Recent reviews by John

I would definatively say get this one over 3, paradox has really really gone downhill over the years and while this isn't in my opinion the best entry into the paradox franchise it's a pretty good game. You really need to be careful though because so much of the game is locked behind DLC. That said she's free to play these days last I checked which is good because it reduces the price you pay for getting all the DLC to play the actual game.

This game captures the experience I expected from State Of Decay. In a lot of ways it's a happy medium between State of Decay 1 and 2 with serviceable graphics and an enjoyable gameplay loop. As the game updates and I get more gameplay in I'll do what I can to update this little review.

The difficulty can be quite severe at first but once you get down the aspects of dodging around enemies (waiting for them to lunge at you then stepping to one side as they hit the ground) it becomes much more manageable.

In the current version of the game I do find the bandits destroy your base a bit too quickly but it was so far not anything that myself and my friend playing the game couldn't handle.

There's no story mode yet but really it almost doesn't need one. More settlement options and building options stacked atop eachother and more features to get the feeling of surviving in the post apocalypse would almost be all you need.

The Titular invisible strain adds a layer of depth and complexity to the gameplay where you don't quite trust the people around you because at any moment they could turn on you and then it's game over.

It's fun getting to know another character only for them to turn on you in the middle of the night

The other types of zombie are fairly enjoyable to fight. Green Strain which are a bit of a challange but are fairly predictable, and Blue Strain which seems to move with a good deal of speed. Red Strain which if you're infected by will kill you in very short order who tend to thrash about quite a bit.

I experienced some irregular crashing from some sort of 'sanity check' as the console called it but that went away by temporarilly turning off the invisible strain which creates a slightly more laid back gameplay environment.

The two difficulty modes are very nice for when you just want to relax, and I really enjoy the customizability that the settings when starting a new save provide. If anything I would like to see even more options for the sandbox like Ramero Zombies (Only headshots kill, but they're fairly slow) However that's nothing that the modding scene can't add themselves as the game progresses through or out of Early Access.

There's no voice acting in the game, but again it's early access, and the prior game in the series didn't exactly have voice acting either so it's not as big of a deal.

For the price there are very few other (New) games I could recommend on steam, already this game holds something of a special place in my heart and hopefully it remains that way.

Looking forward to seeing what happens next with this game, and hey devs if you ever need Voice Talent for a project hit my up :P

Consider the following information: I went into this game intent on making a single ten minute video on the game seeing how it was and generally just get a feel for how the thing played maybe get some good footage and move on. Instead I spent a full 2 hours playing through the entire first Episode* gleefully cackling and having the time of my life while doing it.

Say what you want about the graphics or anything else a game that can almost make me miss work because I just get completely drawn in to the point of having to drag myself away? That's a recommendation from me at any price. Well worth full price. Grab this game.

Honestly. It's like I'm a kid again playing Blood for the first time, half expecting my father to come in shouting about how it's a business computer and he needs to send a work email.

Any game that brings that feeling back? Any game that makes me rock out headbanging one moment only to jump up in my seat and scream like a little girl the next? That's a damn good game. Buy this. You need it. Or well don't I'm just a digital review.

(*I origionally wrote Chapter, when I meant episode)

Yeah star mediocre and go from there right lads? I mean go down mainly but still going from there. This mod has it's ups, I mean there's literally no way to roleplay it how you want. It adds in a worldspace that can't actually be used to build a proper enclosed vault without excessive modding, has one new dungeon to explore if you don't count the vault building area itself which tends to be somewhat useless to build in if again you don't use mods to fix it. A brand new character who is fun to interact with but overall gets used far too little, and almost no changes made from the early beta of this thing. I'd say it's worth it only as yet another modders toolbox.

4/10

You know I feel oddly vindicated with this about my feelings on modern Zenimax, not bethesda. The people at Zenimax who have their heads shoved so firmly up their own backsides that they thought it was a good idea to make Bethesda do this.

While I would love to sit here and tell everyone that I recomend this game as highly as Fallout New Vegas 65 hours in at time of writing and I can't help but feel this game to be a step forward and two back in many ways. Yes it learns a few things from fallout new vegas but ignores so many others. The late game feels like an absolute slog, and much of it feels like it's just repeated content over and over again. The number of bugs thrown in and some rather.. odd choices with the UI, removal of the skill system, removal of the Karma system, removal of the reputation system, removal of factions armors, and many other usefull features from the previous two games just leaves me feeling hollow. I can't in good conscience recommend anyone spend 60 dollars on this game, let alone 80 for the season pass, in its current state.

Please do yourself a favor and wait for a sale.