Recent reviews by Bartlett

Short but very, very sweet tactics puzzler. Fun gameplay, catchy music, highly interesting characters and intriguing story all wrapped up in some of the best art direction I've seen in a while. I've managed to complete the main story in ~15 hours and it's left me with a curiosity about a world that feels like it had way more thought put into it than what you could pick out on the surface.

I would be very excited to see more done with this setting, but what this game provides is a very good overview and introduction to the world viewed through the lens of fun characters, with exceptionally written flaws to grapple with, while they unravel a strange conspiracy. Dialogue is excellent, mostly leaning into humor but having dramatic and mildly emotional twists as you learn about the story and each character.

If you have the itch for a tactics puzzler that can be as easy or difficult as you want, this is a great pickup, strongly recommend.

It's free, you can finish it in less than an hour, and succumb to the Rambley brainrot.

I don't do horror games usually but I'm so glad I gave this a go, that darn raccoon is so good that I just couldn't bear to give him up. Eagerly anticipating Chapter 2!

Definitely one of the best games in recent memory, incredibly unique action that you can't find in any other third person shooter. Tight gameplay, fun weapon variety, interesting support calldowns and a knack for spectacle that other games would struggle to match even with scripted events. The devs have a history of questionable balance decisions but as of this moment they have made a commitment to fun and variety over balance and difficulty, and followed through with the latest patches, ensuring that most if not all weapons are viable even to higher difficulties. There are certainly still standout picks but weapon choice mostly comes to personal preference which allows for varied loadouts and play styles, especially with a coordinated team.

Gameplay aside, the live service and constantly developing story ensures that every week there is something interesting going in in the lore and game, Major Orders uniting the community toward common goals in the galactic war and surprise drops of new weapons, strategems, and even enemies at fairly regular intervals to keep the game fresh. I very much look forward to the future of Helldivers 2 as I cannot remember a game with such a fun core gameplay loop while also providing a reason to keep coming back even after I've played every mission type and planet biome hundreds of times.

Monetization comes in the form of Warbonds which contain sets of themed armor, weapons and cosmetics unlockable with Medals earned from missions in a battlepass style format, which does not expire at any point, meaning you will always be able to purchase and work through any Warbond at any point. Aside from the main Warbond which is far larger than others and includes your basic progression in weapons and armor, Premium Warbonds are unlocked for 1000 of the Super Credits premium currency, ~$10.00 USD if purchased directly. This currency can also be gained by searching the map in missions, netting an average of 30 per mission as well as getting several hundred within the Warbonds themselves. The currency can also be spent to purchase Armor on a rotation in the store. In my personal experience it is absolutely feasible to keep up with the rate of Warbond release by earning currency in-game without any need to spend money.

Arrowhead deserves every ounce of success they've garnered with this title, and I'm glad to see it's still thriving. You should absolutely experience this game at some point, 10/10 highly recommended.