Recent reviews by CEM

You're paying for a movie as this game is very short for game-standards & the price is similar to paying a movie ticket (at least where I'm from). So do be advised: Replayability is there, but it's something I imagine I would not be replaying in a long time.

The story is very good, though. It's nonlinear, I can't get into much more, but there are plenty of moments where you piece the puzzle together and review something you've seen in one segment after hearing something new in another. I do recommend it, it's a very gripping, story-heavy game

The shooting is fun, however the movement seems like you're being rate limited. Enemies glow red, then yellow to show you can execute them with your melee... The only way you'll read this mid-game, though, is by seeing them swirl their head like you'd finish someone in Mortal Kombat. Sometimes you're done with everything very early on so you're stuck waiting for the next "wave" of enemies. The soundtrack is awful, even during the longer down-times between engagements it's blaring constantly instead of toning down to a more calm alternative. Your ally, "Father", always has to bring in some corny action-movie dialogue that made me cringe every time. You just cleared a level? "You're so badass, they don't even know it. Did you know who you just killed? You killed the best of the best". Meanwhile it was mainly grunts.

Like I said in the beginning, there really is potential in the shooter mechanics. They'd need to fine-tune a lot of stuff to maximize its potential (which I'm assuming they won't, considering this isn't in Early Access.) The soundtrack I learned to despise as it's the same spliced sequence over and over again at times & I don't like playing with the music off. If you can look past the weapon balance, feel & soundscape of a game to fully enjoy the gameplay, go ahead and play this.

If you care about the things I care, however, then stay away. It's really sour since if the game was a bit faster horizontally,had an OST that's bearable to listen & had better writing I'd be recommending this to practically everyone

This game is very different from Alien Hominid. It's more of a rogue-like than something you'd expect in the original, Castle Crashers or Battleblock Theatre. That's fine! It pulls off the loop nicely & with friends you probably could pull off a run from time to time.

The reason I don't recommend this game, even though I praise it for the idea it brings forward, is because the gameplay gets repetitive fast. You don't feel stronger unlocking new stat changes, most of the abilities don't really seem that appealing and feel more like junk to fill the pool so the good abilities are hard to get & the weapon variety is lackluster. If you like brainless side-scroller shooters where you can just turn off your brain and play solely on reactions, you probably could enjoy this game. However once you're done with a run you're safe to assume that you've seen it all... the only difference you'll notice is a new boss appears (and the boss pool isn't wide enough to make slogging through runs appealing).

Buy it on a sale, buy it maybe down the line when the devs flesh it out a bit further.

fairly priced & super fun character concept
Adds new songs for each level

Rabbit Hole: The Game. What you think is just a simple roguelike that experiments with sandbox elements & every pixel adhering to the laws of physics turns into an esoteric adventure about The Arts. The gameplay is fun, the runs get chaotic. Unfortunately I can't spoil much as this game really is an adventure in and of itself. You go down, you do your first Victory run, but on the way you find these strange emerald tablets. That's when you're sucked in and you try to unravel the history of this well-built world

I'm a very passionate Monster Hunter fan: I'd say it's the only genre I actively follow & keep up with its community. When this game released, a lot of old-gen MonHun players were very against the more welcoming gameplay this one provides. Walking while healing, for example, was always a talking point. I do believe the game got easier in Vanilla, but Iceborne still poses a proper challenge for the more experienced hunters. With that being said, would I recommend this to a new player?
Absolutely! It's the perfect time to get into MonHun as CAPCOM fully embraces this new direction. The game itself is still fun, it's still challenging & it's still filled with soul. If you enjoy Ecology or looking at Fauna in games, it's got it for you. A lot of the monster designs seem feasible like they're real answers of selection & the smaller endemic life cycles around the map and scuttles away if you're around. The game is filled with these small details. The combat is really high skill-ceiling so you really see your progress as a hunter throughout your playthrough. Highly recommend it, the game's feel is superb and it's rich with details and secrets to explore

The best Guilty Gear (biased)
Entry isn't too steep, characters aren't complicated (most of them) and if you do want to be expressive, there's plenty of opportunities to do so. Guilty Gear is known for the very unique character playstyles & interactions and I think this game gets that concept over the best. Xrd is a close contender, Strive is slowly getting there (very.. slowly...). Community is still kicking, it's not a Discord-locked fighting game, but if you wanna attend tourneys etc. that option is there for you. Also I helped translate for the re-release, so for the German players you could check it out :-)
Accent Core is my favorite air-dasher fighting game. Get into it if you like fast rounds & unique challenges

A perfect sequel, improving the fundamental gameplay of Dead Space and expanding upon it without messing up the identity of the game. Classic Survival-Horror which I can only recommend.
If you jump into this without having played Dead Space 1 it might be a bit too confusing as the game builds on its events quite substantially and in my playthrough I didn't see any explanation for the people who haven't played it. To be fair, Dead Space 1 you could buy for literally spare change (which I recommend as well.)

Game runs like absolute ♥♥♥♥ because it runs on GoldSrc, had to restart a play-through because one of my inventory slots just wouldn't work. No regrets though, it's age certainly plays into the horror experience it wants to provide & it's become a game that I regularly re-visit in October

Hex (Constitution)
Eldritch Blast
Eldritch Blast
Eldritch Blast