Recent reviews by Gadnalf

Some games you play because they help you unwind. Others you might play because they make you think on your feet, or test your ability to manage resources. You might play some games because they promise progress and let you lose yourself in the grind.

Then there's Synthetik.

It has progression, ammo management, and you have to be situationally aware in order to survive.

But none of that matters.

Because you carry in your hands the glorious potential for VIOLENCE.

There are UNTOLD SWARMS of heretical murderbots out there and you will deliver unto them RIGHTEOUS GUNFIRE.

Every pull of that trigger delivers bone-rattling, earth-shattering sound design and visual IMPACT.

And in Synthetik, you will apply that trigger with PRECISION, SPEED, and DEVASTATING FORCE.

The gunplay is exceptional.

What keeps it fresh is the randomness of which guns you'll scavenge, which items you'll get, and which enemies you'll face. Each experience is fresh, yet familiar enough so that you can always find that beautiful, violent rhythm you so desperately crave.

The progression rewards your killing with passives that give you delicious new tools to play with without overshadowing your skill as a killer.

The gameplay initially felt clunky and weak. The system of ejections and reloads seemed awkward, it always felt like my magazine was too small, like I was always running out of ammo, etc.

But as the mechanics quickly become second nature to you, as you start to find your rhythm and the combat begins to flow, the game starts to bloom into something truly beautiful.

Synthetik is an instrument, and its music is ecstasy. 10/10, you should play it.

Celeste is worth the climb. Wonderful controls, the music's nice, art is pretty. The main chapters are clearly made with a lot of care, as the difficulty rises gently and never seems unsurmountable, even if certain moments make you want to gouge your eyes out. If you're feeling confident as a climber, there's plenty of optional content for you to test your mettle. And then there's also content that I assume is made for wizards of some description, which is not to be attempted or discussed.

All in all, Celeste is great experience, but I'm taking off two points for the amount of hair loss caused.

8/10, would climb again.

A supremely satisfying game.

Get your team some KSGs and breach the hell out of some doors.

Hectic, messy, and decidedly fun in co-op.

Helldivers is a problem-solving game, where the problems are hostile xenos, and you fire 10 000 solutions a minute.

Work with a squad of four to complete objectives, gun down hostiles, and make Super Earth proud. Also, expect to die a lot. Between the swarms of enemies, resupply pods fired from orbit, and that one teammate's incautiously-placed shotgun blasts, life expectancy is short for the rookie diver. Thankfully, resurrection is both free and frequently available.

Try it out, it's really good.

You're a swordsman in a modern, dystopian city known as New Mecca, who makes his living by cutting folks up. It's not easy when you're bringing a sword to a gun fight, but thankfully you have time powers that let you reset time freely and slow things way down when you need a moment to breathe. Hacking your way through each stage will require precision, a touch of luck, and many resets, but the game rewards you with a real-time replay of your effortless badassery after each trial.

The art is beautiful. The controls are tight. The gameplay is fast-paced and satisfying.

Play this game.

It's a game that tests your ability to compromise your morals in exchange for sweet sweet loot. The co-op is brilliant for groups of four or less. Steal everything. Mindlessly gun down a bar. Go wild.

A vacation in a box.

Single player will last you a goodly long time, but it really shines when you've got a friend or two for co-op. Not a huge fan of the multiplayer gamemodes, but the game's good enough without it that I really don't mind.