Recent reviews by Absolver

The game that came out to a massive, MASSIVE disappointment to everyone who was eager for it. And then rather than end up in the ditch, like most publishing houses seem to do with anything they can't milk post release - it somehow becomes a beloved staple of the genre.

It's no small feat to pull off the kind of redemption arc this game and its publisher has had. Without leeching the players dry with endless DLCs and microtransactions in the process. And for that, they deserve recognition.

Update: Sony has folded, the game lives on without PSN. Thus, my hearty recommendation that you pick this one up, and die gloriously for managed democracy.

This was a great game. It had all the makings of a long-lasting, eternal campaign for managed democracy, with fond headnods (let's be honest, they're a bit more than headnods) to classical movies and engaging gameplay.

Then Sony decided that it was more important for them to harvest email addresses and names than to let a good thing stand on its own feet. And now they are reaping the results.

Yes, I have a PSN account. It would be minimal effort for me. I'm not affected, like so many others, by regional lock-out. But principles matter. And no matter how good a game is, some things just won't stand. This is one of them.

New Frontiers is the next step in the evolution of Icarus, and expands the game world considerably. With the already free content added to the game world in updates to the main game, this promises to be a worthy addition to the set.

Baldur's Gate 3 is, quite possibly, the defining game of this decade. Not just within the RPG genre, but as a gold standard for how games _should_ be crafted. With care and love, and holding nothing back. As so many others have stated, this is a game that doesn't lock anything behind DLCs, microtransactions or online presence. From the moment you get out of character creation (Where you very well might spend your first few hours of the game), the world is yours. This game is designed to let you loose, to find your own paths through the world, no matter if the creators originally intended you to pick another route. And it speaks to how rigorously they've worked on the bones of the game that it lets you do so without collapsing.

There is no reason you should not pick up this game and play it to bits. Even if you don't really like RPGs. Play it just because it will remind you of - or introduce you to - how games _should_ be made. Play it because of the excellent voice acting and soundscape. Play it to laugh at the 'What, you can actually DO that?!' moments, or the easter eggs, or the lesson inherent in 'Not all things that go bump in the shed needs investigation'. Play it because this time, you actually get what you pay for. A full game, which doesn't try to wring more dollars out of you after you've bought it. Play it because if you don't, you'll have missed out on the game of the decade.

And if Larian _does_ make a DLC for this game, a year or two for now - I'll be part of the long line, waiting to put my teeth into it. They'll have my dollars along with my thanks, and it won't make me feel dirty to hand them over.

... Then again, after some of the romantic choices I've made in this game, nothing should ever make me feel dirty again.

This game is in Early Access!

They tell you so each and every time they patch the game, because it's been Early Access since December 2018. In those three years, the game has gotten some flesh on it. But unfortunately, Grapeshot games are unwilling or unable to fix its bones, which I'll touch on later.

Atlas is built on the same concepts as ARK, easily seen in both the similarities of UI and the basic gameplay loop. The addition of ships is what differentiates it so from ARK, and makes it more appealing - at least to me - than ARK itself. There's just something about helming a ship across the waves and firing broadsides at Ships of the Damned that are oh so satisfying. More so than just getting that collection of tamed creatures to do your harvesting for you, or make short work of the treasure guarding Soldiers of the Damned.

Story-wise, Atlas has no more storyline than ARK honestly does, maybe even less so. Sure, there's the odd hand-wave in the direction _of_ a story, but it never really amounts to anything, and doesn't in any significant way affect the game world. But that ultimately isn't the point of Atlas either, any more than it was for its sibling.

If you enjoy base building, critter taming and the steady progress of going from a stone axe to glorious technological marvels... Go play ARK instead. Because ARK has reached a point of refinement for that gameplay that Atlas doesn't measure up to, because of the lingering inherent bugs in the engine.

Building a grand base only to have parts of it spontaneously fall apart because you destroyed an object somewhere nearby and the structural integrity check bugged out is insanely annoying. Having a claim DISAPPEAR spontaneously even while being careful to maintain it is a frustration I don't wish upon anyone. Because as mentioned before - Atlas is in early access, and any attempt to contact Customer Support is met by... nothing. Just a closed ticket, and a pointer to that "Early access!" disclaimer.

Atlas is fun, don't get me wrong. I've shoved more than enough hours into the game to pay for its cost, and at its heart, Atlas has an engaging gameplay loop that is enjoyable for anyone fond of tall ships and treasure hunts. But as you progress beyond the bare beginnings and start getting to the part of the gameplay that _should_ be the most enjoyable - it falls apart due to bugs that have been in play for YEARS, but gone unfixed. Early Access is, in my mind, not an excuse for leaving destructive, hugely interfering bugs unattended and uncompensated, especially while Grapeshot is clearly still very much actively developing the game.

And that is what ultimately makes this a thumbs down. Not because the game is not actually fun to play, but because it will break your heart when you lose a significant investment of time and effort. Not to another player or a PvE event, but to a bug.

Icarus doesn't break the mold when it comes to the Survival genre in most regards. You start out with your fists, you pick up some rocks and make some basic tools, chop down trees, break rocks, and build from a crummy little hovel in the beginning where you huddle up while the storms rage, to more palatial, sturdy castles later on.

The difference is - you're not building to last. Where Icarus goes off script for most other survival crafting games is the session based gameplay. You start an expedition, and it has a varying amount of time for you to complete, for example a week. When that week is over, you need to kiss your base goodbye and get on the dropship back to the orbiting space station.

And there's no ifs and buts about it - you either get on the dropship in time for it to leave... Or you're done. Your character is gone; deleted with every level and upgrade you've made to it. It's permadeath with a twist.

You do get one (or actually, as many places as you want, you can create several outposts, even on the same map) place that persists; your outpost. With no aggressive creatures, but a hefty experience penalty for everything you do there, the outpost is basically where you can build in 'creative' mode. But every expedition you go on otherwise? You start from scratch - or with whatever you've spent exotics and money on crafting up on the station before dropping.

This is what makes Icarus a different and fresh take on it. There's a definite goal in sight. You don't end up in the same loop of a few intense weeks of gameplay, followed by slow attrition of attention until the sprawling base you built just gets abandoned. Here, you know when it is going to end. And you have oh so many opportunities to build it 'right' the next time.

Recommended for survival genre fans, and for those with an RTX card and enough oomph to run it with it on - some beautiful scenery in the forests with dappled sunlight playing amidst the shadows.

I don't get what it is with Farming Simulator that is so bloody addictive. There's zero story, and the gameplay is by definition a repetitive grind. Yet here we are, a week after launch, and it's eaten 90 hours of my life in that time.
The mod community is already pouring out new content, and although there are little bugs and annoyances in the game this early after launch, I have no doubt they'll be fixed soon.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a good sim.

Re-review 07/08:
So, the fact that I now have over 100 hours in this game in a little over a week probably deserves a little update, especially since I'm not changing it from the thumbs down just yet. Because this game is not for everyone yet.
The points of my original review stand even now, as there's been no significant changes to those concepts. And I honestly don't expect Frozenbyte to get there yet - they had more than enough hotfixing to do during launch week.

So why am I still playing it? Because frustrating though all this is, if you're persistent enough, and willing to bite down on your frustration over the glaringly obvious flaws, there is so much for certain types of players here. If you love complex systems, designing them from the bolt up, the game delivers in oodles. If you like zen-ing out in the asteroid belt, zapping rocks and hauling it back to base, and then standing still for a couple of hours crafting stuff - this is the game for you and you should probably pick it up. But come into it with eyes open, and with a handy supply of antacids.

Early access being what it is, this game doesn't get a thumbs up from me yet, as there are significant bits here that are not conducive to an enjoyable experience just yet. And a lot of them are down to design flaws and poor decisions, rather than actual bugs.

* The most basic of tools and utilities are locked behind significant research barriers, requiring you to grind out a tedious, lengthy and time-gated amount of crafted items to even get started on ship building.
* A large number of the easy build assemblies have ore requirements from the deepest asteroid belt zone, 650km+ from origin. Even for something basic like a mining laser, which you CAN build manually with more regular ore...
* ... if you can handle the undocumented, unclear process in which such builds are assembled outside of easy build mode. Finding the right turret base, mount, body, what subcomponents needs to be put in - it would be engaging gameplay if it was actually DOCUMENTED, and...
* ... the snapping system actually worked to any measure. Rotating objects, zooming them in and out and niggling them back and forth in hopes of actually getting it into the pixel-wide space it needs to hit for it to snap correctly is incredibly frustrating.
* There are zero navigational clues inside the belt, beyond the station beacons - which have a maximum range of 500 kilometers, meaning that if you want to get to those valuable ores, you best be driving in a straight line so you can reverse and have any hope of finding your way back home. Because the user made GPS system also requires those ores...

Hopefully, some of those decisions will be changed soon. Because this game has a LOT of potential, unrealized though it still is.

This is one game you should not touch if you enjoy having a life. It will suck you in and keep you for a few weeks before it spits you out to realize that you smell from a lack of showering, you haven't eaten anything remotely resembling a proper dinner, and that your workplace has left you sixty eight messages, and a pink slip is waiting in your mailbox.

Then you'll spend some time in withdrawal before you dive right back in again.

edit: IT STILL HAS ME! Send help!