Recent reviews by dan

the closest I can get to a gambling addiction on Steam ggs

optimisation is cancer rn lmao

Two parts ASMR and slow descent into insanity. There's a poignant tale about mental health here that leans heavily on Norse mythology which gives it a unique twist, sadly it's harmed by forced repetitive combat and tedious puzzle solving that wanes thin after the first 50 odd times. However, more positively the voice acting and overall sound are tremendous with the various whispering demons in Senua's mind given ample screentime (they remind you that you're a failure and that you're not strong enough to do whatever task you're on every 5 seconds which is always fun), the score is melancholic and the graphics are stunning, especially with ray-tracing enabled. In conclusion, it's difficult to recommend it too much because of how frequent the issues I've mentioned are and the portrayal of Senua's psychosis is definitely over-stimulating to an annoying degree but there's enough here to satisfy your curiosity at least.

It's certainly an experience all I'm sayin

̶6̶.̶5̶/̶1̶0̶

EDIT: the final sequence is hype as ♥♥♥♥ and the ending moved me as it was a fitting encapsulation of Senua's journey with the narration and music used so 7.5-8.0/10

I can't recommend the current state of the game to anybody because what seems like a decent shooter on the surface is marred by the scummy exploitation of a loyal fanbase by releasing something which is essentially a glorified beta. The game crashes numerous times for no explicable reason, making it a pain to progress the campaign on Veteran, the multiplayer is lacking key features like a combat record, challenges and a larger range of calling cards, emblems and other customisable features which are being released when the Battle Pass drops; showing they're more than happy to release something that's clearly unfinished because idiots like myself will still pay full price when it drops. The campaign is for some reason a separate entity to multiplayer and requires you to restart a second time in order to load into it which further exacerbates the unplayable state of the game when it crashes.

Modern Warfare II features quite possibly the worst set of launch maps I've seen in a Call of Duty title to date, the TTK is insanely quick, SBMM feels thicker than ever and it's sometimes straight up not an enjoyable experience trying to grind for camos.

The core concepts of the game are solid, the campaign brings back memorable faces like Soap and Ghost and has a good storyline above all, the gunplay feels smooth and responsive and the mission structure is varied and unique. I just don't respect how they've decided to release something like this that's been years in development.

yikes/10

edit: it's not as bad now but it still gave me aids

From the ashes of depravity rises the phoenix of quality. How else to describe the Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe? Such a revolutionary step forward in the lineage of one of the most beloved video game properties of all time! The additions and changes made to this expansion will surely resonate in the annals of the history of all media ever made. It is perhaps true to say that no mistakes are forever etched in stone for the stone into which The Stanley Parable was carved has itself been transmuted, offering a message of hope to those who have ever erred in their judgement.

You are not beyond redemption. You may change, and you may become more, so much more than you were before. If there is any message to be taken from The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe it is this... What a fortune, a privilege, a joy it is to have had such an experience it leaves me hopeful that as a community - as a world there is time for us to become our greatest selves, as great as we ever could dream of in our wildest, most ambitious visions for a brighter future.

csgo more like csgo ♥♥♥♥ yourself amirite

cyka blyat/10

edit: literally why are there so many Russians

11/10 would get carpal tunnel clicking a giant digital cookie again

11/10 but needs more garrus calibrations and drunk tali

This is my favourite game trilogy on the citadel.

First things first, the aesthetic of this game is impeccable and the lighting and general atmosphere is befitting of a neon dystopian city, the story beats feel measured and have the appropriate weight and your conversation options offer a nice variety based on which attributes you have levelled up. Exploration of Night City is fun and polished with a few visual bugs here and there (NPCs phasing into each other's bodies, floating cars, etc) but overall, it's solid with a large amount of side content to sink your teeth into.

On to the negative aspects:

For a game that's experienced several delays for the release date, there's a lot of problems still present; console versions are literally unplayable and have the graphical fidelity of a PS2 game despite it being made with last gen hardware in mind, there are a couple goofs with lip-syncing and moments when certain quest objectives won't update despite accomplishing the task which requires reloading of saves, I had moments where I was walking around a bar as part of a story mission and the HUD seemed to think I was still in a vehicle and I had the radio and switch camera prompts on the right which was bizarre, not only that but my game has force-closed numerous times.

Overall, the graphics are gorgeous on max settings with ray tracing and DLSS enabled and I get relatively smooth frames despite minor drops in crowded areas to the 40s but other than that, CDPR continues their storytelling proficiency from The Witcher 3 with a drastic change in genre and theme but is just as engaging, despite me preferring the fantasy setting more, personally.

8/10

Considering I don't really play games of this particular genre, I was pleasantly surprised. The photo-realism of the artstyle was gorgeous and the whole experience was therapeutic and contemplative as it documents the story of the Finch family who appear to be cursed as every member has mysteriously vanished or died and it's left to Edith to regale the tale of her descendants through a journal and she narrates your every movement and the differing of perspectives as each short story about the specific family member unfolds were executed beautifully, offering some very innovative and unique takes to gameplay that I haven't seen in the medium before. The original soundtrack / score was melancholy while also being very calming which fits the tone of the story itself and the ending is quite a doozy which gave me goosebumps. Navigating the island home of the Finches whilst hearing the backstories was a delight and this was a stellar achievement in storytelling from something that isn't a Triple A title.

I think this game was deserving of the awards and acclaim heaped upon it during release and it's been in my mind to try out for a while after spotting it on several best game lists but now I got to experience it for myself and it did not disappoint.
The only downside is, it's rather short but it delivers the message with great execution and polish. An atmospheric bittersweet masterpiece with elements of Life is Strange in the exploration, Giant Sparrow take a bow.

9.7/10