Recente recensies door [CoY]  Kwang

A fantastic Title, differentiated from the norm, yet rooted in classica.

Story
I have not yet uncovered all of the secrets to be found in this place, but I am beginning to realise the ultimate Gist of the nature of this island. The story is simple, heavily lore-based and almost entirely optional. However, it strikes true with a number of fundamental philosophies of our species and perhaps focuses on aspects of humanity which are much neglected by great swathes of modern Humanity.

Atmosphere
This game is easily considered a Horror Survival, until you start playing. A cacophany of delicately beautiful and warm sights await your eyes, and the gentle breeze of the purest Sea air will whistle through your ears. The view from any number of heights is breathtaking and even though kidnapped, you may well feel a true sense of expedition for Daphne, your Character.

Then you suffer the thirst of some island inhabitant... Some predators are clever, some are fast, some are finicky, some are annoying. All pose a real threat to your life (I play Hardest Difficulty FYI). I will not describe any of the dangers you will face, but each present you with limited options for escape or victory, so you must decide fast, and commit to your plan.

I adore the way in which intense life-threatening fears can be woven in and out of such a gorgeous and peaceful setting.

Mechanics
Firstly, Combat. In the beginning, I thought that Stealth was my only option for many situations, then after some hours of playing, I was finally prompted to 'Hold W A S or D and press Spacebar to Dodge.'. Now I am able to happily compete with some foes, but must still avoid others. The combat is not flawless, but when you get used to how enemies move a little it becomes essentially difficult to get hit, unless you are fighting something which you may not be advised to.

Secondly, Survival. The crafting in this game is simple, but enjoyable. A small range of plants can be found throughout the island, which have varied uses. Should you bother to pick them up, you will not want for healing - for example - and will be able to keep a stock of healing items ready for accidents and surprises. Furthermore, if you hunt a few Hide-bearing animals and upgrade your Component Storage as soon as you are able, you will feel more than satisfied with the number of spare materials you can hold on to, until you know what you want to craft.

Thirdly, Climbing. I honestly feel like Im playing the oilder Tomb Raider games, but you kind of have to try to miss you next handhold, the game is quite forgiving with not letting you jump in a direction which is absolutely nowhere near any path of travel. However, you are limited by your Stamina, and will fall (often to your death) if you spend a long time hanging halfway up a structure without seeing the next hold. Fortunately, only the most unobservant of players will suffer this, as the 'cooldown time' between transitions is very short, allowing for very fast climbing if you observe your path beforehand. Honestly though, I always find my path WHILST I climb and have never lost my grip due to low Stamina.

Overall
I absolutely love this game. When I bought it (as Early Access) I assumed I would be depressed, imagining all the things that could be added to it, which probably won't be. However, within an hour I already felt I had enjoyed it enough to justify the discounted price of roughly 8 GBP that I paid for it. By this point I would have paid 12-15. If the map ended up (by release) being filled with a large amount of lore and hinted backstory about the kidnapees of the island, I could easily imagine people paying 25 or more and being happy (assuming they like the genre, etc).

If you like being scared, being wary and playing things like the MYST series, this game is for you. If you like First Person Parkour and tense climbing stretches, this game is for you. If you like being genuinely likely to die, the Highest Difficulty of this game is... 90% for you (could be a little harder with more foes n stuff, but that increase could get real frustrating aswell).

Beux Selected: 4 Stars

Even in so called Early Access, thiis game encourages great enthusiasm, both for its current form and for its ultimate potential and, by extension, the team behind this game demonstrate a great understanding of atmospheric perception and the technical benefits therein.

I am very excited about this game and its future, which is saying rather a lot - considering that I am not the most PvP minded gamer that ever was.

This title brings a plentiful experience to the table, offering (in my opinion) a greater level of depth, both environmentally and mechanically, to the gameplay of the Battle Royale genre. The enemies are intelligent and can be quite threatening when provoked, but can also be left unprovoked with careful positioning and situational awareness. Coupled alongside the INNATE aural physics of this universe, I feel the tone between a duo of mercs and a solo stalker is vastly enhanced, in comparison to other BR titles - giving players real cause to diligently control every aspect of their performance during a Hunt, and allowing them to punish those who are careless with a greater fervency - and yet, agtain with good awareness, remaining undetected whilst administering said punishment.

I do believe the PvE elements of the game could be enhanced even further, for example: with more monstrously populus maps or perhaps an enemy mechanic in which Hunters are themselves 'hunted' eternally by provoked monsters. Essentially I rue the fact that a fundamental element of the original Battle Royale concept goes lacking in BR games, the concept of one's survival desperately necessitating an impromptu aliance with a stranger (or in this case, an opposing team). Of course, I understand the difficulty of implementing some kind of 'jury-rigged alliance' mechanic into what BR games manifest as, but perhaps this bounty system is the key? 2 players (perhaps 4ish for team games) extracting to the same extraction point are allowed to leave and given some kind of altruistic bonus?

At any rate, I enjoy this game immensely: its relatively steep learning curve, both in one's individual playstyle and in recognising the playstyles and intentions of opponents (especially within this monster-populated environemnt); its rich atmospheric sensations- wrought from the finely blended physical assets and world build, as well as its well-contrived soundscape; and its subtle refinement of the intrinsic nature of BR games.

All of these things and more coalesce to create a highly immersive challenge for any gamer who enjoys BRs, PvP in General, Horror Survival (even PvE players!), Player vs Boss games (Even PvE players!), Stealth Infiltration games (EVEN PvE Players!), Period Drama FPS games (seriously, just take that PvErs can enjoy this as given unless you TRULY LOATHE being killed by real people in games), and a number of other, more specific genre names, which probably won't do much good here.

As a general rating on the Beux Selected scale, I give this August 2018 version of Hunt: Showdown... 4/5!

Overall: 4.1 / 5

A very enjoyable game with fine elements of strategy and structure fit for the most novel of board games and video games alike.

The graphic style of the game is a simple mixture of regal, adorable and whimsical. It brings to mind both the chivalrous adventurism of the Redwall universe and the punchy multi-faceted competition of Red Dragon Inn.

The gameplay is similarly familiar, with classic elements of reputation, sustenance, conflict and alignment - reminiscent of Warhammer, Red Dragon Inn and Settlers of Catan in it’s themes and objectives- but in a much more straightforward - less micromanaged form.

My only concern is with the price of in-game features and their quality. Namely the selection of skins leaves much to be desired - offering little true variation or distinctive individual styles. Along for the ride are the prices of said items, a couple of which are a little expensive. However the majority are priced far in exception of their value- almost insultingly so.

To summarise, the game itself is fantastic, I highly recommend it as a surprisingly addictive game and a grand pastime amongst friends and even strangers- should you find them. However, if you desperately want all the content I strongly recommend you keep an eye out for a sale or some such.

An ancient milestone in RPG adventures, so monolithic it still stands tall today.

When I was the tiniest of children, I was introduced to a series of party-based adventure stories - rich in character and consequence - called Exile. These games instilled in me a great appreciation for video games that try to create and simulate an actual world, alive with a beating populace for whom one could feel genuinely acquainted.

Twenty years later, after decades of wondering where those games went and why there are so many series that use the word 'Exile', I discovered that Spiderweb Software are alive and well, still developing and still destributing the Exile series.

Sadly, that series cannot be run on modern operating systems. I should restate... it would be sad - if Spiderweb hadn't taken the time to update said games and make them available once more.

Full and oddyssean, not just for the time but even compared to some modern games, Avernum is a highly enjoyable and suprisingly replayable Fantasy classic dealing with the ever-poignant themes of loss, fear, struggle, unity and the determination of the living to do just that.

I cannot describe my elation, at the continued existence of this universe. I strongly recommend this and any other Spiderweb RPGs to anyone who misses the simple complexity of the classic RPG format, or of pure, analogical storytelling.