Recent reviews by Damn_that_mash_looks_tasty

Amazing and unsettling.
This game makes you look for things to jump out at you.
Deeply creepy but also well made.
I got too spooked and looked up spoilers because the tension was killing me.
Worth a play!

Recommending mostly due to level design. I think for a 10+ year old game, the level design and aesthetics of RAGE trump even some modern AAA titles. No 2 areas feel alike. Every level and space feels unique and hand crafted. This world truly feels real and I love that.

The story is meh, the combat is pretty fun, the car stuff is cool. Play this game for some mindless, yet very visually pleasing fun.

If any of those things interest you, look no further than The Outer Wilds

-This is a 100% completion review including the Echoes of the Eye DLC.-

I can't believe it took me this long to play this game. It's been ages since I've played a game that is so genuinely fun and engaging. From the very beginning of play, I was hooked, and I wasn't satisfied until I did multiple playthroughs, beat the DLC and 100%ed all the achievements. Only now do I feel like I can write a review.

Simply put, The Outer Wilds is a game that lets you explore its solar system in your own time, in your own way. You can discover as much or as little as you want. But the game is so damn dense with stuff to find that it's hard not to stumble upon something cool.
There is not much more guiding you on your quest, except for your own thirst for discovery and adventure. You are given a simple task to find what's out there and learn about it.
And that is why I love it so much.

You start off in a very cosy tutorial area, where all the mechanics of the game are taught to you without you even realising it, and from there your world expands around you. You are given the keys to your very own spaceship and a brand new alien language cipher device. And one more thing; you're stuck in a 22 minute time loop, which resets when the sun explodes.

Why?
Well work it out!
I can't actually believe this game got me to solve the mysteries of the galaxy and beyond, uncover stories of long-dead civilisations and play with quantum mechanics all whilst feeling like my hand was never being held or I was being spoon fed the story.
This is one of the few games I've played that use the 'notes left over by dead people that uncover story' tropes that has actually been done well! I ended up actually remembering and sympathising with characters that were nothing more than journal entries essentially. I usually hate that crap but it was executed perfectly here.

The story, the graphics, the gameplay, the world simulation (the entire solar system is one giant 22 minute physics simulation btw), the sheer creativity. It's awe inspiring! I cannot recommend this game enough!!

And so what do the developers of this phenomenal game do when they finish making it? Why they go and add a humongous chunk of content on top, like the cherry on top of the cherry on top of the cake. The Echoes of the Eye DLC ties into the game so seamlessly, and yet it stands alone perfectly.
It's been a long time since a game has made my jaw literally drop, let alone a DLC title, but that is exactly what happened with my playthrough. No spoilers, just go in blind and experience it for yourself!


As a final note, I will touch on the experience of 100%ing the game. It's certainly not something you need to do, but its so much fun! The achievements are all based around playing around with the universe and trying unusual things. You are rewarded for being goofy and doing dumb things like "what if I tried to fly this toy drone into the sun? Oh theres an achievement for that!".
It's not like 'fly your ship for 100,000 kilometres' or any of that crap either.
There was only 1 achievement that was actually annoying to collect; 'Tubular'. I think the devs could have fixed that one a little bit. I don't want to get too much into it but it took way too many times to try before I got it.

All the great stuff they say about this game is true. It absolutely deserves all the accolades it has received.
It is my personal GOTY and it will stick in my mind for a long time. A true 10/10.
Buy for full price for sure.

A lot of love, thought, time and dedication was clearly put into this game. It's a fantastic sequel to the original, and it doesn't hold much back. The narrative, environments and combat are all bigger and more complex.

And yet, I still feel it lacks a certain "je ne sais quoi" that the first game so effortlessly had, and so this game struggled to hold my interest. It's like it's trying with all its might to be Psychonauts and to fulfil everyone's expectations of what a sequel should be. It's hard to explain. Maybe it's just that Unreal Engine 'haze' covering everything that makes me feel the game is disingenuous or overly polished.

The narrative falls short compared to the first, despite being far more convoluted. In their essence, both games are about defeating an evil psychic, but the second game just goes into to much politics for a fake country and the backstory of all these people I don't really give a crap about. Evil dentists stealing brains is so much more simple.

Despite all these gripes, it's by no means a bad game. I enjoyed it a lot in parts, and bothered to 100% it. I think you will enjoy it too, whether you played the original or not. So pick it up and give it a try, on sale.

Them Goblins do be choppin.

I love it when you play a game that feels like a passion project of a small team.

There isn't a whole lot of depth in this game, the core of this short experience is to explore this brutalist Eastern European dystopia and find all the secret little nuggets of life. The map itself very natrually leads you around, to different levels and buildings. You can tell the devs spent most of their time on the level design.

The game surprisingly leans heavily into platforming and different forms of navigation. The platforming definitely feels forgiving and it isnt frustrating to hop on small ledges.

There is a story, but it can literally be completed in about 60 seconds if you're fast. Just experience it for yourself. The game is free! And there are achievements which I love! Get this game!

A really fun little love letter to the Resident Evil franchise. You can tell a lot of passion went into this game and the developer themselves loves the survival horror genre. It's a little generic at times, but the combat is really solid and the enemy AI isn't terrible. It's not very long but it's definitely worth playing through.

A really fun story, and explorable Gotham is fleshed out and interesting. A decent roster of heroes but their powers aren't very varied. Superman can do 70% of the work.
The side stuff is pretty grindy, collecting 250 gold bricks was really tedious and not engaging at all.
I would say definitely play through this game, but it was in a time where the Lego games hadn't quite mastered the open world element yet.

The name of this game is very truthful. There is an awful lot of gunk in this game. I approve.

22 hours on Steam, yet my save file says 8 hours playtime.
The other 14 hours must be Codec conversations. It's very important to the lore that you know what food Cambodian people eat or how an oil refinery works.
Still worth it because I get to chop up people with a cool samurai sword.