Senaste recensioner av Malfour

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is a sci-fi action-adventure RPG set in an open post-apocalyptic world where the main protagonist is a female. This is my first contact with the world of Horizon. I am aware that I am a bit late to the party as the original game was released over 8 years ago. I haven’t had a chance to play it so my experiences will be much better than the majority of the playerbase. This is the best possible version of the game with quality of life improvements, better visuals and much less problems. I must say that this is an amazing and very impressive game but it still lacks in some areas.

Imagine a post-apocalyptic world far away into the future where humanity no longer rules the earth but huge machines resembling animals. Human beings were forced to evolve backwards as they started living in tribes and using primitive weapons to survive. The world is filled with various wildlife, deadly machines attacking everyone and everything on sight, and a handful of people fighting for their lives every day. The civilization is lost… Well, not entirely lost as previous inhabitants of the planet left a huge mark of very advanced civilization everywhere. There are only ruins left which hide secrets as well as answers how things went the way they did. I love worlds as impressive as this one. The game makes a very good first impression, especially when it comes to visuals and how smoothly it runs but gets even better from there with the story and characters.

Speaking of story, the game does a pretty good job slowly introducing the world, the characters and the story itself. The tempo in which it unravels is rapid at the start and by the end of the game. The story is objectively good, interesting, complex, intriguing and thought-provoking. It is one of those stories that are not easily forgotten. Once you get near the end of the game and start unraveling the story, you won’t be able to stop. However, for the majority of the game, the main story is non-existent. I believe that this is where this game lacks. You are going to have main quests directing you towards parts of the map you have not yet discovered. So you go there, explore the map on the way, fight a ton of machines hoping to discover the story some more but you end up exchanging two sentences with someone there and that’s it. The next possible location where you can progress the main story is like 2 kilometres further down the unexplored map. I honestly expected more, I wanted more. I didn’t want to constantly have to run and fight, but in truth, this is what this game is mostly about.

While on the subject of gameplay, this is where this game shines. The whole aspect of fighting the machines is very smooth and very entertaining. Every enemy in this game has their strengths and weaknesses. You can approach the fight however you want, the game offers plenty of options including stealthy ones as well. It is up to you how you do it as everything is optional. Killing the machines the traditional way will also work. Unfortunately, the game enforces fights on you every few minutes of actual gameplay. The deeper you are into the story, the more effort and time those fights are going to take. The map is big and beautiful but it is also overfilled with enemies. Sometimes I would want to just do something or go somewhere without having to worry about all enemies in the area attacking me but that often wasn’t the case. Running and fighting is what you will be doing here for the majority of the time and it gets dreadful very quickly. There is also only a small and limited number of quests and most of them are rather shallow. Gameplay consists mostly of discovering the map, fighting the machines and collecting collectibles spread across the map.

In this story we step into the shoes of Aloy, an outcast of the Nora tribe. She is forced to grow up as an outcast for unknown reasons. Rost, who is also an outcast of the Nora tribe, takes care of her for the entirety of her childhood. He teaches her how to survive, fight and take care of herself. When she becomes an adult, she has one goal - to discover her origin. This is how this story begins. Aloy is strong, independent, brave and heroic. She is always nice, generous and understanding towards others which makes her likeable. However, outside of this nobility, Aloy doesn’t show many emotions and I feel like she lacks a bit of personality. She is more like a hero, not a person you can relate to. One thing is certain, she makes all those men look really bad and weak. There are a lot more characters in this game. They are important to the story but they are not particularly interesting. I guess one is, but we still don’t get to spend enough time with them through the story and other quests to be able to get to really know them or to relate to them in any way. I feel like there is a lot to improve when it comes to writing in that area.

As for the visuals, they are going to take your breath away. The attention to detail is incredible. I don’t think I have seen a game this realistic. There should be a term for that, a term above “realistic” because the said word doesn’t describe it anymore. Even if I were to wear the best glasses I don’t think I would see the real world in that much detail. I was really amazed by the visual side of this game from the very first minutes and you will be too. The way the environment, villages and machines were made gives a really good and mysterious vibe. The overall theme and all colors are bright which makes the whole scenery a true eye candy. Unfortunately, with great graphics, comes bad visibility. I often found myself struggling with locating collectibles, plants or things you can climb on because of how detailed and dense the environment was.

To sum up, I played a game with an exceptional world, story and gameplay. There are some areas where it lacks but overall, it is an amazing experience. The game is going to be a treat for open-world and post-apocalyptic scenery enthusiasts. Outside of the problems I described, there were also a few technical ones as well. The game has a tendency to crash or make you experience a rapid fps drop. I have also glitched a couple of times inside textures which caused me to die. Despite that, I still feel bad about finishing this game because there was something soothing to this type of experience. That’s why I have decided to take on Forbidden West next. Curious how that turned out? Then don’t hesitate to check out the link below:

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a story-driven turn-based JRPG set in an amazing post-apocalyptic fantasy world. Normally I don’t purchase games on release but I decided to make an exception for this game. It is the first exception I don’t regret. The moment I saw this game I knew that it was going to be a hell of a journey and I was not disappointed. The world, visuals, story, characters, audibles and gameplay make such an incredible impression. In my opinion the game is a masterpiece. I believe it to be the game of the year 2025.

Welcome to the magical world where the human race is on its way towards inevitable extinction. Once a year, the Paintress awakens and paints a cursed number on her monolith. We start the game with a number of 34. Every year the number decreases by 1 and along with it, all human beings of that age are erased and fade away. Having only a year left to live, people of the age of 33 form another expedition to send into the unexplored world and discover its secrets while also making sure that their efforts will benefit “those who come after” them. The introduction to that world is quite heavy and is shown in a very artistic way. I must say that the game made an enormous first impression on me. We get to experience something of a tutorial in a beautiful city during a carnival where a glimpse of gameplay and story is shown along with the introduction to a few of the main characters.

Let’s begin with the story which is where this game truly shines. I believe it to be the best story I have experienced in a video game in a very long time. It is interesting, complex, powerful, engaging and most importantly, it is unforgettable, at least in my case. Once you start playing and unraveling the story, you won’t be able to stop. Expect to be at the edge of your seat from start to the very end of the game. If you like fantasy and post-apocalyptic worlds, you are guaranteed to like it. The writing is simply brilliant.

The characters are a huge part of this story, this is another area where this title truly shines. There are a few main characters in this game that will be available to you as a part of your expedition team. Each one of them is well-written, explicit, interesting, charismatic, unforgettable and uniquely important to the story. They add a special flavour to the whole narrative because each one of them stands for something else. Their personalities are also each other’s opposites. There was no character I wouldn’t like. You will get to know each one of them well through a ton of interactions and shared experiences. It honestly feels like the writing is very personal which makes you relate to every character on a personal level. This aspect of the game has been mastered to perfection. Standing ovation from me.

When it comes to gameplay, the game continues to not disappoint. It must be said that this game is not for everyone because of the difficulty of the combat. Allow me to explain, this is a turn-based game where turns are played in real time. You have an unlimited time when it comes to your turns, you can plan ahead how you want to approach the fight. However, when it is your opponent’s turn, you ought to be active and paying attention because the game allows you to either dodge or parry their attacks. At the beginning you can take a lot of hits but deeper into the story, a few hits will be enough to kill you. This is a crucial mechanic you will have to learn if you are thinking about beating the game. It may be difficult and overwhelming at first but once you get more practice, it won’t be a problem anymore. You can totally rely on sounds when it comes to avoiding damage. The game signals you that you are about to get hit one way or the other. I have done quite a lot of fights with my eyes totally closed to confirm that theory and it worked perfectly fine. Every character you will get to play has a different skill set and there are plenty of pictos (different bonuses) that allow you to make your own interesting and overpowered builds. I found the combat aspect of the game to be intense at the beginning but it became relaxing with time once I got my build in place.

There is also a second aspect of the gameplay which is exploration. Exploring is probably the best thing you can be doing in this game. There are a ton of things to unlock, discover and collect across this huge and extraordinary map. The game rewards you very generously with resources and other bonuses for not rushing towards the other end of the map but taking your time and checking every corner of the map or a location you are currently in. I personally have never run out of resources for upgrades and I always had enough of them from exploring. No grind was necessary in my case. There is a lot you can miss which is why I recommend to simply take your sweet time on each location and discover its secrets. You will not regret putting your time into it.

The visuals in this game are going to take your breath away. From the very first minutes of the game I was already amazed by how incredible everything looked. The characters were made with such attention to detail that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart from real people. I actually thought that these characters are played by real actors but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the case of Gustave, I thought he was played by Robert Pattinson because they look totally alike. Sadly, there is no connection there but still this is incredibly impressive. The world of Clair Obscur is a really unique, bright and colorful place. It is a true eye candy. The world map as well as its locations have stunning sceneries and all of them are completely different from each other. They look like straight from the canvas and every location is a new experience.

The game is also going to be a feast for your ears. Before you even begin your journey through the world of Clair Obscur, you are going to experience a beautiful melody in the main menu. There are a ton of truly amazing melodies in there that last hours accompanied by choir, violin and a harp. Every single one of them is climatic and unique in its own way. They correspond well to the locations and add up to the climate of the whole tale. All those audibles are waiting for you to listen and experience them. I'm pretty sure you are going to love it. I have yet to see a person say anything negative about them. Voice acting is on the highest level as well. Each character is voiced by a professional with a unique voice or accent. Their voices were picked well because I feel like they correspond to the characters and their personalities. Truly a masterpiece in that regard.

To sum up, I played an exceptional game that left such an incredible impression on me that I will probably not be able to forget it until the rest of my life. It was truly an amazing and beautiful experience. Finishing this game left a huge void in me that will be difficult to fill out again. I am glad that I played it and I recommend that everyone else follow in my footsteps. For me, this game is a masterpiece and I truly hope it becomes the game of the year. It deserves that and much more. Overall, this is a game I can recommend with a clear conscience.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

Twin Mirror is a psychological adventure game that mainly focuses on telling the story. It is another piece from DON’T NOD which is done using the same bulletproof formula we are already familiar with. There are a ton of reviews comparing Twin Mirror with their most popular titles and sometimes the game is rated based on that. I don’t understand this approach. It is a standalone game and I'm going to treat it as such. Sure, it is nowhere near Life is Strange but it is still a decent game that’s worth recommending.

The game starts slow but is quickly getting momentum. The story is interesting and will keep you at the edge of your seat from start to finish. We start in a small but beautiful location with a great view of the city and the mountains at sunset. There were quite a lot of things to interact with and I have taken advantage of that by checking everything that was available to me in that location. I must say the game gave me a really positive first impression. The beginning introduces us to the story and main character, Sam Higgs who used to be an investigative journalist. The dedication to his job caused him to have way more enemies than friends in this town. He is also a man of special powers. Sam’s unique and analytical mind allows him to revisit his past, relive old memories and reconstruct events. Not everyone will like the main character in this game but I am one of the people that does. I feel like his imperfections make him a really relatable character.

There is kind of a second main character in this game who is apparently an alter ego of the main one called “The Double”. A voice of reason one would say but not always as he may tempt you towards making bad decisions as well. For a big part of the game I couldn’t figure out who he was and why this dude was bothering me. I guess I wouldn’t have known unless I checked on the internet because the game doesn’t directly tell you that. You can find the information within the game's description. It is also being revealed near the end of the story. There were moments where I found him annoying and moments where I was actually grateful for having him around. Overall, I think that he is a good addition to the game but I wish he was introduced to me at the beginning.

As for the other characters in this game, they are well-written, interesting and explicit. I really enjoyed talking and getting to know them better. Each character is uniquely important and adds a special flavour to the story. Unfortunately, the game’s length does not allow you to get to know each character well enough to be able to relate to them on a personal level. You will get to exchange only a few sentences with at least a half of them. Considering the length of the game, it was to be expected.

When it comes to gameplay, the game is pretty simple. There are quite a lot of locations and each one has something valuable to offer. The amount of things you can interact with is actually huge. You get to know the town as well as its inhabitants more by interacting with the environment. The dialogues you choose during conversations don’t really matter. The outcome will be the same no matter what you pick. As for the decisions, they only make a small difference throughout the story and at the end. This part of the game wasn’t done particularly well. Although there are four endings that slightly differ from each other, replaying the game is a pretty dreadful and repetitive experience. To embrace your experience I recommend playing the game only once and replaying the last scene twice for a good and bad ending.

To sum up, I played a decent game with a pretty good story. The characters, locations, gameplay and overall vibe left a positive impression on me. It only takes a couple of hours to finish this game. Considering that there are four endings, the game is not worth replaying. As already mentioned, it is a pretty dreadful and repetitive experience. Even if you do and make completely different decisions on your second run, it won’t affect the game much which will leave you disappointed. Still, I think that the game is worth playing and I have no reason not to recommend it.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

(Spoiler-free)

The Uncertain: Last Quiet Day is a short story-driven adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world. The game stands out among others in the genre because the main character is not a human, but a machine that’s capable of thinking for itself. I have been holding this game in my library for years, unaware of its existence. Shame on me because the game is a hidden gem. I honestly did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It certainly left an impression on me.

Welcome to the world where human race has caused its own extinction. Fortunately due to technological advancements machines were able to become self-conscious and repopulate the earth. The concept of morality and emotions do not exist here. It is a world of logic, a world of ones and zeros. We step into the shoes of RT-217NP, an engineering robot that resembles a human shape-wise. He/it is curious about human race which caused his mission to seek information about them so that he can understand the human race more. He does that by collecting and analysing “artifacts” that humanity left behind. Those are the things that we interact with on an everyday basis like a chair. The main character couldn’t figure out what the purpose of this item was. Despite it being a machine, I feel like he is still a fine fellow. As for the other characters in this game, you can differentiate their personalities and they have names but you won’t get to spend enough time with them to actually be able to relate to them in any way. Taking the length of the game into consideration, it is to be expected.

When it comes to visuals, they are absolutely charming. The graphics are really pleasant to the eye and they invoke good feelings in you which creates a nice vibe. The world also appears to be filled with a lot of wildlife which can be seen multiple times throughout the game. I really love when people come up with their own versions of the post-apocalyptic world. It is one of those that’s impressive and has a lot of potential. I took my sweet time exploring and interacting with everything the game allowed me to. The locations weren’t particularly big, usually no bigger than what you can see within a screen but I didn’t mind. It must be said that the game is very linear. It is also filled with a lot of puzzles and mini-games within locations but that only benefits it.

While on the subject of gameplay, it is a smooth sailing through the puzzles, therefore, through the story as well. There is always something you have to do in order to proceed with the story but the puzzles don’t really pose a challenge. Since the locations aren’t big and you are able to interact with only a limited amount of objects or people, figuring out a puzzle is easy. It may take you a few minutes at best. That’s why from a gameplay perspective, the game is a treat. It can also be a treat for gamers familiar with titles like The Walking Dead or Half-Life because the game contains easter eggs connected to the two. I was positively surprised to find Clementine’s hat during my explorations. I must admit, the creator has a really good taste.

In summary, I played a short but charming game. The story, the world and the characters left a really nice impression on me. I will surely give the other game of the series a try now. The game was entirely a positive experience from start to finish but I experienced a few glitches. For instance, during a conversation I could see the subtitles but there was no voice acting connected to it which felt weird. The characters were just standing. I have experienced that more than once but I didn’t mind. It is a game absolutely worth recommending and that's exactly what I’m gonna do.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

(Spoiler-free)

She Sees Red is an interactive movie where, apparently, all choices matter. The movie is natively in Russian but it is also dubbed in English. I came into this expecting a standard interactive movie experience and I feel like I have been let down. In my opinion it is actually below the standard, at least the standard I know. My experiences have been mostly on the positive side, however, I still have a lot of negative things to say about this movie. A rating in between positive and negative would be more suitable in this situation. I am afraid I am gonna forget its existence before my uninstall bar reaches the end.

I must say that if you are here for the story, you are going to be disappointed. It is a short movie but it is filled with action and choices. There is no story. I mean there is something but it is neither interesting nor making sense. What matters are choices and their consequences. There are only a handful of them but each one matters and leads to something completely different. You are mostly watching a movie and not actively playing but you have to be able to decide on time when the already mentioned time comes. There is a ton of action that will keep you at the edge of your seat the whole time. The violence and damage looks incredibly realistic. Another word that comes to mind to describe it is flawless. It is a brutal game that’s not for children and that’s the beauty of it.

The movie is in two languages. There is a dubbed English version and there is a native Russian version. The dubbed version is awful. There is nothing special about voice acting. It doesn’t match the characters and it is not in sync with them either. My first playthrough was in English but I didn’t like it and decided to continue with the remaining playthroughs using Russian. It is much better, although the acting is not on a high level either. The main actress is pretty bad. She is unnaturally smiling every time she “finds” a clue. She doesn’t just "find" them because she seems to know exactly where everything is. Her detective skills are a total bs. The rest of the guys seemed pretty convincing based on their looks and performance. The other woman, who's also part of an inappropriate scene, seems to also know what she is doing. I only have a problem with the main character.

As for the length of the title, it only takes 30 minutes to complete. The game encourages you to do more playthroughs and discover more scenes. There are a total of 4 endings but if you want to discover every possible scene, you are there for 8 playthroughs. Don’t worry, there is a skip option that becomes available to you after you beat the game twice. It is somewhat useful but it is also terrible and skipping quickly becomes a dreadful activity. There is a moment near the end of the game where the skip option forwards you too far and you end up missing a scene. What you see is new but you have not seen the events that led to this situation. What is also worth noting is that the skip forwards you but only a short period of time because apparently half of the scenes are always considered new scenes. In order to access the button, you have to click ‘esc’ and you have to confirm that you want to skip it every time. Who allowed something like this?!

To sum up, I watched an interactive movie that didn’t amaze me but still granted me a nice time. The story is non-existent. There is mostly action and choices. Those two were actually done right. As for the actors, most of them did well but I can’t help but think that the main character’s performance was below average. Once you play through the game you will know that its description on the store page is misleading. I had the opportunity to read it again during my research for this review. You can get the idea that this game is something else than what it actually is and I don’t think it's okay. I really wish I could rate it in between positive and negative. This is where this game belongs in my eyes.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

Dreamfall Chapters is a story-driven adventure game set in two parallel worlds. It is a game based on choices and their consequences. I must confess that this is the first game of the series that I played. I haven’t had a chance to play the previous two titles but I plan on catching up. I feel like this particular title is one of those games that are better played with a walkthrough guide because of how dreadful the gameplay was made. That’s how I played it and that’s how I recommend playing it. I decided to leave a recommended rating because I enjoyed the story that much but I do not completely agree with it. Something in between would be more suitable. The game is far from being perfect but it is still well worth your time.

The game mainly focuses on the story so it is only natural that I start with that. The story in this game is intriguing, deep, interesting, complex and out of the ordinary. I really liked discovering it. I was hooked from the start and the more I played, the more I enjoyed it. Despite the complexity of it, I believe it is well done. There are two main characters whose shoes we are going to step into in this title. One of them is a lady going by the name of Zoe. She is an interesting, intelligent and a nice character that’s hard not to like, however, her personality is not consistent. Allow me to explain, in general she is an extroverted person but sometimes she speaks and behaves like an introvert. It is followed by voice acting and animations as well. You can clearly see that she was written by more than one person. One moment she is confident, happy and a people person and the next, she is faltering and unable to express herself. It felt like her personality was questionable and contradicted itself. That was the impression I was getting throughout the first half of the game. In the other half it kind of faded away and everything got better. The other main character is Kian. He is a simple introverted man who used to be a soldier in command. Kian doesn’t speak much but he is one of those people who analyse everything thoroughly inside. Those traits stood out for me the most. Both main characters are likeable and you will likely root for them both throughout the story.

As for the other characters in this tale, those that are not important for the story were uninteresting and annoying to interact with. The world is filled with a lot of insufferable and lifeless characters. At the beginning of the game you are going to come across a lot of characters like that. The deeper I went into the story, the more satisfying interactions with citizens became. Those at the beginning of the game were often enforcing their political opinions on you without even asking. You would just start a conversation with them or even pass them on your way somewhere else and you will hear a monologue about what political side they are on and why. There are also quite a lot of Polish curse words being used to call other people names but none of those was done phonetically correct from voice acting perspective. That is coming from a native Pole. Before I wrap up talking about characters I must say, and this can be considered a spoiler, that I don’t understand the decision to make Kian be attracted to people of the same gender while there is more than one character to romanticize with from the opposite one. That is a waste and feels like a lazy approach. I was pretty disappointed to discover that.

The decisions in this game are tough. I often found myself being unable to decide whether I should do something or not because I was afraid of the consequences. I was often picking safer choices or those I fully agreed with. The game has shown that the consequences for your decisions can either be harmless or catastrophic. I feel like this part of the game has been done well. When you make a decision, the game informs you of the balance changing. There are plenty of choices and other ways to affect the outcome which makes this game good for replayability. If you replay the game making different choices you are there for a completely different experience because everything around your character will be different except for their main objective which remains the same. I couldn’t often tell if something was happening because it was simply a continuation of the story or a consequence. The choices are heavy and consequences are even heavier. That’s definitely a strong suit of this game.

When it comes to first impressions, mine weren’t particularly positive. I would even go as far as to say that they were underwhelming. The beginning of the game introduces the story and characters. That in itself is fine but the fact that we have to solve difficult puzzles from the very first scene is not. It already took me a couple of minutes to find a solution and leave the first location. It kept getting worse from there. Not long after that I was thrown in the middle of the city with a bunch of quests. This is where the dreadful part began. There is a ton you have to do in order to proceed with the story in this situation. The game enforces that on you. Problem is that those quests/puzzles get ridiculous in length and difficulty. Aside from that, we receive only scraps of information to go on. You can endlessly run around this big area trying to figure things out and I did. When I decided that I’ve had enough, I looked up what I should do next in a guide. I believe it to be the best decision I could have made. I continued to use the guide from that point and I feel like it saved this game for me.

While on the subject of gameplay, I don’t think it was well thought through. As I already mentioned, we are thrown into the middle of a big location (usually a city) with a bunch of quests and barely any information to go on. Those quests get ridiculously long in length and difficulty because it is up to us to figure out the next step. They get so complex that you can spend literally hours running around and come up with nothing. Even with a guide it was usually taking me the longest to overcome those huge location segments. The time it took me to complete them varied from 2 to 3 hours with a guide. It means despite knowing which steps to take next, there were hours of running around and talking with lifeless characters before we could get a small scrap of story again. I didn’t find it particularly entertaining. For a game that mainly focuses on the story, there is too much dreadful walking and figuring things out involved. It takes fun out of this game. I played mostly for the story and this is not the experience I was looking for. The gameplay highly affected my experience in a negative way.

To sum up, I played a game with an exceptional and very interesting story. This is definitely the strongest suit of this game. There are also two likeable main characters but others that are important for the story are not bad either. The other characters that fill the world are rather boring. The decisions you are going to make will be tough. Their consequences you may experience much later in the story and every detail missed can haunt you. When it comes to gameplay, I feel like it is a misunderstanding. I was unable to play this game normally without falling asleep or fighting the urge to quit. I decided to use a walkthrough guide and I believe it to be the best decision I could have made. Without it you can endlessly run around a big location trying to figure things out and fail miserably. After I picked up a guide, my overall experience strongly improved. The game is definitely worth trying for the story. If you will be struggling with gameplay, feel free to follow in my footsteps and use a guide. There is no shame in that.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

The Council is a story-driven adventure game where you shape the story your own way. The game is an experimental mix of different genres that combined, work surprisingly well together. This is a game where choices really matter and the path you choose for the development of your character is gonna have an enormous impact on the upcoming events. I discovered this gem a few years ago. At the time, there was only one episode available which absolutely amazed me and left me craving for more. Years have passed and the game is a finished product now. I am excited to finally discover what it is about and experience all it has to offer.

A wise man once said “First impressions are the most lasting”. I agree with that which is why for me it is important that the game does not disappoint at the beginning and make you wanna keep playing it to discover more. Did it? Yes, it definitely bought me. First episode introduces the story and characters. I really enjoyed talking to people and getting to know them. The game also allowed me to explore this massive mansion a little and I have taken advantage of that by visiting every part that was accessible for me. Playing the episode evoked in me the feelings I had all those years ago. After I was done with the episode, I was absolutely hooked and wanted to keep playing. The time that passed since I first tried it was enough. I did not remember anything which allowed me to approach the game with a clean slate.

I felt like the second episode was a bit worse than the first. It involved much more active gameplay. There will be a lot of walking around the mansion and a lot of interactions with the objects. It starts really nice but the lack of action made it a little boring by the end of the episode. A few puzzles can also be encountered there which turned out pretty difficult to find a solution to but I managed. I didn’t find it relaxing as I did the first episode. All this walking, thinking and figuring things out was very demanding. As for the rest of the episodes, there was much more balance in terms of walking and talking. They are much more interesting because the twists and turns of the story are prioritized. Although I enjoyed all of the episodes, I still found them demanding enough to be in need of a break after completing each one. I couldn’t play this game for long during one session and their length was a little too long for me too.

Let’s talk about the story. It is really interesting and keeps you engaged from the start until the very end. We step into the shoes of Louis, a son of a respected authority figure who has been invited to participate in The Council as a replacement for his mother because she went missing. This is a meeting for the most influential figures in the world where discussions and decisions are made. During this game you will be playing a political game where you build relationships, investigate mysteries, manipulate people and try to sway them to your cause. You won’t really know who your allies and enemies are. You can’t know what their motives are and what they are trying to accomplish as they keep it to themselves. In case your interests don’t align or you trust the wrong person, it may backfire. I honestly had a lot of fun and I would love to see another game from this universe in the future.

When it comes to gameplay, the game continues not to disappoint. There is a trait system which allows you to influence people and objects by approaching them in a different way. An example of this would be that evolving your character with the knowledge of psychology may be useful in the future when you will be in need of a psychological analysis. The amount of possibilities is huge which allows for multiple replays and multiple endings. You discover immunities and weaknesses of people by talking to them, investigating their belongings or their behaviour based on the skills you invested into. This is what makes this game unique and stand out in this genre. You will also be given a lot of freedom when it comes to how you play the episode. At the start of each part of the episode, we are given a quest and it is up to us how we are going to approach it but the result must be the same. There will be quite a lot of puzzles. Most of them are easy but I encountered a few that I was unable to overcome without a walkthrough guide. I don’t like the difficulty of some of the puzzles. I believe that there are a few that are actually too complex to which finding a solution is too time consuming. Still, I think that this is a strong suit of this game.

There are a few characters in this game and each one is unique. I think those are well-written characters because each one stands for something else and adds a special flavour to the story. Their personalities are each other’s opposites. Right off the bat I was able to tell which ones I liked and which ones I didn’t. I believe I was able to relate to every single one of them which made it difficult when choosing sides. After all, those characters are explicit, interesting, charismatic, unforgettable and uniquely important to the story. In terms of voice acting I think that the game is on a high level as well. Only their expressions could have been better. When it comes to emotions, these faces have no life in them. During interactions you feel like you are talking to something that resembles a human but is far from it. Randomly moving lips while they are speaking with no synchronization whatsoever is not helping their case either.

While on the subject of negatives, this game has one big problem which can be considered a deal breaker for a lot of people and it is the fact that the game refuses to run in 60 fps. It doesn’t matter how well you adjust your visual settings, the number of frames doesn’t change. I believe that there are ways to remove the limit. I personally tried a few ways but none solved it for me. I played the whole thing having around 40-50 frames at all times. It was bothering me quite a lot at the start but I decided to keep playing because I was really enjoying the game. I eventually stopped paying attention to it which allowed me to embrace my experience. I find it really hard to believe sometimes that relatively new games like this one, still have this type of problems. It didn’t affect my overall experience much but what wasn’t a problem for me, may turn out to be one for somebody else so this is something to keep in mind.

To sum up, I found a gem that tells a really interesting and extraordinary story. It is a combination of a few of my favourite genres which makes this game unique and stand out among others. In terms of gameplay, the game gives you a lot of freedom and possibilities which only benefit it. It offers multiple replay choices and multiple endings. Unfortunately, this title refuses to run in 60 frames which I would consider to be its biggest disadvantage. What can also be considered a problem is the difficulty level of some of the puzzles. I must say I am proud to have found this game as many people don't seem to know it exists. It is something I feel like I can recommend with a clear conscience. Go ahead and give it a try, the first episode is free. It doesn’t cost anything but time and it will be well worth your time.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

Death Stranding is a walking simulator set in a post-apocalyptic world that looks and feels like straight from a horror. The game contains multiplayer elements where players can make changes to each other’s worlds but aren’t able to actually see or play with each other. It is a title that used to be very popular a few years ago. The developers were promising miracles but upon release, the game was poorly received. Was the criticism and hate justified? After having played the game, I must say that the community's outrage is totally understandable. In my personal opinion the game is a let down.

Allow me to start with my first impression which was terrible. I got overwhelmed because everything was confusing. We are thrown into deep waters straight away with barely to no explanation to figure the basic game mechanics out by ourselves. Sure, when something new is unlocked and can be fabricated, it is being introduced but what about whats already there? I tried to cross a shallow river just to trip over and lose all the cargo I was carrying which started going downstream along with the river. I had to keep chasing it and keep trying to pick all of it up but I kept tripping and losing it. I may have succeeded on my fifth try. My experience kept getting worse from there. I came across monsters called “BTs”. One appeared right in front of me and it caused me to be caught by them and forced to run away from a whale-looking monster. To my surprise I survived so I came back for the dropped inventory just to be caught and forced to relive that experience again. After having gathered some more cargo, my character started constantly tripping over and dropping on the ground. Those were only my first impressions but you can already guess that I was having a pretty bad time. All that because they did not introduce the mechanics properly.

It continued like this throughout the first 10 hours during which I was learning the game. I was seeing a lot of signs and structures made by other players. I was aware that this is in a way a multiplayer game but I didn’t exactly understand it. The moment I was introduced to multiplayer activities and I got to ride a bike, the game lost its magic for me. I considered it to be something else than what it actually is and this is, obviously, a walking simulator. I was let down and I had to fight the urge to quit and install this game throughout my first ten hours multiple times. After some time I gained some more knowledge and a much better understanding of the game. Since I had no more expectations, my overall experience slightly improved but not to the point where I would be able to change my opinion about this game. After all, walking from point A to point B is what you will be doing for 90% of the time.

While on the subject of gameplay, I believe that it was a good game at one point but since then they have added 50 more additional mechanics on top of that. Everything is really confusing and overwhelming. It takes a long time to get used to but when you actually figure it out, it turns out nothing useful or interesting. A lot of stuff that fills the map is useless, yet it takes space. Although it is nice to sometimes come across a ladder or a road while in terrain, I still don’t like the multiplayer aspect of this title. Aside from already mentioned multiplayer mechanics and those that were not explained and highly affected my first impressions, there is also a ton of unskippable animations the game enforces on you. Perfect example is when entering a BT territory, the game stops you completely to show you the animation of a scanner activating. If you are in a vehicle, it will enforce a full stop even if at full speed to show this to just do it again with the animation of a scanner detecting a monster a few metres further. There are also a ton of unskippable animations during the result screen after the delivery, during interactions with settlements, BTs, while entering and leaving a vehicle and much more. You waste a lot of time on those and that shouldn't be the case. Having to constantly calm the baby or hold both mouse buttons to not trip over, doesn’t add anything positive to the experience either. I think they overdid it.

As for the story, I found it overwhelming and confusing at first, then it became better with time and even intriguing by the end of the game. I like the idea behind it but you have to go through a lot of bad and uninteresting parts before you can actually enjoy it. I was surprised by how bad the acting is. All those characters that fill the world are as lifeless as they can be. Those interactions are more and more dreadful with time and there is a chance that you will eventually start skipping those like I did. Even those characters that are played by world-class actors don't really stand out for the majority of the game. Initially I wanted to play this for the story and the world but I have been heavily dissapointed. I can now understand the criticism this game received and I believe it is justified.

There are a few things I liked about this game and the most obvious one is Norman Reedus. The main character is played by a well-known actor whose roles I am familiar with and it was an amazing experience to step into his shoes in this journey. The only place you can step into the shoes of somebody so great is through a video game. He plays the role of Sam, the one and only delivery guy. He is mysterious, quiet, whatever he does looks cool and seeing him interact with the world, or more like, us interacting with the world through him and him reacting to it, was an extraordinary experience. You will get to see the actor do finger guns, peek-a-boo and also take a dump or a shower. It is a total Norman Reedus experience.

Other great things that are a part of this piece are visuals and a climate. I really love games that can create an impressive and climatic post-apocalyptic world. The world of Death Stranding is dark, brutal and full of dangers. It is unique and has many great components combined together. A world straight from a horror. It is also a total wasteland. When the game lost its magic to me, so did the post-apocalyptic scenery, however, I still think that the world is brilliant. There is also a less impressive side to the scenery and it is the fact that everything looks the same. As already mentioned, it is a total wasteland. There are barely any trees and what fills the world are rocks. The problem is, those are the same rocks everywhere with only their colour slightly changed. You can encounter a few different biomes but they won’t be much different than the ones you came from. What is different about them are their colours and how mountanous they are. It honestly feels like they went about making the map with least effort possible and it is clearly visible.

In summary, the game turned out to be a dreadful walking simulator with a ton of insufferable mechanics that affect your experience in a negative way. The idea behind the world is brilliant but it is the way it was made that is bad. You will be thrown into deep waters with barely to no introduction or explanation to figure the mechanics out by yourself. You will also be overwhelmed by the amount of unnecessary signs and structures inside the world as well as on the mini map which are associated with this game being, in a way, a multiplayer game. There is some appeal to walking like that but the amount of mechanics made to specifically make our lives more miserable is an overkill. The story and characters aren’t interesting for the majority of the game either but at least you get to have a complete Norman Reedus experience. Overall, this is a game I cannot recommend. I don’t regret playing it but I am not proud of it either.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is a story-based psychological horror focused on the player's choices and their consequences. If you came across this game on the internet, you must have already seen some familiar faces that are a part of it. This is a game where characters are played by real actors. Not some actors but actually a hollywood-level ones. That in itself should already get people’s attention and guarantee some type of experience. At first glance, everything looks fine but after beating the game for the second time now (there are many more to come), I still have mixed feelings about this game. There are as many positive things about it as there are negatives. I am not completely okay with giving this game a positive rating as something in between positive and negative would be more suitable.

Let me start with my first impression which wasn’t particularly positive. The opening scene was pretty heavy. A solid introduction to the game giving you a glimpse of what the game is about and what you are going to experience later. After that we have some type of intro, an unusual scene that you would never expect to see in a horror game. It evoked in me the feelings of cringe. It was completely unnecessary. It introduces us to a man going by the nickname of The Curator. This scene had a completely opposite vibe of the one the game represents. It feels like the game gets only worse from here.

The Curator is a man who can be considered a narrator in this story. This is a very well-written character who has a lot of charisma and mystery around him. I also really like the way he is dressed along with his hairstyle which corresponds well to the whole outfit. For some reason I really dig this style. The man himself adds a special flavour to the whole narrative which makes the whole experience better in every way. I really enjoyed those interactions and I was patiently waiting and craving for more. Unfortunately, there are only a few of them which was pretty disappointing for me. It definitely wouldn’t be the same game without him. I would even go as far as to say that if he wasn’t a part of this story, I probably wouldn’t be recommending this game right now. He is a great addition to the game.

Let’s talk about the horror aspect of the title. The atmosphere is pretty heavy. It is dark all around you and you constantly hear sounds of the forest, animals or monsters lurking in the shadows. The game tries to create a feeling of constantly being followed by something. That said, this is a solid game when it comes to climate. Aside from that, there are a ton of jump scares which are tacky. I am glad the devs came up with more ways of “scaring” us. You are even asked to adjust your brightness setting so that one symbol is not visible, the other is barely visible and the last is clearly visible. This puts your brightness at around 12. I guess this is how this game is supposed to be played but I didn’t enjoy it and made a decision to change it back to normal after my first playthrough. Total darkness made it very difficult to explore and even see where you are going. Everything is literally pitch black and you only have your phone which is, not at all, a reliable source of light because you cannot aim with it. I especially struggled to play on a sunny day because I couldn’t see anything on my monitor. The game was simply too dark. Lowering the brightness didn’t help the game but actually affected my experience in a negative way.

I found the story to be pretty uninteresting, shallow and lacking sense. A lot of threads were started but only a small percentage of them were actually dived into or explained in any way. It is like a movie, especially when you see all those familiar faces of well-known actors, but not necessarily a good movie. The ending was pretty disappointing for me and left more questions than answers. There is also more of watching than actually playing it. Aside from having to pick dialogue options, react to quick time events and walk forward, you don’t really have to do anything else. Speaking of walking, that’s basically what you will be doing for 20 to 30% of the time. There is a ton of walking forward through either a street or a forest in total darkness with only your phone as a source of light. That is not necessarily an entertaining activity and it gets boring very quickly.

There are a few unique characters in this game played by real actors. They didn’t just pick anyone because the selection was really great. I believe that acting and voice acting are on a very high level here. Every character had a unique personality and I was able to relate to every single one of them in some way. They were also uniquely important to the story because every one of them added something interesting and all those personalities were each other’s opposites. Employing professionals was a good idea. I only had a problem with John. He is speaking with only his left side of the mouth which looks like he is constantly smirking. It is annoying, looks weird and very unnatural. I don’t believe that this was done on purpose but it has been there since the release. The developers seem to have acknowledged it but they have never moved a finger towards getting this sorted.

In order to complete the game achievement-wise, you are going to have to beat this game at least 6 times. At the time of writing this section, I have already beaten the game twice. As far as the replayability goes, it is actually pretty good. I did not expect to enjoy my second playthrough more than my first. I approached it more calmly knowing what to expect and I had clear objectives in mind which I was going for in this playthrough. The time definitely passed more quickly compared to my first attempt. I am actually okay with replaying this game for the third time but, in general, I don’t think that I will still be enjoying the game before I manage to finish it achievement-wise. The replayability is good but not for the amount of times that is required for all the achievements.

To sum up, I played a game with a pretty bad story but offering great climate and characters. It is also like a movie offering a similar yet more engaging experience. There are multiple endings and multiple ways to influence the story. I must confess that I played this game for the story. I am not fond of the horror genre not because I am scared but because it is simply not my cup of tea. The fans of horror games can have a completely different experience compared to mine. In my opinion, there are as many positives as there are negatives. I had a real struggle whether I should rate it positive or negative. I am giving this game a recommended rating because I think this game is worth playing for the experience it offers, not because of how good the game is.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.

(Spoiler-free)

A Plague Tale: Requiem is an action-adventure stealth game with a deep and powerful story. It is a continuation of the series telling the story of Amicia and Hugo for the second time. This game takes everything that’s great about the first title and improves it to the perfection. It is another masterpiece from Asobo Studio that I won’t forget for the rest of my life. I considered the first game to be 10/10 but if Innocence is a 10, then Requiem is 11/10. I believe it may be the best game I have ever played.

Allow me to start with my first impression and it was truly over the top. In the first few minutes of the game I was already amazed by the visual side of it. Everything looked incredible and very realistic. The moment I saw this beautiful scenery of the castle when going downhill, my jaw dropped to the ground. The view was breathtaking. I was barely a few minutes into the game and I already started taking a ton of screenshots. I must say, I have never seen a game this beautiful. It literally looks better than real life. The attention to detail is incredible. There are plenty of locations with stunning sceneries and all of them are unique. They look like straight from the canvas and every location is a new experience.

Not much time has passed since the events of the previous game. It feels like we pick up exactly where we left off. If you are playing one game right after the other, it is a smooth transition. Amicia is still an amazing human being but there is a huge improvement in comparison to the previous title. I had a feeling that she lacked a bit of personality but this is not the case anymore. This Amicia is much more emotional. She is showing her emotion and often acting on it. This is a character you can actually relate to now. I like this version of her much more. As for Hugo, he continues to be an adorable child but he is becoming his own person now. Living in this dark and brutal world, he is forced to grow up. We can see his personality building and Amicia’s decisions shaping him. We can also see their bond grow stronger with each interaction. The game shows that in a very beautiful and artistic way.

The siblings will also encounter other characters while progressing through the story. An improvement can also be seen here. The characters in this game are well-written, explicit, well expressed and unique. This was not the case for the first game. I feel like the ones in the first game were uninteresting and forgettable. To be honest they are when I compare them to the ones here. They lacked personality and we lacked interactions with them. It is a complete opposite when it comes to this game. We are actually taking our time and getting to know each character well through a ton of interactions and shared experiences. Those are the characters you can relate to and will not forget for a long time. I believe that those are the best people siblings could have possibly come across. You are gonna love those characters.

When it comes to gameplay, the game continues not to disappoint. The world is filled with a ton of puzzles that are simple and enjoyable. I haven’t had a situation where I would be stuck and unable to continue. Also, everything you may need to solve them will be directly given to you by the game or found in your surroundings. The puzzles got more complex and their overall difficulty increased in comparison to the first game. There is much more game mechanics involved allowing for much more options when it comes to solving the puzzles. This game tends to put a lot of pressure on the player but I still find the gameplay aspect of the game relaxing. It’s been mastered to perfection.

The game is also going to be a feast for your ears. Before you even begin your journey through the sibling’s story, you are going to experience an art of music in the main menu. There is an amazing song accompanied by choir, violin and a harp. I found myself often overstaying there listening to the song after launching the game before I would start playing again. I enjoyed it to the point where I would hum the song during the day. There are a lot more songs and melodies like that in this game. They really add up to the climate of the whole tale. Voice acting is on the highest level as well. Each character is voiced by a professional with a unique voice or accent. Their voices were picked well because they correspond to the characters and their personalities. It feels like every aspect of this game is mastered to perfection.

In summary, the game is an exceptional experience and possibly the best game I have ever played. This game took everything that was great in the first title and improved it to perfection. Everything that was not okay or not good enough is an improved version of itself here now. I found no cons and I am unable to say a negative thing about this game. It’s flawless. I absolutely loved it and finishing it left a huge void in me that will be difficult to fill out again. This is a game I will surely want to introduce to my kids one day. I don’t know what words to use to describe this game anymore, but rest assured, it is a masterpiece. I cannot recommend it enough.

You can find more detailed reviews on my curator page Malfour's Choice.