Recent reviews by Hog

You know why.
♥♥♥♥ off Sony.

EDIT: WE WON BOYS, SUPER EARTH SUPER EARTH SUPER EARTH SUPER EARTH

I'm still saying ♥♥♥♥ off Sony

I'm sure that you've read enough reviews to know that the performance is very VERY questionable in certain areas so I won't be talking about that much at all

The game is a step up from the first game in almost all respects, there's a few issues, like less skillslots, and obviously the performance, and some story beats are.. unbelievably out there

Everyone who is complaining about enemy variety is also valid, but it's really not that big of a change from the first game at all - should there be more? Yes, is the current variety totally unacceptable? No.

Overall though I'd recommend, game is solid and we can expect some DLC with hopefully improvements a la Dark Arisen

The game has unfortunately been abandoned since 2019

I don't think there are words for how upsetting it is to see this rough gem unfinished, the atmosphere, difficulty, and planned features were all incredible and basically set the bar for tactical shooters for me, and almost nothing compares to even this unfinished buggy early access release, which is a terrible shame

Maybe on day it'll be resurrected, but I have little hope

Let me start by saying there's a LOT of potential here, there's SO many things in this that other games in the genre could take away and be better with, I'm a big fan of the free aiming/body part functionality and the ballistics system and I thoroughly enjoyed the idea that each faction can bolster your tech in a certain direction

Unfortunately all of the good is marred by horrible decisions, every piece of tech you research is a side-grade, which on paper sounds cool, but it means that functionally there's never a "better" assault rifle, or pistol, just minute differences. Top that of with the fact your starting gear is complete wank, to the point where if you didn't "rush" the first ally step for a faction by the time the enemy gains more armour and you're in for a slog

Major downsides for me, is overall it lacks a lot of "personality", especially compared to XCOM, I've read originally it was going to be darker toned and lean into more body horror and I think that would've served it well - I'm also not a huge fan of the lack of customisation for your soldiers, and their voices are almost universally awful

Unfortunately I can't really recommend it, maybe a sequel with better focus or a bigger budget would iron out all my issues, but overall the game just feels very bland once you get over the things it does that are unique, I'd personally say stick to XCOM

Absolutely incredible game for being what is essentially an evolving demo - I wish there was a "wait" review option, because I know a lot of people will be disappointed with the amount of content available (despite Larian making it very clear where we'd be stuck and with what) but I am personally blown away with a few smaller criticisms mostly leaning towards character customisation

Edit: As of release, I can 1000000% say it's worth the money and deserves all the praise it gets, it's rough here and there, for sure, but the sheer depth and reactivity of this game is unparalleled, Larian knocked it out of the park, and for any complaints I'm 100% positive Larian will approach and fix and even improve, if Divinity releases are anything to go by, just incredible

BUY IT SO WE CAN CONVINCE ATLUS TO PORT 5 THANKS

An amazingly well made title, especially considering the fact that it's still only in alpha.
It has a dev team that listens to the community, and realises when they've made hiccups with some changes and proceed to rectify them. This game is everything an early access title should be, it's ambitious without unrealistic promises or deadlines and delivers on a truly unnerving experience, without the jumpscare bollocks a lot of current titles feel the need to employ.
In my opinion, this game is a solid 8/10 even unfinished, and I urge you to purchase it and support the developers if you're a fan of the survival horror genre.

IT DOESN'T WORK ON 64 BIT SYSTEMS. THERE ARE LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE ON THE FORUMS WITH THIS EXACT ISSUE, AND THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A DEFINITE FIX. The fact this is still being sold, seemingly without any existent support is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ atrocious.

EDIT: I managed to get the game working with a workaround posted in the steam forums for the game. That said, that doesn't change how frustrated I was when it wouldn't work, it shouldn't be sold at all, without some kind of fix or warning. Plain and simple, I still wouldn't recommend it because of past problems.