Recent reviews by Apocram2222

I've Risked the Rain, gone Faster Than Light, sat on the Nuclear Throne, Entered and Exited the Gungeon, Slayed the Spire, journeyed into the Neon Abyss, Rescued the Rogue Star, salvaged the Cryptark, ascended the Monolith, and even Spelunked a bit. This game here though is in a league of its own. That's not to say any of the aformentioned games aren't great either; I love each of them for different reasons. Hades is a complete package: beautiful art, top notch voice acting, memorable soundtrack and a story that keeps you coming back as much as the gameplay does. It's no wonder this is the first game to ever win a Hugo Award, and you shouldn't wonder whether or not to try this game, it's that good.

I am just leaving this review so I can see how much time I put into this during the free weekend.

Nonetheless, Borderlandseses in general are a literal blast to play, especially with friends.

Catcha ride you slabs.

You're gonna see a lot of reviews complaining about loot boxes and the DLC, and yeah, they should be mad at themselves for probably buying the game at full price and springing for the ultimate edition. I've been having a lot of fun with this game lately and I just felt the urge to get in a review to stick up for a it a bit. I haven't played a Hot Wheels game since Turbo Racing on the N64 (damn that makes me feel old), but none of them in the years since looked like it would be worth playing until this one.

*Loot Boxes and Cars*
I'll admit, the loot box system isn't the best for completing your in-game car collection (I've been getting a lot of duplicates as of late), but you can't outright pay real money for the boxes or the gold that you buy them with, so it's not a predatory loot box system, you're just going to actually have to PLAY the game to unlock cars. And there are plenty of cars to unlock with none of them appearing to be all that superior to others, not to mention any duplicates you get can be cannibalized to upgrade your current rides or buy more cars (though I recommend dismantling your dupes for gears, gold becomes easier to get than gears). Also note, there are a good amount of licensed cars that can be unlocked just by playing, for example: a Batmobile, the Back to the Future time machine, KITT from Night Rider and the TMNT van.

*Modes*
I found the single-player map to be fun and adequately challenging if you put the difficulty at medium, and it does a good job of introducing you to the types of tracks that are possible. Playing through it awards plenty of gold, gears and loot boxes as well as unlocks specific cars and track pieces so that you can start building more complex tracks. Multiplayer is where the gold is after you finish up the map. You could keep grinding City Rumble nodes at 50 gold a pop, but you're better off testing your mettle in MP since you can get up to 100 gold if you can get 1st place and you have the opportunity to try out some of the community made tracks. Some of them are definitely duds (don't do any really short ones of you actually want to earn gold), but there are others that are legit badass and fun, not to mention that you can still race on DLC tracks even if you don't own the corresponding pass.

*Track and Car Customization*
You can create your own Hot Wheels tracks in a variety of environments like your own custom basement, an under construction skyscraper or a neon-lit garage, and allows you to use the environment as part your track as well. If it's not obvious already, this means there are a nigh infinite number of track possibilities in this game. The game does give a light tutorial on creating tracks, but it does not explain at all about the livery system, which is definitely one of my favorite aspects of this game. It lets you customize any car you have in your collection from scratch and upload it to share with other players, as well as download any livery other players have uploaded. The customization interface for tracks and cars takes a bit to get used to, but the tools available allow you to create just about anything you can imagine and there are some amazing creations out there with regards to tracks and cars. Also, anything you create that gets "liked" earns you a bit of gold and gears!

*Small Gripes*
A couple of things that I wish were in the game. I know I'm not the only one out there who got Hot Wheels Turbo Racing vibes from the trailers for this game, so I'm probably not the only one disappointed to not find any kind of stunt mode that gives you points for pulling off some mid-air tricks with your car. This game is screaming for some kind of big air mode and a kind of track pad like the boost that makes your car more agile in the air, especially with custom tracks. Secondly, the ability to modify a track or livery that already exists would be amazing so that you don't have to start from scratch whenever you create something.

*Conclusion TLDR*
If you're a Hot Wheels fan at all and just looking for a fun racing game so you can go fast and feel like you're filming Tokyo Drift 2 with die-casts then hit up the grey market site and scoop this for ~$7. It's not super deep like your Gran Turismos and Project Cars' of the video game racing world, but it definitely scratches that Ricky Bobby gotta go fast itch, there are plenty of cars and tracks to have fun with and the graphics are pretty nice to boot.

Just go play it so you can get in on the heist already, you're needed.

I guess I'm kind of a sucker for a roguelike, rogue-lite? I don't know sub-genres. But Nuclear Throne is quite a blast, pun very much intended (though the shovel with Long Arms is a personal fave). While it might look like your standard top-down arcade-y murderfest, there is quite a bit of depth to this game if you've got the patience with plenty of challenge to boot.

The IDPD is looking for you.
The Throne Exists.

This game appears so simple, but is really quite amazing. I'm excited and scared to buy "Into The Breach" because of how much fun/time was had/wasted playing FTL. Good luck unlocking the Crystal Ship.

Risk of Rain is like the original Donkey Kong got shmup style powerups, making a roguelike platformer. No two playthroughs will be EXACTLY alike, and with the difficulty growing with every passing second, your decisions are all the more crucial. Grind for money to open a chest, or get the hell out of dodge? Spikestrips or Fuel tanks? Speed or health? Stand your ground or keep moving? Not to mention a diverse and fun roster to fit your playstyle. My only real gripe: playing online is not streamlined. But it's still a blast to play solo and easier to keep track of your items.

Why did I wait so long to play this?! This has been in my library for some time, got it as part of a humble bundle. Decided to play it the other day because I heard they were releasing a vinyl of the soundtrack, thought "lemme see what it's all about". The title screen alone is awesome as hell. Don't wait, it's a pretty quick play the first time through, and I doubt you will be disappointed.