Recent reviews by Wolfe

I believe that Sinner offers enough content to justify its asking price of £15. After the first playthrough, you can experiment with its sacrifice mechanic in order to increase the challenge and add a couple more hours of fun. Moreover, there are 3 endings and finishing the game unlocks an actual boss rush mode where you fight all of the bosses one after the other. Ultimately, for a Dark Souls fan, it depends on what their main draw to the series is. Should that be combat and boss fighting, then I believe Sinner will satisfy that need through its ingenious twists. This may not be the right game for those who prefer exploration and progression systems. As for me, I’ve enjoyed my time with the game and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a difficult but fair experience.

(This review is based on a press copy of the game provided by the developer.)


Pros:

+ The story features some interesting themes and is ingeniously integrated into the gameplay

+ The game successfully innovates on the Dark Souls formula in two ways

+ The roster of bosses is sufficiently diverse

+ The difficulty progression is well done

+ The game has a fair amount of replayability value

+ The visual and audio presentation are quite good


Cons:

– Lacking weapon variety

– Cheesing bosses by regenerating HP

– Barebones UI

– Some performance issues

– Too few graphical options

Read the rest of the review here: https://www.thegameslashers.com/2019/02/sinner-sacrifice-for-redemption-review.html/

Age of Decadence is a fantastic RPG that easily puts to shame many AAA releases from the past few years. It is one of those games that truly lets you roleplay however you wish, and this gives it great replayability value through all of its factions, multiple ways of building your character and different stories to be experienced. I have only felt like this in Fallout 2's New Reno, where I had the freedom to join any of the families in the city. Oh, and I could also become a pornstar. Age of Decadence takes it one step further with all the possibilities it offers and is a must play for any gamer that misses the "golden era" of CRPGs.


Pros:
+ Interesting and unexplored setting
+ Lack of a clicheic main story, playing as a nobody
+ Multiple factions with individual and completely different storylines
+ Challenging and complex combat system
+ Plenty of ways to build your character and solve quests
+ Best replayability value in ages
+ Great writing
+ Beautiful soundtrack

Cons:
- Visually unappealing
- Lack of content in the last city
- Combat is partly based on luck
- Crashed a lot at launch (improved now)

Read the in-depth review here.[thegameslashers.blogspot.ro]

Hong Kong represents more of the same Shadowrun, which can be both a good and a bad thing. Much of the way the game is structured will feel very familiar to the veterans of the series, whereas for newcomers this title may be the perfect entry into the universe. Regardless of the somewhat repeated formula, what we have here is a fascinating new setting that features a very well-written and text-heavy story with strong characters and addictive gameplay. For those who want more Shadowrun and don't mind the absence of radical changes to the formula, there is no reason not to get Hong Kong.


Pros:
+ More of the same Shadowrun
+ Great story in a new setting
+ Memorable cast of characters, especially Racter and Gaichu
+ Good overall writing: story and companions
+ Improved Matrix
+ Beautiful art direction, visuals and soundtrack
+ Incredible variety in the type of missions and various ways to approach them
+ Multiple endings

Cons:
- Combat is way too easy
- Lackluster skill development for party members
- Unbearably slow loading screens in the second half of the game
- The dialogue options are sometimes a little restrictive
- A few unresponsive menus
- Gaichu not being noticed while in public
- Involves a LOT of reading
- People are unnaturally open and talkative to the player

Read the in-depth review here.[thegameslashers.blogspot.ro]

Darkest Dungeon has a lot of good things to offer, yet it also has some major flaws. I admit that I haven't finished the game because the grind has completely put me off. Yet I don't regret buying Darkest Dungeon at all and I consider that the hours spent playing were more than worth its price tag. Basically, the first third of the game is very enjoyable, but redoing that part two more times on higher difficulties will bother anyone who has a problem with excessive grinding and RNG that costs you hours of playing, so I would not recommend Darkest Dungeon to those players. Leaving aside these issues, Darkest Dungeon is a game that excels in its presentation and atmosphere, while offering a very challenging combat system and great tactical possibilities in the way you build your party through the synergies between different classes.

Pros:
+ Excellent atmosphere, visual style and sound
+ Combat is tense, challenging and rewarding
+ Large pool of classes that encourages the player to experiment with party compositions
+ Different dungeon areas that require different tactics
+ Challenging bosses that require some thought in order to be defeated
+ Interesting and original mechanics such as stress and light management
+ Wayne June!

Cons:
- Incredibly repetitive and grindy
- Bad RNG can erase hours of playing
- There is no way to lose the game
- Lack of mission variety
- Not enough story

Read the in-depth review here.[thegameslashers.blogspot.ro]

Generally, the worst thing that can happen to a games series is to run out of ideas and to continue going on only as a revenue maker (Assassin’s Creed?!). If Dark Souls III is the last game of the Souls series, then it is a worthy finale, one that goes out with a boom. It changes just enough in terms of mechanics to make the gameplay feel more fluid and refined, while offering the best collection of bosses that sprawl some amazingly designed areas. Although its world may not be as meticulously built as the one of the first game and the future of its online component is uncertain as of now, it is a hell of an experience that kept me addicted for two weeks straight and offered more than enough quality content to leave me satisfied. Despite enjoying it a lot more than Dark Souls II, it hasn’t managed to impress me as much as the first one did, but that’s perhaps because it was my first Souls experience.

On an ending note, I can’t wait to see what From Software will do with the DLCs (expect reviews for those as well!), as in all previous cases they have surpassed the vanilla game experience. What’s more, I’m excited for the possibility of new Souls-based games in different settings that are built on the same design principles.

Pros:
+ Impressive artistic design
+ Epic soundtrack
+ Mysterious and captivating story
+ Good level design
+ Refined combat system
+ Greatest roster of boss battles and the best difficulty curve in the series
+ Atmospheric
+ Good itemization
+ Fun PvP

Cons:
- Bugs from the previous games made it into this one with new additions
- Some issues with mouse & keyboard
- Linear world design with a few exceptions
- Perhaps too much fan service
- The graphics quality and graphics related problems
- Little incentive to continue with NG+ and onwards
- Weapons balance issues due to Poise stat having no effect
- The lack of proper support for the Online component
- Annoying lag in Online play

Read the in-depth review here.[thegameslashers.blogspot.ro]

As a long time fan of the Witcher universe and of Geralt, it was tough playing through Blood and Wine knowing that it's the end of the adventure. Yet it's an ending done right and one that comes at the right moment, and that's worth more than other stories which might make us weary of more (I'm looking at you, cow milking developers). It's an expansion that trumps any other recent DLC release, both in terms of value-per-investment ratio (20 to 40 hours of gameplay for merely £16) and sheer quality of content, through its engaging main story and fantastic side quests. For any Witcher fans, it's a must buy, while for the others, it's an example of how additional content should be done. No matter how sad knowing that I'll never go on another adventure with Geralt makes me, I'm thankful to CDPR for ending his story on such a high note.

Pros:
+ Fantastic new playground: Toussaint
+ Engrossing main story that branches based on your decision and has compelling themes
+ Best Witcher side content amongst all games
+ Better world building and Points of Interest
+ Small gameplay improvements through mutations and better encounter design
+ Great writing, although not quite as good as Hearts of Stone
+ Excellent soundtrack and voice acting
+ Insane content and value for the price paid
+ A lot of references and nods towards the books and the first game
+ More Gwent

Cons:
- Vineyard upgrading doesn't have enough depth and mostly serves as a thematic addition
- The issue of quest urgency in an open world remains unresolved and affects immersion
- Mutation system is mostly intended for NG+, as its requirements are very high
- The overreliance on Witcher senses becomes annoying quickly
- The issues with the combat system are still there and affect the experience
- Inconsistency in world state after ending
- Some bugs here and there

Read the in-depth review here.[thegameslashers.blogspot.ro]

CDPR proved with Hearts of Stone that less can be more, delivering a new set of memorable characters involved in a story that is more focused and is filled with sinister, emotional and also joyful moments. The expansion manages to improve on certain aspects of the base game by having a better antagonist, multiple challenging boss fights and overall better quality and diversity of quests. All my complaints feel minor when compared to the experience that Hearts of Stone provides and I can't find a reason not to recommend it, considering the great value you get for such a small price.

Pros:
+ A captivating and intriguing story
+ Mysterious and memorable characters
+ Difficult and well designed boss fights
+ The painted world quest
+ Small scenes that connect it to the main game
+ Plenty of new content that gives the expansion great value for money
+ Amazing soundtrack

Cons:
- Lack of appropriate replies in a few situations
- Heist quest ends in an underwhelming way after an interesting start
- Shani's voice acting
- The control scheme goes crazy sometimes
- Enemies still suffer from HP bloating
- The runewright system and the new skills aren't that great

Read the in-depth review here.[thegameslashers.blogspot.ro]