Recent reviews by Jakob Fel

I just got myself a Steam Deck. I knew I'd fall in love with this device but I wasn't sure how fast that would happen. The first thing I did when I got everything set up was to install Aperture Desk Job, as I knew it was a controls demo for Steam Decks.

I'm glad I started here.

The first great thing about this little game is that it does an excellent job of teaching you how to use your new Deck's controls, but it does so in a "show, don't tell" way. It's effectively an extended controls tutorial but it teaches you through the (brief) narrative of the game. It runs you through it all, from the sticks to the trackpads to the gyro controls, and gets you used to how to make the best usage of your Deck.

The second thing I really like about this game is that they gave some extended lore on the Half-Life/Portal shared universe. It's not some massive lore drop or anything but there is a pretty significant drop on a significant character in the Portal series. I also think the story is delivered perfectly through your buddy in this game, Grady. The voice actor's delivery of the lines is on point and the writing is just hysterical, yet written well enough to be able to grasp the tidbits of story that do exist in the game.

Finally, I enjoyed the length of this title. It's not long, it took me about a half hour to complete and was fun throughout, despite literally being a glorified controls tutorial. It didn't overstay its welcome (something I can't say about this review, sorry guys) and got the job done at a very solid pacing.

Altogether, if you get a Steam Deck (I highly recommend it!), definitely let Aperture Desk Job be your first game played on it. It's a great introduction to the Deck and it just feels right in line with the Valve goodness that Steam and the Deck offer you.

Before this year, I was a twenty-year veteran of RuneScape. I used to love that game, I put the better half of a year (over 6000 hours) into the game over the course of that two decades of playing. After various issues that I outline in my RuneScape review here on Steam, I decided it was just time for me to hang up the hat with that game and move on. The problem is, RuneScape was always unique in the MMO genre and nothing was able to compare. That's why, when I heard the game's creator, Andrew Gower, was working on a new MMO, I was immediately intrigued.


The first thing you notice right at the start is that this game is both similar and different. Andrew didn't just repeat himself here, he took a good look at what he liked about his previous designs and created a whole new game formula out of it. This isn't a RuneScape clone. It's not even a traditional MMO.

What it is, instead, could be boiled down to this description: a story-driven, shared world RPG with relatively relaxing (albeit grindy) skill minigames that are contained within each zone.

In other words, each story chapter takes place in its own zone. Each zone has its own skills. Quests in these chapters are designed to have varying levels of difficulty, and these skills don't carry between zones, meaning that the first zone remains as relevant as the most recent one, and this will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future. This is a really interesting design mechanic that takes some getting used to.

The only thing I don't like about this grind is that it does mess with the pacing a bit. I'll be going through a quest and half-way through it, I find I need to grind some levels. While I understand this is done to prevent people from breezing through the quests, it does feel somewhat like an artificial break in the pacing and makes the story feel less immersive.


Fortunately, what Brighter Shores does the absolute best is give us more of that Gower sense of adventure. RuneScape always had a phenomenal sense of adventure and this game is absolutely no different in that regard. Their blend of British medieval legends, pop culture references and a charmingly innocent sense of humor is just as prevalent here as it was in RuneScape (until recent years, that is).

The stories here aren't particularly lore-heavy but they are traditional sword-and-sorcery tales that feel appropriately 80s/90s, aligning with Andrew's goal of replicating the feel of a tabletop RPG campaign. You feel like a natural adventurer, not a hero determined by fate. The quests here just fill you with that same sense of wonder and adventure that you might have had as a child reading fairytales and Arthurian tales, and that's absolutely where the Gower brothers excel!

The fog of war helps: you really have to explore in this game. As you explore the tabletop-style environments, you uncover new discoveries and visuals. This sort of exploration ends up being strikingly fun and keeps the world feeling mysterious and much larger than it is. And that minimap... man, it took some getting used to (and some QoL tweaks) but it looks and feels just like a tabletop RPG map and it aids in this exploration. Still, I'm not sure how much I like the fact that I can't just openly wander the game world, since exploration is linked to the story. It's not bad but I do wish there were more freeform exploration opportunities in the game.


Where RuneScape was a lot more of a sandbox experience, allowing players to basically do whatever they want, I'd describe Brighter Shores as more of a roleplaying toybox. By this, I mean that you're given freedom to do whatever, but ultimately, you're going to want to do quests and level up those skills as needed. Skills aren't designed to be maxed, they're designed to support the story content and, frankly, that's exactly what I was hoping for. I got really tired of feeling like skills were self-contained games with little impact on anything except arbitrary goals of hitting max levels, as they started to feel in RuneScape.

Skills in this game really do feel connected, both to the story and to each other. Quests that require a specific skill level feel like you need it because the task at hand needs experience to be tackled. I also really do like how, upon reaching level 20 in a skill, you can gradually start putting Knowledge points toward any of those skills to unlock skilling methods that carry on while you're logged out. This reduces the grind for people who don't like excessive grind, which is a great move.

Also, unlike RuneScape (at least after its early days), this game has a class system: Cryoknight, Guardian and Hammermage. You don't get to pick a class until the second story chapter and it makes it pretty clear what the differences are, so you're not locked into something you won't enjoy. What's more is that you're not restricted to one style of weapon. While gear can be specifically made for one class, all classes can use all weapon types. This system combines the best of both worlds.

It also has a solid customization system and a relatively interactive world. It gives the players the ability to create the character they want to play and hang out in the world with other people. In fact, as I'm writing this review, some random person sat down on the bench next to me, and we're just chatting about the game. That's something I missed about old MMOs.

My only complaint in this regard is that I'd like to see some more side content. Minigames, distractions, just side content that would make the game world feel more "liveable".


I'd say my number one complaint is how the game handles the social side of gameplay. While you can see and chat with other players, even play some fun emotes, you can't do much beyond that. You can't group up. You can't trade. You can't fight each other. You can't help people fight. While trade and PVP are in the pipeline, and the others might be an option down the road, the lack of social gameplay makes the game feel more like a shared world RPG. It'd be nice to have a transparent chat window to have open at all times, because otherwise, you just don't get that online, connected feel.

I really wish we'd see some presence from Andrew and the Fen Research team in-game. Part of what made RuneScape so special was that the Jagex team would hop into the game and just chat, hang out, take feedback and so forth. I also hope we get to see some holiday events in this game, since the holiday events in RuneScape were legendary.


I have far too many words and thoughts on this game to list in a review, so things are quite condensed. While this game certainly has room for a lot of improvement, it's a great start and it's already quite a fun little adventure. Besides, since the game released, we've gotten loads of QoL fixes and tweaks in addition to bug fixes, proving that the development team cares enough to listen to the players. It also has a really solid business model that doesn't screw you over, so there's really no reason to avoid this game. Shoot, even if it doesn't hit for you right now, wait six months or so when they leave early access, I'm certain that the majority of player feedback will be implemented by then. The future really is exciting for this game.

In general, I definitely do recommend Brighter Shores, I just want to make a note that people need to go into it without the mindset of meticulously comparing it to RuneScape. Yes, comparisons are inevitable, but it really is its own game and it's completely worth giving a try!

Despite the fact that I'm a huge Bethesda fan and absolutely loved the base game, I actually didn't get premium until Shattered Space launched. Part of the reason for this was because, when I preordered, I got a great deal on the core game (less than $60). Plus, my finances have been a bit tight lately, so I figured I could just buy the upgrade later anyway.

While I will say that you should avoid paying full price for this upgrade, even now with Shattered Space included, it does add some decent value to your purchase if you liked the core game. Obviously, the core value comes from the inclusion of Shattered Space and the 1000 Creation Credits; Shattered Space is pretty solid from what I've played so far (I will do a review when I finish its story) and I'm saving my 1000 credits until I see more of what Bethesda officially releases through Creations. I highly discourage you from using them to buy any player-made mods. Paid mods is a truly disgusting policy, especially considering how there have been proven instances of players literally uploading third-party asset packs and charging for them. Just save those credits for official content, don't support paid mods unless they're made in partnership with Bethesda themselves (as Creation Club was before). However, I digress.

One of the other big values that you get with this purchase is the inclusion of the art book and soundtrack. The soundtrack can be downloaded independently, to be listened directly through Steam's music player. However, the art book comes with the soundtrack attached so that, if you want, you can flip through countless pages of concept art to see early stages of the game's development. The art book is actually a separate application within Steam, and while I do wish we could have access to DRM-free pdf/epub files to store on our phones (where I prefer to read ebooks), it is a pretty fun experience to flip through the art with the soundtrack in the background.

Speaking of the soundtrack, I did a more in-depth review of it, so you can take a look at my thoughts on it if you care enough. If you've played the game and enjoyed the music, you'll enjoy the inclusion of the soundtrack alongside all of this other content.

To wrap things up, I'll just say this: like I mentioned prior, I'd avoid buying this at full price unless you have cash to spare or you absolutely can't wait to get your hands on Shattered Space and the art book. However, the value is there. People can argue all they want about whether or not they liked the individual pieces of content in this pack but one thing they can't truly argue against is that you do get your $35's worth, I just think it's a lot more worth it on a decent sale. It's a great pack of content to have, though, particularly if you're like me and think Starfield is a phenomenal and very underrated game.

I had no hesitation in expressing my deep love for Starfield in my review of the base game in the face of all the hate. One thing I talked about a lot is the sense of believability it gives. As I said in the review, Starfield was intended to be a realization of the dreams and aspirations of kids who grew up during the golden age of NASA. This gave the game a very grounded feeling, despite being expansive sci-fi.

A decent chunk of this believability and atmosphere comes from the soundtrack. Composed by Inon Zur, who also composes for all Fallout games from Fallout 3 onward, the Starfield soundtrack follows his typical composition style: atmosphere and subtlety with memorable melodies woven between it all. Most of the tracks here are great for background listening, especially if you're reading, writing or doing something to focus to.

The main standouts are "Into the Starfield" and "Planetrise", both of which carry a core motif that is akin to the core motifs used in Elder Scrolls and Fallout title tracks. That theme, that motif, it is heavily reminiscent of classic sci-fi, with use of brass instrumentation, droning strings and ambient arpeggios, all of which do a good job of inspiring wonder and awe in the player. From the first time I heard that motif in the 2018 teaser trailer, I had imagined all the adventures I'd get to have in the game when it released.

I'd also say that the combat tracks are pulse-pounding and epic. These tracks take on a more modern sci-fi approach with heavier use of synths, syncopation and staccato that you tend to hear in modern orchestral music. The only thing missing are Latin choirs in certain spots but I'm glad Inon didn't go that route as it would have been too corny to do that.

The only complaint I have is that some tracks really do feel more like Fallout than a space game. It seems Inon has gotten really used to the style he goes for in Fallout, and that's not a bad thing, but it's difficult when some of the tracks feel more like something you'd hear in the wasteland than space exploration. To be fair, that's also partly because "space music" tends to make use of ambient subtleties, which is Inon's specialty. It's not a big complaint for me, I'm just a little concerned about the eventual soundtrack for The Elder Scrolls VI because we already know Jeremy Soule won't be involved (probably due to the false accusation nonsense years back which ruined his reputation)... but that's another discussion for another time.

If I can summarize this soundtrack, I'd say it's beautifully atmospheric, it's awe-inspiring (in the traditional sense) and perfectly fits the core theme of what Starfield is: a believable, grounded sci-fi RPG in a plausible future imagined in the 1960s. If you enjoy the game and notice how perfect the music fits its vibe, you really do need to grab this. While I do wish Steam soundtracks were more like Bandcamp, offering file format selection for listening outside of the app, it can be great to pop these tracks on in Steam while you do other stuff!

I only recently discovered features like soundtracks and videos on Steam. First thing in my library that I listened to was the Half-Life soundtrack. The second one was this. Apparently I claimed it in the past (I have a habit of claiming every free DLC for every game I have, even if I don't pay attention).

I haven't played the game yet, I'll probably hit it sometime before the end of the year, but I can say this EP-length remix soundtrack is amazing for relaxing to. I threw it on the background while doing community stuff on Steam and it's great music for doing just that. I never really paid much attention to the lo-fi scene but the music is really smooth, piano-driven, but with somewhat of an undertone of futurism. It has that neo-noir vibe, but less "crime investigation in a city" and more like, "the crime was solved, time to relax at your favorite restaurant".

Whether you like the game or not, this is definitely a good listen, particularly as Steam background music!

Where do I begin with this masterpiece?

Outsiders tend to think this series is "GTA in Japan" and some come away disappointed that it's nowhere near that description. I was not one of them. I went into this series knowing it was more along the lines of a story-driven action game with light RPG systems, beat-em-up combat and loads of fun minigames.

That description, alone, makes the game compelling enough to try... but that's not even the surface.



First and foremost, you need to know that this series is sometimes described as "Japanese soap opera". The story at heart of the series is very serious and dramatic. I have very limited experience with other games in the series (I played a bit of Kiwami 2 before this one) so I can't speak for the other games, but the story in Yakuza 0 is fantastic. It's a slow-burn drama about being framed for murder and involves themes of family, brotherhood, betrayal, all sorts of political and business struggles and more.

The writing is fantastic. While the side stories might be rather goofy and far-fetched at times, the core narrative is well-written drama. That said, even the goofy side stories tend to have a serious spin at some point or another. You might be chasing down a string of thieves only to find out that the last thief has truly noble intentions. You might be propped up to be a film director and given the choice to be good or bad at the job, with the bad options being very entertaining, but later realize that the guys who put you up to it only wanted to do so to impress their producer. The list goes on. Now, that's not to say that every side story has a serious or heartwarming twist; some are just downright hilarious, such as the "Mr. Libido" side stories.

This game really is a perfect blend of emotional gut punches, hilariously stupid humor, heartwarming and uplifting segments, and every one of them is just phenomenally well-written.



Despite the fact that this series has great storytelling, the heart and soul of the games is their gameplay. As I briefly touched on earlier, people mistakenly go into these games thinking they're GTA in Japan. The story-driven nature of these games will immediately put people off if they have that inaccurate assumption.

These games may be story-driven but you'd be making a major mistake if you chose to grind through it all at once. Break up story missions with the side content, at least for a little bit. Trust me, that's what makes these games so great. In between doing the story, if you take time to go play some games at an arcade, head to the batting cages, sing karaoke, play the telephone club dating minigame, the game will feel so much more well-rounded and immersive. If you've ever desired to visit Japan, doing the side content will help you feel like you're visiting, even if it's not quite what Japan is like today. And man, I've spent probably a quarter of my playtime in this game just playing those minigames, especially bowling. It's just addictive and fun.

In many ways, that makes Yakuza 0 multiple games in one. You'll be shocked at how fleshed-out the minigames actually are. It's like an arcade/casual games suite within this epic, dramatic, semi-open world brawler. That's without even mentioning the fact that both characters' stories have light business sim minigames that can add for some fun, strategic gameplay on top of it all (while also earning you quite a bit of money in the process).



None of the side content or the story would be enough on their own if the combat sucked. Fortunately, it absolutely does not. The combat in Yakuza 0 is incredibly fun to play around with. On the surface, it seems really simplistic and based on button-mashing. However, as with every great fighting game, there are all sorts of combos you can do with these buttons that allow you to have full mastery over your brawls.

This is accentuated by the fact that you can use your money to upgrade your combat styles, gain new combos, improve existing ones and obtain worn items that function as armor or, in some cases, offer special benefits (such as one-use items to revive you if you die). Furthermore, you can earn Completion Points for doing various tasks as a sort of mini-achievements system and these points can be spent on improvements to combat situations (among other things).

These light RPG upgrade systems just further add to the immersion and ability to play this game your way. It's also made better by the fact that there are two protagonists in the game, with each having their own styles. Yes, both characters have three archetypal styles -- fast/light, slow/heavy and a balanced middle style -- but the moves themselves are completely different. One protagonist has more of a brawler approach primarily aimed at punches and tanking hits. The other protagonist is more elegant and agile, using techniques that look more like traditional martial arts. No matter what style you use, attacks and certain actions will cause you to gain "Heat" which will allow you to do a special, heavy-hitting attack, particularly useful with bosses. However, be careful: if you get hit, that heat meter will decrease fast so keep an eye out.

Then, on top of these styles, you're able to get your hands on different types of weapons. Weapons are fantastic for in a pinch. They degrade quickly but if you're in a tough boss fight, they can offer a way to chip away at their health. Also, just a word of warning, if the game asks you if you're prepared enough, be sure you're stocked up on health items, weapons and worn items. You're likely gonna be going up against a tough and long fight.



At the end of the day, Yakuza 0 is a stellar story, an amazingly epic experience and above all else: it's a great game. One thing I've noticed with Japanese games is that they tend to still understand that gameplay and fun factor must be the number one priority of a video game. You can have great stories, photorealistic graphics, epic open worlds but if there isn't great gameplay, it will bring things down. Yakuza 0 is a beautiful example of this. You get an incredibly well-written story, loads of minigames and side diversions, plenty of side stories, a great explorable world, and all of that wrapped up in a very tight, balanced, downright fun gameplay experience. Truly, it deserves to be viewed as one of the greatest video games of all time and Ryu Ga Gotoku deserves all the credit for making a prequel that feels just as essential as the rest of the series. Moreover, the fact remains that many consider this to be the peak of the franchise, and for good reason.

If any of the above sounds even remotely fun to you, you owe it yourself to buy this game. It takes some getting used to, with all the dialog and unique gameplay systems, but if you give it a chance, you almost certainly will love it. It's the beginning of one of the greatest video game epics and it's just a remarkable piece of art!

DISCLAIMER: While I didn't technically receive it for free since I backed the campaign for the new version, I still marked it as such, since I didn't technically buy it via Steam. I am not sponsored but I do have stake in the game's success since I'm a backer.

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TesseracT is pretty much my favorite band right now and frontman Daniel Tompkins is my favorite vocalist of all time. I've also been an off-and-on viewer of Dan's Twitch streams since it started, though I haven't been able to catch many of them in a while. I know that Dan and the entire band always give everything every ounce of their passion to everything they do.

As such, when I found out Dan was working with a small team to release a game based off of the concept of their newest (and, in my opinion, greatest) album, also titled War of Being, I knew this was going to be special.



For an indie title that was initially designed by a tiny team as a VR experience, this game is quite visually attractive. The art direction is on point and, in many areas, downright stunning. Is it the most beautiful, photorealistic game I've ever seen? Certainly not but considering what they had to work with, it's massively impressive.

The environmental design really evokes the surreal imagery that you see in the Myst games. The worlds you're exploring, they're uncanny and really do make you think that this is a manifestation of one's imagination which is, conceptually, a part of the concept behind this game and the album it's based off of.

The surreal imagery also works hand-in-hand with truly stellar sound design, both of which come together to create such an impeccable sense of atmosphere. Once again, going back to the concept -- a war of being within your mind -- this atmosphere sells the theme to perfection.



Gameplay-wise, the game is definitely very playable, which isn't something you always get with small-budget indie titles. It has some quirks, though. Using a standard controller is the the better way to experience the game if you don't have VR (I don't), but even then, it's a little janky. There's no gradual increase of speed; if you hit the threshold on the left stick, you're moving at full speed. Likewise, sprinting requires the left stick to be pressed down but you have such a low amount of stamina that it's barely worth using. Furthermore, reading notes is difficult if you're not really close to a light source; even if you're still relatively close, it's very tough to read the notes.

Nonetheless, despite the quirks, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world on display here. It's a relatively linear adventure game, and the puzzles are mostly simplistic, but the world and the story keep you intrigued throughout the entire experience. What's more is that the pacing feels very well-done. There's a sequence where you have to solve a succession of memory puzzles while being pursued slowly by reanimated samurai corpses. While there's no permanent death or combat and the chase sequence was quite slow, I felt the tension and tried hard to rush myself to the end. It took me a few tries but I finally made it.

I also appreciate that, with an exception or two, Dan and the team took the opportunity to avoid tedium. Solving a puzzle almost always gives you a fast track to move on. For example, one of the puzzles was a maze but after solving it, you have quick access to the entrance. There are also a few cool secrets you can unlock if you keep a close eye on the environment.



That leads me to my final point: this game is literally designed to make a TesseracT fan smile. All the secrets, lyric fragments, rephrased lyrics and themes sprinkled throughout the game just made me crack a grin. I've listened to every TesseracT album more times than I can count (not including Altered State, which I've only heard a couple times) and I really love Dan's lyrical style, so recognizing these moments as I explored beautiful, surreal and atmospheric levels really felt rewarding as a fan.

Nonetheless, even if you're not a hardcore fan or haven't heard TesseracT before, I'd say this is worth a play considering its price point. If you enjoy Myst's gameplay style but wish those games had free-form movement and simpler puzzles, definitely grab War of Being. However, if you want a smoother, lengthier, more polished experience, it might be worth waiting for the full, Kickstarter-backed release. As it currently exists, this game was quite fun (even though I got nauseated from scrambling around looking for secrets!) and the full version the team is working on, it has so much promise. I can't wait for the full release!

Ah, Starfield. The long-awaited space epic by Bethesda Game Studios. The hype train for this game was massive, the marketing relentless. A game that launched with immense praise, raised controversy from clout-chasers who falsely claimed it's woke, then it took a dive in ratings from review bombing (much of which seems AI-written). Very few of these ratings offer any sort of actual information for prospective buyers, however, so... should you buy Starfield? First, start by asking yourself: what am I looking for in a space game?


Let's start by clarifying what Starfield is and isn't.

Starfield is:
- A realistic and believable sandbox space RPG set in a plausible future of humanity
- A game heavily inspired by the NASA golden age, back when kids grew up with dreams of being astronauts and going to the moon rather than dreams of being space Chuck Norris
- A sandbox action RPG where the goal is to do whatever you feel like doing
- A space game where the exploration occurs both on dead, rocky moons and terrestrial planets with flora and fauna
- A Bethesda game through and through

Starfield is not:
- No Man's Sky, Mass Effect, or any other space franchise
- A survival sandbox
- A choice-driven narrative RPG with branching dialog
- An FPS
- A space game where every world is inhabited by interesting alien creatures and sentient societies

Don't go into this game expecting to romance aliens and fend off an extragalactic invasion. Don't expect Jedi, militant space police or huge space battles. Instead, go into this game with the mindset of being a kid during the Space Race during the Cold War. Imagine how you would have dreamed up all these fantastical scenarios of exploring space. That is what Starfield is. It strives to be a believable and natural evolution of the dream of kids growing up during the golden age of NASA. It's not sci-fi in the sense of what people imagine when they hear that term today. It's old school sci-fi, from before the age of Star Wars, back when even Star Trek was still grounded in plausible reality.


That being said, you'd be wrong to assume that this means the game is empty and soulless. Contrary to what the detractors say, Starfield has several lengthy questlines, countless side quests, companion storylines and random, unmarked activities galore. Even now, I still feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of stories I have yet to uncover... 170 hours on one character and I haven't even finished the main quest; my quest journal is still packed to the brim.

Every quest I've played has been interesting and fun. Some are far better than others, however. The game's main quest has some particularly awesome cinematic moments such as a pulse-pounding escape sequence, space battles with a mysterious enemy and so forth. The faction questlines are like shorter RPG campaigns in and of themselves, with varied gameplay from each. For the UC Vanguard, it's an action-driven story. With the Freestar Collective, you essentially become a space cowboy trying to bring law and order to the frontier. With Ryujin Industries, you take on missions of corporate espionage and in the Crimson Fleet, you experience life as a space pirate (or as a double agent, depending on how you approach the quest).

Furthermore, the companion storylines are all very interesting, they all feel a lot more "human" than previous Bethesda companions. Even the procedural stuff feels good, from the terminal missions, bounty missions, or randomized quests you pick up on a completely barren, rocky moon. Sure, the procedural stuff isn't going to be even remotely close to the fun of hand-written quests but it's a means of earning some creds to invest into your ship, gear or homestead.


Possibly my favorite aspect of this entire game is how believable it is. I'm not just talking about mechanical lore based off of real-world physics, here (though the game has that too). I'm referring to how the game "world" feels thoroughly like a futuristic extension of our existing society. From the rugged ship aesthetics inspired by NASA designs to the fact that you'll encounter museums, office spaces, beachside resorts, mid-city green spaces; even smaller details like Starware OS and the various ship manufacturing companies. Every ounce of the game's world design is fully believable. I always considered Mass Effect to be the king in believability as a theoretical spacefaring future but Starfield blows it out of the water in that regard.

I guess I could say the world design is very grounded. That makes it absurdly easy to suspend disbelief and become immersed, moreso than any other space game I've played (and believe me, I've played a lot of 'em).


The game gets criticized for how many planets are simply barren, lifeless rocks but I don't know... if you've ever been enthralled by the idea of what's out there in the limitless expanse, you'll find it's just as enjoyable to explore the lifeless rocks as to explore worlds full of life and interesting areas.

Often, you'll even run across unexpected locales, such as civilian outposts, pirate hideouts, abandoned science facilities and more. The sense of mystery does, admittedly, wear off after you've seen the general archetypes of these locations but it's a nice bit of variety in between the more exciting story moments.

And honestly, this game's visuals are gorgeous. Sure, it doesn't have path tracing with the pinnacle of all graphical tech, but the textures are crisp, the lighting beautiful, and let me tell you: nothing is quite like finding a planet set in the rings of a gas giant, or cresting a mountain to encounter a massive valley bathed in the light of a golden sunset. This game delivers on the visuals in droves.


The elephant in the room with this, and other Bethesda games, is the issue of bugs. It's true that Starfield has its fair share of them but to my astonishment, as a Bethesda fan since Morrowind, the drastic reduction of bugs absolutely floored me. Plus, most of them are comical bugs, ones that don't break your game even if they might break your immersion.

That said, I will say that the performance is disappointing. Is it playable? Absolutely, but it's poorly optimized. It's better now but still far from perfect.

It also isn't a perfect experience overall. While Bethesda did some massive wonders with refining the various elements of gameplay present in their games (especially in regards to the shooting and movement), there's still some jank. For example, planet surveying would be a lot more enjoyable if we had access to some sort of land vehicles.


To sum things up, let's drop the pretentious console war nonsense and the improper expectations and be honest here: this game is a wonder. It did so many things right. Is it a perfect experience? No, but it's absolutely innovative, wholly immersive, massively freeform and incredibly fun.

If you've ever even slightly fantasized about living in a spacefaring age, you owe it to yourself to play this. Just come in with the right expectations (you know, the ones Bethesda alluded to in their marketing which people ignored?) and you'll be thoroughly fixated on this game for well over the amount of time needed to make it worth your money. Don't let the faux outrage & negativity shoo you away. Outside of the people who benefit from the clicks/views, as well as the haters who can't ever be satisfied, Starfield has been very well-received, both commercially and critically, and it's setting an awesome foundation for us Bethesda fans for many decades to come!

In honor of Half-Life's 25th anniversary, I decided it was high time I review this classic. I played it on a family member's PC before I even knew what Steam was and it wasn't until more recent years that I came to buy the game for myself. As such, while I have some minimal nostalgia, my perspective on this game is able to be a bit less biased.


Half-Life is immediately compelling because it starts you off as Gordon Freeman, a scientist who is late for work at a hidden research facility. Amidst the relatively mundane setup, you're thrust into a sci-fi tale that forces you to escape the facility after it is invaded by extradimensional alien-like beings. You're not a soldier, you're not an action hero, you're an ordinary man forced into extraordinary circumstances.

Because of this, the story is immediately grounded and immersive. With the game's interactivity (more on that later), this really does make the story feel like something you -- as a person, not the character -- could potentially go through. The plot does, however, expand into greater territory with military, shadowy conspiracies with races from elsewhere and so forth (though this would be elaborated upon in the game's expansions and sequels).

The plot is also told in a very organic way. You're not dealing with cinematic cutscenes, expositionary dialog or anything of the like. Instead, the story unfolds as you play. This natural storytelling approach adds to the feelings of panic one might experience if they were caught up in an extreme situation like this.


Due to the way the plot unfolds, this allows the player to fill in the blanks with the gameplay. While the maps aren't truly free-form like some games, you are able to fight in your own way. You're given a fantastic arsenal of impactful weapons to meet the challenges ahead, including the legendary crowbar. Each weapon feels unique and has a hefty impact. This alone is enough to enable the player to cause a wave of chaos in their wake.

However, Half-Life also gives you access to the HEV suit. In-universe, your HUD is displayed by this power suit which also functions as a means of increasing an ordinary person's functionality. From a flashlight to the ability to heal yourself to environmental protection, the HEV suit is what makes Gordon more than just another scientist. It also gives a fun lore explanation as to why Gordon can take more than one bullet; the HEV protects against some ballistic trauma as well.


The Black Mesa Research Facility is this game's setting and man, it's incredible. The map designs make you truly feel like you're in the halls of a hidden government lab. Everything feels livable and realistic, giving you more mundane locations like public restrooms as well as cafeterias, storage closets, computer rooms and so forth. When you wander the BMRF, it further sells the illusion of you being an average scientist forced to fight for your life.

This is partially aided by the sheer interactivity of the game environments. Vending machines drop physical items in the game world. Microwaves can over-cook things. Bathroom stalls can be opened, crates can be moved, it just feels real. Is any of that anything new by today's standards? No, but this game is one of a handful of titles that popularized that sort of interactivity.


This game began a franchise that led to the single-most hyped game that will never come: Half-Life 3. The fact that this is a multi-game franchise owes to the fact that Valve nailed the sense of atmosphere and balanced it with plot, compelling gameplay and excellent map design. This game changed everything. Before it, most (not all) first-person shooters were DOOM-style in that they were run-and-gun with very little story or exploration. Half-Life isn't an immersive sim but without games like this, the System Shock series and Deus Ex, the immersive sim genre would never exist. Half-Life defied conventions in all the right ways and gave us one of the most influential FPS titles of all time, probably second only to the classic DOOM.

A quarter of a century after its release, you have the opportunity to grab the game for free, with improvements, and see for yourself. If you are a fan of Valve and FPSes, you owe it to yourself to play this game and frankly, there are zero reasons for you to not give it a go now. You won't regret it!

I passed up Ghostwire: Tokyo due to financial reasons, and ended up forgetting about this little prelude visual novel. However, when going through my Bethesda collection, I came across this again and decided to install it to give it a try.

I have very little experience with visual novels but I've played my fair share of point-and-click adventure games, which inspired the visual novel genre. Therefore, I can't exactly give you an answer on whether or not this is a good visual novel. However, what I can say is that I enjoyed it. It's short, shorter than my playtime suggests (I had to alt-tab at one point and just didn't shut the game off) so it's good for a quick run if you want something to break up the monotony.

I'm guessing visual novels thrive off of great art, sound design and story. This one excels at the first and third aspects, with the art feeling like a manga put into color. Meanwhile, the story -- short and simple -- gives enough detail to make the player interested in the world that is set up for the full title. As for sound design, it's certainly not bad but I think it could have used full voice acting. The music is really good, though!

Altogether, if you are interested in playing Ghostwire: Tokyo, this would be worth a quick play while the main game downloads! I enjoyed it quite a bit and while I won't be able to get the full game for a while still, it definitely piqued my interest a lot more than before. I wish more devs would do this sort of thing before launch!