Recent reviews by readriel

The third story in the Fears to Fathom series, Carson House, managed to scare me quite well, partly because it reminded me of Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF) and partly due to its excellent final twist. The core horror motifs in this game are very effective. It features the familiar "watching rooms through cameras" concept from FNAF and the tension of a creepy woman dressed in white. While these two motifs are classic horror clichés that we know from films and games, they feel original in Fears to Fathom because they are grounded in a realistic, non-fantasy story. As a result, even though it might seem like it’s recreating FNAF and The Exorcist in an eclectic way, it actually delivers a much more grounded, real sense of tension, which is what makes Carson House so special.

The second story in the Fears to Fathom series might just be my favorite. From start to finish, it’s an incredibly captivating adventure where you suspect every character, leaving you completely uncertain about what’s going to happen or where things will escalate. Most importantly, throughout every sequence, from the very beginning to the very end, you’re left with an uncanny feeling. The third story was good, but it didn’t quite capture the same eerie uncertainty as this one. The fourth story might be the most popular Fears to Fathom story, but the flow and layers of tension in the second story left me with a truly unique experience.

YES, YOU HAVE LEARNED THE DND RULES WITH BG3, NOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN CAMPAIGN THE GAME

Skyrim is an unforgettable RPG for me. I’ve heard a saying that you never forget the first Elder Scrolls game you play, and I think that’s very true. Those who start with Morrowind will consider Morrowind their favorite Elder Scrolls game, while those who begin with Oblivion will see Oblivion as their favorite. For me, the first Elder Scrolls game I played was Skyrim, and in that context, my most memorable moments were in Skyrim. I won’t lie, if my age had allowed and I had started with Morrowind, it would probably be my favorite Elder Scrolls game. Likewise, if I had started with Oblivion, that would have been the case too. However, Skyrim had a feature that set it apart from previous Elder Scrolls games: it became Bethesda's biggest phenomenon, and its legend continues even today. One of the biggest reasons for this, I believe, is that Skyrim was the game where they pushed the Creation Engine—first introduced with Oblivion—to its peak, both graphically and mechanically. Compared to Oblivion, there was a huge leap in graphics; they created an open world that was breathtaking for its time and incredibly fun to explore. Each side quest and mini quest became extraordinarily enjoyable to engage with and complete. Furthermore, one of the main reasons Skyrim achieved greater success than its predecessors was its shift from a hardcore RPG to a more accessible, less complex RPG with greater freedom but a shallower design. Although Skyrim is undoubtedly the most famous and widely played Elder Scrolls game, it is also the simplest mechanically in terms of role-playing depth. Interestingly, despite its streamlined RPG elements and focus on action, Skyrim remains a good RPG game. For instance, Cyberpunk and Fallout 4 are not good RPGs, but they are good action RPGs. Skyrim, while an action RPG, is also a good RPG in my opinion (though perhaps calling it a good RPG with weak action mechanics might be more accurate, as I’m not particularly impressed by its combat).

In short, the first Elder Scrolls game you played will be the most memorable for you, and for me, that game is Skyrim.

Although Fallout 4 is a very enjoyable action RPG game, I can say it falls short under the Fallout IP. Its vast and fun-to-explore open world is charming, but unfortunately, Fallout 4 doesn't come close to being a good Fallout game. The RPG elements are so weak that I was left with a huge disappointment and abandoned the game the first time I played it. Later on, I accepted Fallout 4’s disappointing RPG system and started playing accordingly, and I won't lie—I enjoyed it a lot. As mentioned, its enjoyable open world is worth exploring, and although the streamlined skill tree lacks the depth of previous Fallout games, it still provides some degree of character development and reflection of your chosen character in the game. In this game, the only value of Speech is to gain advantages in trading, and other than that, since we talk to NPCs as if we have a mental disability with just a few words, there is very little opportunity to reflect our character through dialogue. Gameplay-wise, we can create different builds like stealth or laser rifle builds, but this makes the game a good ACTION game with RPG elements rather than a good RPG. As I said, Fallout 4 is an open-world action-adventure game with both successful and unsuccessful RPG elements. Unfortunately, it’s not even on par with Fallout 1 and 2, and it’s behind even its own Fallout 3 in terms of role-playing mechanics. Fallout 4 is not even comparable to New Vegas, as New Vegas is a true role-playing game.

In short, Fallout 4, with its beautiful open world and what I consider to be an above-average main story, will undoubtedly provide you with a long playtime. However, how much enjoyment you get from this time will depend on what kind of player you are. If you're not very into RPGs and are simply looking for a world to explore, the RPG elements of this game will likely be quite satisfying, and you will encounter an open world that you will greatly enjoy exploring. However, if you're a serious RPG player and want to fully reflect your character in the game, Fallout 4 is definitely not for you. Additionally, there's another point I forgot to mention—the side quests in this game are dreadful. I remember experiencing something I'll never forget: I spent at least 10 to 15 hours simply engaging in combat and making progress, and I didn't come across any side quests or even a small piece of story. This was something I didn't encounter so frequently even in Fallout 3.

I finished the main campaign on Game Pass, and after getting it here, I wanted to write a review. DOOM Eternal is a game I never hesitate to place at my number one spot among action games, thanks to its transformation of action into a kind of puzzle mechanic. Its flawless flow and tempo, combined with the design where each enemy type has a weapon that exploits its weakness, turn killing enemies into a sort of puzzle-solving experience. This game design elevates DOOM Eternal from being just a straightforward action game to a brilliantly designed one. With its levels, enemy patterns, weapon variety, boss structures, and relentless pace, it’s a chaotic action adventure that goes beyond the realms of Hell.

DOOM 2016 is a highly enjoyable DOOM game that revived the classic DOOM atmosphere after a long break while staying true to its predecessors. Its greatest significance lies in its return after a long break, transforming from the darker and more horror-oriented DOOM 3 to a purely classic action version. It also laid the groundwork for the more advanced-paced and action-packed sequel, DOOM Eternal. While it is a superb action game, it doesn't quite match DOOM Eternal in terms of tempo and weapon ergonomics. However, this is not a flaw of DOOM 2016. On the contrary, the phenomenal success of DOOM Eternal owes much to DOOM 2016's stellar release and its financial and emotional triumph as the long-awaited DOOM game. Without DOOM 2016, the phenomenon of DOOM Eternal would never have existed. For this reason, DOOM 2016 is one of the most important action games of the last decade.

I'm very scared to write a serious review for Disco Elysium. It’s a game strong enough to reshape and revolutionize the Social RPG category. Inspired by the Fate system, it has an exquisite skill system, and instead of a game design logic built around changing the world, it adopts a system where thoughts change the player's perception of the world. This alone gives it the potential to leave memories in the player that no other RPG can. Putting aside its uniquely dirty language filled with inspired critiques and depictions of political matters, we are swept from beginning to end through the streets of Revachol, full of sadness, melancholy, and decay, following a socio-political case. Every interactable NPC in the game has a soul, the desolate streetlight has stories to tell you, even the trash can standing in the middle of the street and the barely comprehensible graffiti on the walls have a soul and a sorrowful story to share with you. The arrogant, regretful, yet unyielding and dark-eyed from fatigue "LIBERAL!" on his boat has tales to tell, the socialist workers on strike have stories to share with the grime of labor on their hands. The bombed-out, bullet-marked wall on the side of the street has lessons of lived experiences to teach you. Every corner of Disco Elysium is filled with lived experiences, life, and the lifelessness that comes from life. Such a game will never come again (because ZA/UM disbanded, and the writer team left), and this saddens me greatly. Disco Elysium has single-handedly advanced the conceptual depth of video games, bringing a video game closer to a visual, auditory, and literary art form. I also very much want to write a thesis on this game, and I hope to fulfill this desire one day.

"Shadows of Doubt" is one of the most interesting and noteworthy games I've played recently. It's a cyberpunk noir detective game where you take on procedurally generated detective cases in entirely procedurally designed cities, utilizing deep detective mechanics to solve them. You can enter every room designed in the game. Despite the procedural nature of the game, which significantly extends its playtime with various criminal cases, this structure prevents the city from feeling lively, both in terms of narrative and NPC detail. Events in the city are minimal; we mostly interact with individuals. Unfortunately, the dialogues and the potential for revealing engaging stories are lacking, contributing to a narrative lifelessness. The second type of lifelessness concerns the NPCs, who mostly lack purpose. Even though it's commendable that they have their loops, they exist just for you to interrogate them and ask a couple of questions, which can be tedious. These shortcomings make the city feel more static and soulless. However, the game's narrative is so strong that it single-handedly saves it. The atmosphere, the approach options to criminal cases, and the challenges of solving each case, given that we are a former police officer with a restriction on entry, make the game very enjoyable. The best aspect of "Shadows of Doubt" is that it's entirely a sandbox game. You don't have to solve a murder or refrain from committing crimes. The visuals are fantastic, and the atmosphere is so powerful that you find yourself immersed in the whispers of a noir cyberpunk dark city. Even the lifeless NPCs turn into elements that enhance the narrative, becoming magical pawns that help you create your story in your mind. The atmosphere and detective narrative are the two biggest strengths of "Shadows of Doubt." If you love sandbox games and are looking for complex experiences in the detective genre, I can definitely say "Shadows of Doubt" is for you.

I finished the game on PlayStation and almost platinumed it.

Compared to the previous Batman games, its story is weaker, but it's still a very strong game in terms of atmosphere. While the side stories and missions in Batman Arkham City were much more satisfying, Batman Arkham Knight, though not reaching that level, still offers enjoyable side quests and good stories. The main story is quite weak, especially with the handling of not being able to move past the Joker's presence from the previous game, which is overly emphasized. They tried to make two games out of one Joker story. The Joker trauma in Batman is nice to explore, but its prominence almost as much as the main story gets a bit tiring. The main boss is already weak, and the main plot involving Scarecrow and the fake Batman is unfortunately not written well enough. However, if you ask how the game is, it flows superbly and, as I mentioned, offers a satisfying experience with its side stories and main story.