Recent reviews by Jovah

Sweet fairy tale straight out of the children's books — carrying a serious message alongside it

Very simplistic art style shouldn't and it won't distract you from the principles of life many of us had abandoned. Making your life revolve around money and fame, 'specially when you have neither yet, is one way to make your life miserable. What's it got to do with the game? Probably nothing. But Anna is a great child and her grandpa did a wonderful job on her upbringing. At no point in the game did she ever put anything above her one and only goal of securing the cure for her dearest; willing to go the lengths and endanger her own life just to save her only relative. Family is what your life should orbit around and always come back whenever anyone who's a part of it in danger. Anna hasn't had to live three quarters of her life to understand such a simple concept; something that many others couldn't grasp with one life lived to the fullest. She's a good child and all, born with a curious mind and is yet lucky enough to never deal with the issues and encounters that a demeanor like the one she's got typically causes. Possibly someone else might have put it in the pros but one con I've found has really ached throughout and I'm talking about humanization. It's the most dull aching pain that I usually feel during the playthrough. The devs don't seem to put enough emphasis on it or deem it not important enough to really up their level on that one and I just cringe at it with how poorly it's done. Firstly, the girl won't ever shut up, like never ever. She feels the need from the far beyond, apparently the place that she's got her powers from, to really comment on literally freaking anything that ever happens on the screen. Like it is indeed skippable but to progress further into the plot is to put the hurt on your little finger, it really do be pushing the mouse button non-stop. Secondly, the girl's voice actor mismatch the picture, setting, emotional state, time period and everything else in between. I see a young gal by the castle's gates and once she opens her mouth I hear a spoiled little teen pretending to be a queen smoking by the Walmart main entrance. What is that voice even? The voice is so average of nowadays, it's basically a sign of the times of today. It's fake, it's modern, it's unsettling. Had she been given a more fitting voice this would probably not have any cons at all. I could somehow stomach her never shutting up if it was pleasant to listen to in the first place me thinks. Apart from that the story was rather beautiful and captivating, I'd say this has a better plot than most AAA games today (they don't even try anymore). It kept me invested into it and like the oldfashioned tales go the ending had to put everything in its place and it did. You get to learn more about every single character you meet on your walkthrough and most of them will open up by the end of it. The ending was cool and sentimental, too, I think it was very wisely put together, quite fitting.
Achievements are easy but some might make you look twice and make sure you don't sleep at the wheel, nothing too crazy.

All in all it was an enjoyable experience, I've only truly endured one serious con to it and it might not even be that way for someone else so there comes your own thinking in there. Digest all that I said and I believe you'll do the well weighed decision.

There's no two ways about it — the devs have listened and they saw; all the things which were lacking or overdone have been addressed in this one

So the most recent one yet has us hiding in the trenches of the WW1. But more precisely, wandering and scrounging in the bunker, trying to find any means that can help us survive the night. Upon the first entry in to the game it doesn't seem as though the game is short and the map is tiny, a constant feeling of dread and spirit of an ever present threat make the seconds go by like eternity. And yet it is in fact short and the levels aren't huge but a whole 'nother different approach to the gameplay, resource usage and random spawns addition create an interesting and dark sandbox. You can never be sure for certainty of what you find and where but all the places in the game without question will have you shaking all over looking for the source of light. A modernized system in which the monster is no longer patrolling the route he was once assigned to but instead following you every step of the way behind the thinnest of walls waiting for you to make a mistake before launching a vicious attack adds one more layer of pressure. And by mistake I mean, being anything more than a slow crawling corpse at a snail pace and more of that if you're unlucky enough, he might as well hop out of the nearest hole to say hello in front of you. The gameplay is consuming fast, you don't get to be upset of the scale of the game as there are way too many things that will upset you in order before you get to that one. Upset you in a manner that will make you invest into the objectives and seek ways to accomplish the goals. Handling is very smooth which should be a given in a game like this and overall makes for the enjoyable experience.
Achievements is one topic I never miss to bring up and on this occasion I rate them pretty highly too. They added a few more and all in all you get all sorts of 'em in here. Storylines, gameplays, missable and ending specials.
One thing to nag at is quite obviously the length of the game; not just because it is indeed awfully short for a fact, but also because it is sad just as much for in the end you only want more of it.

For me this one beats the gameplay pleasures of the original release and it would be unfair to judge them by their atmospheric vibes as it is different time periods. Modern games lack the genuine thrill of the moment, the very atmosphere, but instead they surprise with their looks and realism. I do recommend this one wholeheartedly.

Trying to appeal to literally everybody — nobody ever truly fallen for it

Like the Amnesia mixture you'll play it once and probably never again, having left with nothing to remember of it. Straight from the start it's hard not to notice the mixture of characters' origins spread out all across the spectrum. Playing as a young expedition rookie Tasi, her husband Salim — we all know where's that coming from, don't we — bunch of British, Moroccan maybe and a couple of Afro-Americans. And though this multicultural soup had to endure a tough landing in game — and out of it frankly — some still persist on dragging this notion forward. For me personally, I found a hard time feeling any sympathy, it's all foreign and alien to me, all I was reminded of by it, was politics and nothing else. Quite possibly there are cases nowadays exactly like that one but I felt no connection to any of the characters in the game as I have a mixed bag of emotions regarding this forthcoming future that is being portrayed here. Well that was the one issue that I had but not the only; for the year and the day that this game was released, I expected a lot more to be honest. Guess you can't look at all the games through the same prism lenses as each and every one had been started off and developed under the different conditions with different budgets. Kay awlright but the human touch added to it to humanize the world and the characters as it often goes, lacked dearly. Talking about the monologues, dialogues, readings and all that; comes as a no-surprise that people who wanted to put the multiculturism on the forefront of the cover were a bit out of touch with how the human behaves in certain situations and what emotions he feels. All of those voice actings are kind of weak, the speeches are basic, the moments be it joy or heartbreak, not believable. Graphics was sort of meh too, could've maybe snatched an eye back in 2015 I suppose, texuring was poor. The plot was sort of mid, maybe slightly awwwlright, but not that it's hard when you have an unlimited amounts of ways to go with all that alien and otherworldly crap that they fancied in this one. The centerpiece though, as in the previous game, was the family; yet the depravity came from beyond this time around. The gameplay is what maybe pulls the game on the better side for me, it ain't no match for the original release obviously, but it can shoot a bit further than the Piggies game, that's a given.
All in all, I'd rate it slightly higher than a Pigman one but quite a distance down from the original.
And of course, achievements, they're sort of fine, just finished the main game. Saying this before I got the last ones for the 100%, might as well swing in the other way.

Well, I kind of do, I recommend it. Got a lot of cons in it though. Don't put your hopes up thinking this time it could bring the vibes of the original or all the other goodstuff it had; they don't seem to dwell on that, they want to move on and I suppose it's right, is something to admire. Just like the last time, look at it as a brand new game, nothing to do with the original and then off you go.

Are we really that different under the cover of the night? When the safety of seclusion shrouded by darkness triggers thirst for the filth and bravery for the dark descent

Considering the aftertaste of the previous game of the series this has had a lot of expectations on its beasty shoulders. Having acquired a sequel name this promising it would have had to go all over and beyond to make good on the preshow teasing. And it isn't really as bad as it is different to the cult starter of the first release. If I had to draw comparisons AMFP is more like SOMA driven by a father's guilt rather than a full-on descension into the furthest dark spots of the mind. It isn't hard and neither is scary, it has a different type of vibe to it. I didn't like it personally but there's no telling you wouldn't either so have some space in between the lines. The narrative of a depraved man concerned by one and only thing he ever truly loved dearly with it being the thread that leads him back to reality he shaped himself is hitting awfully close to home. Many familes were operating in this fashion with fathers turning into pigs just as the clock struck midnight and the horrors they acted out on those who should've felt safe and protected the most beside them were despicable. This man ain't clean either, Amnesia is an unholy place, made to reflect on the nightmares that men made, not theorized. It's way too short but the story doesn't suffer from it, it would be a bit too much pain dragging this topic on for long. Looking at this as a direct extension of the game series would bury the piggie way below our reach; but to love again is to open your heart and this one requires a special vision, narrow minds will get stuck in a loop.
It is worthy, as long as you can tell it is a different game and not a remake of the old. With this mind there's a good chance you might like it, give it a try.

I do recommend it but it isn't a clearcut. This review supposed to be as short as the game but I thought I might as well have fun writing all this instead of pretending that it's gonna be useful for many. Love your kids.

Needed not this to be scary — but so hauntingly beautiful and oddly comforting — which it was

Gone are the days of games being genuinely frightening but isn't it the thrill that the most of us are looking for anyway. And thrill we get with this one! Or have we become older and harder to please with things stuck with us forever since when we'd been young. It is up to one another and I'll say for myself, I've truly and wholefully enjoyed this game through and through. I carried the momentum of utter joy and healthy curiosity to the very depths of the plot, I'm sticking with it now. There's nothing much of anything to speak of in a way that I could pinpoint and outlie from the rest — this was a complete journey with no stones unturned and holes not fixed, it had all the bases covered. You get the thrill immediately into the game and it lingers on with varying levels of intensity, you get to dig deep into the lore if so you please. For the things unfold for those who seek it.
The gameplay is rather simple and intuitive albeit I ain't saying there won't be times you'll see puzzles and moments that'll confuse you.
After finishing the main game and just before starting the DLC I don't feel like I'm left with more to be desired, it was neither short or long and it took about the time you could expect of it.
I've seen enough to form an opinion and that shall be hell of a positive one.
Achievements are what you want them to be in a game like this; they ain't easy, not too hard, they make you invest into the process and commit to it until the very end.

I do obviously recommend the game and if you wonder about the score — if I was to share it here at the end of my reviews which is what I'm going to do anyway — it would be either 9 or possibly even more. It's easy for it to be overlooked and get written off due to its age but it would be nothing more than just another mistake in your life, haven't you made enough already?

Well here comes the bad one...

So I just finished the game and while still fresh off the bat I come right down to place my thoughts in words.
Many have spoken not in favour of this game and rightfully so, there's little I can add to all the good reviews I've already seen but I'll try my best to do it.

The original game was released in 2009 and straight on that fact it was already too late for something like this. It wouldn't stand a chance, let's say in 2006, let alone 2009 and at this point it looks like a very outdated joke. Textures are soapy, movement is sloppy, NPC AI is braindead, dialogues are pulled out of the b*tt and manufactured. Typically the main character hardly ever speaks anything of substance and just puts his puns in and reacts to literally everything with forced-yet-failing wit and is just always unfazed no matter what happens.
Start of the game? — Stone face. Plot twist? — Stone face, monotone voice. World on the brink of a war and the lives of many lie heavy on his shoulders? — Stone face, monotone voice and silly wit attempts.
Humane aspect of the game that should've been seen, felt and tracked in the NPCs and the main character himself fail terribly. None of this seems to have any weight or relevance.
Since the textures, models and graphics in general suck all the same it's two important directions the goodstuff could've gone in but both failed.
Well since it's a game after all and neither a movie or a book, the gameplay must come to the rescue? So I thought.
This game is a joke in many ways and gameplay can only do so much. Yes, the destructions and explosions are kewl for a little while but once it stops impressing you you're left with what? Tons of repetitive missions with no depth to speak of, absurd challenges that you have to attempt with a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and unrealistic handling of all vehicles. And you do that time after time after time. No diversity, no stories or meanings put in the sidequests which sometimes are mandatory but oftentimes seem like a chore. Kind of a drag.
And the worst of all is the achievements. Yes, the silly devs took the wrong turn and went an easy way of adding very questionable achievements in a game that isn't built the way it's required. Not even talking about the online ones, the ones you get to earn in a campaign mode is just as bad. Stupid time limits, things you can easily miss and all of that stuff stink from miles away. On top of that you put online achievements in a singleplayer game that has lifespan of a relationship with a gold-digger. You put those in willingly knowing the game won't survive long enough to supply the newcome players from the distant future with the playerbase needed to succeed. Dooming them for a corrupted challenge never to be completed and thus I say ♥♥♥♥ you, pardon my flow of thought but this game sucks.
I've finished it only because I felt uneasy leaving it halfdone, it's got nothing to do with the game in question.

I do not recommend it, and the score, if I was to leave it here, wouldn't do justice as to summarize how good or bad it is. You either take my words for granted or try it yourself.
But don't tell me then that I haven't warned you before!

The game couldn't have been more juicier and fleshier. Whatever your complaint may be, it won't be 'cause it's dry! Beautiful skirmish in the whirlwind of blood and guts finish a great story of gore. Largely updated engine provides amazing visual scenes yet keeping the dooming feeling.

Along with new perks there came some quality of life additions such as running (only took 'em this long), gunbutt stroke and playing with friends in your own lobby neatly locked with a password. Not to be disturbed by wacky strangers joining in only to be deaf and never say a word.

Achiff enthusiasts will likely split. Since the original game they became lots easier, beyond description. You don't need to do any of those killing objectives that would have required some low odds situations or precision. Instead all you're going to have to do is to max out all perks and beat all maps from normal to hell.

In the present time when the devs ballyhoo announcing KF3, the game stands tall and fears no future. Replayability is strong but strength diminishes with time, having friends required for it to be lasting. Otherwise only the most dedicated ones will tame this bloodlust thing.

I tried to highlight some of the takeaways ~ but I'd be glad if you read that all anyway

Beautiful, slightly-horror, open world survival with crafting, building and coop. On top of that you may notice there are semblances of some story spread all across the island. Most often found in some notes, letters, photography and items that will help you get through

I heard the game was in early access for a while so that might have helped it to look as good as it looks. Sure there is a number of bugs in it but for the price you'll be getting it is more than worthy. In addition to what said, you'll have two endings available to finish the game with (not really if you really go for those achievements though)

If you're playing coop some of the achievements are broken, so be aware of that. More often than not, only the host will get some even if you do what's required together. Better have it aside until the singleplayer. Other than that, the achiffs are pretty easy and shouldn't be taking long to get them

Like I said the game is still beautiful, had no issues with the visuals myself. Some unlogical things will happen when they can but the best way to deal with it is to just laugh it off. Coop games are fun and the possibility to build your own base from scratch makes room for creativity and better days of gameplay!

I tried to highlight some of the takeaways ~ but I'd be glad if you read that all anyway

The body is through but the soul continues. So does the story of this mod it seems like and for what ride are we in here. After receiving the otherworldly promotion we probably never anticipated (due to the overall shown intelligence of the fella), we get on the gear with perks HL universe hasn't seen before (finally a proper mod minus voice acting).

The story got tighter, the maps got wider, the enemies still as brutal and HL mods still as exciting. Perhaps it is my own that I can't get a hold of my boiling up bile inside of me when it comes to the voice acting; it always itches where it shouldn't. I can't stand both the cheap kid's vocoder and the lines that it burps out with pride. But that is mine, some folks I've seen have liked it even.

It's really difficult to be picky in games or rather mods like this, a free mod with a mammonth effort put in so many aspects of the game. A swift ramp up of the rank means we do have a squad of our own that'll be at our command. Amazing showcase of features unseen incrypted well into the gameplay and story of the mod. A mere mod with ambition taller than it's soul.

From the game menu there is a way to play challenges. Which is by far the most agonizing and self-harming addition to the project. So much so that it could swing the review some flights down. Lucky us this beauty is free and I keep up the notion of uselessness of rating the free games or mods negatively. It's still possible and the practicability of it is only yours to debate on.

I tried to highlight some of the takeaways ~ but I'd be glad if you read that all anyway

Well, fans of HL universe are unlikely to ever run out of mod supply. This mod deserves a standalone client on its own for the amount of effort that's put in it. The voice acting, the maps, the newly made features. Yeah I'm not fond of the voice acting itself but I admire the fact it's even there.

Playing as a bad cop who seems to have volunteered for the position, we battle through the occasional fire exchange with resistance who hold good positions, them zombies underground they spread far across the Citadel entries. Making it deep into the giant fortress.

I guess you could say there are a couple of boss encounters, both not very hard. There are all the weapons you've seen in the original game apart from some that modders often ignore. Unlike the sequel of this mod which I'll review right after, achievements in this one are easy to get and overall an enjoyable experience. Gettin' the 50 rebels killed may be iffy though, watch out for that one.

I tried to highlight some of the takeaways ~ but I'd be glad if you read that all anyway