Recent reviews by Wormtongue

A much needed prequel diving into the comeuppance of Kiryu and Majima. Especially enjoyed seeing Majima's transformation into the character we know and love from the original.

Gameplay is everything you'd expect from the Yakuza series and doesn't deviate from the core gameplay loop and traditions.

The story stood out to me in comparison to 1, but I will say I got tired of fighting Kuze over and over; there is a definite lack of variation in the selection of bossfights.

(9/10)

Spiritfarer is a beautifully emotional journey about loss and guidance. Never have I felt such strong emotional responses to a video game, until I played this masterpiece.

Gameplay: The gameplay of Spiritfarer is very casual, revolving around passenger and ship management as well as exploration. As the Spiritfarer, you are expected to guide lost souls to their resting place at the Everdoor. To accomplish this you must complete various objectives and build homes for the many spirits that you come across. I thought that the gameplay was an enjoyable experience, and felt calm and relaxed during my playtime. The only possible negative to the gameplay is that it might be somewhat boring to those who are looking for a more grindy/challenging experience, but any problems you might have with the gameplay are offset by the beauty and intensity of the story and soundtrack. The gameplay is arguably the weakest portion of the game, not because it's bad, rather because every other part of the game is so powerful.

Story/Writing: Wow, wow, wow. The writers of Spiritfarer are geniuses. They really know how to build a relationship between the player and virtual characters. Even as animals (no, this is not a furry game), I felt such strong connections with the spirits that made releasing them into the afterlife that much harder. The writing of this game was incredible, and there are countless memorable quotes that really impact your thoughts and outlooks on life vs. death.

Sound/Soundtrack: By far my favorite part of the game. The music is incredible and perfectly shapes the atmosphere of the game. But the sound design of this game is some of the best I've heard in many years of gaming. Every sound in this game is so crisp, and many of sounds implemented during events such as at the everdoor or shrines squeeze your chest with impactful reality.

Art/Graphics: Not much to say here. The art style is beautiful, and really gives me Ghibli vibes. Works perfectly with the game and is surprisingly refined given the hand-drawn animation style.

Overall: I bought this game on a whim when I saw the great reviews coming in, and it more than surprised me. If you are looking for an emotionally touching game that radiates beauty and art, Spiritfarer checks all the boxes on a special experience that is elevated past the label of a video game. Be prepared to cry.

(8/10)

Early Access: Valheim is one of the most polished early access games I have played. In our file, we have not encountered any game-breaking bugs that have necessitated a world restart, but there are some minor things that have been annoying, such as having trouble entering certain dungeons, boats breaking for seemingly no reason, and some major connectivity and frame issues related to the amount of players and clutter on the ground. Additionally, even at 39 hours, we have not even completed the content that is already implemented (currently on boss 3/5), and as the devs have shown, there is still much more to come.

Gameplay: For those of you that have played the Forest, imagine that type of game but in a medieval setting and with much, much less bugs. You collect resources that improve in quality as you unlock more options, build bases that evolve from wooden huts to stone fortresses, and fight the monsters that grow more difficult with each biome. The ultimate goal is to take on all (currently 5) the bosses in the game; one for each biome. You have many skills ranging from woodcutting to running to weapon skills that can grow up to 99, improving your stamina consumption and efficiency in their respective roles. At first, the resource gathering seems like a bit of a grind, but once you reach the cart era it all becomes a breeze. Valheim seems quite easy at start, but scales heavily in difficulty as you get to new biomes, and more deadly enemies are introduced. With the way that resources are restricted to certain biomes, you will be forced to venture out into these horrifying swamps and forests.

Combat: The combat is tough, but easy to master. Generally, to succeed in combat, you just need to recognize the enemies' animations and play around them. Parrying is very powerful in this game, and much easier to perform than, say, Dark Souls. Using a bow is a must for hunting and combat, as it keeps distance between you and your target and prevents you from taking needless damage. There are a decent amount of weapon styles available, but it seems that generally everybody should have a setup involving a bow with good arrows and a melee option with a shield. The two-handers are underwhelming, and the lack of a good block combined with the high stamina consumption make them irrelevant for us.

Building: As the resident builder for our vikings, I have to say, I love the building system in this game. At times it can be a bit annoying, but the locking grid-based system is super satisfying and lets you build a variety of creations that actually look nice. I like that there is a need for building support, but it is lacking in that it's not very obvious and it can be hard to tell where you actually need more structure. The fact that rain damages wood structures that are not covered by roofs can be annoying, but makes sense and is easy to play around. Building docks for your ships is a major pain and doesn't work too well, but I hope to see improvements that better allow for this.

Multiplayer: Valheim has been a fantastic experience with friends. We have around 8 people that play, but generally while playing there are 4-6 people on at a time. Having so many people has its pros and cons. For one, resource gathering is much, much faster, yet we need many more resources to outfit everybody. One issue is that whoever hosts the world HAS to be on for everyone to play, meaning that if that one person can't make it online on a day, nobody can play. Just make sure that your most active player (with a stable connection) is the one to host the world. Generally, I can't really speak on singleplayer, but I believe that playing with friends multiplies the fun factor tenfold.

Sailing: The boats in this game (3 at the moment) are quite simple to pilot, but are incredibly useful. The Longship especially covers large distances much faster than running, and allows for mass transfers of resources and vikings. The feeling of sailing through the open sea with your boys firing off arrows at the pursuing sea monsters is incredible.

Music: Honestly, the music brings this game to the next level. The soundtrack is super atmospheric and has not gotten annoying yet, which is a plus. Also, the music that plays while sailing in the ocean biome makes us truly feel like vikings conquering the tides.

Overall: Valheim is a fantastic game that is elevated above its early access tag, and has brought our group so many hilarious and tragic memories. I would recommend it to everybody, as I feel like anyone can get into the game. It has elements for any player: combat, sailing, building, resource gathering, survival. Whether you play singleplayer or with friends, you will find fun in some aspect of the game.

Be prepared for 2010 visuals, and little in game instruction starting out. This game is ugly, but a great time.

Quick note: the newest game in the series, Bannerlord is released, however it is in early access and not yet at the full potential that is expected. Warband is a complete game that is still fun even in 2021, especially when using overhauls and modpacks.

Warband offers simple, yet difficult to master combat mechanics, loads of battle strategy (insert F1 F3 meme), a unique (although sometimes broken) economy, countless fantastic mods that further improve an already great game, and a dirt cheap price tag all wrapped up in a true sandbox medieval rpg setting. A warband save file can last you a few weeks or more than a year depending on how you play it.

I first got this game mainly because of good reviews and it’s cheap price, not expecting too much. I had some trouble starting out because I went in blind, but Warband now is my 3rd or 4th most played game on steam. If you’re more of a single player gamer like me, this game is fantastic. I haven’t explored the multiplayer much, but I do know the community is still alive and well.

In my honest opinion, anyone that loves medieval themes, sandbox rpgs, or battle strategy games should try warband.

(7/10)
Great puzzle adventure game, had a lot of fun with it.

Pros:
- Great art style
- Some quirky references to other media
- Scaling combat (although never truly challenging)
- Puzzles can be difficult and are satisfying to complete
- Interesting mechanics added throughout the game that keep it engaging
- Able to go pretty much everywhere that you can see
- Soundtrack was solid and fit the game very well

Cons:
- Gets too easy after acquiring certain upgrades
- Mechanics were gimmicky at times
- Movement is somewhat awkward
- Wish it was longer

I WILL DRINK FROM YOUR SKULL