Recent reviews by n#n#m#

The selling point of the game is art (which is pretty, but it's not like there's a big variety of landscapes and character sprites, so don't expect more than you see on promotional screenshots). Everything else is scuffed. I hate to oversimplify, but the story is getting from point A to point B, then getting to point C, then getting to another XYZ point, and that's it. The game does have an intriguing cast of characters that could remedy the uninspired story and turn The Banner Saga into 'it's not about the destination, it's about journey' type of game, but doesn't do them justice cause the writing and the pacing is all over the place, bordering on a 'passable' quality level. And don't get me started on a counterintuitive combat where instead of killing enemies as effectively as possible you need to lower their stats and keep dilly-dallying until you can finish each enemy in 1 attack. Why? Well, your turn always alternates with enemy turn, regardless of the number of units. And alive enemy gets a turn for a dead enemy. So you want to avoid picking off 3 weak units and giving their turns to 2 incredibly strong units. Don't know who thought that this system would be a good idea, but they were wrong.

If I had to describe SIGNALIS without spoilers I'd say that Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Nier, Ghost in the Shell, Dead Space, Evangelion and Blame! came together and it's glorious. Played tons of games over the years, plenty of huge 100hrs+ games where you're forced to attach to characters and their stories just because you spent a lot of time with them, yet SIGNALIS blows those games out of the water even though it's pretty short (9-12 hours). Not surprised it took 8 years to make. Have fun If you're off to play it for the 1st time, but a word of advice: take notes, and, preferably, draw maps. You'll need them.

One of the most underwhelming experiences in my gaming history. The story is swamped with moments that set it 'on rails', from start to finish. Characters have little to none development. Aaand it's a slog gameplay-wise, not like Detroit where you have plenty to do. It's not like there are no pros, the acting and animation still hold up well and non-chrono order of storytelling is done in intriguing way, but I miss hours spent on this game which is a rare thing. You won't lose anything If you just check it out on YT, trust me.

Did I have fun with it? Yes. Would I recommend the game to someone? No.

The core is there, and the ability to customize your experience is very nice, but overall it's just a shell of a good game.

Sony, I am once again asking for Bloodborne and TLoU2

Intriguing premise, crude execution. If you want same vibe but with substance you're better off reading Vladimir Sorokin.

It's not 'forgotten gem'. It's not 'rough around the edges'. It's a mediocre game with several unique ideas that were either executed poorly or weren't able to outshine the mountain of cons this game has to offer.

Oh boy, this game isn't for everyone. While it does look like your typical 3rd person action-adventure it's not as action-packed and comfy for a broad audience as 3rd person action-adventure games tend to be.

Storytelling and worldbuilding through collectibles (case files, reports, tapes, short vids). A lot of backtracking. A map that most of the time doesn't help you to do this backtracking and confuses you. Checkpoint saves instead of manual saves. That's rough, but.

Despite all that I found myself really enjoying the game because its design transforms aforementioned "rough patches" into strengths. Control is set in a huge building, The Oldest House, that reminds me of a carefully crafted maze. The level-design makes sure to keep all sub-locations intricately vowen between eachother in a way that just sticks to your brain. Plus there are plenty of visual cues for the player to follow. The faster you discard the itch to open your map – the better. And when you do just that, then start reading/watching/listening everything you can find the atmosphere immediately grips you and holds you close to its chest till the very end.

You and the Oldest House become one, as it should be.

You are the Director now.

Would've been an interesting game If not for the ungodly amount of cringe.

Not as awesome as DA2 or DAO but still solid enough to play it since it's Dragon Age. Too lengthy for its own good though, so taking breaks is a must.