Recent reviews by Zadok_m

This game can be one of the best if you can give it a chance. Once it clicked for me i went from around 20 hours to nearly 50 in the span of 4 days.

You're going to have to condition yourself to be used to losing. It's not going to be fun. Your character's gonna get their ass beat. You'll do a lot of running, limping, and crawling your way through hell and back. That, or someone will be carrying you. You'll be poor, you'll be forced into slavery, you'll lose limbs, be beaten down even more just cause people think it's funny. But once you've endured chaos, nothing tastes better than the success you achieve. And once you've gained solace, money, and power, you can do just about anything you want with it.

I got back into this game a couple weeks back after not playing it much more after release. I'm not quite sure when I bought it, but around the time it came out i was still a kid in his mid teens. Played for a couple hours then quit because in all honesty I was complete trash at the game.

But coming back to it recently I found that being trash at the game is sort of part of the experience. In a good way, don't get me wrong. A fantastic way even. Your people will go through tons of struggles and hardships and you'll have to make important choices on what to focus on to keep people alive. Whether it be food, heating, general comfort, hell the game even takes into account psychological aspects where depending on your character, if they see or do something that would negatively impact a normal persons mental state, they can have full on anxiety attacks and such. Which you can treat over time by talking to them, or resort to cigarettes and booze to numb the pain... and then possibly get addicted to either of them.

I wish more games took their choices to the level that this game does. The phrase "choices matter" is an understatement here, and they don't always make it super obvious that you have a choice in some spots too. At which I'll say, sometimes if you see something messed up happening, think to yourself and wonder what the right thing to do would be, and if you have the balls to actually do it. As well as think about how it might negatively or positively effect your characters morale.

4$ is an absolute steal for this game and I sort of pray that something similar is in the works because I'd love to see a game like this be a bit bigger with more statuses and effects to manage. And to top all of that off, I noticed the sale and was recommending the game to a friend and went to buy the dlc. One of their DLC is pretty much just an opportunity to give a donation to charity. There are a lot of messed up situations in this game regarding children, and the fact that the developers even include that deserves a mad amount of respect.

It's funny how out of all the early access post apocalyptic survival games we've gotten in the past decade or so, it turns out some random VR game I came across happens to be one of the best ones out there. I'm serious. I've played through survival game after survival game of just pure ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ with only one or two turning out to be somewhat decent. Then I pick up a Quest 2, play a lot of the top recommended games out there, then come across this one one evening and it ends up being a must have for VR users. I'd even say that it's probably a reason to buy VR as a whole among a few others as well.

There's a lot similar to other survival games here but it's the little details they've implemented that make me absolutely adore it. You find guns and ammo and stuff like that. But on top of finding ammo boxes, you can also find singular bullets by themselves. Kind of weird, and some might consider it not worth it. But the catch is that you can manually load bullets into a clip or gun. Like you full on hold the clip in your hand, the bullet in the other, then push it into the clip. That or you can hold an ammo box up to the clip to unload the box into the clip. From there, you load the gun, then pull the slide. Once you've done that, you can even load another bullet into the clip so that you gain one extra shot. With guns like the double barreled shotgun, there's some physics alongside loading it. You push 1, then 2 shells into the barrels, then you can either pull the barrel up, or flick it up with one hand, making me feel like im in a movie. Eating food or drinking is done by literally bringing the food or drink up to your mouth. You can find canned food that you manually pull open, then shovel out and into your mouth with a knife. My only complaint or recommendation in this regard is that I wish there was a bit more variety in what you eat or drink. Right now it's either canned food, candy bar, or energy drink. But that said, it's still a really good feature, and variety will probably come later.

The atmosphere for this game is what really gets me too. I don't understand why, but despite being able to play full on horror games almost like they're nothing, this game makes me legitimately anxious. I'm moving through new zones very slowly because of it. The sounds of the area, the environment, the anomalies are all pretty immersive. And it's hard not to stop and reach for my gun when I hear a distant scream. And once a new spot comes up, i take every second and a half to look around and make sure nothings sneaking up on me. I end up walking super slowly to make sure I don't rush into anything unprepared by accident or without hearing something before it's too late. And I'm pretty sure every time I've heard a gunshot that isn't my own I've audibly shouted "OH ♥♥♥♥" then booked it for the nearest rock or tree, then dove to the ground. I probably look like an idiot in real life but it feels intense in the moment.

There are things similar to Stalker, Dayz, with some Receiver level of gunplay that all mixes together flawlessly. And with a Quest 2 it seems to implement the game into your actual Air Link so that you can just launch it instantly without going through steam. I feel like I've hardly scratched the surface because I keep hearing or reading things from different people. And a part of me is both curious and scared of what's to come.

Ouk ouk

Im genuinely upset that this was one of the first VR games I picked up because now I compare everything to it and nothing feels good anymore.

This game shouldn't be allowed to exist. Remember when HL2 came out and everyone thought it was a masterpiece for its time due to the physics engine and all that jazz? Take that, put it in vr, add free climbing, manual gun reloading, and a bunch of different weapons with different blunt or sharp properties that all do different things depending on what you swing them at.

This game is such a rush that nothing else has seemed to match for me and I love it so much.

If you're looking for an MMO to play then this is the one. Don't mistake my 12.1 hour playtime on Steam for my only experience. I just beat the main story for the latest expansion and am working on finishing the patches that came out after it.

I've played WoW since 2004. Back in the ole days of vanilla I was but a little boy. Little enough that I was pretty much still somewhat learning how to read and didn't even know that quests had readable objectives to them. Was the sort of thing I would just click on the NPC and immediately accept the quest no matter the description or level to it. I've played every expansion to that game and replayed other parts of them on private servers seeing as I was too young to get very far in some of the earlier expansions.

After playing a tad bit of Classic and then reminiscing on the days I had playing WoW when I was younger, I hate to say it, but Vanilla was okay at best, and the only reason it's still popular is due to nostalgia. BC was good. Wrath was good. Then loads of disappointments occurred. Cata, Pandaria, Draenor, all three were terrible. BFA and Shadowlands were awful as well. The only exception of good expansions within the past decade of WoW was Legion.

Over that decade I would be off and on playing WoW, but at the same time I'd be looking for an MMO to scratch that itch that WoW once had for me. And for so so long I couldn't find it. Every game had its own issues, shortcomings, or just didn't feel "right" if that makes any sense. Overall I'd say I'd come out of each experience a little disappointed in some way or another.

Not a single part of FF14 had me doubting if the game was worth playing. Zero disappointments whatsoever.

I won't lie and say that it's the perfect game. It has its own shortcomings. It definitely has an extremely slow start, both with the story and some gameplay especially depending on the class you start as. I do wish there was a better feeling PVP system as well. But other than those two, I really can't find any more issues with this game.

Usually, large universes like Warhammer, Warcraft, and stuff like that have their main story to whichever game or text of them you're interacting with. But to truly understand a lot of the lore and story, you've got a load of wikis, books, side secret items that are tough to find in game, stuff like that. And usually with this large amount of information to absorb, it can create a lot of inconsistencies, confusion, and arguments between a lot of the community. With FF14, the story manages to take place in its own little universe with references to other Final Fantasy games. And while that universe is big, it isn't -too- big. And because of that the story is able to make the most sense just by playing the game. There isn't very much out of context lore, weird inconsistencies, no pointlessly convoluted crap that requires you to read an entire library to completely understand. It's straightforward, and usually just purely ballin.

ARR as I said has a very slow start. And like a year ago it had a TON of extra filler that made it take forever to get through. Recently though, a lot of the filler got cut down. I have yet to try it out myself to see what's been changed, but from what I hear, it's safe to say that it made things a bit easier. And it isn't anywhere near the games strongest point, but honestly I'd take the story of ARR over a lot of other games stories.

Heavensward takes the story and kicks it up like twelve notches. Starting the game with ARR I sort of just went "okay, this is just another MMO, but at least it feels nice to play." but when Heavensward kicked in is when I fell in love. Throughout the story quests you're talked up to be a great hero that can fight and kill greater beings on his or her own. It makes sense earlier on, seeing as canonically the raids/trials/party content are done by the characters self. But this expansion -really- makes you feel badass. And some of the characters that get introduced are still my all time favorites.

Stormblood gets a lot of crap as well but honestly I loved it. Points of the story did get a little disorganized and off focus, but the core of it was amazing. And the main villain, while a little cliche, was so freaking cool. I think that it probably had the second best, if not tied for the best soundtrack for the entire game.

Shadowbringers, if you weren't already somewhat into the game already and still made it this far, if you don't love it by now then something's wrong with you. It takes the stress and desperation of saving the world and darkens it up like crazy. People are dying out of nowhere, getting corrupted, fighting till their last breaths, suffering. And even with how big of a hero you are, it still pushes you to realize that maybe, just maybe, the hero can't always do everything by him/herself. Won't say much more than that to not spoil anything.

The gameplay is what you'd expect from any ability based MMO. You're pressing your number keys, shift+numbers, ctrl+numbers, etc. What I think makes it different than others is that just about every enemy has some sort of mechanic for it. Even a lot of the early on enemies. It might not be very complicated and be dumbed down to something as simple as "dodge this square or circle" but they exist. You're not just spamming the same button to kill a mob (for most classes. Questing as WHM is kinda like that tho). In addition to a regular rotation, a lot of classes have a lot of extra stuff that spices up the actual gameplay. Melee dps have abilities that do extra damage depending on what side of the enemy you're facing. Physical ranged DPS can attack while moving, but also provide a lot of necessary buffs for the entire party. Magical ranged DPS have cast times but deal a lot of damage, and usually have a number of different combinations that might not be directly part of their rotation that gives other abilities buffs. Healers have some sort of management system to keep their healing a bit more interesting. Like WHM's lily usage and managing them to instant heal certain party members or provide an instant group wide heal. Or AST which can use cards to provide randomized buffs and bonuses. The tanks are probably the least complicated to play, but good hell they look flashy and cool.

Graphically and I guess... thematically? The game looks beautiful. Especially compared to most MMO's. It's obviously not modded Skyrim level of beautiful but it does extremely well. Not just with the look of the world, but the look of the characters and armor/clothing they can wear. There's of course the goofy lookin stuff that you usually get at low level. But once you pass level 50 it will be very rare for you to find a piece of gear that looks 100% terrible. And being able to put glamours over your armor with cosmetic gear or just better looking gear helps you play the game in style.

If you're a fan of RPing then this is just even more of a good choice. While I wish there was more support or an addon to help with writing your character, what you're provided with is definitely manageable, and much more immersive and interactive. There's a ton of emotes. Like a TON. And the ones you don't have off the bat can be unlocked pretty simply. People who go hardcore into roleplaying have their characters moving in all sorts of ways when they talk which helps make the world feel a bit more alive for a roleplayer. And with glamours for clothing, as well as the ability to play as any class as you want on one character whenever you want, you can choose the most accurate aesthetic for your character.

I can't stress how much I love this game and how relieved I am to find something that actually feels worth playing in comparison to something like WoW. Feeling like I don't have to constantly tell myself "Hey, this isn't -that- bad" just to play with people is such a weight off my shoulders.

Easily the best MMO I've played.

Wanted to start this off by saying im a long time MGS fan. (Beat every single one of them, have a ton of hours in 3, 4, and 5). So you generally know where I'm coming from when I say this is a bad Metal Gear game. Everyone has probably seen/said that by now.

But as a game in itself? It's a blast. Especially when Co-oping with friends. For now that's all the beta has, but the full game comes out next week. And if you ask me, it's more than ready.

The Co-op for this game is a lot like Gears of War Horde Mode with a lot more building and scavenging. You're dropped into a map with a few roaming zombies and buildings with supplies in them to scout out. You've got a small amount of time to scavenge for resources, make it to a center base, and build barricades and stuff around it to defend it from the coming horde. Once you've got your base built up and the round starts, you continuously fight zombies until the wave timer runs out. Between each round there are little side quests with tougher zombies surrounding them that can be rough to deal with, but give a pretty good bonus to your defenses.

It's a simple concept. A well played out one as well. The combat is super satisfying. (I've got a friend that's been squealing with joy as he smashes the living hell out of groups of zombies with his sledgehammer it's actually amazing). And the ways you can trap or delay the hordes of zombies have a lot of creativity with them. It's a lot of fun to just see what weapons you can use and what different uses barricades and traps have.

One thing I don't usually mention in reviews but noticed a lot here was the amount of detail put into everything. Watching the zombies pile up on top of each other as they try to push their way through your barricades, or just climb over missplaced ones entirely. The look of your structures the more they get damaged, based on how they were damaged. (like whether they were attacked, bombed, or pushed into by a large amount of zombies). And the little particles coming off of them look kinda pretty too. When it comes down to regular graphics, it's pretty much exactly the same as MGSV so nothing to mention there.

For a beta I've yet to see a single bug, even in the earlier versions. So overall I can say this is a solid game in itself. Don't be like other people who take the Metal Gear tag on it too seriously and you'll have a fun experience. Whether you're a fan of the rest of the series like me, or new to it entirely.

EDIT: Wanted to put some mention into the skill tree and the soundtrack.

The skill tree is probably the center where most of the fun comes from for me. There isn't a lot to it now, but there are spaces left for it where I assume they'll add different classes and additional abilities once the game comes out. For now, the skill tree is what gives you the more satisfying sections of combat, the ones where you can flail through crowds of zombies and deal a crapton of damage, and just make yourself feel like an overall badass. The sprinting and jumping attacks for example just feel like so much fun. Unlocking them one at a time with my buddy, and setting up crowds for each other to test and completely bash through was a pretty good time.

There are very few songs in the soundtrack. It's no doubt inferior to the music from the other MGS games, but If you're playing solo or with maybe one friend it helps make things intense. It knows exactly when to speed up as things start getting rough, trying to sprint your way around the base to make sure all sides are defended, or to take care of a horde that just broke through a ton of your barriers. It's not the best, but it knows exactly how to match the situation you're in.

We will never get a new Deus Ex game.