Recent reviews by Scorch

It's got a strong start when the world and the story still feels like its brimming with possibilities. Once you realize that the game is only a tapestry of half-baked exploration, progression, and writing, Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't really have much to offer besides a great combat system.

Pathfinder: WOTR's entirety reminds me of the original Baldur's Gate games. The sense of exploration, the high-stakes, world-ending plot; the complicated build variety (turned up to 100), and the various personalities you'll meet throughout the story.

I'm sad to say that it doesn't reach quite the same heights as those Infinity Engine era games, but it does try its hardest. The effort and love that went into this game shows in the sheer amount of content available. This is one gargantuan package, and while I would appreciate a little trimming down, it's still a pretty good time.

The game's strength lies in its implementation of character building and roleplaying. The choices in this game are varied. They exist not only as a narrative tool, but also as a mechanical one, with players presented with near-infinite choices for how to develop their character.

What Pathfinder excels at in mechanics, they fall short in writing. Most times the writing of the game is passable and innocuous. However some moments feel shoehorned in with modern syntax and writing that poorly reflects how people speak in real life.

A pretty solid live-service game that's rich in content. You'll rarely run out of things to do, but the numerous choices available also makes the game overwhelming, especially for newcomers. Much of the content is also housed in "islands" in that there is little to no interaction between each discrete piece of content.

Despite that, Warframe remains an enjoyable free-to-play action shooter that's sure to satisfy your need for player progression and farming.

Icewind Dale is a great Dungeons and Dragons adventure that has you exploring dungeon after dungeon with your own self-made party. The encounters are hand-crafted and well-balanced, posing challenging but fair obstacles for adventurers. The game's combat and character-building systems are engaging enough to tide you over a 30-40 hour campaign even if its story leaves a lot to be desired.

A Soulslike with a bunch of unique ideas without the deftness to execute them properly.

The entire game just lacks the spirit that makes the Dark Souls series a pioneer for the genre. Enemy variety is lacking. Bosses are mediocre. Pieta, the first major boss, is an amazing fight, almost as though the developers blew all their resources on the her alone. Every other boss afterwards has been nice at best, and, most of the time, boring at worst. Graphical fidelity, while amazing, is let down by same-y environments and uninspired designs. Map design is confusing (partly because of how monotonous each area looks). Combat is serviceable, but serviceable isn't enough to keep you coming back to this game when everything else in the package is lacking.

Overall, Lords of the Fallen is a frustrating experience that falls severely short of what you'd expect from a soulslike game. If anything, I only recommend getting this at a deep sale.

Dark Souls is surprisingly ahead of its time owing to its stellar and interconnected level design. Exploration always feels rewarding and enriching. Combat is simple but tightly designed. It does show its age in certain aspects like graphics. Some areas are also questionably constructed (looking at you Anor Londo archers and Sen's Fortress rafters). And if you come in here expecting the bosses of Elden Ring and other newer titles then you'll likely be disappointed. Dark Souls is more deliberate, almost playing like a turn-based game trading blows with bosses. If you can get past a few slight janks here and there, then you're sure to find yourself enjoying this title.

Survival Horror at its best. It has everything a Resident Evil game is known for: horror, item management, disempowerment, and some really interesting puzzles. The entire experience is so tight and well-crafted that playing the B-scenarios (which have just few differences) still feels as fresh and frightening as the first run.

I played this after finishing Elden Ring and if you loved Elden Ring then it's very likely that you'll love Dark Souls 3 too. The cycle of death and perseverance makes the eventual successes you achieve all the more sweeter.

Resident Evil 6 is a large departure from the survival horror established in the original trilogy. If you loved the action present in RE4 and RE5, then you'll likely feel at home with RE6. Just don't go into this game expecting a semblance of competent storytelling. The plot goes all over the place (literally with you trekking various countries as well as figuratively). It's just a game you play for its gameplay. Shooting is decent and fighting the zombies is mindless fun. Pretty much worth its price on sale because it goes for really steep discounts given its age.

Looking up to be a really stellar turn-based story-driven RPG. Though unless you're willing to play a buggy build and provide feedback, I'd recommend waiting for full release at least a year from now.