Recent reviews by NeverTheLess | MachineGun

🛡️ Warframe – Personal Review

I’ve been playing Warframe for years now, and honestly, it’s one of the few games that keeps getting better with time. Calling it just a “looter shooter” doesn’t do it justice — this game is a full universe. It’s fast, fluid, deep, and insanely rewarding once you get into it.

⚔️ Gameplay & Combat

The movement and combat are what make Warframe special. The parkour system is smooth and satisfying — you can sprint, wall-run, bullet-jump, and glide through missions like a space ninja. It never gets old.
Combat is fast and stylish, mixing melee, gunplay, and abilities in a way that few games ever pull off. Every Warframe feels unique, with its own abilities, personality, and playstyle. Whether you’re slicing through hordes with Excalibur or nuking rooms as Saryn, it’s always fun.

🌌 Content & Variety

What amazes me is the sheer amount of content. There’s always something to do: story quests, boss fights, Railjack missions, open-world zones like Cetus and Fortuna, and the newer cinematic storylines that rival full RPGs.
You can build weapons, craft frames, upgrade mods, decorate your ship, trade, explore, or just chill with your clan. It’s basically a game that never runs out of things to offer — especially for players who love grinding and progression.

🎨 Visuals & Style

Visually, Warframe is stunning — especially considering it’s free-to-play. The art direction is unique: a mix of sci-fi, alien, and mythic aesthetics that gives the game its own identity. The animations, effects, and designs are top-tier. And the music? Pure atmosphere. Some of the quest soundtracks are unforgettable.

💎 Free-to-Play Model

The best part? It’s free, and it’s not pay-to-win. You can earn everything through gameplay if you’re patient. Sure, buying Platinum (premium currency) speeds things up, but it never feels mandatory. The devs at Digital Extremes have built one of the most fair and player-friendly free models out there.

🧩 Minor Downsides

If I had to nitpick, the game can be overwhelming for new players. The amount of systems, currencies, and mechanics is insane, and the tutorial barely scratches the surface. But once things click, it’s pure addiction.
Occasional bugs and long grinds can be annoying, but they’re small issues in a massive, living game that keeps evolving.

💬 Final Thoughts

Warframe isn’t just a game — it’s a hobby. The freedom, depth, and constant updates make it one of the most complete gaming experiences out there. It’s a rare example of a live-service title done right.

⭐ Final Rating: 9.8/10

A masterpiece of movement, style, and creativity. Warframe is the ultimate space ninja power fantasy — endlessly replayable, fair to players, and always evolving.

🏎️ Forza Horizon 5 – Personal Review

I’ve played a lot of racing games over the years, but Forza Horizon 5 is easily one of the best I’ve ever experienced. From the moment you drop out of that plane into Mexico, the game grabs you and doesn’t let go. It’s not just a racing game — it’s an open-world celebration of cars, speed, and freedom.

🌎 World & Visuals

Let’s start with the obvious: this game is absolutely stunning. The Mexican map is huge, diverse, and alive. You can go from racing through a dusty desert to tearing through a rainforest, climbing a volcano, or speeding across the coast — all without a single loading screen. The lighting, weather effects, and car detail are next-level. Sometimes I just drive around with no destination because the world feels so alive.

🚗 Driving & Gameplay

The driving is near perfect. It finds that sweet spot between realism and fun — you feel the weight of the cars, the grip of the tires, but it’s never frustrating. Whether you’re drifting, off-roading, or street racing, the controls feel smooth and responsive. Every car has its own character, and tuning them adds even more depth.

The variety of events is huge — street races, off-road challenges, stunt jumps, drift zones, drag races, and even fun seasonal events. And the freedom to just do whatever you want is what makes Forza Horizon 5 stand out. You can spend hours just exploring, collecting cars, and customizing them to perfection.

💬 Online & Replayability

Online play is solid for the most part — though you’ll run into the occasional disconnect or lag spike. The Horizon Life system makes the world feel alive, with other players zooming by and sharing the same open world. Seasonal events, community challenges, and constant updates keep the game fresh even years later.

⚙️ Minor Downsides

It’s hard to find serious flaws here. Some bugs and server issues can pop up occasionally, and the AI can feel too forgiving at times. The in-game economy also leans a bit toward grinding if you’re not using wheelspins or lucky draws. But honestly, none of that ruins the experience — it’s still pure fun almost every time I play.

💬 Final Thoughts

Forza Horizon 5 is everything a racing game should be — fast, gorgeous, accessible, and endlessly replayable. It’s one of those games you can lose hours in without even realizing it. Whether you’re a hardcore car fan or just want to relax and cruise through an open world, this game delivers in every way.

⭐ Final Rating: 9.5/10

Breathtaking visuals, incredible driving feel, and endless freedom. Forza Horizon 5 is the gold standard for open-world racing — it’s pure joy on four wheels.

💥 FragPunk – Personal Review

After spending some time with FragPunk, I can say it’s an interesting idea — but the execution doesn’t quite hit the mark. The game tries to stand out from other hero shooters by mixing Valorant-style gunplay with a card-based twist, but in practice, it ends up feeling more like a rough experiment than a polished competitive shooter.

🎮 Gameplay & Feel

At its core, FragPunk feels like Valorant with a gimmick. You’ve got the same 5v5 setup, characters with abilities, and tactical shooting mechanics, but now you throw in random “cards” that can change the rules mid-match — things like gravity shifts, extra damage, or weird visual effects.

It sounds cool on paper, but in-game, it often feels chaotic rather than strategic. The randomness can ruin the flow of matches; sometimes you lose because of a bad card draw, not because the other team played better. That takes away the sense of skill and fairness that makes games like Valorant so satisfying.

The gunplay itself is okay but not great — weapons lack impact, hit feedback feels soft, and the movement can be clunky at times. Abilities don’t feel as balanced or polished as they should be, which makes fights feel inconsistent.

🎨 Graphics & Style

Visually, FragPunk actually looks good. The art style is colorful and the maps are well-designed, giving off that neon cyberpunk vibe that works nicely. The UI and character design are solid too — it clearly has potential in the presentation department. But visuals can only take it so far when the gameplay loop doesn’t fully hold up.

⚖️ Balance & Replayability

The biggest issue is balance and identity. FragPunk doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. Is it a tactical shooter? A hero shooter? A card strategy game? Right now, it’s somewhere in between — and that makes it hard to take seriously in competitive play.

Some matches are fun, others just feel frustrating. The randomness of the card system can either spice things up or completely break the flow. And once the novelty wears off, you realize there’s not much reason to keep coming back.

💬 Final Thoughts

FragPunk has potential — the card mechanic could become something great if refined, and the visual style is genuinely nice. But as it stands, it’s just not as polished or satisfying as its inspirations. The core shooting doesn’t feel strong enough, and the random effects make it hard to take the game seriously over time.

⭐ Final Rating: 5/10

Fun idea and stylish visuals, but the gameplay feels inconsistent and unbalanced. FragPunk wants to be Valorant with a twist — but ends up more like a flashy experiment than a competitive shooter worth sticking with.

⚔️ Black Desert Online – My Honest Review

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Black Desert Online, and I have to say — few MMOs manage to feel this immersive. The world is absolutely gorgeous; the graphics are still among the best in the genre, even years after release. Every sunrise, every town, every forest feels alive. The level of detail in the environments, character animations, and even the sound design is something special. It’s the kind of game where you can stop mid-quest just to admire the scenery.

🎮 Combat and Gameplay

The combat system is what truly sets BDO apart. It’s fast, skill-based, and incredibly fluid — more like an action RPG than a traditional MMO. Every class feels unique, and learning the combos and movement mechanics takes time, but once you master them, it’s deeply satisfying. Dodging, countering, chaining skills — it’s pure adrenaline when you’re in the zone.

The game gives you tons of freedom: you can focus on PvE grinding, life skills, PvP, trading, sailing, crafting, or even farming. There’s always something to do. Whether I’m out grinding mobs for silver, fishing at night, or just riding across the desert with my horse, there’s this sense of connection to the world that few MMOs pull off.

⚖️ The Downsides

Of course, it’s not perfect. The grind can be brutal, especially for new players. Gear progression depends heavily on RNG, and upgrading equipment can be stressful (and expensive). The learning curve is steep — BDO throws dozens of systems and currencies at you, and it takes hours just to understand how everything fits together.

The PvP side is fun once you’re geared, but it’s not beginner-friendly. You’ll often run into players with years of progression who can delete you in seconds. And while the game isn’t strictly “pay-to-win,” spending real money can definitely make the grind easier — so that’s something to keep in mind.

🌍 The World & Community

One thing I love about BDO is how alive the world feels. NPCs have personalities, the weather changes dynamically, and you can literally spend hours just exploring. The life-skilling system (fishing, cooking, alchemy, trading, etc.) adds a relaxing side to the game that balances out the intense combat. It’s like two games in one — the hardcore grinder and the cozy life simulator.

The community can be a mixed bag — you’ll find helpful veterans, but also a fair share of toxic players, especially in PvP zones. Still, the player base is active and diverse, which keeps the game world bustling.

💬 Final Thoughts

Black Desert Online isn’t the kind of MMO you can casually jump into for 15 minutes a day. It’s deep, complex, and at times overwhelming — but it’s also incredibly rewarding once you find your pace. It’s a game that respects your time only if you’re willing to invest it.

Despite its flaws — the grind, RNG frustration, and learning curve — it’s still one of the most unique and beautiful MMOs ever made. The combat alone makes it worth trying, and if you stick with it, you’ll find a world that keeps pulling you back in.

⭐ My Rating: 8/10

Beautiful, complex, and endlessly deep. Black Desert Online is a masterpiece in visuals and combat, held back by its heavy grind and steep learning curve — but still an experience every MMO fan should try at least once.

I’ve been playing Counter-Strike since 1.6, through Source, CS:GO, and now CS2. I really wanted to love this game — and at times, I do. But after hundreds of hours in CS2, it’s clear that something’s off.

When CS2 dropped, it promised a new era — better graphics, the Source 2 engine, reworked smokes, and improved gameplay. Visually, yeah, it’s a step up. The maps look clean, the lighting is beautiful, and those dynamic smokes are actually pretty clever. The core shooting still feels good — when everything’s running right, it’s still the Counter-Strike I grew up with.

But the current state of the game drags all that down hard. Performance is inconsistent, hit-reg sometimes feels random, and a lot of old features are still missing. You can tell Valve rushed CS2 out to replace CS:GO before it was truly ready.

And then there’s the cheating problem — easily the worst it’s ever been. Every few matches you run into someone with impossible reactions, perfect aim, or wall tracking that’s way too obvious. VAC and Overwatch feel useless; it’s like cheaters know they can get away with anything. You can report them, but it often feels like shouting into the void.
The worst part is that it completely ruins trust in the ranked experience. Every close round makes you second-guess whether you lost because of skill or because someone was running third-party software.

What used to make Counter-Strike great was the purity of the competition — two teams, fair play, raw skill. CS2 still has that DNA somewhere inside, but it’s buried under technical issues, poor matchmaking, and a community that’s starting to lose patience.

Valve’s updates show slow progress, but it’s not enough yet. After two years, CS2 still feels like an experiment instead of the polished evolution CS:GO deserved.

⭐ My rating: 6 / 10

The heart of Counter-Strike is still beating, but it’s trapped inside a rough and unfinished body. The gunplay is still brilliant, but cheaters, bugs, and missing features drag it down. CS2 could be great — someday. But right now, it’s more frustration than fun.

1. Extremely limited content
“First Sparks” is basically a prologue, not a full game. Once you realize how small the scope is, the excitement quickly fades. After just an hour or two, you’ve seen nearly everything the demo has to offer — which makes it feel more like a marketing teaser for the paid version rather than a real standalone experience.

2. Repetitive gameplay
The idea of building production chains using cards and resource management is neat at first, but it becomes repetitive fast. There’s little variation in what you can build or how you can solve problems, which kills the sense of creativity and discovery that factory games usually rely on.

3. Overcomplicated systems with weak tutorials
Balancing electricity, fluids, and production lines sounds fun in theory, but the UI doesn’t do a great job of helping you understand what’s going wrong. When something breaks, it’s hard to find the cause, and the lack of clear feedback can turn what should be satisfying optimization into frustration.

4. Performance issues and optimization
Even though the game isn’t graphically heavy, it can run surprisingly sluggish on mid-range PCs. Some players have reported frame drops or long load times, suggesting that optimization hasn’t been fully polished yet.

5. Paywall concerns
Since this is only a prologue, there’s always that feeling that the “real game” is locked behind the upcoming paid version. If core features or meaningful upgrades end up being exclusive to that version, this free prologue will feel like wasted effort rather than a meaningful preview.

Verdict:

Factory Planner: First Sparks has potential but currently feels shallow, repetitive, and technically rough. Unless the full version brings major improvements in gameplay depth, optimization, and UI design, it risks being yet another forgettable entry in the overcrowded factory-sim genre.

⭐ Final rating: 4/10 — good concept, poor execution.

- Slow progression. I mean from the start you made baby steps (spend 1h+ just to move from the start zone to next zone).
- Grindy
- P2W as hell. There's a lot of games who looks better than that and have a great system at this lvl of p2w
- Boring at b/w fights
- Unbalance meta. Just pick the spear and play Overdrive.

It is fantastic. It's very fun and engaging with a lot of interesting tech to learn and improve in whether you are competitive or just having some fun and chill games.

The movement is smooth, combat feels rewarding, and the revive system keeps matches exciting instead of punishing. It’s one of the freshest competitive games I’ve played in a while.

Worth playing, only real caveat being a gacha system for the items you can buy in while in game. I hope the developers remove that and the Forge system and instead add a shop system or a three where you can preset from the start how you want to play or based by stages (every 3-5 lvl's unlock an extra buff).

Kinda mid game with autobattle, but still you don't have to do much. 10-20 min everyday and that's all you can do in-game. After a while you start to don't play anymore. That's was in my case

- No offline progress
- Bare bones system
- Each tier of the area is the same enemies
- Decorations is just for people who buy DLC's (nothing free)
- Can't move up or down, left or right from scroll or drag and drop. You need to user keyboard arrow's