Recent reviews by Gemini

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of those games that, if you were younger and getting into video games that it would leave a lasting impact on your expectations for a video game experience. Fast forward to someone, like me, who is an adult gamer and you'll feel nostalgia for all of the games this one has taken inspiration from, not immitation.

This title has an amazing musical score and I believe one of the few that is worth actually buying the soundtrack for. I know I will definitely be listening to Lumière, We Lost, Alicia, and Clair-Obscur years down the line. The audio choices in this game have been phenominal and some of the best sound effects and ambient noise I have heard in some time.

Combat... This is the bread, butter, and the whole rest of the meal. Without a shred of doubt, this is the pinnacle combat system of any turn base game I have experienced. Final Fantasy used to be my go to until I experienced Persona, now that go to is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The flow of combat marked with the inclusion of real time actions gives the timeless combat system what it needed to shine. While series like Final Fantasy started it, they refused to innovate it to industry standards that have had gamers enthralled for years, mainly the Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring games to really drive it home. Those games have influenced generations of gamers and developers alike, so we see soulsborne combat everywhere, but Sandfall nailed it with its inclusion to truly innovate the system. What I love the most is that even character attack interactions also require your input and if you fail, you can actually damage yourself. I haven't seen a spell "fizzle" in a game since EverQuest and I truly appreciate the throwback. Combat being so involved to include the player that you can't just mindlessly pick the best ability and stack the most defense and breeze through combat while semi-AFK is refreshing. Trust me, when I say you'll be itching for the next battle, it's just that good.

The Story is one of a kind. It's one of those stories where it's so unique that you become engrossed in the world and characters as if they were your own friends and familiar settings. It's like reading a great novel that makes you forget about the real world and absorbs you. The twists and turns were well executed, some more obvious than others, while some are buried deep you need to be fully prepared and as strong as possible before crossing their threshold. However, those moments really influence the story and provide an even richer backstory to an already engrossing story. Without spoiling anything, the best way I can describe it, is that it is artistic expression, through and through.

Repeatability, this is something I did not test as I generally do not do so in games. I am pretty sure there is replay value in the title and maybe one day I will come back to experience the combat again, because I spoiled myself with how grand it was.

If this game doesn't win Game of the Year I would be surprised. It has everything anyone who wants a JRPG to have, while not straying away from its core roots as it spreads its wings to fly. It was a game I took a gamble on, friends never heard of it, but my instincts said it would be worth the try once I saw the voice cast and gameplay footage. If you're on the fence about getting Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, get off the fence and buy it already. It's far superior to anything AAA studios have released in years and for a first time developer like Sandfall, they deserve our support so they can continue to make amazing video games like this title.

Selaco is one of those games that if you grew up with FPS games such as DOOM you will appreciate. It feels like a blend of Halo, Doom, F.E.A.R., and many other iconic shooters over the years.

Atmospherics of this game vary from tense escape, horror, and psychological dread. Reading notes and seeing posters on walls about enemy units really helped build suspense to the very end of Chapter 1, leaving me itching for more. I never wanted the story to end, but unfortunately everything has to come to an end. Thankfully being Early Access means this is not the final release and more will be coming, but for what exists now, it holds its own in a genre that lacks quality games such as Selaco that shares the developers vision in a visually stunning way and gracefully sticks the landing in gameplay.

I played the game on the default difficulty in both standard and special campaign without cheats or modifiers. The game was even more fun, addicting, and sometimes frustrating on the second playthrough (special campaign).

My thoughts towards the devs:
I'd like to see a bigger emphasis on stealth since it exists, it would be great for the player to have the ability to lean into it with traps and stealth kills. As the game currently stands, enemies immediately know you are in the vicinity 95% of the time, even if you enter the room crouched. I enjoy playing shooters strategically as well as the guns blazing approach of DOOM (ALWAYS BE MOVING). Doom, at least modern iterations and brutal doom lean into the power fantasy of going in guns blazing by providing glory kills and other methods to promote healing and armor generation through constant movement and methodically calculating your approach such as quick-swapping.

Selaco is amazing as it currently stands and I think if we can get some improvements to stealth, it would open up to a really great gameplay loop that rewards setup, patience, and approach that would compliment the fast paced combat loop.

Great Zelda-like title. Plenty of exploration and collection for those interested in diving deep into this title. Don't let the graphics fool you, it is a great game.

Looking forward to the full release.

The game is very 'raw' in how it plays, I personally played with a PS5 control scheme and had little to no issues with the game. Attacking worked well, but blocking felt inconsistent with little reward, something I believe will be addressed in the full release. Dodging gave a good amount of iFrames and felt rewarding once you know the boss/enemy move set. I like that skills also have iFrames, so you can still press on the offensive while not feeling punished for attempting skills and recharge on attack for Ether felt fair with how strong skills are.

Bosses felt well varied and could be memorized, which is akin to both the Souls series and Metroidvanias, well done.

I cannot say much about gear as I didn't find anything to replace gear nor try to remove any.

Graphics look similar to other gritty metroidvania/souls like games (e.g. Blasphemous, Moonscars, etc.), could do with a bit more definition and detail. I hope the full release is able to flesh out the art style more.

Music was a bit samey, but fit with the dreary tone set in this release. Looking forward to hearing further tracks.

Overall, a great demo for the game considering it is a solo developer. Keep up the good work, will see you for your full release.

Democracy.

I have a fairly powerful PC that has ran every game I've thrown at it, including Cyberpunk, at max settings without any issues. In comes Dying Light 2, a game in development for over 7 years from the Masterpiece that is Dying Light 1. This game is not what it was supposed to live up to, performance drops, frame rates tanking, and other game breaking bugs forced me to refund this game and swap to PS5 and play it without the Day One Patch.

After completing in PS5, I've come to the long realization that Techland Studios does not understand how the human mind handles and copes with choices. Players are forced into choosing sides of a story that are not ones normal sound minded individuals would make. Even the main character affluences these choices for you as a player making you despise certain characters and moral choices, but the reality is that you're supposed to go against the grain and against what it truly means to be human. It does not Stay Human, it devolves into rudimentary wars and picking sides with the scum of the earth post-apocalypse. This should be a time where we as humans show compassion, strength, and kindness, but Dying Light 2 does not follow this string of choice when it comes to the story,

Buyer beware, look up a guide and ignore your gut feeling on influential choices for the story, because they will pigeonhole you into the worst endings, if you want the best ending, look up a guide and follow it while enjoying the cinematic experience Techland wanted you to see, despite it not being the outcome you wanted.

If only they allowed players to make proper choices and have side choices to influence others into still helping or change minds, maybe it would have been a stellar game.

Also a side note, if you're looking to get the last two inhibitors, you better make sure you side with the right people, otherwise you're permanently locked out of it.