Recent reviews by Cassiel

The game's name already is something perplexing - a guide to what?

I'm not too sure what exactly it'll guide you to.

Somewhere in between the complexities of projecting our own ideas and images onto other people's creative works, and being unable to fully understand what was meant.

Maybe you'll be guided to unrelated thoughts, about how creativity can lead to burning out, and how that takes a toll on the person.

Maybe you'll be lead to personal thoughts, helping you reflect on how you might spur others on, or drag them in your wake. Hopefully, you find peace and catharsis.

Maybe you'll fall into a deeper spiral of questions: why is it that the description and trailer are contrasting what the narrator says throughout the game? Was it a story concocted out of thin air, or is it really true?

I don't know. Hopefully, you can find your own interpretation.

I really don't want to spoil the experience for those that haven't heard of this game.

This story-based adventure RPG has a very touching story.
Some might say it's overly emotional and gooey, but it's one that has feeling.
Although it's short, clocking in around 6 hours, it's worth a playthrough.

Played through it blind while clearing all side missions; took around 17-18 hours, post final story mission. It's okay. Spoiler-free below.

If you want to learn more about Handsome Jack's origin story, this game provides context. Other than that, it didn't feel as fun or relatable as Borderlands 2. A lot more female characters and accents this time around, yet none of the characters really stood out. I played through Athena's story, and it felt lackluster. Then again, most, if not all, character back stories in the Borderlands lore are lacking.

Oxygen system felt more of a nusciance than anything else. Didn't experience asphyxiation at all during the game, but the system just felt annoying. The majority of the game is spent in low gravity anyhow, so oxygen is somehow relevant? Speaking of, with a lot of the game in low gravity, a lot of the movement comes out slow and floaty. Even though Borderlands 2 had this, its more prominent in this game. Be expected to spam double jumps and slams just to seem fast.

Mechanically, without slag, there's less reliance on damage amp and moreso on various effects. There wasn't a time when I was boned without the proper elemental effect, because the game does its job on making sure you're not without the right elemental type. Quests will allow for fire/cryo/electric/etc. weapons if needbe, so there's no need to hunt for a certain element.

The map definitely feels smaller this time around, and to get around this, the side quests feel heavily back-tracky. A lot of the time, side quests will pop up in areas that you've already cleared in the main story, multiple times. Not much to explore, so might as well do it repeatedly. With a lack of multiple TPs in areas, I saved, quit, and then resumed a lot just to hop to fast travel points. Sucks, but beats having to jump all over the place.

If you're a fan of the series, play this for continuity. If you enjoyed Borderlands 2 for the writing but not the overall series for the world and lore, skip over this.

Also, laser OP.