Recent reviews by Esaphia

Honestly, this was an enjoyable experience, i don't regret paying full price either, both the story and the gameplay was engaging, each of the companions were designed to be very different to one another but also really interesting in terms of personality and backstory. The combat which was very different to how the other dragon ages played out, I was a little worried about it at first but ended up being very fun, (i played sword & shield) it does feel a little odd to be in control of your companions abilities though, sometimes i kind of wished they just used them instead of relying on me to pause the battle, The other thing that annoyed me a bit in combat was the sheer amount of particle FX, mainly due to me trying to parry attacks where a yellow indicator would appear, sometimes i just couldn't see it at all so i got hit, i ended up combating that by using a whole load of abilities at once then backing away from the enemy. The other thing i found a little off but lived with was some of the dialogue options might of been a little cheesy or made no sense in a world that is on the brink of extinction, i dont mind it though i suppose but i know some people might not like that. The game also had a couple of random crashes during my playthough. To sum up here is what i like and dislike:

Good:
+Combat using Rook
+Cutscenes were absolute cinema
+Graphics were really nice
+Detailed story and companion stories
+Lots of exploration and puzzles

Bad
-Random Crashes
-Companion Abilities relying on you, i mainly played without them until i remembered randomly or needed a heal
-Some Dialogue felt cheesy given the world ending scenario
-Excessive Particle FX

I personally found the bads were very minor to me so in conclusion, i recommend others to play, who knows it might surprise you too, it did me

If i were to give it a rank out of 10 I'd give it a solid 9

Finally got around to playing this, i really enjoyed it, great game :)

This game ended up to be mid at best, i don't hate it or love it but just found the game to be pretty bland and empty, i can't seem to play it for more than a hour or 2 per session and that is when i find the effort to play it - compared to Skyrim or Fallout 4 where i'd get stuck in and play for hours upon end.

First time playing this 14 years after its release, holy moly, this game is amazing, really enjoyed it.

Honesty the perfect sequel.

I enjoyed The Beast Inside, decent for a modern horror game however i wouldn't say its perfect in any way and definitely has some flaws.

Story - Was probably the best feature of the game, full of mystery and questions answered between the findings and doings of the two protagonists in two different timelines. I also took time to read the quantity of articles and journals you can find to learn about more of the lore as I found it pretty interesting. The game also features multiple endings but I wish and i mean wish there was a chapter select in the menu, there are 12 in total and once you beat the game you can only start fresh which is silly really, especially how i really wanted to get the other endings but i can't.

Graphics - Decent, mainly up close, seeing things at a distance can look a bit messy but its fine, I played on medium settings due to it being quite intense to run at high graphics. I read a few reviews and they say they get problems with running it, i however was fine.

Gameplay - Pretty straightforward horror gameplay, the jumpscares were okay, none really got me however and predicted quite a few of them, most the gameplay was interacting with objects and a fair amount of puzzles which i enjoyed, there were limited times where you needed to avoid a monster or enemy, but to be fair i understood why as the AI for them wasn't good at all, very simple walk patrolling back and forth AI, no reaction to sound, and when you are in a chase with them, they run at a very forgiving speed and got one stuck at one point. The game experiments with its mechanics throughout its chapters so things don't repeat too much and the length of the game was decent enough.

Final thoughts: After completion, i was fairly happy with the game and decided to go for the positive review, I recommend getting it on a deal, game is worth £20 but i think £15 is more what its worth.

Game is unique, i feel like the blend of rng bullet hell with idle progression is a really cool mix, and the game definitely made a good time waster, looking forward to possible updates this game could get

A few things i will note first:

I played on legendary difficulty for a guaranteed challenge.
I have played all halo games apart from halo 5 (not counting games like halo wars)
I played with keyboard and mouse

The Positives:

I thought the campaign was a little short but during that time, i had an amazing experience and is by far 343 Industries best halo to date and a step forward in the right direction which i am really happy about. The story is well written and brings in some real emotion in character development really highlights the threats and has an interesting plot. The music, atmosphere and overall design was incredible, was my favourite bit about this game, music fits in with the story and action almost perfectly whilst also giving halo 1,2,3 vibes with some newer modernised elements. The design of the world, banished, forerunner architecture was 10/10, the forerunner especially as it just brings back familiar design from older halos but also not forgetting some of the newer forerunner aesthetics from halo 4 onwards but mixes the designs together to create something amazing. As for gameplay, i found it fun but not perfect, i thought the open world was interesting and is obviously very new to a halo game, for some the open world gameplay will feel repetitive and kinda is but as a completionist and didn't mind doing all the extra bits such as finding collectables and invading banished outposts. I am pleased with dialogue for grunts and marines and even jackals which surprised me. I thought the weapon sandbox was great, pretty sure i used everything at some point and feels really balanced (at least in campaign) I will end off the positives with the fact i was playing a halo game that felt like halo 1, 2, 3 and 4 all together, world design feels close to halo 1, boss battles felt like halo 2 etc and even has many references touching on the past throughout the game and story but in a way that feels natural and not by force.

The Negatives:

Now for the negatives, currently you cannot chapter/mission select which is kinda annoying especially for people that like to get collectables, this means you will have to restart the whole story if you missed one. I feel like some characters could of had a little more "doing" things throughout the story, it feels like while you are playing the campaign these characters are in a waiting room until its their time to shine. I found that the difficulty for open world was too easy whilst compared to boss battles, massive difficulty spike there. If the side missions and all the open world parts were not counted, the overall campaign feels short, felt like there could of been a little more.

I thought i'd also add in, there is a few reused assets in the world, i see that a few other reviews moaning about this but i don't see too much problems with it, a few assets are reused true, but each location you find is built differently and is unique in its own way which i really appreciate.

Overall, i thought i give a round of applause to 343 for creating what i found an amazing addition to the franchise despite some of the difficulties encountered on the way, covid obviously but the delay was worth it, the 1 year they had really helped. Also the fact they did a not bad job on open world considering this is their first time doing anything like this. Well done :)

- would ride on a razorback with 5 rocket laucher wielding marines again lmao

car

I enjoyed this, very chill, great past time