Recent reviews by Xentch

Avowed is an open world fps rpg, but smaller with (importantly) more exploration density. The lore is top notch... which you probably already knew if you came here from Pillars of Eternity.

Character progression is "spend skill points in Warrior, Ranger, or Wizard" tree, which the only prerequisite being your character level. Spellblades, gishes, and hybrid builds are the way to play despite the "3 class trees" surface level.

Gear is... stupidly important? But incredibly easy to find and upgrade. Break down your loot folks, you will have more upgrade materials than you really know what to do with.

Speaking of gear - explore and do quests before moving on with the main story. Unique weapons, armor, and skills are hidden off the beaten path (but very easy to find - small open world, remember?). And unique gear is VERY powerful and fun to use.

Overall: Great game, imo worth the price for enthusiasts, but understandable if you want to wait for a sale.

Fatshark's proprietary engine for Darktide (and Vermintide) is the Emperor's standard in melee combat.

Where other games give you a light attack, maybe a heavy attack, and a stamina bar if they are feeling "innovative," Darktide gives you a fluid attack-chain system that allows EACH attack to feel unique and for YOU to feel like like a ++REDACTED++.

Enemies have intuitive looking armor and weaknesses. Scabs with chest armor? Chop 'em in the legs. Scabs with without helmets? Cave their heads in.

There are many ways to mitigate incoming attacks, from dodging and sliding, to blocking, to shoves and staggers, to straight damage mitigation.

Audio design in this game is special. Incoming attacks have audio cues that you'll learn to instinctively respond to. Crusher winding up a nothing persona' kid overhead smash on your hindquarters? Dodge it without looking if you know what you are doing.

Unlike Vermintide, disablers can all be dealt with via the correct counter(s). Trappers can be dodged, mutants can be dodged or jousted, dogs can be dodged or shoved or jousted.

You can solo the entire game if you are good enough, never getting disabled, never going down, even on Damnation or above.

As of January 2025, bugs are few, events are many, and the game has never been more fun. Painful or clunky parts of launch maps have been reworked to be faster if needed, easier if applicable, or harder if warranted. Tons of ambient voice lines have been added since launch, making you and other rejects interact naturally. I have almost 700 hours in this game and still hear new dialogue from time to time.

The NPC cast is continually expanding. Missions are "narrated" by these NPCs, sometimes two at a time, creating a fun background story for maps, even if they play the same way.

Lastly, don't let the steam forums or reddit fool you. The community in this game is pure gold. nearly 700 hours in, and I can count the toxic players on one hand, even without a bone 'ead upgrade (I'd rather have extra rations SAH).

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Plenty of people talking about story mode; here's my thoughts on utopia builder.

I love colony sims - Stellaris and Rimworld are my current most played.

Frostpunk 2's utopia builder is just OK as a colony sim. Most games first 100 weeks will play out very similarly and is disproportionately more difficult than mid or late game. The endgame options available to each 'City Direction' don't have enough depth. Biggest swing in gameplay is whether you go for deep deposits or not. That said, there's good flexibility in the midgame, once you've survived the brutal early game. Lots of builds/strategies are viable.

Other games I've mentioned have strong changes story beats that force gameplay changes from early to mid game, mid to late, and late to endgame. IMO, the game is missing better story interaction or randomized story goals.

The vibe and artstyle are great, and despite not being as complex as other games it's still enjoyable to play.

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...
Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Malevelon Creek...
I watched Sony glitter in the dark for PSN accounts...

All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain...

Time to dive.

Kevin Conroy's last performance. I loved it, and it sounded like he had a lot of fun with it. I would play a much worse game for longer to hear him play Batman one more time.

Combat: Amazing
Traversal: Amazing
Story: Fun
Writing: 10/10
Voice acting, animations, cutscenes: Amazing
Mission variety: lacking
Length: On the shorter side
Endgame: Mixed.

The live-service portion of this game is goofy. "Did you, fellow gamer, play Arkham games even after beating it? Do all the missions, collect all the riddler garbage? Then how about a live service game where we want you to do that, pretty please?"

It's not as toxic as most live service models, but the game would absolutely be better without it.

Game is really something special. Environment detail and consistency is high quality. Story is something else, very depressing and cleansing in its way. Can't wait to play the full game.

"Do you want to investigate that strange light"
No, I need to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money to buy better fishing rods to catch more fish to get more money

A deck building, arpg, rogue-lite, French revolution waifu simulator? It ended up recommended to me because of my interest in "Nitro Kid" and "Stacklands." This game is one of the most promising genre-mashups of 2022 (and possibly 2023, but that has yet to be determined).

The graphics lack AAA panache - low fidelity across the board, gaps in stages, breakables are wonky. Combat has many rough edges, and bugs will get you killed frequently. Existing art is beautiful, the characters unique, and the moment to moment gameplay is familiar enough to not need commenting.

Hope they add more run-specific cards and mechanics; silver piles up after awhile, and more run-defining elements would help this along.

Great game overall, some very frustrating bugs and mechanics. You can see the seams where the design doesn't meet the execution - bosses that move around a lot will move you with them, often landing you stuck or clipped into a wall, or trapped in a corner for no real fault of your own.

Beating the game unlocks arena\boss rush mode, which is fantastic.

Worth\not worth $20 - if you replay and play boss mode, yes. If you will play the game once, no.

Tons of solid improvements over beta:
* netlag is gone + net stutter is gone
* enemies easier to see
* specials have easier to identify silhouettes
* death animations for specials are pretty sick
* more specials, addition of 'boss' specials
* bot AI has improved a LOT
** bots will ping specials, items, copper, etc
** bots will pick stuff up
** bots will pick you up if incapped

Overall campaign now makes structural sense; the beta had you playing random maps from several acts. The new survivors are fun and visually interesting. Gunplay is good, sound is good. The deck system appeals to me greatly, but I also love roguelikes and this is probably inspired by that kind of thing.

This is the L4D successor that I've been waiting for.