Recent reviews by BreachAndClear

Does not contain the .WAV files at the moment.

Having played Swat 2, 3, Target Liberty and 4 since I was about 10, police tactical shooters are among my favourites. The community has long been waiting for an improvement on Swat 4, as good as the game was (especially after the addition of eezstreet's Elite Force mod). Initially games like Takedown Red Sabre promised to fill the void, but were poorly made and lacked the gameplay depth of Swat. Rainbow Six Siege looked much closer to Swat in its' beta period, albeit with some more arcadey additions, but was nonetheless promising. On release however, we were greeted with a very different game, both in terms of gameplay and theme.

So we arrived in 2017, when a trailer was released on YouTube, that had style, a noir and grim atmosphere, and promised an unflinchingly brutal take on the operations of a Swat team. Ready or Not was announced.

Over the last few years, Void Interactive has had a number of issues, mainly with communication, firstly with the lack of updates between announcement and alpha release (2 years of absence), then with the cost of the alpha ($120 for the supporter tier with alpha access, and $40 for the standard edition with no beta date in sight), and finally with the numerous delays to the beta release. Coupled with a non-disclosure agreement, that barred any backers from sharing media related to the game, to say that the last few years have been turbulent for the game, is an understatement. I imagine I was not the only person watching the development who thought the worst after the 2020 PVP update was shown, with numerous issues. I just about gave up hope on this project after that.

However, where Ready or Not is today, is a long way improved from the 2020 updates, and shows serious promise for the future. The game is pretty far from done, I would guess several years from completion. The groundwork is there; weapons function, look and sound great, and the few levels currently available are varied enough for some replayability. It is clear where this game will improve on Swat 4, and hopefully modding support will be added to increase the map, weapon and skin choices.

Is it worth the £30? Just about. You have to want to support this to justify the cost, but given that the price is eventually supposed to increase to £40 (from $39.99 to $49.99) now is a wise time to buy in. Hopefully the updates and communication will be more consistent now, as the revenue stream and confidence opened by the Steam release should provide some financial security for Void Interactive moving forward.

If you haven't played Swat 4 yet, you absolutely should (its available on GOG) and use the eezstreet's SEF Mod to bring the game to a new level.

If you ever felt that State of Decay wasn't quite doing it for you, this game delivers an almost simulation level experience of the zombie apocalypse. There is quite a steep learning curve, but this is one of the few games where you can get by with a bit of common sense.

The game has been in development now for more than 8 years, which might put some people off. The updates are coming, but clearly this is a labor of love, and I don't imagine it to be finished for some time still. However, at only £10, this feels like an early access game worth supporting.

One of the best early access games of recent years. Very different in tone to something like Theme Hospital, with much more realism both in terms of management, and the illnesses you have to deal with. DLCs are worth it too.

One of the best early access games of recent years, its been wonderful to watch it grow. If you prefer more micromanagement versus something like SimAirport, this game has it covered. Whilst this level of control can present some problems with fine-tuning, ultimately once over the learning curve, it makes for a much more personalised experience.

Music is really good too, reminds me of the airline scenes in the film Catch Me If You Can.

Would love to see more content for the game in the future, the two DLCs so far are great additions.

If you're familiar with Warband then you know exactly what this is about. Everything has been overhauled, combat especially, and it feels amazing as a result. The devs have been incredibly active and quick in resolving major issues, if there ever was a company to support through early access, then it is Taleworlds.

One of the best games in the last five years (I'll include Hitman 1 alongside this entry), the maps are better than ever, graphics are amazing, with destruction and the chaos you cause (or don't cause if you're not a mass murderer) shown in a level of detail not found in similar games.

The sound effects in this game are on a whole other level to practically anything else on the market at the minute. Guns sound powerful, and there is a real sense of damage and brutality to your actions. The Season Pass is worth the money, and one of the few bits of DLC to exist that I would recommend for any game.
IO Interactive have created something special here, and we have finally got to the best place that the Hitman franchise has ever been. Can't wait for Hitman 3

The illusion of choice is still just that; an illusion. Some games make it work (Mass Effect and even in parts, the Witcher), but for games that are sold on the very pretence that your choice will matter, unless it is really evident by the end of the game, and isn't disproved by multiple playthroughs, I think that it's a massive dissapointment. And Telltale's Game of Thrones is just that; dissapointing.

Don't play this unless you love the show, and for pitys sake don't replay it unless you want to see how little your input other than QTEs actually mattered.

The square root of ♥♥♥♥ all has changed since 2015, so avoid this like the plague.

Edit: If Bugbear keep updating as they have done (as of March 2018) then I may be inclined to change this to a positive. however, 3 years without an update still rubs me up the wrong way.

Easily one of the greatest games I have ever played.

It is wierdly compelling and draws you into the politics and warfare of a medieval world, with many different and varied factions all going at it to rule the continent.

The gameplay holds up well, which it has to in 2017, since the visuals leave much to be desired. However, I would assume that most looking for a medieval RPG are probably not to fussed about this, and as such, I can highly recommend Warband.

The game is good on its own, but really, mods elevate it to greatness.
I would highly recommend Floris Mod, essentially a vastly grander take on the vanilla Warband.