Recent reviews by ThatGuyMike

Every hexagon on the map is indistinguishable from the last: same ugly layout, same palette-swapped enemies, same endless slugfest. It's insanely repetitive and relies on tedium more than anything else. It's like someone hit Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V on a beat‑'em‑up template 300 times.


Loot drops like Oprah's giveaway, except none of it matters. Most gear offers meaningless stat tweaks bonus: "Revive Ally Time -4%" Thrilling stuff when you're already solo. After sifting through a mountain of helmets and belts, you spend more time at the forge dismantling than actually fighting. Welcome to gear hell!


Classes and weapons may look different, but ultimately they play the same. It's an extremely shallow experience. Every class has minimal combat abilities… all that's left to do is bigger damage numbers. So pick your poison, but don’t expect it to matter.


Remember action-packed beat‑'em‑ups where you felt powerful? Not here. Enemies have hyper‑armor and random enraged states that turn fights into poke and run snooze fests. Rolling feels like you are fat rolling in Dark Souls… like playing with large input lag.


That hex-map? Cool in theory, but a slog in practice. You're basically grinding "discovery" missions that amount to "go right, beat bad guys, open chest" over and over . The same bland biomes reappear like a broken playlist.


Making it grindier on purpose? Yep. Devs slapped on a patch that increased XP costs, and players felt it was "to facilitate pay‑to‑convenience" so in short: welcome to FOMO loot hell, sponsored by RNG.


Matchmaking's a joke, so good luck finding a co‑op buddy. One player racked up 30 hours without seeing another human. Co‑op? More like co‑none.


If you crave endless grinding, vanilla loot, lifeless combat, and a soul crushing map tile treadmill, boy, Towerborne is your jam. Every mission is a copy-paste with new enemy paint jobs; loot is mostly hot garbage; builds don't matter; combat skews toward tedium; and matchmaking feels like a ghost town.

It's like buying a treadmill, finding it doesn't go anywhere, and then discovering you have to run on it forever. Oh, and eventually you'll spend real money to shorten the torture.

As someone who loves cozy, low-stress games, House Flipper 2 scratches a very specific itch, and it does it really well. It's one of those games where I can just zone in, throw on a playlist or chill in voice chat, and totally lose track of time while painting walls or redesigning a kitchen. If you've got ADHD like me, it's genuinely one of those rare games that just works with your brain instead of against it. It gives us that hyperfocus feeling without being overwhelming (well, most of the time)



Super Therapeutic Gameplay
-> Cleaning, painting, furnishing, it’s surprisingly satisfying. You get into this flow state that's actually calming. It feels productive without any real pressure.

Visuals Are Gorgeous
-> The graphics definitely stepped up compared to the first game. Lighting, textures, and the general vibe of the environments are all really comfy and inviting.

Sandbox Mode is a win
-> Finally being able to build from scratch adds so much freedom. It's perfect for letting your inner designer run wild without being locked to a specific client vision.

Great ADHD Game
-> Legit one of the few games where we can channel all that restless energy into something fun. It gives just enough structure while still letting you be creative.


Very Slow Start
-> The beginning can feel like a bit of a grind. Until you level up your tools, everything takes way longer than it should. It gets better, but the early game could definitely use a speed boost.

Big Jobs Get Overwhelming
-> Some of the larger renovation tasks feel like actual work. It can go from "fun project" to "am I being paid for this?" real quick.

Limited Design Choices
-> There's just not enough variety in materials and decor yet. It's weird how some basic things are missing, while random niche items are available. Hoping they expand that soon.

Buggy as Hell Sometimes
-> We've had our fair share of weird clipping (getting up from a chair near a wall literally launches you through it like a ghost), and co-op has been super unstable with lag and random crashes.

Restricted House Renovations
-> My biggest letdown is that you can only really renovate the houses you've already done as jobs. There's no fresh, randomly generated or custom homes, which makes revisiting them kind of dull.


House Flipper 2 isn't perfect, but damn if it isn't fun. Despite the bugs and the limited features, I keep coming back to it because the core of it is just so satisfying. It's one of those games where you can actually see your progress, and that visual feedback hits the brain just right.

If you're into cozy simulators or love the idea of designing your dream home (or fixing up someone else's weird nightmare), it's totally worth trying out. Hopefully future updates fix the bugs and expand on the design content because if they do, this game could be legendary.

I used to love Borderlands 2. It's one of those rare gems that blended chaotic fun, unique art direction, and hilarious writing into something truly special. I’ve replayed it countless times with friends, and the Handsome Jack arc still holds up after all these years. But now? I can't even launch the game without feeling like I'm being watched.

Let's talk about the recent Terms of Service update, or should I say, digital betrayal?

2K (or whoever is pulling the strings now) decided to roll out a TOS update that essentially turns Borderlands 2 into spyware. That's not hyperbole. The new terms give them permission to collect pretty much all of your data, system info, location, play habits, IP addresses, and even more sensitive identifiers. Why? So they can sell it. Wrap it up however you want, but that's the gist. You either accept or you're locked out of the game you paid for.

This is unacceptable. A single-player/co-op looter shooter from 2012 has no business requiring always-on surveillance in 2025. What started as a hilarious, irreverent shooter is now just another vehicle for invasive data harvesting. We didn't sign up for this. And retroactively applying this spyware to a legacy title feels like a bait-and-switch. The only "loot" being collected now is our personal information.

What's worse? There's zero transparency on how this data will be handled, stored, or sold. No opt-out. No dignity. Just "Agree or don’t play"

I'm uninstalling and removing. Not just Borderlands 2, but the entire franchise until this nonsense is rolled back. And I urge others to do the same. We can't keep letting studios shove spyware into our favorite games under the guise of "terms updates"

Vault Hunters deserve better than this...

Settings Menu? Never Heard of It.

- THERE ARE NO SETTINGS. NONE. ZERO.
- You want to turn off the music? TOO BAD.
- You want to rebind controls? LOL.
- You want to lower the volume? GO BUY EARPLUGS.

The game just BLASTS its crunchy, looping nightmare soundtrack at full volume like it’s punishing you for buying it.
You have to jump in the game to change the settings, awful.

So I boot this up thinking I’m about to experience some magical hybrid of Terraria and Starbound, you know, adventure, crafting, exploration, a little sprinkle of chaos.
Instead, I got a pixelated existential crisis.

Graphics -> Beauty and the Beast... Where "The Beast" is Everything Else

Yes, the art is pretty. Like, weirdly pretty. If you showed me just screenshots, I’d be like, "yo this game’s gonna slap."
Plot twist: It slaps, alright...slaps your fun clean out the window.

Crafting System -> Cooked Beyond Recognition

- Crafting is done by dragging materials into your hand like you're back in caveman times.
- The recipe system has negative clarity. You unlock them by guessing, basically.
- You open a chest and… surprise! No inventory pop-up. You gotta open that manually. Every. Single. Time.
- Smooth UX? Never heard of her.

UI -> Built for giants, navigated by ants

- The UI is massive, chunky, clunky, and feels like it was designed during a power outage.
- No tooltips.
- No guidance.
- Just big ol’ buttons and a prayer.
- You ever try to manage your inventory with boxing gloves on? That's the Planet Centauri experience.

Mining Animation -> I've Seen Excel Spreadsheets With More Life

- Holy. Mining. Hell.
- The mining animation is so bad, it’s like watching someone poke a rock with a breadstick while having a seizure.
- No weight.
- No satisfying effect.
- Just limp noodle pixels awkwardly flailing at dirt.
- And it’s not just mining, all the animations feel janky and lifeless. Jumping, attacking, moving... it’s like everyone's wearing invisible roller skates on oil.

Combat -> Discount Dark Souls but Everyone’s Drunk

- Dodging requires double-tapping, which means you’ll dash when you don’t mean to and die when you wish you didn’t.
- Enemies get stupid buffs. You? You get to mash buttons and hope the laggy hitbox gods are feeling generous.
- Mages are punished for existing. Stamina costs are so high, you can cast one spell and then just cry until regen kicks in.

Rain? No. This is Sky Stabbing Simulator

- Rain isn’t weather here. It’s Mother Nature’s aerial assault.
- It looks like giant glowing water-knives falling from heaven.
- Just standing around? Nope. Enjoy getting poked to death by the sky.

Features Galore… But They All Kinda Suck
- Monster taming? Cool idea, terrible execution.
- Transformations? Neat in theory, janky in practice.
- Boss fights? Either brokenly hard or insultingly easy.
- It's like they added features for a checklist, not fun.

Final Words -> This Ain’t It, Chief.

- Planet Centauri is a textbook example of style over substance.
- It looks like it should be fun.
- It sounds like it should be fun.
- But the moment you play it? Fun left the chat.

Verdict: I refunded so fast my bank called to check on me

❌ Bad animations
❌ Worse mechanics
❌ “Crafting” is just gaslighting with extra steps
❌ Mining feels like chewing sand
❌ UI built for cyborgs with no depth perception

Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 2/10
Sanity Damage: Super Effective

At first glance, Dinkum looks like a charming, Aussie-flavored life sim where you can build, explore, and live out your down-under dreams. And to be fair, the beginning does deliver a decent amount of fun. There’s something cozy about setting up your camp, foraging, fishing, and slowly expanding your little outback slice of paradise, but that charm fades fast. Dinkum quickly transforms into a relentless grindfest, where every step forward feels like wading through molasses. Want to move dirt to terraform your land? Too bad! You'll need a specific NPC. And to get that NPC? You guessed it: GRIND.

Need a building? Hope you're ready to take out another loan you didn't ask for, because Dinkum loves putting you in debt more than it loves letting you actually build anything yourself. Instead of getting creative freedom, you're stuck paying off town projects like it's a second job. It’s less Animal Crossing and more "American Citizen Simulator". Just clock in, work to pay off your debt, and repeat.

Combat? Don't get your hopes up. Ranged weapons are scarce, enemies are sometimes hilariously bugged (why is that hammer-stunned kangaroo still attacking me?), and the AI is dull enough to make you question if anything in this game was tested beyond the opening hours.

What really kills Dinkum is that everything, literally everything, is locked behind time-consuming, repetitive tasks. It’s a loop built for grind enthusiasts who enjoy spreadsheets more than games. If your idea of fun is clicking rocks for hours just to unlock a feature that should've been available from the start, congratulations, you’ve found your niche.

For everyone else, Dinkum is a warning: a deceptively cute time sink that lures you in with charm, then buries you under a mountain of tedium.

Final Verdict? 4/10
Great start, but gets buried under its own grind. Unless you enjoy digital debt and caveman-tier mechanics, steer clear.

A mind-bending masterpiece.

Split Fiction is one of those rare narrative-driven experiences that sticks with you long after the credits roll. It’s not just a game. It’s a journey through fractured realities, emotional storytelling, and stunning design. I went in expecting a decent indie adventure, and what I got was a full-on emotional rollercoaster with some of the best character writing I’ve seen in a while.

Gameplay
The core mechanic of Split Fiction is jumping between alternate versions of the same world and it's handled beautifully. Every choice, every shift, feels significant. The puzzles are cleverly integrated into the narrative, and they strike that sweet spot of being challenging without ever becoming frustrating. There’s a fluidity to how you switch perspectives that feels intuitive and rewarding, especially when the different "fictions" begin to overlap in unexpected ways.

Story
This is where Split Fiction shines brightest. The writing is sharp, emotional, and often haunting. The game explores themes like identity, memory, and loss. The protagonists are complex and flawed in the best possible way, and I found myself genuinely invested in their journey. The branching storylines are masterfully crafted, and the ending felt earned.

Visuals & Style
Visually, it’s a stunner. The art direction shifts subtly between the different “fictions,” using color palettes, environmental design, and lighting to reflect the mood of each reality. It’s subtle, but so effective in reinforcing the narrative. Every environment feels hand-crafted and just booming with beauty.

Sound & Music
The soundtrack? Chef’s kiss. It’s moody, dynamic, and perfectly tailored to the story’s emotional beats. The voice acting is also phenomenal and well synced.

Recommended (with caveats) – 6.5/10

Ale & Tale Tavern is one of those games that hooks you fast with its charming premise but starts to show its cracks the longer you play. Running your own medieval tavern sounded like a dream, and at first, it is. The pixel art is cute, the ambiance is cozy, and the loop of serving food, brewing ale, and upgrading your space is addictive in the early hours.

Pros:

- Super fun concept: owning and running a tavern in a fantasy world
- Satisfying gameplay loop in the beginning
- Art and music are nicely done
- The tavern-building system could be great with more depth

Cons:

- The map is tiny. You’ll run out of space where to go very quickly
- Very limited furniture options and barely any meaningful upgrades for existing ones
- Dialogue is cringe-worthy and breaks immersion constantly
- Quests are repetitive and feel like a chore rather than something to look forward to
- No defense options: zombies raid your tavern if you're AFK for even a minute
- Gets stale after a few hours due to lack of content variety

It’s frustrating because the game has such clear potential. You can feel the love in the base idea, but it desperately needs more content. Especially in terms of map expansion, defense mechanics (turrets, traps, guards, something), and deeper customization options. Let me upgrade my barstools, at least!

I'd love to see a major content update or expansion down the line. Until then, it's a fun little time-killer for a few hours, but don’t expect anything super deep or long-lasting.

77 hours in and I'm still in Act 1.

Will update this later, but so far 10/10.

Just a pathetic attempt by blizzard to save this game they put to rest a long time ago.

I'm 32 hours in and spent only 10 hours doing quests. The rest is just an exploration of Hogwarts and its surroundings! I honestly don't give a single flying F that this game is *buggy* and crap. I didn't encounter any serious bugs that would affect my gameplay. My only problem was ray-tracing on ultra settings and jumping in the water. That was a... well... blue experience. It runs very smoothly otherwise, and I had only a great experience!

Some things would be nice, like deeper character customization, a choice between boy/girl, a less irritating alohomora minigame, more impactful dialogue options, a morality system, etc. You can easily fix many of those with mods, but sadly, things like a morality system cannot be added with a mod. As someone who likes open-world roleplaying games with morality systems, I find trying to act as a good guy--a waste of time--because all of my choices result in the same end of the quest, and I wonder what choices exactly impact the good and bad ending (if there's any at all).

So far, I can only recommend this game as I greatly enjoy it! If you're not a fan of the Harry Potter franchise, you won't like it as much as I do, but even then, it offers plenty of unique experiences.

Thank you for this game.