Recent reviews by ๖ۣۜMk137

bad game

It's a game with pros and cons. Thankfully, the pros easily outweigh the cons.

Pros:
-Atmosphere, immersion, and visual style
-Gameplay variety (lots of tools, weapons, and gadgets let you approach combat scenarios in many different ways)
-Enemy variety
-RPG elements and character progression
-SHODAN (such a relevant and iconic antagonist still today) and general voice acting
-HUD, map, and inventory system is great
-the game is a challenge in the best way, meaning if you make mistakes you can die easily, but if you are intelligent about how you approach situations you really won't ever die to something unfair

Cons:
-little guidance (both for objectives and for how some mechanics work)
-confusing and maze-like level design
-puzzles are not fun (somewhat optional)
-cyberspace sections are not fun (somewhat optional)

In summary, it's a fantastic remake that is almost too faithful to the original in some ways.
Anyone who has played the original System Shock is likely going to love this remake, because it is faithful to the original in many positive ways. If you've never played the original, but you are a fan of space horror and gaming, you're probably still going to love it. If you find yourself frustrated by certain things, just stick with it. SHODAN will reward you.

This plays like how your brain remembers AOM, but with more content than ever before.

COD is now a soulless, cash-grab of a franchise. Anything left over from the golden days of the series will ultimately be impossible for you to enjoy. If you buy this now, expect to be upset later for any one of hundreds of reasons.

An already generational game becomes an undeniable masterpiece.

External fixes are required to get this game working smoothly...until the second mission when a bug crashes the game repeatedly. Unplayable and needs to be removed from the steam store.

Quite easily one of the best video game soundtracks ever. The synth-driven dystopian vibe is unique and fascinating.

Tindalos has accomplished something impressive with Aliens: Dark Descent.

-The strategy mechanics are satisfyingly deep without being overly complex. You have a lot of options at your disposal for combat and movement, but not so many that you forget about them or feel burdened.
-The atmosphere is phenomenal (it really feels like you are controlling a squad in an Alien movie). The ability to pan the camera and zoom in is very welcome. The level design is believable and reminiscent of the movies.
-The game feels well-balanced: aliens are quite killable, but things can quickly escalate beyond your control if you get careless. The detection system and motion tracker mechanics give a really nice balance of 1) being able to explore a level without constantly sweating bullets and 2) still regularly getting into intense action horror sequences.

My only complaints:
-some of the voice acting is...not great (i.e. lines delivered in the wrong tone or lacking emotion). Some of the writing doesn't do the voice actors any favors, but overall it's not bad.
-character design is a little bit over-the-top for my taste (for example, marine commander with scars all over his face. We get it, he's been through it). It gives a vaguely cartoony vibe to what is clearly supposed to be a serious game.
-there really needs to be an autosave on exit (quicksave) feature, as you can only save by using resources to seal a room (or get an autosave by completing mission objectives). There should be an option to save in your base as well.

Overall, the game excels where it should (satisfying, strategic gameplay and immersion in the Alien universe). The shortcomings are not a main focus of the game and can be easily overlooked.

A bit niche, but this game slaps.

Activision is trash