Recent reviews by Doom

I'll put this right at the start, the game itself is fantastic, it's just unplayable for a lot of people, myself included, due to absolutely terrible optimization on the cpu end that is causing full pc crashes on almost every single loading screen.

I played for about 95 hours without a single crash on a ryzen 7 3700x with a 2080 super.

Now having constant crashes after upgrading to an i5 14400f with a 4060.

Loading screen starts > cpu usage spikes to 100% > PC locks up > proceeds to crash PC. Tried limiting cores, tried turning off multithreading, supposedly theres some stuff in bios you can change as a workaround which works but nobody should have to mess with their bios because ggg doesnt have the game in a working state for those people.

Love the game but the review will remain negative until the cpu utilization is fixed.

Obviously Black Myth Wukong is a game intended for those that are familiar with JTTW, while this is true, you do not need to be familiar with it to enjoy this game.

Zones are most similar to some older hack'n'slash games, with combat being closer to a souls-like though I wouldn't say it is extremely similar. Exploration is very solid, not best in class but certainly not the worst. The music and storytelling are some of the best we have seen in gaming in probably a decade, the graphics are great. The cutscenes switching between a normal cutscene and all the other visual art styles such as claymation is incredibly beautiful.

This game is undoubtedly a Game of the Year contender and personally I give it a 10/10.

This is a review from someone who has been a lifelong Bioware fan, lifelong fan of the Dragon Age series, someone who bought this game on day 1 because I was cautiously optimistic about it. I'm going to try to leave bias out of it but I'm sure some will slip in.

Let me start by saying this, I have hundreds of hours in both Origins and Inquisition, and multiple playthroughs of Dragon Age 2. I love all these games, they all have flaws, and I recommend all 3 to this day.

You may notice the negative review, that's simply because I would not recommend this game to anyone, probably not even on sale. There are parts of this game that I do enjoy but the negatives outweigh those things too much.

Starting with combat, this games combat is similar to Dragon Age 2 but downgraded. It is incredibly barebones, it lacks the ability to setup behavior stuff for your companions. Companions in this game are nothing more than glorified extra abilities, they cannot die, they pretty much are never aggroed by enemies, etc. they are just more abilities. This game's combat had potential and it was squandered by them not committing in any direction.

Next up the writing, there's no easy way to put it, it's genuine garbage. It does not fit into the world in the slightest, this is a medieval fantasy world where almost everyone in the world speaks like they are a early 20s person in current year, it just does not fit and breaks immersion at every turn, and that is without even mentioning the fact that you're playing an RPG where you have no choice in what role you play. You cant be evil, mean, even a slightly bad guy. There's no blood magic for player mages, etc, this is a forced hero story where even when you pick the meanest dialog option all it actually is is you saying the exact same thing with a slightly different tone.

Next, lets get it out of the way, I don't care about your politics or sexuality but Taash is all the worst parts of the LGBTQ community personified, she is obnoxious, annoying, has zero personality aside from sexuality. She is a clear stand-in for someone on the dev team, her dialog is always just cringy and completely irrelevant to what is happening in game. Bioware has historically had very solid gay characters who still fit into the world and the story and were still likable characters, that is not the case here.

Story, this is actually the most solid part of the game, and if it wasn't for the writing in the game, I would recommend this game on sale for the story alone, but the writing ruins it for me. Weird tones and weird choices of wording in very important sections, the current day speech does not fit into the narrative either.

I love this game series but I will be treating this game like it does not exist and pretending that inquisition is the end of the series. Bioware has said that the next Mass Effect will be a return to form like the golden days and said they are actually listening and making adjustments, we will see when the game comes if this is true or not. If it ends up not being true then most likely Bioware will be added to the growing list of dev teams that were once at the top of top and nobody could touch them but are now complete trash and aren't worth spending your money on, Bungie comes to mind as an example.

Bioware if y'all read this, those of us voicing our concerns do so because we love your games, we know you are capable of doing better and we wish for a return to form.

TLDR - Do not buy this game, it is not worth it even on sale. The very few redeeming qualities do not outweigh the vast negatives. Save your money, go play Baldurs gate 3 or divinity original sin 2 for the thousandth time.

TLDR - The game is phenomenal. The mtx do not matter literally at all, the only one i thought might be an issue was the portcrystal, but I'm walking around with like 6 of these in my current run so even that one doesn't matter at all. The performance is an issue in the major towns and nowhere else and even then there are a few things that can be done to make this significantly better, especially if you have a newer cpu because the main issue is cpu related. If that worries you wait for the performance to be worked on some before grabbing the game, other than that please don't let the bad reviews scare you away from a phenomenal game that is very likely an easy GOTY for 2024.

Moving on.

I'm going to start with the negatives here, the performance. There's major issues that easily could have been found with some playtesting before launch even on high end rigs. Framerate tanks in the major cities, I go from a consistent 30+ outside of town to around 10-15 in town, granted I'm on a fairly outdated rig that needs upgrades. They've said they're aware and working on fixes, as long as these fixes come somewhat soon, it'll be fine. Performance isn't a dealbreaker for most, I'm sure we all remember Elden Ring had major performance issues at launch yet the game was so good it was mostly forgotten once fixed, I fully expect the same to happen here.

There are some "fixes" for this already, such as setting DD2s priority to high or above normal in task manager, this does help from what I've seen in doing it myself, although not a complete fix. There's a mod out already that will do this automatically for you when you launch the game. There's a few more fixes out there that I haven't tested so I won't speak on them.

The mtx, they quite literally do not matter and will have zero real impact on your game and are there exclusively because some suit at capcom said there had to be mtx.

This isn't a negative but I've seen people whining about it, no "new game" option if you have a current game going. This is like this intentionally, they want you to commit. People are whining that they can't change appearances/names/etc. this isn't true, you can do that at the first major town, and you can fully redo your character and pawn for free (no in-game or out of game cost) upon completion of a game, when starting "NG+" you can fully remake both as if starting from scratch. Some have said it's an issue because of the stat bumps from leveling while a certain vocation, while technically true, those stat bumps are negligible as the overwhelming majority of your stats are from your gear and augments unlocked from leveling your vocations.
Even with that said, they said they may be adding the ability to restart completely.

Moving to the positives.

The combat.
The combat is more of the same from DD1 with some improvements, if you played DD1 and enjoyed it there, you'll likely enjoy it even more in DD2. Every class brings something unique to the table and even the classes you would expect to be somewhat similar are still completely different (fighter/ warrior ranger/magick archer). If you haven't played DD1, the game I would say it's most similar to would be a mix of monster hunter and devil may cry.

The exploration.
All that really needs said is that it's fantastic. I'm on my third run right now and still finding new things, some very large things too. You are guaranteed to find either gear or hidden side bosses/bosses down every single path you go down, every cave, every trail, every mountain you scale. It doesn't matter where you look there is something to find.

The music.
It's solid, very similar to DD1 while still feeling unique. Not as much to say here, but it's good.

The story.
Not bad, not great. It suffices as far as stories go and it's not overbearing as far as subsequent runs go. Story is relatively short which puts more emphasis on the exploration and combat, which as was already said, is where the game really shines.

Replayability.
Very replayable. You're going to have a significantly different experience replaying on each one of the vocations which is what really matters. You're going to find something new on every single playthrough unless you've followed a guide that covers everything, and as far as I have seen, and I've looked, there isn't a single guide out there that covers everything.

Rating - 9/10
Leaving room for the rating to go up from hard mode being added (odd that it wasn't in the game at launch though), fingers crossed and the eventual DLC that will be added.

Last Epoch is the perfect ARPG for anyone new to the genre or anyone looking for something more in-depth than Diablo but less convoluted than Path of Exile.

Great itemization.

Tons of viable endgame builds, so loads of variety.

Easy to pick up and play and make your own builds without needing a guide. (if you're familiar with how these games work already, otherwise please use a guide to learn first.)

9/10 currently, 9.5/10 or 10/10 once all the server issues are ironed out. (which massive progress has been made daily.)

Short and Sweet.

Warframe is an extremely good game and is ultimately what games like Destiny aspire to be.

It's very fun, tons of room to grow and learn even hundreds of hours in, I recently hit 1000 hours and am still learning new things weekly if not daily.

9/10 overall and could be a 10/10 if some things were explained better.

I had been interested in HD1 for awhile and never pulled the trigger so when HD2 came around I jumped on it on launch day, and I've had a blast every time I've booted the game since.

Imagine Deep Rock Galactic with less grind, that's essentially what HD2 is, and it does it well.

Tons of customization, from your appearance to your loadout to what "powerups" you bring on runs. This game allows you to truly play your way.

I'm seeing lots of people say the game is pay to win, that's simply not true. There is a currency that can be bought and used in the store, but the prices are very cheap talking like the most expensive thing I've seen (excluding the premium battle pass which has less in it than the free battle pass does) is $3 with most being in the range of $1-$1.50. Not only are the prices very cheap, you can farm the currency very, very quickly in mission. All equipment within the same type, has the same stats so even if you buy a piece of gear all you really gain is a different look if you already have an equipment in the same category.

HD2 is a 9/10 at worst with it being a 9.5/10 most times.

Just like any pve horde shooter you will enjoy this game far more if you play with friends, but it's still very enjoyable solo and you can consistently do everything in the game solo.

5/3 Edit - The account changes are just creating security risks similar to gameguard, not reducing the risks. Not only this but it allows Sony to use HD2 like a gateway drug, you've already made an account and are now interacting with Sony/PS so you're more likely to interact with their other games, it also allows them to arbitrarily boost their numbers by requiring a PS account for a steam game. Had the game launched with this many people wouldn't be upset by it as well as sales would not have been as good as they were.

This is without mentioning those in regions where Sony/PS is banned/not available and therefore people in those regions physically cannot make an account to link, and lose access to a game they spent money on.

Review will remain negative until this decision is reverted.

The game is amazing still and is just getting better, but Sony like always is hiding in the corner waiting to strike and ruin something great, showing how little they care for both their fanbase and the greater gaming world.

Second update, same day. We now have Arrowhead's community manager ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ on people on the official discord because the playerbase is unhappy with these decisions. So this review may stay negative until something is done about the CM regardless of if the account stuff is reverted.

5/6 Leaving the last updates in as a reminder that when a community comes together and votes with their money and reviews, bad decisions that are actively anti-consumer will be reverted and the corporations behind good studios will bend to the community.

Sony is still blocking over 100 countries from buying the game or playing it.

While Baldurs Gate 1 & 2 are not needed to understand the story of BG3, having played them will result in knowing some characters beforehand and understanding the world better.

Gameplay - 9.5/10 - The gameplay loop is solid and rewarding, you are sufficiently rewarded every single time you go off the main trail in a quest, whether its with some new loot, unique weapons or accessories or sometimes entire new zones that are entirely optional. Very rewarding.

Artstyle - 9/10 - while there are other games in the genre that look better, its hard to find a game that looks as unique as this one. All major characters are visibly and audibly distinct allowing you to easily memorize who is who, and often times you can tell where someone falls morality wise simply from their visuals. The landscapes and zones are all distinct and gorgeous, even in the darker areas there is still a sense of beauty.

Loot - 9/10 - While knowing what is good and whats not good is difficult at the beginning for someone who doesnt play this genre often, its not hard to understand and you can quickly learn how to differentiate between good and bad. Theres tons of unique items, whether its weapons, armor, or accessories theres always something to find somewhere.

Story - 9/10 - I'm going to avoid spoilers here. Its good. From what ive seen people that played BG 1 & 2 have mixed feelings on how it ties in but they still like it regardless. As someone largely new to the franchise other than games that dont tie in directly, it was great, fully recommend it for the story alone.

Combat - 8.5/10 - I left this out of gameplay because it deserves its own section. For someone new to turnbased combat with dice rolls on damage and such, the combat probably seems like a downside, but its very easy to get the hang of it and learn the ins and outs. Having the ability to pick up things like explosive barrels and just carry them in your pocket lets you save stuff for when its needed for say a boss fight or a massive group fight allowing instakills of bosses or deleting groups. Each class has something unique that they bring to the table allowing you to truly play how you want to including solo with no party being entirely possible, even if it is difficult.

In summary Id fully recommend this game to anyone and everyone and im hoping the xbox release comes soon for some friends. 9/10 overall and easily my pick for game of the year.

Starts out unbelievably strong, get progressively better and better all the way up to a certain boss that unlocks several areas, after that the quality of bosses and the areas goes downhill pretty significantly. The DLC, Artorias of the Abyss, is by far one of the strongest DLCs in the entire series, the areas and bosses are some of the best in any Souls game and honestly getting the game is worth it for that alone. The final boss has one of the best soundtracks in any game I've ever played personally and has spawned a meme of saying "plin plin plon" from how much it stands out as a theme.

Early to mid-game rating - 9/10 - loses a point for the depths and blighttown as they could both be better.
Late game rating - 6/10 - I still really like the later parts other than Lost Izalith, but all the late areas and bosses could be significantly improved.
DLC rating - 10/10 - It's perfect in my opinion from the areas, the atmosphere, the boss fights, all of it.
Overall - 8.5/10 - It's a masterpiece in my opinion even with it's flaws and anyone who doesn't play it all the way through is missing out on a significant piece of gaming history, this is the game that spawned an entirely new genre of games. It won't always be easy to overcome bosses but that is the point of the game after all, it's about persistent and overcoming the challenges that are presented.

P.S. If you are someone who does not like the pvp after you experience it then simply do not reverse your hollowing (other than to kindle bonfires), you can only be invaded if you are in human form, but you never know, souls pvp could become your favorite passtime.

I have around 2,500 hours on this game probably between PC and console, I simply can't recommend this game anymore. It's advertised as "free to play" despite you pretty much only being able to play pvp as free to play and that's not what the game is about nor is it a good option with how rampant cheaters are in the pvp, you also don't get access to all pvp content. The game is very much pay to play on the pve side, and with all of the expansions being what you would want to play most of the time (this includes, all but one raid, most of the free roam areas, all of the story elements) each of these are at least 40USD. Dungeons for each year of content are an extra 20USD, each season pass and most of each season's gameplay content is an additional 10-15USD every three months or so. Cosmetics are also most often behind a paywall, usually 15+USD. I could excuse the cosmetics if the game was actually free to play, not "free to play but you actually have to pay in order to play any meaningful/fun content".

Most of the content is so easy a literal baby could complete it and the stuff that is actually somewhat difficult is artificial difficulty such as massively inflated health and damage numbers rather than the difficulty coming from mechanics like it should with a game that is marketed as an mmo. Making a build is pointless when things don't live long enough for the build to matter or when Bungie forces you to use things not in your build based on seasonal champion mods that rotate out every 3ish months and often times force you to use weapons you don't deem as fun or enjoyable to use.

In short, very predatory monetization, poor balancing, lack of care for true difficulty for an "mmo" and practices that in general are bad for the player. If you have watched enough of the game to decide you want to give it a shot, just buy the most recent expansion and nothing else and decide after that if you still want to commit hundreds into a game that most of the community tells new players not to get into.

Update - Lightfall has dropped, I have ran the campaign on 3 characters, the story is still extremely bad, gameplay is more of the same so not terrible but not great either. Bungie has increased difficulty across the board for the whole game which is good, it could have been done better but something is better than nothing in this scenario. Lightfall introduced a new enemy type, the Tormentor, a darkness based enemy type similar to Rhulk from Vow of the Disciple in the way that you fight them. Tormentors are a good addition, nothing more to say about them. Lightfall's campaign/story answers zero questions we had going in and only gives us even more questions and introduces more obscure relics that the Witness wants and we have no clue why or what the relics even are in reality. In addition to that Bungie kills off the most likable villain in the game in that of Calus. Post-campaign Lightfall is stronger than the campaign in all honesty, the newest raid has not dropped yet but all signs point to Nezarec being the raid boss, which is yet another character in the universe who we do not know much about and we are seemingly about to kill him off too.

These expansions are still too expensive for the content that we are getting and we are still being nickle and dimed for every single piece of content on the planet while cosmetics in eververse are still 15USD for a single set of cosmetics. Monetization remains the most oppressive thing about the game. Bungie has made an ungodly amount of money from the sales of DLCs and cosmetics over the years as well as being bought out by Sony awhile back and nothing has improved monetization wise, in fact it has only gotten worse.

August 2023 Update - I along with loads of other people have given up on Bungie and stopped playing the game entirely. The state of the game that Bungie put out has made it official that they are completely out of touch and simply do not care about anything other than money. We are still paying at a minimum of 100 USD for each year of content more like 120 if you dont buy the deluxe edition of the expansion. Bungie still refuses to deliver on new content for areas of the game that are being neglected by saying that it is too expensive while ignoring that the game is expensive. They still hide behind the "free to play" guise while charging 20 USD for a single set of armor for just one class. Oh you want the new set for each class for a season? Yeah, that'll be the cost of a new full price game. Bungie has taken all of the money from the Destiny community and funneled it into Marathon, which is probably dead on arrival anyway. Marathon was already confirmed to have dedicated servers despite the Destiny community asking for dedicated servers for who knows how long and still not even having that.

TLDR - Bungie could not care less about it's fanbase, they do not care about anything but money, there is zero passion behind this studio anymore. Please, save your money, time and effort, do not buy this game, expansion, whatever it may be, save yourself. Go find a game that cares about you, Warframe, FF14, etc. If you are a pvp player go invest your time into a pvp game that cares about you or at the very least gives you content. I genuinely hope this helps you save your money and time.