you're the doorman at a building and your task is to use deduction, reasoning and a keen eye to spot which visitors are doppelgangers that will inevitably attempt to slaughter the building denizens...and yourself. A 2D game, the art is nonetheless very charming, the soundtrack positively atmospheric and the premise clever and engaging for most audiences. The game has several modes and if you're looking to own a piece of gaming history, there are worse ways to go than TnmN.

Totally worth a spin for $2 on sale.

Worth a look.

7/10.

(mini-review.)

What do you get when you produce a psychological-cult horror game written by Wine-moms for gamers? You get The Chant. Derivative but poorly implemented mechanics. Laughably bad mantling moving, evading and striking. Lacking graphics. Art design that is more about being different than being disturbing or scary. About the only thing this game has going for it is that it runs and, if you have absolutely nothing else to play, and you're not a regular gamer, this may not be a totally awful experience.

Not worth the time. There are better games available.

6.5/10
It's basically SCARS Above in the forest, with toes. Avoid.