Recent reviews by a kitten

My score is NEUTRAL.
But since Steam still doesn't allow it, I'll make it NEGATIVE.

This is overall a good, retro-looking, psychological-horror adventure game. It is neither easy or hard, especially for the regular point & click adventurer. I must say; for a retro inspired pixel game, graphics are great, especially the color and the lighting, contributing a lot to the ambiance. Still, the ambiance owes most of its dept and thrill to the sound design and music score. As an audiophile, I was very surprised and found this 80's John Carpenter-inspired score just GREAT. Take note that you may need a sub or large headphones to enjoy it to its full extend, which is good.

Once past the artistic good stuff, things get less glorious. Gameplay wise, well; this is a point & click type adventure, just without the pointing and clicking... You read that right; you do not use the mouse. Why? Well, this is unjustified 95% of the time. Then, maybe 5% of the time at best, you'll have a sudden "run for your life" moment where you have to flee or hide from a surprise enemy. I don't know what to think about that, I'll let you judge for yourself. Furthermore, conversations could be optimised quite a bit, and the choice of what you say is totally irrelevant until the very last part / near-conclusion of the game. This is kind of insulting, to a lesser extend, to have to choose answers that will not change anything, so you may very well be ending like me, just blindly mashing the « A » button to get ahead. Inventory / problem-solving / interaction with the levels is less intuitive and different but okay. Scenario and writing is -interesting- but very obtuse and very confusing, and the second half of the game left me much less motivated and interested. I also really need to mention that I had a hard time swallowing the blasphemous delirium and overall just crude and gratuitous dialog between characters. Like so many things these days, it often felt like it was written by a 13 years old; just plain immature « adulting » attitude, way too much for my taste, with redundant swearing, as if it would make things look more serious... spoiler alert : It did not. Speaking of the writing, the text was translated in a few other languages. So, being a french-canadian, I did try the French translation and got even more confused; I suspect the translators did not get the story much either. At least it made the sh*t-talk less aggrieving. Still, to give the writers some credits, I did apreciate the humoristic touches quite a lot, and I even wish there was more.

The conclusion was perplexing and definitely original, but not breathtaking or memorable.

Game time (a decent 4hours) was okay for me, for the price I paid.

I WOULD encourage the developpers again IF they could wash their mouth with soap a little, and make things a bit less gory, cynical and over-depressive. I know it is trendy to play it all dark, weird and apocalyptical, but take some advise from a vintage gamer and tune it a little bit; get a real personal signature, you have tremendous potential! I hope to see more.

Simplement : Un jeu multijoueur instantané ultra simple, accessible et avec prise en main rapide. Le jeu est très clean et accessible à tous les âges, sans être mou pour autant: Certains matchs sont d'une l'intensité vraiment hilarante! Ne nécessite ni une machine de guerre, ni une bonne connexion internet pour être apprécié. Vous affronterez des adversaires sur Switch, PlayStation, Xbox et téléphone, tous dans le même match. Attention à la procrastination ou à la compulsivité.

Si jamais vous hésitez, essayez CD2 pour +/- 1$.

Pour les adeptes de CD2 : C'est essentiellement la même chose sur stéroïdes : Des niveaux entièrement refaits, des graphismes peaufinés et environ 10x le potentiel de progression, ce qui est le principal argument de passer vers CD3...

Il y a très peu de bugs, excepté le ballon de plage qui a parfois des problèmes de physique hilarants! XD

À acheter en rabais!

Ce jeu est un "MUST" difficile à ne pas recommander à plein prix, alors en solde je vous laisse deviner:
Il vient avec une 2e copie à donner, et puis même après 6 ans il y a toujours des gens qui jouent! Ça en dis long!

Pour les morons qui vous disent de ne pas l'acheter parce qu'il est gratuit sur certains sites et sur tablette, je vous dis, préparez-vous à vous faire botter le derrière, pauvre bandes de gratte-cenne d'amateurs à marde! XD

Points positifs:
Graphismes simples mais beaux, ne nécessite pas une machine de guerre sans néanmoins pouvoir tourner sur une patate.
Contrôles simples et prise en main immédiate, surtout sur manette.
Pour les "completionists", vous avez 30 voitures à débloquer et à améliorer, 32 objectifs Steam (comptez p-e 10h pour tout atteindre), un "ranking" de 1 à 32 selon votre expérience (je suis à 31) et un "replay value" assez bon à cause du multijoueur.
Très addictif.
Grands niveaux.
Plusieurs véhicules.
Plusieurs diciplines.
Plusieurs langues.
3 serveurs (EU, US, JP).
Pas cher.
2e Jeu à donner.
Etc.

Points Négatifs:
Caméra correcte mais impossible à ajuster (nous rend vulnérable par moment)
Clipping occasionnel sur certaines parties des niveaux.
Design simpliste générique.
Fausse variété de véhicules.
Aucun "chat".
Serveurs étranges nous laissant parfois seul, malgré 50 joueurs disponibles sur le même niveau. (?)
Niveaux limités en nombre (5). Tout le monde jouent au niveau #1 en boucle d'ailleurs...
Disciplines limitées en nombre (5 + tanks).
Disciplines choisies au hasard.
Très addictif, donc dangereux, facile de procrastiner... J'y ai d'ailleurs perdu la moitié de mes vacances ;)
Inégualité de niveau des joueurs: Un ranking 31 sur PC (comme moi) se retrouve avec des ranking 2 sur tablette dans la même partie, c'est assez brutal comme résultat.

Pour conclure, malgré quelques défauts prévisibles, je ne peux que recommander ce produit!
Et pour les intéressés, Crash Drive 3 vient tout juste de sortir!

* Si vous voulez jouer contre moi, écrivez-moi, sinon, mon nom de joueur est a(>_<)kitten .

David Lynch meets Tommy Wiseau (with zombies)

This ALMOST qualify as a hidden gem, but the quality (especially its gameplay) is too inconsistent to get the award. Don't hear me wrong though; if you had your best gaming years in the late 90s / early 2000s, this game IS A MUST.

NEUTRAL stuff:
-Action button and Shoot button are the same (YOU ACTUALLY SHOOT HOSTAGES TO SAVE THEM!)
-The game doesn't introduce most of its gameplay nor controls
-Price is limit, but fair.

Here's the BAD stuff:
-Mouse can't be calibrated
-Difficulty is inconsistent
-Repetitive enemies
-Health loss is inconsistent
-Levels quality is inconsistent
-Enemies can hurt you by simple contact/proximity

Here's the GOOD stuff:
-Fluid and credible PS1-era graphics
-Humor is omnipresent
-Humor is light but actually funny
-Level design is good, large and varied
-Music is excellent
-Voice acting is good
-Control is intuitive

Despite its flaws, it's hard not to recommend:
This game is familiar and refreshing at the same time, AND, it will make you smile.
So if you are a nostalgic GEN-X gamer into FPS, this was made for you.

This game pretty much sums up what I am searching for in a post-modern game, and apart from being a bit too short, it did reach all of my expectations.

Yet, I saw that about 1 out of 10 people did NOT recommend this game, and I just can't wrap my mind around that... I guess that to dislike Paratopic, you got to either be too young, too imature or just ADHD. I don't see other explanations. Or... maybe you drive a Hyundai, think that poodles are pretty or that beige is a color, I don't know. What I know is that If you bought this game well knowingly to then somehow find out you didn't like it, well, something isn't right with you and you need to know it. I remember Robert Ebert claiming that video games would never the reach the artistic status of movies. ♥♥♥♥♥, if it was only for "gamers" like you he could very well have been right! Anyway, let's move on.

Paratopic is the closest thing you'll find to the best David Lynch productions, but as a game. That, in itself, is one hell of a compliment. This is partially due to the audacious "late 90s" grainy visuals, a skillfully managed absence of music trough subtle ambient sound management and an awesomely and once again AUDACIOUSLY imposed cinematic rythm, often meaning very slow parts, but also, sudden switch to other scenes with no transitions or explanations. All of this in real time and in first person. That's just awesome. Dialog is sparse but involve choices to make, and like in a point-n-click game, these choices can change the course of the story (admitting there is one). Some of the dialogue can get funny and creatively odd too, which made me remember Kentuck Route Zero, another superb indie pseudo-adventure title that I strongly suggest.

That may be it; a pseudo-adventure.

I was trying to categorise it to suit the casual commercial gamer, but in the end I just can't: That would be... R A P E. Well, according to a feminist I'm sure it would be...

Anyway, if you kept on reading, you probably got the idea: This isn't an action game, this isn't a horror game, this is isn't an adventure game; it's more of a surrealist indie blend of both. It is heavily influenced by author cinema; something that will separate the men from the boys, relying on the player cultural knowledge and a minimum of artistic maturity to digest what, at first glance (and to state the obvious), could look like a proto-game straight out of 1998.

Let's start this by saying that I simply cannot get my head around anyone even thinking about leaving a negative review for this fairly enjoyable and FREE game. There is no excuse, and playing on a potato doesn't coun't. Just go play Minecraft as other kids and stfu, Minecraft has arrows and crafting too, btw...

Anyway. Yes, Die Young Prologue has quite a few flaws: It is not THAT well optimised, it is not THAT pretty, you can't save the game yourself, there aren't any binoculars, crosshair is barely visible, there is no story, there are only a few modelised characters. Talking characters; you once again play as a poor gereric badass-ish female protagonist in a brutal men's world, yeah, original uh? and FINALLY it is quite short. Well, that is unless you are retarded like me and miss the path between the 2nd and 3rd part and end up redoing the level in every directions, killing just about everyone except a few dogs... Yeah, don't do that. The path is in grey rocks toward the lighthouse, just before the weeds where you can .

What this game does well is mixing the genres. I'm not much into crafting and collecting stuff, upgrading, managing ressources, etc. but this one is just about right. If you feel european, you also have the option to do some parkour; that is, of course, until you get out of breath or wounded. Ironically, the other genre mixed in, and one you do need to apply, is stealth. You will not survive if you just go all in, because you are outnumbered, bare feet and have nothing at all. Taking the time to aim at the head is needed, otherwise you just reveal your position and loose arrows. Melee combat is touchy and often fatal with anyone with a weapon.

All in all, the game felt like a more generic mix of Metal Gear, Styx, Half-Life and Mirror's Edge. I guess I should add Boob Raider and Ass Creed, but you already get the idea.

It really is one of the best free first person (single player) game on Steam. It did made me want to give a try to the main Die Young game, one that I had put aside among all the other clones, but it seems that this game could verily stands on its own! I am surprised. Yet, I already followed Indiegala on a regular basis, and own some of their home-grown games, but this one renewed my interest for the company. Good Job!

BTW, if you're into free first person SP games, I also recommend Frostbite and Estranged 2, made by single guys. Cheers!

First of all, if there was a grey or "NEUTRAL" option, this is where I would place this title. However, I have higher negative feelings than positive ones toward this game, so I WILL NOT recommend it. Here's why:

I haven't started the game in about two months, but as of writing this I have spent 15 hours "playing" this. Playing is an overstatement, as at least 25% of this time was spent waiting for the game to either LOAD the location, or stop FREEZING and LAGGING... Thus, TAKE NOTE: This is a perfect example of how an unoptimized game can destroy its very own demise and ruin what could be a fairly enjoyable sitting. As a former graphic designer, I am guilty or this kind of mistake, so I am fairly certain the game was developped by DESIGNERS mainly, instead of good programmers and testers. Extremely high resolution textures are often found on small or totally unimportant objects, while main repeated assets like streets, floors, walls, land, etc. stands 15 years in the past, go figure.

Anyway, the team was able to create an enjoyable and realistic environnement to walk into. Thanks to the 1st person, you can find yourself immerged right away, and indeed feel like you are walking in a real centuries-old village. Yet, its geographical settings, as being in the USA, feels akward, as this is a 99% european-inspired architecture: This kind is nowhere to be found in north america, not even in New-England, or at least not in remote villages like the one modelised here.

Story is casual but interesting as you begin to link lots of written documents of a multiple-characters intertwined drama, with enough revealed through discoveries and puzzle solving to keep you searching to fill the gaps.

The first 5 hours are satisfying, although messing with the casual/mundane private life of ordinary people can get boring at times, once the remaining stuff to be discovered get sparse, everything change. When you end-up going from one end of the town to the other for a single hypothetical clue, through 3 long loadings screens or more (not mentionning slowdowns), and do this again, and again AND AGAIN... Spending hours for one or two minor discoveries do get mentally alienating quickly. Common sense. This is where I decided to hold-on for a while, although I was certainly getting close to the end...

Sure, some said this makes you feel like a real private investigator. Okay, sure.

Well, let's state the obvious: Real private investigators can have a terribly boring life at times. They probably end up like me and you, asking themselves WHY IN THE WORLD should they keep doing this? Life is short, is this REALLY worth their time? Is this satisfying? Is this gratifying?

Is it worth my time and efforts?

In the REAL world the answer is possibly YES.

In the GAME world, the answer is definitely NO.

Unless you are a hardcore graphic adventure gamer with a (paradoxally) very powerfull machine, don't bother yourself with this game. It has a nice small-town reconstruction to discover in half-an-hour, a not-so-exciting story to keep you a few hours more, then a reality-check boredom feeling may very well back-fire on you. Sorry; life is too precious to me.

My note:
64 / 100

My critique would be biased if I was to consider that this is a one-man production. So first, let's pay our respects and say: Well done Mr. Cosmo D. Certainly, few one person 3d games reach this magnitude. Still...

If I was completely honest, I normally would barely recommend this game, unless it was 15 years old. Let me explain.

The GOOD:
-Fairly large & complex map for a short game
-Surrealist
-Immersive
-Contains traces of genuine artistic knowledge
-Custom made soundtrack

The BAD:
-Generic environnement modelisation
-Every single character feels uncanny, as if made in a primitive version of Poser or Second Life
-Static characters (no animation work)
-Soundwork and music is sub-par and generic, especially for a music centered theme
-Terrible ending

Detailed explanations:
The trailer sells us a twisted psychedelic ride with weird characters and intriging mysteries. But you end up in a slow-paced walking simulator with characters making you cringe or simply giving you the creeps, + a very thin mystery about a supposedly iconic musician named Norwood. Interaction is minimalistic and revolves around finding the right object for the right person and getting another object in return. The goal is to complete a grotesque costume looking like Mr. Norwood, to then enter a DJ show downstairs and deliver a demo CD, for some reason.

The WEAKEST point of the game is its design polishing, namely ITS CHARACTERS.
Obviously, there was too many characters to handle for a single man. Which mean they weren't hand crafted, they also weren't animated at all, excepted for that creepy automatic empty stare when in close proximity. Modeling seems to have been made with generic Poser models, they all look the same under their clothes, facial hair look fake and dumb, and they all have massive eyelashes. Actually, no offense, but most male characters looks like cheap ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, which limits their credibility. Back in 2006 or 2007, I tried Second Life by curiosity, and felt exactly the same in front of other user's 3d avatars: uneasy, uncanny cringing badly hurting the immersion.

Yet the immersion does work, probably because it is a 1st person adventure, set in the evening/night in a large map, with a huge hotel, many hidden passages, varied decor, and decent environments sounds. If it wasn't for that it wouldn't work, i'm quite sure.

The sound is okay, but the musical appeal is poor. The best musical stuff in the game is VISUAL art placed all around the hotel; like posters, paintings, books, and especially, fake 70's vinyl covers. The soundtrack is okay but doesn't reach the level needed to acknowledge or backup that omnipresent theme of music.

Conclusion:
All in all, the game is of average quality, but definitely, a great effort was put into its making, considering that the whole game comes from a single person, which is impressive. There is still enough meat and immersion left for a quick sitting of 2 to 3 hours, depending on your pace. It is entertaining enough to try, but not memorable enough to replay or even remember. The end is meaningless and disapointing and left me with a bitter aftertaste.

This creator has potential, and I'm looking foward to play his newest game soon.

I recommend encouraging independent talents like this one. So yes, if you can get it for a few bucks, buy it.

KRZ is a writer's lazy fantasm, but also a graphic designer's tear dropping miracle. For this isn't a typical point and click 2d adventure, as it actually is a remarkably well tuned (yet un-textured) 3d engineered game, so much that you'll ironically think about it as 2d most of the time. BTW, I suggest you play in the dark on a (very) well calibrated monitor to enjoy all the shadowy grayscale details.

Furthermore, gameplay-wise, you will never get stuck, at all. Interaction is straightfoward and simplified to the extreme. It barely is a point-and-click adventure, and for a reason; so that you sit back, enjoy and relax. Be advised though that this game will NOT suit most people. As for the rest, it will make them say : "At last!" For my part, I was searching for a game that I could play while enjoying a nice tea/coffee/beer, and this is just it. Finally.

If, like me (shamefully), you often feel too lazy to hold a book or even follow the rythm of a movie, but still have an urge for some enjoyable distracting fiction, search NO more. You will probably never find a better pal than KRZ for your cozy "chill" couch entertainment need.

It is slow-paced to begin with, thanks to the generous protagonists' idle talk. But unlike the usual cheesy soporific hollow clichés (now that's a mouthful) common to japanese RPGs/adventures, this game will take you on an enjoyable, yet fairly uncanny story-telling path. Let's call it "pure indie novelization", anyway that's how I'd best describe it. For THERE resides its unique persona; full of creatively absurd yet down to earth stories, featuring depressed yet paradoxally hopefull characters. There's no real intelligible action/romance/drama/violence/hidden narrative or any common gratuitous pollution. It isn't as much weird or unsettling as it definitively is unpredictable and oddly refreshing. It often feels random, yet not lazy; not unlike the best, most masterfully crafted art pieces known to man.

This doesn't make much sense, I know... Yeah, this is it; all in all, this game might very well be a pure interactive oxymoron.