Recent reviews by Juniper Seed

This game is criminally good! Other developers could learn a thing or two about quality gameplay, engaging meta-progression, and fair pricing.

The downward trend continues. This is no longer a game driven by a passionate community of players. This game is a money machine, and Epic is forcing Psyonix to ruin their game, and their credibility, by constantly having them focus on new ways to milk the playerbase for cash. There are a thousand QoL features, and amazing content updates that could've solidified RL as one of the greatest games of all time. Sadly, this game is going to become another ruined titled thanks to the neverending need to please shareholders more than dedicated players.

+4 hours from playing the demo

Really awesome blend of tower defense and roguelite genres!

Place various types of eggs across a sprawling map to fend off all sorts of baddies!

Maps have a semi-randomized layout, making each attempt feel fresh and unique. It also makes you really focus on preparing a great strategy.

The tech tree (meta progression) is pretty massive! Almost every unlock allows for new synergies and strategies to be employed.

Between boss rounds you get a per-run upgrade similar to leveling up in action roguelite games. It makes pushing to higher waves easier, but if you lose, you lose a large portion of the meta progression currency, creating a very nice risk/reward feature!

If you're a tower defense fan, I think you owe it to yourself to pick this game up! It's the current game that's pulled me away from No Creep Were Harmed, and at a $2.39 price tag, you sincerely cannot go wrong!

Honestly, I'd love for this dev to have this game blow up so that we can be gifted their next amazing game.

Highly recommended!

I really don't get a lot of the design choices in this game. Progression feels terrible. Nothing feels exciting. Getting a new vacuum should be a huge moment, but it's really not. The game is best left offline after acquiring a bunch of roombas. The scaling to get to subsequent tiers of things is absolutely absurd. The areas a drab to look at. It all just feels like a middle-school project from a C student. I would never recommend this for free, so the outrageously priced P2W packs are completely out of the question.

The only thing this game has right is the theme, because it sucks.

Goodest Dev, Goodest DLC, Goodest Boy.

I dropped every other wave survival roguelite in favor of this one. Nordic Ashes, Crafty Survivors, the new VS dlc, Nova Drift, just all of 'em. Game is dope. Review bombed because people can't wait a few hours for a patch. Sad to see it. Those reviews will never change, so I'm here to balance things out.

Will write a more fleshed out review when I have time and have more experience with the deep meta progression/build system.

If this game get more content, it's going to be the king of the hill.

Most of my gripes about the way difficulty is implemented have been changed. Will update the review once I've had the chance to play with all the changes in the latest patch. For the time being, great game, super customizable builds.

Finally, a wave survival auto-battler with some actual depth in designing your build. Great if you're into deckbuilding/combo-crafting.

I love the title, but there are a few issues that made me feel conflicted when choosing whether or not to recommend it:

• I've crashed the game multiple times because I've made builds that are too insane.
  
• The higher difficulties aren't a fun challenge, they're just annoying.
  
• RNG after difficulty 1 really makes wanting to try a specific build HIGHLY frustrating. You can still make awesome builds, but the game randomizes what parts are allowed to connect to other parts. So if you want to do something specific, you have to either luck into it, or play on the baby difficulty. Seriously annoying.
  
• Difficulty 4 (of 5) effectively "curses" your character the more you add to your build. It's able to be worked around, but I play these kinds of games to push things to the limit. Bio-Prototype basically nerfs you for going for broke.
  
• Difficulty 5 effectively removes pieces of your build periodically. If this was a special challenge mode to unlock something, sure. However, if additional difficulties come to the game, I would never bother with them, strictly due to this "feature." Basically, instead of slowly gearing up a build over the course of your run, you have to re-design your build a few times, because you'll lose random components of it. It's downright annoying, and removes any concept of target farming for a specific build you have in mind.

At the end of the day, the game is super fun to play, and best experienced at Difficulty 3. The way that the difficulty is incorporated after Difficulty 3 sucks. It just makes your run worse in ways that aren't a fun, but rather in ways that are a constant nuisance.

I still chose to recommend it because it's a blast to see what builds you can come up with (granted you actually luck into parts you want).

I know RNG is a part of these kinds of games, but currently the RNG in this game is borderline absurd. If the player is smart enough to piece together the logic board that creates some super powerful build, why incorporate features that do nothing but undermine that player's ability to design something really cool? Seeing how you can "break the game" through deliberate and thoughtful build design feels like such a big part of this genre. This game has the most verbose and customizable builds compared to MANY other titles in the genre. So why is the difficulty imposed via making one of the very best features of the game WORSE?

In spite of my gripes and complaints, if the game looks like it's you're cup of tea, I still think it's worth it. However, if you want the real deal without the BS, then go buy Nova Drift instead.

Abandonware.

Game was looking really promising, but development stopped out of nowhere after version 0.3.1. Then suddenly they "left early access" at version 1.0.0. There were some patches after to fix some stuff, but there were so many other things that were supposed to be coming.

I'm coming at this game from a seemingly different angle than most reviews I've looked at.

My interest in Midnight Suns stemmed from games like Across the Obelisk, Gordian Quest, and others of the same ilk. I consider myself to be fairly hardcore when it comes to card games, strategy games, and party battlers.

I need my games of these genres to have real meat on their bones, layers upon layers of systems, real (but fair) challenge, and good reason to delve deep.

To put it simply, Marvel Midnight Suns is checking all of the boxes for me.

Let's get some of the hogwash out of the way. Performance is supreme on a 3070 + i9-10850k. I've played 12-15 games with Denuvo and I've NEVER had an issue or saw poor performance. And just to throw it in, using google is just as invasive as having some anti-tampering software attached to a game. Furthermore, this dev team deserves every last penny. Lastly, if you're living such a fast life that having to press one extra play button on a launcher is what ruins your day, then you need to take a giant step back and reassess your time management.

Now, on to the good stuff.

The game is gorgeous, the audio is delightful, the full voice acting is pretty damn good, and the writers definitely had a fantastic time with the script, lore, and dialogue. Give these writers a raise, but if you don't spend the extra money on the animations behind the voice acting.

The story is the umpteenth iteration of save the world from the big bad evil, but who cares about the over-arching premise. The real draw here is the characters, their desires, motivations, quirks, and the interactions between them all. Some of the A to B from mission to mission is ham-fisted, but again... who cares. It's a FUN superhero ROMP. Heck, I've laughed out loud at more of the humor in this game alone than in every other title I've bought this year combined. I'll say it again, it's FUN.

Systems are plentiful, able to be accessed and progressed at a good pace. There's a lot of stuff to do. Some might see certain things as fluff, but if you really throw yourself into each system, they build upon each other quite nicely.

There is also a pseudo-persona/life-sim element wherein you have different sections (re: times) of the day that you play through. Basically upkeep/socializing in the morning, combat in the afternoon, and tying up loose ends in the evening. Now, don't read that too literally. It's more dynamic than that, but you get the idea.

Now, the stuff that I originally was drawn to this game for:

Deck-building and progression is pretty freaking great. There is a lot of room for creativity, theorycrafting, planning, and so forth. I've been deck-building since I first picked up Magic The Gathering in the late 90's. Homebrew or bust in Hearthstone, Legends of Runeterra, and others. At first, Midnight Suns will seem lacking, but trust me, the systems get deeper as you go, and eventually you'll be coming up with all sorts of decks.

Decks for combat are an amalgamation of three 8-card decks. These 8-card decks are particular to each character, and each character eventually will also contribute to your stratagems with passives, stat growth, and other boons unlocked via social systems.

All-in-all, it's dope and I still have some features to unlock that will really send the deck-building into the stratosphere.

Combat is equally dope. Tight, fresh, fluid, dynamic, and fun. Strategy is important, having a proper team is important, preparation is important, and it all culminates in thrilling, challenging, and engaging magic, bullets, and fisticuffs.

Each round you are able to play three cards*, with a drawn hand of five*. The hand draws from your total deck at once, so 24 cards* (8 contributed from each character brought into a mission). There is also a free Redraw of two* cards per turn, a free Movement action once* a round, and the ability to use consumables.

You'll notice many asterisks above because there are ways to manipulate and bolster nearly every aspect of the "rules" to combat.

In addition to using your own cards, you'll also be using the environment, and even the enemies themselves to conquer your foes. I won't spoil every last detail here. Just know that there are A LOT of ways to accomplish your goals, and you'll definitely feel like you're playing the way that YOU want to.

My buddy who has also been no-lifing this game today and yesterday has a COMPLETELY different "main" party compared to me, and the character that we both use (outside of the protagonist) is built to perform a totally different role than my version.

From what I can tell, there are 2-4 ways to tailor each of the available characters for battles.

Before closing this out, I'd like to say that there are SO MANY aspects to this game that I didn't think would be a part of a game like this. At the same time, it feels right, rather than everything but the kitchen sink.

I would say that anyone who's even remotely interested in card games, party battlers, or strategy games should give this a whirl. If you fancy all of those things then you need to stop reading these reviews and start playing straight away. You will not be disappointed. You'll be doing yourself and your free time a service.

I hope you enjoy the game as much as I do!

F*** Hydra.

MW3 is a DLC/2.0 Patch masquerading as a brand new game. They promised to switch to a 2-year development cycle, released $500+ of cosmetics, only to turn around and try to milk their fans in ONE year, putting out a shoddy "new" installment. "New," isn't a bunch of copy-pasted and rehashed material from the past. New is new.

Tell Activision Blizzard how you feel by NOT buying into this nonsense. Teach these companies that they need to care about the PLAYERS again, and not the shareholders.

ORIGINAL MW2 REVIEW BELOW

*TL;DR at bottom.

To be honest, I haven't bought or downloaded a Call of Duty game since the 2019 iteration. Before that I didn't buy one after Black Ops 1. The franchise has been bogged down with too many releases, undeveloped ideas, lackluster attempts at "innovation," and the same phoned-in gameplay ad nauseam.

HOWEVER! I firmly believe that the new CoD: MW2 is a standout title. Maybe my point of view is skewed because I don't buy into the yearly release cycle like other people. Regardless, this is one of very few AAA titles that I believe actually feels and plays like what you expect a AAA title to feel and play like. It has a robust feature set, excellent UI/UX, great servers, myriads of game modes, and a wonderful suite for player agency/customization.

Below I'll try to categorize parts of the game that I feel warrant their own section, closing with addressing some complaints I've seen in other reviews/twitter/reddit/forums.


I have not fully completed the campaign. I believe I'm about halfway through. So far, I find it to be highly enjoyable. The missions and objectives are quite varied, the pacing has good peaks and valleys, and the cut-scenes/scripted moments are really well done. Some of it is a little too hand-holdy for me, but there are portions that offer much more freedom to balance it out. Challenge is good. I'm playing on Hardened, which is the 2nd hardest out of the initial four difficulties. My only gripe is that some of the writing for the story itself is pretty forced. My biggest enjoyment of the campaign is that it plays out like a movie that you end up taking part in. You never have to go back to a menu/select screen. If you're able to keep going, you can ride the whole thing out and it's seamless.

*This section is about the regular multiplayer, as the Raids/DMZ/Warzone modes are not yet implemented.

There are A LOT of different game modes to play. You can choose your preferred filtered list of modes, click play and you're off. Some of the new modes are really fun. I like the hostage rescue game, like the original counter-strike. Favorites like Team Deathmath and Domination are all there.

Lobbies run really well. I get 11 ms for latency, and have seen most players in my games between 20-50 ms. Even works well when partying with people from all over the country (US).


Currently there are three Spec. Ops. maps to play on. Holy heck are they well done. Each has its own introductory cinematic, offering intel on the operation to be carried out. Some even have a few scripted moments within the mission.

Players sometimes have to make due with what they find, as far as equipment goes, whereas other times the player can find little caches/supply areas with a whole selection of weaponry and gear.

Just these three maps already blow games like Shatterline out of the water. They have good pacing, a lot of action, and they aren't all easy-peasy either. Sometimes things get pretty dicey, but it never feels so overwhelmingly difficult that you can't come back from the brink and complete your goals.

Very well done.


Probably what many consider the most important factor of a Call of Duty game, at least that's what I remember thinking was most important.

The player is able to choose their preferred avatar from a wide selection, for when they play the multiplayer suite.

For your loadout, in coop there is minimal choice. You will choose between one of three classes to play the mission as. Each class levels up as you play more of it, garnering special benefits to your gameplay during the mission. In regular multiplayer there are A LOT of options. Players are able to choose their preferred weaponry, utilities, grenades, field upgrades (very special utilities on a timer), kill-streaks and perks.

The systems are well thought out. Not only can you select your firearms, but you can level them up as you use them. Leveling up a weapon allows the player to unlock new attachments to enhance the weapon in various ways, such as recoil reduction, faster sprint speed with the weapon, or optical attachments for clearer target selection.

Upon getting a weapon platform to its highest level, the player is then able to fine tune their attachments benefits, trading off stabilization for faster aim-down-sight speed, for example. These tuning adjustments can make ANY weapon feel powerful when tweaked to the players preferred handling. It's really remarkable, if you ask me. Best feature in any competitive arcade shooter, hands down.


Another nice thing to see is that the player is rewarded for how they choose to spend their time. Did the campaign? Here's a cool new avatar you can choose to play as. Did a coop mission? Here's another one. Leveled up a gun really high? Here's a new gun that's based off the first one's platform. Get a lot of kills with a certain gun? Here's a flashy new decal and a special player card to use so you can show off your prowess with the weapon.

It's great to actually earn something out of your gameplay, and not having to shell out a bunch of money for skins or a new character to play as. They'll have those things too, sure, but it's nice to get something for your accomplishments.


Game is a buggy mess: I've had the game crash/hang a few times. But we're only a few days in to release. These things happen. 99% of my time playing, I've been PLAYING smooth, and bug-free.

LGBTQ+ inclusivity is "annoying": Grow up, honestly. Don't hate on loving and welcoming other people. We're all here to have fun and play games, so have fun and make other people smile. If you think it's pandering then roll your eyes and keep your mouth shut. You're better than that, I hope.

People scream/swear in voice chat: Honestly, we should normalize having normal, honest, fun conversations in online games (and other forums). Sadly, a lot of popular content out there has normalized being a raging lunatic, and flaming others instead of building them up. Be part of the solution, OR you can easily set your voice settings to only hear friends. Then you never have to listen to another angry 13 year old call you the n-word while you're streaming.


Best Call of Duty since 2010. If you're a fan, or miss playing a fun, fast, FPS, then get in and have a great time! More modes/content will be coming within just a month, and this is the only CoD release for two years. So we'll probably be getting A LOT of great content.

Check your corners, and stay frosty out there!