Recent reviews by Qdude

Trepang2 isn't bad, it just spends way too much time on the stuff it does so poorly like the supernatural elements and AAA bloat instead of the Player vs Human enemy combat... which is mostly alright but not perfect.

It tries to shoehorn every pop-culture horror element into the game and doesn't develop any of it past the mission it resides in. First mission you learn about this mutating bioweapon that turns people into zombies, with intel that goes over all of it. Then it's dropped after that mission, never heard from again, and the game does that multiple times, from aliens, cultists, ghosts, backrooms, jumpscares, and cyborgs. The backrooms was so unbelievably corny by the way, I'm surprised there wasn't a haunted Chuck E. Cheese mission. It just screams that the devs had no idea what they were doing after the demo got traction and didn't care, they just wanted a kitsch action game to not take seriously, but the art style and whatnot begs for you to do so.

As for the aforementioned combat, it's fine but it relies way too heavily on slowmo. Played on Very Hard. Enemies will unnaturally react instantly to anything you do, bodyshots are useless. Too many enemies on the map. Obligatory F.E.A.R. comparison, but this plays NOTHING like it. And that's okay, but what it wants to be it doesn't do good. It's too high octane, too chaotic, and the only way to make it playable is with slowmo but it drains so fast and trying to replenish it is miserable. I don't know why you would spend so much time making this in-depth AI system that can react to your flashlight like F.E.A.R., but the game is so fast paced that you'll never be able to appreciate any of it. Juggernauts are annoying bullet sponges that ruin every encounter they appear in. There's many ways to take them down; shoot their tank and focus while they're stunned, spam headshots in slowmo, use a super weapon, but it's a very real and common possibility that none of those options will be available and you've lost. Horrible game design, and they also decided to give some of those guys shields. High Value Target enemies are featured in every level and some are really easy and some have 3 times the health of a juggernaut. Some levels are basically unbeatable unless you scour the map for the super weapon laying on the ground. And God forbid you open a chest and find a super weapon, not pick it up, come back to it when you need it and it despawns. Really fun. All of this promotes a gameplay style that juxtaposes the presentation which inspires action-hero improvisation, but the mechanics actually demand memorization and pre-planning, which I consider to be a failure.

The level design, arguably the most important thing for a game like this, is plain terrible. Most arenas will be squares with hallways on the side and an open center in the middle, the open center being useless because all enemies have instant reaction time and precision aim. The path to go forward after clearing an area isn't always clear, it'll just be a random hallway unlit in the corner. The game is also super dark and the flashlight isn't bright enough at all, notably the cultist level. Some levels, especially the side missions, are SO bad and such a drag, notably the Alien mission being so weird with its objective and the awful cramped design that keeps you stuck in one room the whole time. The Arkansas and Crash Site missions are so astonishingly terrible. Whoever made those levels needs to be stopped.

As for the AAA bloat, its not bad or excessive at all but it feels completely unnecessary. There's a hub in-between levels where you can customize your character, play a combat sim, hit the range, read some lore, otherwise it's useless. There's no one in there who you can interact with, probably intentionally due to the story but it just doesn't work regardless.

Lastly, everything besides the Player vs Human combat is unpolished. UI elements frequently got stuck on my screen, notably during the Arkansas mission which ruined the vibe a little. Most levels have no background noise. Other enemy types have this air of "incomplete" around them.

Out of 10, I'd give it a 5.5. I love this game's general aesthetic of cold, sleek, metallic environments with everyone dressed up in super tactical gear obscuring their faces. The rare moments where the gameplay elements click and you feel like an action hero. It's the rule of cool. But everything around that sucks. I only enjoy this game in the combat sims until the juggernauts spawn and the wave of frustration flows all over again. I understand why most people like this but I don't. The things that frustrated me way outweighed whatever I liked. Big respect to the small team who made this though, I hope they learn and make something even better in the future.

Most tightly crafted gameplay loop I've ever experienced. I never feel at fault when I die because the game is consistent and punishing, you will be forced to play better and be rewarded for it. I usually don't care to be the best at a game but playing Doom Eternal is so concise that I can't help but improve.

good

Listen, in 1996 this game was the best ever made. Revolutionized the entire video gaming industry for life, and its effects will never stop being felt. Multiplayer gaming pretty much started with this series.

But if you are like me, a younger person who is intrigued by everyone saying its the best game ever made, caution. It was the best ever made in 1996. Now, that the industry has evolved and we have games like Ultrakill, Doom Eternal, Half Life 1 (if you're into the more slow paced stuff), and Dusk, this game is just mediocre compared to those. I'm giving this a "don't recommend" in the sense that you shouldn't really buy it because there are other newer games that just do it a lot better. This game is truly a product of it's time, with it mostly being similar looking tight corridors with no pacing or buildup, level design that doesn't take advantage of the mechanics (most of the time), and bullet sponge enemies. And the final level and boss are inexcusably awful, even for 1996. Custom campaigns may remedy the level design and pacing issues. I can't fault the game because it was made ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ 25 years ago, I'm saying check out other similar games that have mastered this genre.

Also the game is semi unplayable out of the box, you have to download the OST and a launcher thing to make it a good experience.

Amnesia made me scared in real life. SOMA made me contemplate life. Threads the line between consciousness, grey areas, and thrives off it. Play this game and experience it. Don't play it on safe mode, this game relies off the pacing of the story moments. If you're looking for pure scares and don't care for anything else, play The Dark Descent. If you wanna be emotionally ♥♥♥♥♥♥ for a couple days then play this game.

Deepest game of all time, literally.

Mirror's Edge is one of those games that will be remembered for decades and exists subconsciously throughout culture. It's truly a grade A masterpiece and spectacle in every department, music, art design, gameplay, all of it. It feels as if it came from another futuristic dimension.

It gets even better on repeat playthroughs when you learn to master the levels to get faster and faster.

I don't care if you are easily scared, as I am too. You must play this game to experience one of the greatest horror games of all time. PLAY IN THE DARK. WEAR HEADPHONES. KEEP THE GAMMA LOW. You'll regret it if you don't.

Only thing I'll say is that this isn't a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ jumpscare fest like FNAF. This game will make you feel uneasy in real life after playing.

Used to recommend this game, but can't in good faith now. Multiplayer has been frequently DDOSsed to popular streamers and players, and as of last month it's now completely unplayable, for everyone. You can't even load into the multiplayer menu anymore. Thankfully the community has created the "Northstar Client" which allows people to host their own custom servers, but it's not perfect and lacking AI.

Respawn isn't really obligated to fix the DDOS issues but it's a huge disservice that they haven't even spoken about it. Respawn constantly praises this series for carrying them to where they are now but their words are empty and hollow.

Only buy if you are sure that you love coop games where you fight hundreds of NPCs, cause that's all there is to this game. Fortunately, it's made up by how amazing Tripwire pulled it off. Also, KF2 has a fantastic soundtrack.

If you're up to the challenge, Hotline Miami is an addicting game. It's hard, but not slam-your-face-into-the-wall hard. Oddly, after the entire game being a masterpiece, the game declines in quality and fun HARD during the epilogue, but if you're willing to ignore it, Hotline Miami is excellent.