Recent reviews by Mr.Mulciber

As a huge fan of the first game, I absolutely loved this sequel. The Talos Principle II has a lot of differences with the first installment which some people may find a bit jarring. For me though, it just felt like the two games complimented each other perfectly. This game is bigger and generally wider in scope than the first in several ways. More areas, more music, more characters, more puzzle mechanics, more dialogue, and a more involved and present story. Croteam has done so much with this game for such a small studio, it's impressive really. I only have a few minor complaints. For one the difficulty is toned down from the first game and especially from Road to Gehenna. I also think that the reward for completing all of the star puzzles was a bit underwhelming. Finally, I wish that some of the new puzzle mechanics were used more often. None of those things really took away from the game at all though.

I loved this game all the way through and I can't wait to replay both of them. I don't think I could choose a favorite due to the games being so distinct in what they're trying to accomplish, but I sure as hell would recommend both games to anyone who loves puzzle games.

Having played Persona 3 FES once before, this port was my second time through Persona 3. I was slightly disappointed that FES wasn't the version we got ported, but the promise of new content from the female protagonist's route was very exciting to me. After finishing the main story on her route, I'd say I'm fairly happy with Persona 3 Portable getting brought forward to newer platforms. There was plenty of new content on her route that I really enjoyed. Stuff like new social links and some new choices in the main story. The new music is also very well made, it stays true to the original Persona 3 vibe while being unique.

Sure, not having fully 3D environments is unfortunate, but it really doesn't take much away from the gameplay. Tartarus exploration and combat was left fully 3D, which is good. In my book, the best part of Portable being released again is the snappier menus. FES was a little slow with its menus. It wasn't a problem, more so a slight annoyance. Portable has very quick and responsive menus both in and out of battle, which is quite nice as someone who's gotten used to the fast menus of Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. I'd say the biggest downside to playing Portable over FES is the lack of cutscenes. The visual novel nature of this game isn't bad since the modern Persona games are already in huge part visual novels. However many important and emotional scenes are impacted by the lack of FMVs. The ending especially was quite affected in the tone and how hard it personally hit for me. Aside from that, Portable is a perfectly fine way to play the game, especially if it isn't your first time running through P3.

As far as the "remaster" part goes, it isn't anything special. Not much was touched up, and what they did change has mixed results. Most of the art is either blurry due to the game originating from the PSP, or it's been AI upscaled with most examples not coming out the best. It gets the job done, but they certainly didn't redraw anything for this release. On the technical side of things, Atlus did very well. Performance was great for me on both my PC and my Steam Deck. The added graphics options are very nice as well. The game can go up to 120 frames, which is good enough for me and most people I'd assume. The added quick save function was really nice to have as well, really helped when I had to leave in a hurry. Through my almost 80 hours on the game I didn't experience a single crash or notable bug.

I'd definitely recommend this game if you've enjoyed other Persona games in the past or are just a fan of older turn-based JRPGs in general. If you started with Persona 5, you'll likely have a bit of trouble adjusting. But once you get into the swing of things, you'll find a great story that stands out among the modern Persona games. Easily one of my favorite stories I've every played through. I wish the port had a bit more work put into it, but the product we got functions very well in my experience and is definitely worth the twenty bucks. Go ahead and try it!

Persona 4 Golden is the first game in the Persona series that I've had the pleasure of playing. I'm sure it's that way for many new fans considering this is the first time one of the games has been ported to PC. This game quickly skyrocketed to one of the best games I've ever played and is certainly among my top five. Its mix of turned based combat and visual novel story telling had me entranced every time I played. I cannot recommend this game enough.

This game is a bit old at this point. That's no secret and it's apparent when looking at it for your first few hours playing. However, I think it holds up very well in the presentation department. Graphically, the game isn't very good, but what can you expect from a game originally released in 2008? However, I quite like the graphics. The more you play, the more accustomed to the visuals you become. The best way I can describe the feel of the overworld is "cozy." Dojima's house is especially comfy and relaxing. The combat areas and dungeons all have incredibly unique visual designs and bright vibrant colors. The game's style is super flashy and vibrant. As a newcomer, it felt really unique to me and I never got tired of seeing it. Having a game strive to look as vibrant as possible feels like a rarity. It was a breath of fresh air.

The music is absolutely incredible. By far the best game soundtracks I've heard in a long time. A good portion of these songs will be stuck in your head for weeks. The overworld music is chill, catchy, and cheerful. It makes it even more fun to check out town. The combat music is fast paced and heart pounding. It empowers you as you fight all sorts of creatures and enemies throughout the game. And when emotionally heavy scenes play out, the music reflects that masterfully, helping you really feel the mood and connect to it further. My favorites tracks are Signs of Love, Reach out to the Truth, Heartbeat Heartbreak, Time to make History, Shadow World, and Never More. If you don't end up playing the game, at least check out the songs I mentioned, they're really fun to casually listen to. The game is just filled to the brim with funky, catchy, and well written songs.

The story revolves around a series of mysterious murders happening around the cozy small town of Inaba. You arrive shortly before these murders are discovered and are thrust into the conflict from there. I won't delve into the actual happenings of the plot, but there are surprising and satisfying twists and turns. It had me hooked the whole time, more than any game I've played in a long time. Even the down time and "filler" content is extremely entertaining and is often times hilarious and heavy. No other game has made me both laugh and feel emotionally invested in characters and conflict as much as this one. The characters are masterfully written and you get to experience their individual transformations through Social Links. Social Links provide you smaller scale stories that are not related to the main plot. These will showcase the development and growth of a character and just like the main plot, they're extremely well written. If there's one thing you focus on outside of the main story, Social Links are the way to go. I immensely regret missing out on some social links during my play though.

I was under the impression that I disliked turn based combat prior to playing this game. That changed once I got hooked on this game. As someone who's new to JRPGs and turn based combat in general, Persona 4 has a level of strategy that I really enjoy. You have a set of Personas that you can customize with different skills and purposes. Your battle party consists of you and three other members that you can freely choose. Each party member has their own Persona suited to specific use cases. One of my few issues is that I stuck with specific party members throughout the game, leveling them up a ton, but not the others. Essentially, I locked myself into only being able to use the same set of party members unless I wanted to grind the others up to speed. That's definitely more of an issue with how I played rather than it being the game's fault. The bottom line is, the combat is is really fun and has a fair bit of depth to it. Even the small scale battles remained fun to me into the end of the game.

I could keep going on about why I love this game, but this review is long enough as is already. For $20, the game is well worth its price. My first play through took around 90 hours and I assume I'll have many more in the future. If you're looking for something new like I was, or if you're already an established fan of JRPGs, then pick up this game and dive in. I know for sure that I'll be playing more of the Persona games. Let's hope we get a Persona 5 Royal port not too far in the future.

Half-Life: Alyx is Valve's long awaited return to the franchise, and after 13 years, I think it was worth it. This game is exclusively VR, built from the ground up to utilize the amazing capabilities of the tech. If you are going into this game looking for an experience similar to Boneworks (another recently released VR game with a full physics system), you won't get that. While having some similar elements, they are vastly different.

Graphically, this game is stunning. The extra immersion offered by VR allows you to see the Half-Life world in a whole new way. Combine machinery is more noticeably cold and mechanical. Headcrabs are much more fleshy and barnacles are absolutely disgusting to see up close. The lighting and general set pieces had me stop and just admire the view many times throughout my play through. Animations are very well done. Combine soldiers will go flying off their feet when killed and all of the animations for normal civilians are really something to behold. For me, it ran very well with only some lagging towards the end of the game that was fixed with a restart. By far the best looking and best running game of this scale in my VR library.

Audio is near perfect as well. Being able to hear the world and its inhabitants as you really stand there is a wonderful combination. Remember those horrific screams the zombies made in Half-Life 2? Well they're back and more terrifying than ever. Really hearing the Combine foot soldiers talk to each other during a fight or while observing them is a detail that makes them feel more real than ever before. The music, oh man the music. Being composed by the same person who did the fantastic Portal 2 soundtrack, I had high hopes for it, and it delivers. It's certainly not the same feel as Kelley Bailey's music, so don't go in expecting that exact thing. To me it sounded like a mix of Half-Life and Portal 2 with it's general style, but it still felt very characteristically Half-Life to me. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the soundtrack.

As for the gameplay, well it's phenomenal. I played using the continuous movement option since Boneworks had already gotten me pretty used to that fashion of getting around. The guns are amazing to use, they feel satisfying and seeing them change as you progress through the game is really something. This game is very traditional Half-Life in a lot of ways. Mostly linear levels with combat encounters and puzzle solving. And in true Half-Life fashion, I got stuck a few times, tried backtracks, and deduced that the game must be broken before noticing something I had missed, thus making me feel like an idiot. The puzzle solving is very fun in this game, at least for me. I've seen some complaints about the hacking puzzles, which I can understand, it's easy to see why it would get repetitive for some players. I quite liked them, though. They were a nice way to change up the gameplay from combat and exploration.

Now in terms of story, dear god it's good. Great even. I won't say anything about it here, but you'll certainly want to experience it if you have any sort of stake in the Half-Life series.

This game is now my favorite VR title out there. I've already begun my second playthrough and I'm loving it just as much as my first. Whether you are a Half-Life fan, a VR enthusiast, or someone who hasn't taken the plunge into VR yet, this game is something you need to experience.

Gris is a very short but very enjoyable platforming experience. It tells a story of a girl working through grief effortlessly and with not a single word spoken. The visuals are wonderful and often had me stopping to admire the view. The music, composed by Berlinist, matches the visuals and story perfectly. It's one of my favorite soundtracks from any game, I liked it enough to purchase a copy on vinyl. If you want a short but sweet experience that hits you right in the feels, the look no further than Gris.

As someone who is not very fond of MMOs, I did not expect to get into Elder Scrolls Online as much as I did. I am a massive fan of the Elder Scrolls franchise, which is what led me to picking up this game. The idea of freely exploring almost the entire continent of Tamriel got me excited, so I picked it up despite hearing bad things about it for years.

This game had a rough launch, and I mean ROUGH. First off, the game wasn't very good at all back in 2014 from what I can gather. Second, people were expecting something very different than what they got. The game was marketed as if it would be Skyrim with friends. But see the game isn't that, it's a completely different experience than the likes of Skyrim. Despite this early bad reputation, the game eventually crawled out of that pit and is now what many consider to be the best MMORPG on the market today. If you're researching this game, please ignore Angry Joe's review, it hardly represents the game as it is today.

The game is enjoyable both with and without friends. The questing is quite similar to other entries into the Elder Scrolls franchise. They are fairly well written most of the time and fully voice acted, which is something I find rather impressive. Gameplay is varied and has lots of options. The classes are all distinct and serve specific roles. Your experience will vary greatly based on your class, race, and skills, making it quite replayable.

The atmosphere is wonderful as well. The graphics, while not the best, do look very good most of the time. Each zone has it's own distinct flair to it, making exploring new areas fresh and exciting. The music, composed by Brad Derrick, fits with each zone's aesthetic perfectly. I was skeptical of an Elder Scrolls game not featuring Jeremy Soule for its music, but as I played the game and realized how much of a different experience it is, this flair of music felt more and more at home.

As a huge fan of this franchise, I will admit that I am likely biased with this review. Hell, I could just boot up and the game and walk around, exploring the provinces I heard so much about in Skyrim and Morrowind. It's a massive open world Elder Scrolls theme park that you're free to explore at your leisure. If that sounds like something you'd like, then pick up this game. Just don't go in hoping for Skyrim Online.

Edit: Fixed a couple of words.

With the release of 1.0, this marks the completion of a 15 year old project. Black Mesa is a reimagining of Valve's classic, Half-Life. It recreates the entire game in Half-Life 2's Source Engine with assets created specifically for this title. It stays faithful to the original game where it needs to and changes it up when it's appropriate. A couple of examples would be On a Rail and the entirety of Xen. On a Rail is considered one of the worst chapters in Half-Life mostly due to it being too drawn out. Black Mesa shortens it to a much more enjoyable section and makes it bearable. Xen is the opposite. It's considered one of the lows of Half-Life as well, but for different reasons. Black Mesa extended Xen to be at least a fourth of the game and completely reimagined it from the ground up, adding new story telling, puzzles, and revamped graphics, which are stunning. If you are the type who struggles to get into older games, Black Mesa is the best way for you to experience the glory of Half-Life.

Beat Saber is my most played VR game for good reason. It's one of those games that'll have you up for hours with no end in sight. The gameplay is simple to get into but will offer more complexity as you get to more difficult levels. The standard songs that come with the game are pretty good maps, but you'll certainly want to get a few mods and custom maps. Community maps are what drives this game, so make sure to check those out. It's an all around solid game that executes it's goal effortlessly. You likely won't want to take off the headset for a while, well until you get too tired to play anymore at least.

After playing through the whole story, I can say that this is one of my favorite VR games out there. By far the most immersive, too. Everything about it just works so well.

I had heard of this game before playing it, but I only knew the name. I went into this game completely blind, and let me tell you, I was blown away. I was first introduced to the game by a friend. I picked it up on sale and was instantly hooked. I don't write reviews often, but the game deserves one. I'll keep it spoiler free.

First off, this game is beautiful. Each environment is unique and visually interesting. The ruins feel realistic, you truly feel as if you're walking the gardens of a god. The graphics themselves look quite good and manage to hold up all these years later. Even with such substantial graphics, the game still manages to run very well. The soundtrack is one of my favorites of all time. The music is calming with little bits of distortion and techno sounding bits that mesh with the puzzles and story. The scenery and music meshes together to pull you in and create a serene experience. This did a good job of keeping me calm when I came across a puzzle I couldn't immediately solve. This game will keep you in a calm trance with it's visuals, environments, and soundtrack.

The puzzles and exploration are phenomenal. Puzzles range from easy to insane, simple to complex. The game is not linear. This makes it possible to skip a difficult puzzle for a while and come back to it when you're good and ready. The game is divided into separate hubs, each with many smaller areas accessible from it. Each smaller area has a number of puzzles in them. Exploration in this game is greatly rewarding. You will find new story information, easter eggs, bonuses, and other secrets if you look had enough. Some of these bonuses require you to think outside of the box, and outside of the puzzle itself at times. You may have to bring elements from one puzzle to another in order to unlock something. Completing puzzles and discovering secrets and easter eggs is immensely rewarding, if not in the short run, then in the long run.

The story is for the most part optional. If you are just looking for a neat puzzle game, then you will find that. But if you want a well written, well hidden, and thought provoking story, you will find that here if you look for it. I highly recommend taking the to explore and search for the story. The narrative will make likely you question some of your beliefs and well established ideas about humanity itself. Questions about artificial intelligence, morality, religion, humanity's legacy, as well as humanity itself. This is all done in an immersive way that makes you question the world you're playing in and the entities you converse with.

The game mechanics are simple and easy to understand on their own. Combined, they can be intensely challenging. Each tool is introduced in a simple and effective way. You learn its purpose instantly and its uses and limitations better than the back of your hand after some time spent with them.

This game left me amazed. I have fallen in love with the game play, graphics, music, and story. The game made me question things I never thought I'd question and change my position on some ideas. I finished my first play through of the main game a few days back and finished the phenomenal DLC, Road To Gehenna, and I have already begun my second play through to collect and discover everything. It's that enjoyable. Now, go buy the game. It's well worth your money if you like challenging puzzles, a though provoking story, and beautifully realistic scenery.

Edited to fix some spelling errors and to clarify a couple of points.