Recent reviews by Dak

I've been playing TF2 since 2015 or 2016 and have many fond memories of this game and its community. Nothing has captured the essence of TF2 even as I have since gotten better hardware and played many other games. But TF2 in its current state, is unplayable and even unwelcoming towards newer players. There's a rampant bot problem making it impossible for real, human players to enjoy the game properly. I, and the rest of the casual playerbase would sincerely appreciate if Valve took these concerns seriously and actually Fix TF2's bot crisis. There's a petition going around at Save.TF showcasing how much the community cares about TF2 and fixing this issue. All we want is for Valve to do something about the bots.

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I've been playing this game since about 2015 or 2016. TF2 was my first, first-person shooter, and I was playing it on extremely low-end computers not really meant for gaming. But it ran well enough, and I was happy. Fast forward to now, and it's 2024, and I have a much better PC meant for gaming, as well as a much broader experience in gaming overall.

Nothing has ever come close to TF2 in regards to how it plays, and it has undeniably molded my tastes and preferences in games. Because of TF2, I have grown to enjoy & appreciate heavy movement-based mechanics, especially those that use or are inspired by surfing & blast jumping.

The community that has built and stuck around the game, even after all these years, is what truly makes TF2 so unique and enjoyable. For starters, there's a level of camaraderie I can't really put to words. I really wish I could describe it, but you just have to be around for a bit to know what I mean. But the rest really boils down to a unique, really goofy sense of humor--and I say that with the utmost affection. I have yet to find any game that captures these two features in particular, which is largely what made me come back to TF2 a lot.

[But the current state of the game has made playing TF2 feel like a chore, thus making me feel the need to distance myself from this game entirely. As of current, I'm even debating on uninstalling the game, which genuinely pains me to even consider. But the current state of TF2 is unacceptable. As many are coming to know, TF2 has been suffering from a massive bot crisis for approximately 5 years minimum, and Valve has not been taking this concern seriously. People have been hosting bots (bots being non-human "players") with the intent and purpose of extorting real human players in TF2's casual gamemode. In other words: these bot hosters are profiting off Valve's negligence and TF2's main playerbase is severely suffering for it. Casual mode is often unplayable, even moreso at peak hours for the bot hosters. Bots are taking up entire lobbies at times, spamming vulgar or obnoxious voice communications and text in the chatbox. To make matters worse, heavily bot-infested lobbies often stay this way by kicking real, human players. [b]I ask that you also bring this issue to Valve's attention once more, that they actually fix--keyword being FIX--the issue at hand. Sign the SAVE.TF petition, detail the good and bad of your current TF2 experiences via review/email/social media post, etc.[/b]

I bought this as a joke, and now Steam won't stop recommending me Dating Sims and ♥♥♥♥. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

The pinnacle of my many regrets.

Pretty fun game though, gameplay-wise. I've always loved Bejewled as a kid and this, of all games, brought back nostalgia.

You've probably read through the description of the game, and know of it's playstyle, so I'll try to make this short and sweet.

The game is pretty short, but given that it's Act 1, that's forgivable, I guess. The music is fantastic as always, and Toby even throws in a few songs in from Undertale. The characters are absolutely lovable so far. I found myself liking Jude the most, then Xefros, and eventually Joey. Damien, or whatever his name is, on the other hand sounds like a complete douchebag.

Me being me, I had to get all the achievements. Some of them were a tad bit weird (as expected) and would be hard as balls to find without a guide. It doesn't help that this is a godforsaken point-and-click either. I'm not a fan of that, but for a game like HiveSwap, it makes sense.

And I final thing I felt the need to add in, even though it's been said countless times. HiveSwap is something newcomers can truly enjoy. The game doesn't require you to read HomeStuck at all. You're thrown into this new, coloUrful world just like Joey, and the two of you learn Alternian/troll culture together. (However, some small references and lore might go over your head if you haven't. It's not all that important to HiveSwap though. Just some filler and goodies, I guess.) As a whole, it has some of HomeStuck's humor, but not as bizzare, wacky, or confusing. Just the right amount for your mainstream audience, I'd think.

Do I recommend this? Hell yes.