Recent reviews by Ivaine

Clear recommendation if you love boss rush games. Gorgeous graphics with interesting gameplay.

Full disclosure I am a sucker for most things 40k. With that being said, I can recommend the game to everyone that is into action games with hordes of enemies or people enjoying the old-school PvP shooter game mods. The graphics is excellent and the feeling of the 40k universe beautifully captures.

What makes me recommend the game, are the multiplayer modes where in my opinion the real meat of the game is hidden.

The only real critique I have are those annoying loading times the game have e.g. when joining a lobby.

Helldivers 2 offers one of the most fun coop multiplayer experiences I had in quite some time. The tutorial drew me in with the humorous sub-tone of the game. From being a helpless rookie to the badass protector of the democracy, feared by robots and insect alike, the game kept me hooked with its gameplay loop and mission objectives.

The game managed to feel alive, with Super Earth always wrestling for control with the other fractions, and the whole community actually impacting the outcome by defending or attacking planetary systems.

FOR THE DEMOCRACY!

With Sony making the PSN account mandatory to this game, thereby forcing off a bunch of the community where the service is not available, I cannot recommend purchasing or playing this game.
Sony gave in, so not relevant anymore.

In my opinion this is just a bad game being saved by it's "Final Fantasy VII" label. What kept me playing this game was the money I payed for it and sunk-cost fallacy of my time. The main story it has to tell is neither very interesting nor flashed out or even well animated. Combat is boring, simple and clunky. Graphics are what to be expected from you generic remake ... not good, not outrageously bad. Most the game time, 90% + for me, will be spent in side missions wandering for hours through the same four small enclosed maps.

Keep away from it. If you are interested in the story this game has to tell, read a summary on some wiki, even watching the cut scenes somewhere would seem a giant waste of time here.

One of the best souls-like games I have ever played and I have been recommending to my friends. The challenge and the level design/atmosphere are what captivated me.

For me these rival a few of the weaker From Software games.

On of the best remakes I have ever played. It feels like the devs had a lot of respect and love for the original and where able to come very close to the spirit of the 2005 release, even though they took away some really good parts of the old game.

In my opinion a must play for all fans of the original.

I have loved the original game and the first three chapters I have seen of the remake took me right back memory lane, ...

... BUT after reaching nearly the end of chapter 3, the game constantly crashes making it unplayable. I am lucky if I even get as far as being able to load into my save. Seems to be related to NVIDIA card. When browsing the web for the issue and looking at other reviews, this seems to be an ongoing issue for over a year.

Don't be a moron like me and let nostalgia get the better of you. Stay away from this game!

I based my recommendation if this game holds up to it's spiritual predecessor Dead Space, or it just following the other titles in the Dead Space series into mediocrity. For those familiar with the series, it felt like the third installment to me (which you could at least play with a friend) ... if you really crave a new space horror game, sure, but else don't bother. The only motivation for playing through it's story was me spending some good hard earned money on it.

Level design and atmosphere are great, I think they nailed the dark, hopeless undertone. With that being said, I think it is lacking a bit of variety in level design.

The story is your generic action horror story, seen way too many times in film, and games. Nothing new, no risks taken, just good old vanilla. At least the characters match the mundane plot, and have zero development and likability.

I played it on the Maximum Security difficulty, and can full heartedly tell you, I hated it. It felt clunky and along the upgrade paths had no game play variability to offer. Beat everything with a stick and repeat ad nauseam. To be fair one level of the game relies more on stealth and is a more than welcome change, but even there the developers tried to force you into more stick beating without any obvious reason, but you haven't done enough of stick beating. I also found that dodging was a bit wonky at times as well, which does not really help. Boss fights are rare and with decent spacing between them, but they felt uninspiring and an afterthought, since games are supposed to have them.

Absolutely addicting and for this price tag a must buy.

I would recommend you playing the game, only if you already have had your share of Sekiro, Dark Souls 3, and Bloodborne (for those owning a PlayStation), my favorite game. I am sure this will be one of the better releases this year.

As a huge SoulsBorne fan, I have been looking forward to playing this game ever since the release. Have my expectations been met ... somewhat, but I still enjoyed the game a lot. The best thing is, the game is still packed with the game play, and breathtaking level design I have been digging ever since conception. It has some interesting new weapons and offers great replayability either with a new character or New Game+. PvP is also decently fun, besides the off chance of the others internet connection being bad, or the sweaty people trying to sneak on you mid emote and fire off their op weapon art for an easy kill (at least usually they are not very good).

BUT in my opinion the open world subtracts from the experience. Maybe this is caused by PTSD from playing one too many Assassins Creed games, but I despise this game concept. Previous installments had their fair share of exploration, invisible walls, and things to miss, but in doses I could stomach. When entering a new part of the map, usually just the idea of collecting the maps and exploring it causes me to quit the game. I mean I now have roughly 150 hours in the game, so what ever there is beyond open world seems to resonate with me, as it did with the Witcher 3 (but there it was more the story and character design).

Mulitplayer is a bit too tedious in the open world, since you are not allowed to do it from horseback and have to investigate the map twice on foot. At least for me this design decision does not make any sense. Maybe this is just an issue for me due to the above described despise for open world games.

As far as story goes, the way I play this game there is barely a coherent story going on since it is loosely connected through NPC dialog, and item descriptions. I personally cannot be bothered to care enough for the story of this game and all its predecessors. With all the talk about a ring and its destruction, if someone would tell me this is a squeal to The Lord of the Rings, I would believe it. My experience of the story is, it being spoon fed to me through Youtubers.