Recent reviews by Dr. Freeman

What to say about Dead or Alive 6...

I've been hooked on Dead or Alive since stumbling across a demo disc in a PlayStation Magazine back in 1997, right before the first game dropped. That demo ate up countless hours of my time, and when DOA1 hit PS1, I grabbed it day one. I still got the jewel case CD sitting in near-mint condition. Up until then, I'd messed around with 2D fighters, but nothing in 3D like this. The movement felt so fluid, the counter-hold system clicked in a way that rewarded timing over mashing, and those environmental knockouts on ledges or through walls added this layer of chaos that kept matches unpredictable.
By the time DOA2: Hardcore hype built for PS2, I marched into my local Babbage's and dropped $90 on a console reservation just to get my hands on it. Man, the leap in visuals blew me away from the clunky, blocky polygons of the original to these smooth, stylized models with buttery animations and lighting that popped. It was one of the biggest graphical jumps I'd seen, period. The triangle system (strikes, holds, throws) got refined, hitstun felt snappier, and the speed ramped up without losing that signature bounce in movement.
Whispers of DOA3 started almost immediately, but it being Xbox-exclusive crushed me as a die-hard PlayStation kid. I scraped by playing it at a buddy's house whenever I could, loving how they expanded stage interactions—more breakable walls, cliffs, even cliffs with hazards below. Then Xbox 360 rumors hit, promising another generational leap, and DOA4 delivered. Older now with some cash, I caved and bought an Xbox, snagged DOA3, and eventually DOA1+2 Ultimate. Those HD remakes were perfection: cleaned-up hitboxes, tighter frame data on holds (like the 6P being safer on block), and all the content from arcade to home versions in one package. Still one of my all-time favorites.
DOA4 cranked everything up...bigger stages, insane speed (some of the fastest neutral in any 3D fighter), amplified dangers like electrified floors and cliff drops that could combo into ring-outs. It had that Itagaki stamp: aggressive, read-heavy play where mistiming a hold meant eating a launcher.
Then Itagaki bails from Team Ninja between 4 and 5, and us longtime fans got nervous. DOA5 finally lands looking grittier, more realistic textures and models, no more of that cel-shaded pop which raised eyebrows at first. But damn, it worked. They nailed online with better netcode (rollback precursors even), introduced Power Blows for comebacks without cheapening the hold game's depth, and the tag system felt seamless. MTX was annoying for costume packs, but core content was solid enough to grind.
Which brings us to Dead or Alive 6. On paper, it shines: butter-smooth 60fps animations, detailed models, dynamic lighting on stages. But the fighting? It just... doesn't click like the others. They tweaked the hold timings, made some 4P holds stricter on frame advantage, which punishes aggressive play that defined the series and introduced Critical Bursts that break combos too easily, turning matches into reset fests instead of pure read wars. Movement feels floatier, with higher jumps and softer landings that dilute the grounded pressure DOA always had. Combos are flashier with new strings, but they auto-correct more, reducing the precision needed for confirms off punishes.
Costumes got gutted. No more wild seasonal sets and the crafting system's a slog, RNG-locking unlocks behind premium currency you buy or grind forever. Fanservice? Dialed way back, physics toned down to "esports serious," which strips the personality. Story mode's a pointless slog of cutscenes and QTEs that barely tie into arcade modes. And MTX? It's everywhere! Core alts paywalled, no offline way to earn 'em meaningfully.
It looks like a DOA game, plays kinda like one on the surface, but the soul's missing. If Steam had a "recommend with caveats" button, that's where I'd land it for diehards only, and even then, stick to the base roster and pray for sales on DLC.

The only reason I'm recommending this game is because I want the series to live on. I want people to play so we can one day have a remake/remaster of the older games or a proper DOA7 (with lessons of keeping the fanservice alive in the series).

Good god this game is eerie. I’d recommend playing it at the lowest resolution possible (I’m doing 720p on a 4K) at the lowest frames per second (30). Adds to the overall feel and look of the game, trust me.

Only played for a bit but I can already tell it’s going to be a twisted and spooky treat!

What I found is that most the negative reviews are from people that broke their souls-cherry with Elden Ring or came straight from a cozy JPN game.

I’m getting wrecked left and right and I’m still here gittin gud and enjoying it.

If Dark Souls gave you that sick mix of frustration and obsession, Wuchang will scratch that same itch. The level design is tight, the combat is brutal, and every fight feels like a personal insult until you finally win… then it’s pure euphoria, until the next encounter.

It’s brutal as hell. And I suck right now. But I’m really enjoying the game, that’s how you know it’s doing something right.

Also, Bai Wuchang is gorgeous. Watching her gracefully cut through enemies makes the all of the deaths and frustrations worth it.

PROS:
+Gorgeous visuals (Bai Wuchang is a literal queen)
+Souls-like level design done right
+Brutal, satisfying combat that makes victories feel earned
+Dark, immersive world dripping with atmosphere
+No hand-holding — figure it out or die trying
+This is basically the original Dark Souls
+Music
+No difficulty slider

CONS:
–UE5
–Some jank in animations and hitboxes
–Not for the easily rage-quit prone (hence some of the reviews lmao)

76+ hours on PS5, and now I’m diving back in on Steam.
Stellar Blade is *almost* perfect. It’s a true throwback to old-school gaming absolutely loaded with unlockables, tight combat, and an insanely good photo mode.

The short of it is that at the end of the day, Stellar Blade is just a really fun, stylish action game that happens to have jiggly physics, tons of old school gaming vibes and a couple of glaring rough edges. Not a masterpiece, but just a solid 8.5/10 that could’ve been a 9.5 with some variety in levels and story. Great gameplay!

The combat is what sold me from the first trailers, and yeah, it mostly delivers. It’s fast, weighty, and the parry/dodge windows feel fantastic when you’re in the zone. Strings flow nicely, the feedback on perfect parries is chef’s-kiss satisfying, and bosses throw some genuinely cool patterns at you. That said, there are little hiccups that add up: certain moves have awkward recovery frames where Eve just… stands there for half a second looking beautiful. You’ll notice it. Also, the skill tree is laughably small eight skills total, and only like four are worth the points. And if you’re the kind of monster who likes to break games, grab the rocket launcher ammo (it’s dirt cheap) and watch most bosses get perma-staggered into the next dimension. The gun in general is overtuned; even the basic pistol stuns way too much. The game borrows the bonfires and estus flask from Souls, but don’t kid yourself this is a character-action game through and through, not a Soulslike really at all. If anything, it's a new category of booty-souls.

Exploration is a mixed bag. The big open zones look stunning, and holding the sprint button to make Eve haul ass everywhere is one of those small QoL things I wish every game copied. But then you realize there are only four real open areas… and two of them are deserts and two are flooded cities that feel almost identical. I’d be doing a side quest that says “head to the Great Desert” and I’m like “wait, I’m already in a desert, what?” Nope. Separate desert, same sand color palette. Chests are everywhere, but 90% of the time they spit out crafting mats for more outfits. You’ll still open them because gambling for a new skin is addictive, but the actual exploration rewards are pretty weak. Cans give tiny permanent buffs and that’s about it.

Eve herself is… well, Eve. She’s ridiculously hot. The game absolutely leans into the sex appeal; there are like 40+ outfits and a solid chunk are straight fanservice. There are also plenty of cool, non-thirsty ones (bunny suit right next to tactical gear and elegant dresses). You can change hairstyles, glasses, earrings, nano color, whatever. It’s all cosmetic, but the customization is deep enough that you’ll spend way too much time in the menu. As a character though? She’s basically a cool and sexy robot you pilot around while stuff happens to her.

Playing Eve gives off big '90s Lara Croft energy: total badass who flips around and wrecks everything in sight, with just the right amount of sex appeal to make you grin and keep playing. Same vibe, just a few decades later.

Story-wise, imagine someone loved Nier: Automata so much they decided to remake it but change just enough to avoid a lawsuit. Post-apoc Earth, last human city in orbit, sexy android soldiers dropping in to fight alien monsters called Naytibas.

Sound familiar?

A lot of the big twists are the exact beats you’ve seen before, so they land with a shrug instead of a gasp. Still, there are a couple original ideas buried in there that actually got me excited for a sequel. Side characters are mostly forgettable pretty people; Adam talks like a customer-service bot and Lily is cute comic relief who somehow has zero emotional stakes in anything.

One thing that legitimately blew me away: the PC port is absolutely flawless. Unreal Engine 4, somehow looking better and running smoother than half the UE5 games out right now. 4K, Ultra, rock-solid 120 fps on my 4080. No stutters, no weird hitches, nothing. Shift Up put some black magic in this build.

Bottom line: Stellar Blade is a blast if you like fast, parry-heavy action and don’t mind a story that’s mostly set dressing. The rough spots are there...repetitive environments, thin skill system, some balance issues, and writing that needed another draft or three. But the core loop is addictive as hell, the soundtrack slaps (omg the soundtrack is so good), and it’s one of the best-looking games I’ve played all year. Full price is honestly worth it for any action fan. Absolutely grab it...especially if you enjoy stylish combat and/or appreciate the finer things in life (like nano suits that cover approximately 3% of the body). Just don’t go in expecting Yoko Taro levels of narrative; go in expecting to parry everything to death while a k-pop banger plays, looking stunning while doing it and you’ll have a great time.

I put 78 hours into this game last year on PS5—grinding for outfits, chasing different endings—and let me tell you, Stellar Blade is an absolute treat. I’ve been gaming since 1989, and this game hits that perfect sweet spot between the raw, stylish action of the PS2 era and the polish of modern titles. It’s like a love letter to the days when unlocking new cosmetics and features actually meant playing the game, not just swiping a credit card. Also this game runs amazingly well.

The combat is tight, the visuals are insane, and the whole vibe just feels right. I haven’t been this hooked on a single-player action game in years.

Now that it’s coming to PC? It’s about to explode. The modding scene alone is going to take this game to another level—basically unlimited new costumes, all free, and probably way crazier than anything the devs could officially release. If you missed it on console, don’t sleep on it now.

When Oblivion originally released back in 2006, I was in college, the Xbox 360 was the latest console and there was so much hype behind the game. Almost 20 years later and that hype for the remaster of Oblivion is still alive. Highly recommend anyone that’s played/heard of Skyrim but never tried TESIV: Oblivion to play this game. It’s monumental, compared to more modern games.

Great games never die! Who would have thought gaming peaked back in the X360 / 7900 GTX days?

I close my eyes and it’s 2006.

Back home from college for spring break, the world feels alive with possibility. I’d just waited in line for my Xbox 360 a few months earlier, clutching it like a trophy, the future of gaming shimmering before me. Every upcoming release was a promise of greatness, a golden era unfolding. My Razr cell-phone rings, it's Babbages telling me my Collector’s Edition of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is ready to pickup. I hop into my newly bought used 2002 car and drive 25 minutes to the mall. The air’s thick with that old mall scent. The echo of people throughout. I grab my copy, rush back to the car, and rip it open right there in the parking lot. The map unfurls in my hands, the coin glints under the sun. I can't wait to lose myself in Oblivion. At home, I put the disc into my Xbox 360, the hum of it syncing with the glow of my parents’ 720p HD projector. I stay up all night, drowning in Cyrodiil’s beauty, every pixel a whispered promise of what could be. My friends need to see this—gaming never felt so infinite.

I open my eyes and it’s 2025.

The weight of it hits like a gut punch. Babbages is a ghost, a faded memory swallowed by time. The mall, that bustling shrine of my youth, is rubble now, torn down for more soulless apartments. My parents’ house, the one that held all those gaming nights on the 360 with friends, belongs to someone else. Gaming is not what it used to be and at times feels as soulless as those apartments. I stare at Oblivion in my Steam library, bought years ago during a sale, but it sits unplayed, a digital relic of my past. My kids are beside me, their eyes wide as I tell them how this game once set my soul on fire, how it was a game that pushed the boundaries to what games could do. They watch the opening cinematic, marveling at a beauty that still holds up, but I feel the ache deepen. It’s not just a game anymore, it’s a doorway to a past that’s slipped through my fingers, a nostalgia so thick it chokes me, leaving only sadness for what used to be. I look over and see my kids smiling faces and I feel that excitement and awe again. I once again become that spellsword in Cyrodiil.

As Western gaming giants churn out half-baked slop like lazy cooks at a burnout buffet, the Chinese devs at Game Science drop Black Myth: Wukong--a banquet of eye-popping visuals and combat so crisp it only mocks the western dev's using knives as sharp as spoons. Black Myth is simple, yet absolutely brilliant game. And now, we begin 'our' journey to the east. Thank you asian developers for being there--yet again--to save gaming.

Might as well call it UT2K25. Still one of the best arena shooters 20 years later.

In UT2004.ini change your master server url to:

MasterServerList=(Address="utmaster.openspy.net",Port=28902)

Slay the Princess isn’t your typical Steam title; it’s a narrative-driven, interactive story that feels like stepping into a dark, twisted "choose your own adventure" book. It’s perfect for anyone craving something slower-paced yet deeply captivating.

From the moment you start, the art style grabs hold of you. With its eerie, striking visuals reminiscent of Japanese horror, the game oozes atmosphere. It’s a mesmerizing blend of the quirky and the unsettling, keeping you on edge while drawing you deeper into its strange and fascinating world.

The voice acting deserves a special shoutout. Each character feels vividly brought to life through phenomenal performances, with the Princess herself stealing the spotlight. Her voice shifts from charming to spine-chilling with ease, perfectly embodying the game’s unsettling tone and keeping you second-guessing every decision you make.

But the real hook? The choices. Every decision matters, and with so many paths to uncover, the replay value is immense. In just five hours, I’ve finished the story once and am already hooked on a second playthrough to see how my choices will change the outcome. There are countless surprises waiting to be discovered, ensuring no two playthroughs feel the same.

If you’re tired of the usual fast-paced action games and want something that’s equal parts thought-provoking, horrifying, and weirdly fun, Slay the Princess is a must-play. It’s unlike anything else on Steam.