Recent reviews by cl

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Terrible graphics, terrible sound, horrible cut-scenes, and disastrous gameplay lead to an unexpectedly addicting game that shouldn't be played by those who value their lives.

Believe me, when I first heard of Runescape back in 2007, I dove in head-first, not sure what to expect. I was incredibly naive in making that terrible decision. You want to know what I got out of it? I risked being isolated from actual good gaming. I nearly forgot about my consoles and was glued to the computer as often as possible. In doing so, I pretty much sat in a cold, dark cave while I played this so-called "game" all day. Little did I know I was being scammed into an MMORPG that shouldn't even be classified as such. I honestly don't care if fans of Runescape bash me for this review. What I'm trying to do as an honest-to-goodness gamer is to warn people about this. What do you do in this game? You mine, collect money, trade with other players, beg on the streets for more money, buy armor and weapons, and search a world full of pixelated delights. At the same time, if you’re new to the game, you will be called poor and other pathetic insults.

Fun? Maybe at first. I actually progressed further into the game than many of you might think, earning myself level 50 in most skills which is half way to max (level 99). It was then that I realized what I've been doing for countless hours a day. I was constantly trying to collect money, adding to my levels, killing pathetic slayer creatures and nothing else. That's really what the game boils down to.

What I can't help but to complain about is the online community itself. The people playing with you are all hooked on the game, and when you stop to ask for help, they either keep moving or simply call you a "noob", then keep moving. Not to mention that this game is also infested with a variety of internet degenerates with all sorts of mental illness. Here you will find role-players, furries, ironmen, gambling addicts, scammers and even player moderators. If you are curious enough to try out this game, avoid logging into World 42.

Graphics are also an issue, especially for a game that was supposed to look next-gen after going through a major engine overhaul. How people who could be playing great games with unbelievable graphical effects get obsessed with a game that looks graphically inferior to any great console out there, I'll never know.

Another aspect that bugs me is their predatory business model. The game is free-to-play, that is, if you don't mind missing out on exploring the entire world of Runescape. To get all of the features, you have to subscribe. The cost for a month of membership was originally 5 bucks but the amount has since doubled over the years. Today, it will cost $132 just to maintain a year’s worth of membership. With that money, you could purchase two AAA games instead and still have leftovers for something else. Not only is it insanely overpriced, but once you've started playing the free-to-play version, you'll actually be tempted to buy it.

Bottom line: I hate Runescape. I loathe it to the core. Don't make the most regrettable game decision you've ever made in your life by subscribing, or even starting this game. Avoid it. The graphics are terrible. The story is bad, Saradomin is literally chilling at the roof top of Falador’s castle for some reason. This is simple proof to show that Jagex couldn't make a good game even if they tried. Forget it and don't listen to any friends about this game, as it is simply a waste of time and money. I am so tempted to give all of my rares away, but then again, why bother? I have made a grave mistake of starting this game and the sunk cost fallacy has made it too late for me to back out. Do us all real gamers a favor and don’t support this game. It doesn't deserve it.

I have always wanted to play Summer Memories since its initial release last year on DLsite; however, I was always hesitant to start because I knew that I would not be able to stop. It only took a few hours of gameplay for Summer Memories to turn into my newly discovered obsession. I found myself waking up early on weekends to get an early start. “I’ll only ask Aunt Miyuki for one favor” often extended to two or three and I start doing something that I usually never do: replaying routes to try different options. 100 hours later, I’m finally ready to put my tissue down. What an experience. Never has a single-player RPGMaker game kept me interested for so long, which speaks volumes about how immersive this game truly is. DojinOtome has set a very high standard for RPGMaker games and a strong reputation for themselves.

As simple as that statement is, there's a lot that goes into it. At its core, Summer Memories is the ideological successor to “Housemaid Ladies Disturb My Study!” and “Succumate”. It takes the rock-solid foundation of the relationship and intimacy systems put forward in those two games and improves upon them in every way — story, h-scenes, creativity, freedom of controls. However, this is much of what I expected simply from the announcement preview of the game on DLsite, given the improvements from their previous study simulator to “Succumate” and the prowess DojinOtome has shown in designing all their games.

This is by far my favorite gaming experience of the decade and I played it with only a mouse.

For a game that is developed in RPGMaker, Summer Memories looks really amazing. From the design of each individual character, to the different landscapes and backgrounds, to the animation. You can really tell that a lot of time was spent to make this game feel as alive as possible. I have never seen a game in RPGMaker be as interactive as this one, giving the player this much freedom. The biggest selling points, in my opinion, are the characters and story telling. Without the magnificent writing and voice acting offered, Summer Memories would not have been such an immersive experience. Given how many characters are introduced in the series, it’s amazing how many unique personalities there are. Literally none of the main characters are repetitive, dull, or lack personality. There are countless scenarios and wonderful moments that I remember vividly and am very fond of, for example, when I watched the fireworks with Aunt Miyuki and the rest of the family towards the end of Summer. That was truly emotional. More impressively so, you even feel a part of the game while in the over-world. Many NPCs can be interacted with different choices of actions. Depending on your relationship with them and the progression of the game, you have the option to engage in various activities together, such as doing chores around the house. I especially liked helping Aunt Miyuki with the dishes.

Don’t let the mere 800MB RPGMaker game fool you. The content in this game is actually packed to the brim. The world of Summer Memories is so vast, full of side-quests with promising rewards, quirky and interesting interactions with various characters, and even fun easter eggs to discover.

Despite the game taking place in a small town in the countryside, it has over 10 different locations that you can explore individually. My favorite discoveries by far was when I visited the school’s warehouse at night to buy stuff from some strange man and meeting the candy shop lady on Twitter. Other than that, to my surprise, I even enjoyed playing Kabutomushi, the Japanese rhinoceros beetle battle introduced as a mini-game. Initially, I ignored the minigame as a whole, but once I learned how to play it, it quickly became an addiction. I remember spending two full weekends reloading my save only to play Kabutomushi and collect new beetles. The fact that DojinOtome chose to implement Kabutomushi as a mini-game really goes to show how proud they are of their own culture and childhood.

The protagonist skill tree is fantastically simple. You have access to your perks, actions and passive buffs but in reality, how you decide to play the game is your greatest weapon. To interact with each individual character requires a different approach. Picking the right choices from the many selections you are given weighs heavily in your favor.

In conclusion, Summer Memories is a hell of an experience that will remain deeply engraved in my memory. I mean there aren’t many games out there that allow you to collect bugs, do math and wash dishes. I also cannot stress enough how much this game offers for a single-player experience - I could easily spend another delightful 30-50 hours on my current save file without replaying quests or starting a new game.

This game is a steal at full price, and even more so when it’s on sale! What are you waiting for?

Cloud Meadow is the perfect game for a rainy day with a cup of hot coffee. No, but really, this is the most comfy and heartwarming game you can find.

I'm a sucker for pixel artwork and farming games, so Cloud Meadow pleases two of my preferences, as well as goes all the way beyond that and reaches a really high spot on the list of my favorite games. In terms of content it's pretty rich, with lots of different things to do. This is definitely the most enjoyable farming sim available on this platform.

- Overall feel of the game is extremely comfortable and fun.
- Lovely artwork and soundtrack.
- A lot of different NPCs to interact with.
- Farming, building, exploring new lands and other fun things to do.
- Various events and festivals to participate in.
- Different farm types.
- Plenty of really cute farm animals.
- Endless hours of fun. This game is very addicting.

Overall, I highly recommend Cloud Meadow to anyone who enjoys farming simulators or looks for a cozy game.

Elf Breeding Farm is one of the best stories I've ever experienced in any medium. It is an absolute masterpiece, and that's not hyperbole. If you're looking for a brilliantly-crafted story that has tragedy, intelligent characters, meaningful dialogs, romance done right, and bitter-sweetness all around, look no further. It also has one of the most interesting fictional characters I've seen, and their interactions with the main protagonist are fascinating.

The way the OST is playing in the background combined with the beautiful plot and story line made me tear up and left me sleepless for nights. The character development is fantastic and you can immerse yourself in the situation. I bought this game so I can read it again on Steam because I love it so much.

P2W game, avoid at all cost.
I already spent more than $5000 and I still haven't reached Challenger.

I wasted money on this game. It is just about the easiest game I have ever played. There has not been a single challenging moment, which is par for the course. It is very repetitive already, on the first day. I am never buying an Bungie/Activision product again.

They have no experience making MMO's clearly. Once again, there is no story. Am I supposed to feel sorry for the guardians? I was not invested enough from the entire first game to give a damn about the Guardians' destruction. There have been plenty ideas I have seen them ripoff from other games. I feel like I am playing Skyrim half the time, but Skyrim was much harder despite using cheats.

Very emotional, very beautiful.

The atmosphere is stunningly strong and solid. There is a feeling of something dark and mysterious always lingering around, makes you paranoid, scared. The poetry is hard to understand and I didn't know what the wolf was talking about half of the time but it was beautiful and mysterious.

The Unity engine is perfectly utilized as the environments and all the details are absolutely breathtaking. The music and sounds are significant parts of the atmosphere. The game design is so good it doesn't need any item pickups, puzzles or any sort of advanced controls and that's a very unusual feat. It just works on its own as an emotional, artistic experience and I think that modern games should be heading that direction to support the gameplay, or as in the case of Spice & Wolf, be completely symbiotic, to create unforgettable games.

This game is a serious step back for the series.

First, there is a near complete lack of difficulty. Obviously every Borderlands game needed Ultimate Vault Hunter mode to be enjoyable, to not include that at launch for this game was a huge mistake. Normal mode and True Vault Hunter modes are complete wastes of time- they offer no challenge at all, other than possibly boring the player to death. In addition to a lack of difficulty, there exists almost no endgame to speak of at all.

There is less gun variety than there was in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. In The Pre-Sequel, every manufacturer of a type of weapon had a legendary weapon for that type at launch. For example, Maliwan made pistols, so there was a legendary Maliwan pistol- the Thunderball Fist. This is not the case in Borderlands 2. There is also a lesser number of total unique guns in general as well. Of the unique weapons that do exist, a great many of them are simply remakes of the Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, some of them retaining even the same names and skins.

Character design has also taken a step back, in my opinion. This is debatable, of course, and would depend on your personal perceptions of each character from both games. However, I find Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel character design to be much more diverse and fun to play than in this game, and I would imagine a majority of people feel the same.

The campaign is shorter as a whole, but with a fairly interesting story. The dialog has become more “Social Justice Warrior” based though, as Anthony Burch’s head ascends further up his own rear. It’s almost as if you can smell his colon when playing the game. This is not to say the game is without its funny parts, however- they do still exist, albeit more rarely.

Map design is perhaps the greatest regression in this game compared to its predecessor. Whereas Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel has several great and replayable maps in the vanilla campaign, Borderlands 2 has nothing I find worth playing for fun. The Pre-Sequel had maps that drew players in just for the gameplay and scenarios they presented, Borderlands 2 does not. Many maps are just plain irritating to even explore, feeling empty and dead. Gameplay is slower and enemies are less varied.

The game lacks SLI and Crossfire support. PhysX implementation is still horrible. It still runs off DX 9. It still lacks multicore and threading support, running less efficiently on AMD processors. Basically, it’s easy to see that this game was made to fit on the entirely obsolete Xbox 360 and PS3 and is lack luster tech wise as a result.

Overall, I would not recommend this game to anyone at the moment, and it is a very big letdown. I have over 10,000 hours in Borderlands 2, and am not a fan of the series.

Artifact is one of the greatest CCG game ever to be made. To detail in depth just what makes it so excellent would take a dozen pages at least. Suffice to say that the game is comprised of a multitude of mechanics, each of which is like its own "mini-game" within the larger game. What makes Artifact a masterpiece of a CCG game is that it is so much more than the sum of its parts. The way that the individual elements fit together to make a single whole is simply extraordinary and the result of decades of refinement.

However, while the game itself is nothing short of a masterpiece, the experience of playing it without spending money is deeply unpleasant. It is fairly common for competitive online games to allow players to sink in money to gain an edge towards their opponents. However, nothing comes close to Artifact, both in the quantity of rigged RNG when opening packs and the degree to which how your draws can negatively impact your experience of playing the game. In Artifact, one terrible card can easily doom your entire deck. As a result of this power, upon drawing a card with sub 60% winrate (according to ArtiBuff), you might as well surrender or AFK and alt tab to your only other game in your Steam library, Dota. Bad cards can be swapped or deleted, but Artifact encourages all cards to be sold on the Steam market, so that Valve can get a cut from the service fees.

The scariest part of all of this is that the last time I checked, I only had about a 50% competitive winrate despite spending more money than I did back when I played Hearthstone, which means that on average, I was matched with players who spent more money than me. This was incredibly frustrating as Artifact is not just a game to me. Winning is everything as I'm trying to pursue an e-sport career just like I did back in Dota (6k MMR wisp main). Nonetheless, I would estimate that at least 20% of my matches were ruined by bad matchmaking: not because the players I got matched with, sunk in more money than me, but because of the game's rigged Forced 50 matchmaking system, which so happens to also exist in Dota, coincidence? This is left up to you to decide.

I used to play Hearthstone constantly for years and I never once lost my love for the game itself. But eventually, the pandering towards mobile gamers by Blizzard made me give up. The reason that I am recommending Artifact is that there is one easy way to avoid this Forced 50 and RNG gameplay: buy and only use cards that have more than 55% winrate (according to ArtiBuff). When you have a deck of overpowered cards that are part of the meta synergizing with each other, there are few, if any players, who can actually match your skill level. Every card has an essential role to play, and every card can be obtained with enough Steam funds. This is the way the game is intended to be played and I truly cannot overstate just how fun it is.

The bottom line: Artifact is a masterpiece that only shines when the player is not poverty-stricken. Using the cards from the starter pack just isn't viable long term for anyone but seasoned players who are looking for a challenge.