Πρόσφατες κριτικές από τον svenevil

If you are just interested in point and click adventures go here: The Adventure Library

Is this game a masterpiece? This game hit me like a hammer. I didn't expect that.

It is a polished point and click adventure. If you are not into that genre, it is of course nothing for you. It basically plays in a tiny 2-room apartment. Don't think it is a boring location, though. Your flat comes with a sleeping room, living room + kitchen, bath and anteroom, and a there a few more locations at certain sequences during gameplay... like your hamster's cage or a suddenly large closet. And the rooms change a lot. Every room comes with a few unexpected variations... From a freezing winter landscape in your sleeping room to your deceased grandpa suddenly sitting in your bathtub, there are some very strange surprises. The puzzles are not overly difficult, but sometimes do require a bit thinking (or even trial and error...), like the fight with a poisonous snake or the mini-game to repair a clock. The user interface is rather streamlined - right or left-click for the two interaction possibilities with items and hotspots, and you have a comparatively limited amount of items during the game. The voice-overs are very well made - and you get different (often witty) answers for nearly everything you try. No "This doesnt work" for everything. The game is not short, but not too long either. I was through in about 7 hours with 18/28 cheavos.

The thing that touched me was the story. You play a depressive, bent, unhappy guy who lives alone in his tiny flat and hates his job and boss. At first look I assumed it is an older guy in his mid-40s with a severe mid-life crisis... but actually you play a 22-year old boy. He has a serious childhood trauma and a very difficult relationship with his father. The story goes through his life situation - will he be able to break out and overcome his fears to start a happier life? Or will he just jump out of the window to end it all?

I love point and click adventures, and I play them despite their often childish and unrealistic stories. This game only comes with mostly unrealistic challenges - but it felt so realistic like only very few adventures I ever played before. All the problems are of course just methaphorical problems of your mind, so in the end it is realistic after all.

Conclusion:
Good classic point and click adventure about a young man who explores his sub-consciousness to turn around his miserable life.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, but it is not the usual Vampire Survivors clone as well. You play Mirah, a mighty warrior with a large sword. Start a run, and enemies will attack you from all sides. Decimate them with light attack/heavy attack/dodge, kill enough and you can upgrade your character. Choose between three upgrades, and transform your warrior into an unstoppable fighting machine if you live long enough. The game plays in 3D, and there are even moments to rest - when you have cleared enough enemies, you have a bit of peace until you move on and the carnage continues.

The story progresses when you defeat a boss. You can upgrade your character permanently between the runs with feathers you find. You will also learn more and more about the land and meet people that have not gone crazy. You unlock new travel destinations and new weapons. Gamepad is supported and works fine.

Conclusion:
Hack and slash roguelite in 3D. Kill hundreds of monsters and upgrade your character - simple but somehow satisfying. Free the cursed land or die trying.

Is this game a masterpiece? Probably not, but it is quite unique. And some ppl might enjoy the things you have to do. You play a fox and are forced to run a repair shop on a strange asteroid. First you select the game mode - work on stuff with a time limit or without. And then the game starts - customers land, and while they drink a coffee in the bar, you have to repair (and not damage/destroy) their stuff. Look in your (thick) grimoire to see detailed instructions like from your last IKEA closet on how to assemble/repair things. Fortunately, there are signs on the things to repair that show you where to find it in your grimoire. And then just do that - grab your tools and work on stuff.

First you have to restore power to your van - remove the old fuel cell, buy a new one, charge it, insert it in the tank again. Your second job is already quite more difficult - restore oil pressure in a space ship. You can do it without the grimoire if you are a mechanical genius - but the idea is to read how to do it in the grimoire and then do it. This also helps to avoid deadly accidents. You soon expand your shop with new machines, and wonder what strange creatures visit your shop. Talk to them, repair their stuff and earn money, or you will soon have a problem with your boss who charges you a fee every few days… if you fail, a run ends and you start again, but this time maybe with a bit more machines at the start.

Gamepad is supported and works fine.

Conclusion:
Run a chop shop and work on various machines. Enjoyable for players who love to assemble furniture with the help of illustrated instructions in real life.

Is this game a masterpiece? Probably not, but it is still not a bad game, based on the gameplay of the previous instalments. Lots of sneaking, stabbing and reloading an old save file. The main technical issues it had at release are patched with version 1.1. Once again, you control a team of specialists in the service of the Allies, who are on dangerous missions in areas occupied by the Nazis. These are usually places that are teeming with Nazi soldiers (or civilians). Essentially, there are exactly two ways to deal with this danger - you eliminate your opponents or you sneak past them. If you incapacitate them, you can stun them (they will wake up again after a short time, unless you have hidden them somewhere in a crate or bush while they were unconscious), you can kill them silently, or you can kill them and the noise (e.g. when using firearms) will alert other enemies. Most enemies will raise the alarm and call for reinforcements if they discover you. As a rule, however, they will simply shoot you... so most of the time you will be busy trying to avoid running into the enemies' green cones of vision.

An elegant way to dispose of enemies is to fake an accident - oops, the safety chains have come loose and the falling crates have crushed the sentry. If patrolling enemies discover their dead comrades, they will raise the alarm - unless it looks like an accident. Of course, you can also carry away the bodies of your opponents and make them disappear to keep your presence a secret. You can find ammunition, first aid kits or even just uniforms for your spy. Some stationary weapons can be operated, some vehicles can be used. Some devices can be manipulated to make noise - and thus attract enemies. Oil barrels standing around explode in a beautiful (and deadly) fireball when fired upon. It is particularly impressive (and effective) if you have strategically placed several oil drums, which then explode in a chain reaction (and hopefully take many enemies with them).

It is a puzzle game. Ok, of course it's a real-time tactics game, but it plays like a puzzle game. It consists of individual challenges that you have to solve piece by piece in order to progress. Very often there is not just one, but several possible solutions. You always have the choice of which path you want to take, and there are also many corners on the extensive maps that you do not have to enter in order to successfully complete a mission. You may only miss out on bonus objectives, such as freeing prisoners.

Your team consists of a total of six members that you already know from the older Commandos games. The Green Beret is your first team member. You take him on in June 1940 in an English prison near the front - after he has beaten up his superior officer. His main strength is his physical strength. He is also the only one who can climb over rocks. But that's not his only special ability; each character always has several special abilities. Thomas ‘the Pioneer’ Hancock can, for example, whistle loudly to attract enemies, set a bear trap or cut barbed wire. There is also a driver who can control any vehicle (including enemy tanks), while the spy can wear enemy uniforms to move (more or less) freely around the enemy camp. Francis T. Woolridge is a sniper who can take out enemies at long range

You control your commandos individually, while the action takes place in real time. Of course, not much really happens as a rule - enemies either stand at fixed points or patrol along predetermined routes. They often move their heads (and thus change their field of vision) - a green cone of vision shows you what is currently in their field of vision. Only when enemies notice something unusual do they react and interrupt their routine, for example to investigate the source of noises or raise the alarm when they discover your soldiers or dead comrades. You can also pause real-time at any time to give your soldiers several orders, which they then carry out one after the other. Or you can give several of your soldiers orders during the pause, which they then carry out simultaneously. Your soldiers can walk, crawl, run, use their weapons and, of course, they all have special abilities that they can use. Or they can throw a hand grenade and (hopefully) kill a whole crowd of enemies standing close together.

Your task is to fulfil various mission objectives, such as blowing something up, liquidating certain people or freeing a prisoner. After completing the mission objective, you must leave the area of operation. There are 14 missions in total, set in a wide variety of locations around the world (from the desert of North Africa, right in Germany or on a secret station in the Arctic), each of which can keep you busy for hours if you investigate the areas conscientiously and don't just look for the quickest way in and out. But even the quickest route takes time. You can find collectibles during the missions. Saving is possible at any time - and highly recommended. The F5 key is for quicksave - and therefore one of the most important keys in the game. If one of your characters dies, the game is over and you go back to the last save state... if you have saved. You can choose between three difficulty levels - in the easiest setting, the enemies are a little slow and won't spot you immediately if the tip of your toe slips into their field of vision for a second.

What does the game offer that other real-time tactics games don't? Commandos: Origins can be played in pairs in split-screen or online. Play together to complete a mission. There has never been a co-op mode in this genre before. It is also possible to control the game with the gamepad. Logical, otherwise the game could not be released on consoles. There are only a few good alternatives to the Commandos games. The absolute top games are of course those from Mimimi (Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Desperados III, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun) and then the mediocre Stargate: Timekeepers comes to mind. If you want to stay in the Second World War, you can take a look at War Mongrels, Partisans 1941 or 63 Days.

Conclusion:
Finally, there's new material from the Commandos universe! Anyone who, like me, has been eagerly waiting for new missions since 2003 will be delighted. The game mechanics of the original have been retained, but the graphics (Unreal Engine 5) and user interface have been brought up to date. You can zoom in continuously, view the action from all sides, save at any time - and fight (or rather puzzle) your way through the large environments step by step, just like back then, while you use your people's special abilities and kill or evade the Nazi henchmen in order to ultimately fulfil your mission objectives.

Is this game a masterpiece? Only for masochists.

My doctor told me to stop playing games that upset me.

I did not listen to him and probably reduced my life time expectancy by at least 5 years.

Dodge, evade, run away, block... and still get hammered all the time while I can only tickle my foes.

Conclusion:
Too hard for me. Back to playing something easier like Elden Ring.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, it's a bit too generic for that. Once again, humanity is coming to an end and only we can stop it. We only realise why or how as the game progresses, because at the beginning we have absolutely no idea about anything. We remember lying on a couch while our father fiddled with some equipment and told us that everything was going to be fine (never a good sign)... then it went dark around us. When we woke up, there was no-one there and we were in a huge factory... or something. Ok, we're not completely alone, because there's a flying metal head that can't speak but barks at us to follow it. Somehow we understand the thing. We don't trust it - but what else are we supposed to do but follow it? And we're already learning the basics of control - walking, running, (double) jumping, sneaking, slamming, squeezing through narrow gaps - it's all extremely easy for us. We have superhuman abilities, which is perhaps due to the fact that we are stuck in a kind of robot skeleton. We soon see other robots. Some are hard at work and ignore us. But other robots are not so nice and attack us as soon as they see us. We have no idea why, but we quickly run for our lives.

Our name is Zoe, by the way, and we are a young woman. The flying metal head that accompanies us everywhere and also supports us (with its initially very limited abilities) goes by the name of Koby. Well, I've had worse sidekicks.

After escaping the first attack by enemy robots, we find ourselves in a large base. Robots guard individual areas, they march along predetermined paths and attack us immediately - if they see us. The battles take place in the usual Souls-like manner - you can lock onto an enemy with RS (Xbox controller), use X or Y to strike quickly or particularly hard, use B to dodge enemy blows or roll away - just like in countless previous games. Of course, it's even better if you can hide in certain places and eliminate enemies silently from behind. You can also make a noise so that enemies come in your direction to look for you. The climbing sections are relatively easy - Zoe is better at jumping than Enzio and doesn't fall off easily. Ledges that you can hold on to are clearly colour-coded. She also balances easily over thin metal beams at dizzying heights. You'll have to make an effort to fall into the depths when climbing. The game also includes some parkour passages. Here, of course, you have to be careful not to fall into an infinitely deep abyss and, for example, steer in the right direction when sliding and, above all, always jump at the right time.

As the game progresses, you will learn more and more new skills, divided into the areas of stealth/tools/fighting. Koby is also constantly being upgraded. Collect glitches (money) from killed enemies and invest them at the S4VI hubs. You can carry out upgrades there. Zoe can also receive new suits, which you can switch between. Many of the situations can be solved in different ways. You can sneak past enemies, kill them inconspicuously from behind, activate various tools in the environment or try to fight directly, which can quickly lead to your demise, especially when fighting several enemies at the same time. However, death is not the end of the world - you will be revived without penalty at the last automatic save point.

Survive in a world where the machines have taken control. The most dangerous killer robots look like Terminators from another universe. Fight for humanity - but are you still human? Around forty upgrades to be acquired in the course of the game indicate that you are more robot than human yourself. The robots were actually there to ensure the survival of mankind. Unfortunately, they seem to have evolved on their own - and come to conclusions that are unfavourable to humanity. (Permanent) saving takes place at the fast travel points, where you can also heal yourself completely - but this resurrects all previously defeated enemies.

Steel Seed is modelled on the qualities of Dark Souls and attempts to build up a similar tension in a sci-fi world. By exploring the environment, we find more and more information over the course of the game to understand what has happened here. Slow battles that end fatally very quickly if we are not careful. Just a few hits mean our end, and it is often better to avoid fights. Plus a little flying robot sidekick that brings a bit of variety to the dark environment. Even if it doesn't reach the quality of Dark Souls, Steel Seed is still a competently produced, varied action adventure - with stealth, parkour and huge boss opponents.

Conclusion:
Steel Seed is modelled on the qualities of Dark Souls and attempts to build up a similar tension in a sci-fi world. By exploring the environment, we find more and more information over the course of the game to understand what has happened here. Slow battles that end fatally very quickly if we are not careful. Just a few hits mean our end, and it is often better to avoid fights. Plus a little flying robot sidekick that brings a bit of variety to the dark environment. Even if it doesn't reach the quality of Dark Souls, Steel Seed is still a competently produced, varied action adventure - with stealth, parkour and huge boss opponents.

Is this game a masterpiece? No, it is a bit too short for that. There are games that I look forward to for years before they are actually released. And then there are games that I've never heard of and suddenly they're released. Chains of Freedom is one such game. Otherwise I would have been sitting in front of my computer drooling for months waiting for the release - the game is exactly to my taste! The post-apocalyptic scenario is set in a world in which a meteorite has hit the earth and spread a deadly plague. The previous order has collapsed and a new dictatorship has seized power. Under the leadership of the all-powerful leader (who looks like Kim Jong-un), order has been established - and any opposition is brutally fought, whether mutated humans, smugglers, rebels, or simply anyone who does not submit. And we play soldiers of the regime. We are the bringers of peace who wipe out any resistance without hesitation.

The game is a brutal, turn-based strategy game. You control a small group of soldiers through a post-apocalyptic landscape full of deadly enemies. Exploration of the (fairly linear) sections (albeit with hidden resources or other surprises) takes place in real time. We march through the detailed 3D environment with our squad (we can choose the directly controlled soldier at any time, the others follow dutifully behind him) and can look at the view from all sides. We can also split up our squad, which is sometimes even necessary to solve puzzles. There are small cut-scenes, usually automatic conversations within our team or with NPCs/enemies. Doors are opened, ladders are used, resources are collected and enemies are sometimes spotted from a distance. In this case, it may be possible to sneak past enemies in real time. However, if we are discovered (or if the game says so), combat ensues and the game switches to turn-based combat mode.

The combat is of course based on the XCOM genre. Each of our soldiers has a certain number of action points with which they can perform certain actions. As a rule, they can move and shoot, but the more equipment we carry and the better our soldiers become, the more different activities they can perform. Reloading, throwing grenades or Molotov cocktails, putting on bandages or healing or reviving injured comrades, changing weapons, picking up objects from the ground, climbing up with the grappling hook, striking in close combat, swallowing pills and much more expand our options considerably. You should of course always take cover behind something quickly. Our soldiers can climb ladders and receive a bonus for firing from elevated positions. In general, you can always see how high your chance of being hit is before each shot. Compared to other games, many of the shots fired hit their target - unfortunately, so do the shots fired by our enemies. Characters have hitpoints, if these drop to 0 they die (enemies) or are knocked out (your soldiers) and can be revived within three rounds - otherwise they are dead and the game is over. The game is saved automatically, so you can usually restart a lost battle quickly. Manual saves can also be created.

The story is well done. It is largely linear with scripted events, although some hidden rooms are optional. We play a team of four elite soldiers of the regime who are supposed to take out the rebel leader Dr. Svetlov, who lives in a remote area. However, our helicopter is shot down right at the beginning and our team lands in different locations by parachute. The pilot is dragged into a cave and killed, and one of our soldiers doesn't live very long either. First in pairs, then in threes, we roam the area. Hostile villagers, locals mutated by the plague (including heavily mutated and therefore extremely dangerous mutants), then better-armed smugglers and soon the battle-hardened (and well-equipped) soldiers of our target stand in our way. The leader of our team clearly shows the way - no one can help the mutated locals anyway, smugglers and especially the followers of Dr. Svetlov have lost their way and are to blame for the prevailing anarchy and must therefore be eliminated. Will we change our minds in the course of the game?

You have a shared inventory where you can assign a primary (rifle, shotgun, crossbow...) and secondary weapon (pistol, knife, golf club...) to your soldiers. There are also a few slots for additional equipment (grenades, healing items). If you find armor plates, you can put them on, which will first reduce your armor when hit before your men take damage. Unfortunately, you will soon encounter many heavily armored enemies. You can craft items - ammunition for the various firearms (shotgun, rifle, pistol, crossbow), bandages or hand grenades - but of course you need the corresponding ingredients for this, which you must first find in the area. Unfortunately, these resources are always in short supply.

You will soon find various crystals in the game, which have been spreading around the world since the meteor impact. You are basically immune to the deadly effects of the meteor (because you are immunized), but you can use the crystals to give your people additional abilities (active or passive). Each soldier has a certain number of free slots where you can use the crystals you find. You'll soon have a considerable selection of crystals to choose from, and you'll also keep finding places where you can unlock additional slots for your soldiers. This upgrade tree for your individual team members allows you to further customize your men (who are all a little different from the start anyway).

The controls on the PC are either classic mouse and keyboard, or you can play the game on the couch in front of the TV (the texts are large enough) and with the gamepad in your hand - the controls are excellent. Not only is the DualShock 4 controller supported on the PC - you can even use its integrated touchpad to rotate the view - absolutely exemplary.

Conclusion:
Chains of Freedom was a positive surprise. Well-crafted turn-based combat in a brutal, tightly told story in a post-apocalyptic world - right up my alley. The first few hours were fantastic, but then the difficulty ramped up considerably and the battles became quite challenging. Significant numerical inferiority and a lack of ammunition and healing resources don't make it easy for you. Even the user guidance, which actually works really well, was sometimes tedious - why do I get the full pound when my soldiers are behind cover behind a wall and I can't even shoot back at the enemies? Why can't I throw my bomb over a small wall? Why can't I take back a move if I've accidentally made a mistake? Maybe it's just me, but the battles are soon no longer a walk in the park. The game is not for wimps - but if you fancy challenging turn-based battles, Chains of Freedom is a good choice.

Is this game a masterpiece? Certainly not yet, it is still in Early Access. Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is a survival game - but not in the usual 3D perspective, but in pure 2D. What's more, you don't play one character, but a whole group. At least ideally, because your people can die quite quickly and you are alone. The game is set in 1980 in a small town in Texas. A zombie epidemic has broken out and the civil administration has dissolved. At the beginning, we play two survivors who have barricaded themselves in a house. Outside, the zombies are running around with only one thing on their minds - human flesh. We also have a clear goal - to escape from the city. You won't really succeed at first, and the game will be over after a few days. A single zombie is not a problem, you can quickly defeat it with simple means. The problem is the hordes of zombies, because you can no longer fend them off so easily. And unfortunately, most zombie games are teeming with zombies - and Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is no exception. Zombies are everywhere. Your goal is not to kill every zombie. That won't work. Sneak around zombies, avoid them - and survive. Find resources to craft weapons and other useful items, find food to avoid starvation. There are rumors that there is a safe place outside the city for the survivors - will you make it there?

At the beginning, you choose the first two team members - a young couple where she has just become pregnant, or an old basketball coach with one of his (problem) pupils, a father with his daughter, a psychiatrist with a severely disturbed patient... the apocalypse throws the strangest people together. Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is played as a 2D side-scroller. Half the time, however, you don't run from left to right through the screen to progress bit by bit, but you are in your current base and can make decisions there, such as crafting things or sending people on missions to find resources. Or you can let your people sleep. You always control one character directly, but you can switch between different members of your party. Different people have very different abilities - one can do this, the other that. If you have chosen the wrong character, they will not only be significantly worse at fulfilling a certain mission - they will often simply not be able to carry out certain tasks at all.

Your base is attacked every night by the zombies loitering outside. If the barricades are strong enough, the zombies won't get in. This is calculated automatically, you are only shown the strength of the barricade. At some point, however, they will get in - and by this time you should have already moved on. So you move from base to base, where you can only stay for a few days each time. During the course of the game, multiple-choice decisions have to be made again and again, such as whether to accept new people into your group or leave them to their fate alone. These parts of the game are somewhat reminiscent of games such as the dystopian anti-war game This War of Mine. The game is divided into day and night cycles. When you have completed everything you want to do (= assign tasks to your people), you can move on to the next cycle.

While work at the workbench or repairs to the barricades are carried out automatically, or people sent to sleep simply sleep, you take direct control of the character sent out in search of resources. And this is the second essential game mechanic alongside the management part in the base. You can walk, sneak, run, take resources with you (if you have enough space in your backpack), use certain devices standing around, illuminate dark areas with a flashlight, look carefully to see if there are any zombies in the next room and try to sneak past them. Fortunately, the people affected by the plague are quite apathetic and often don't notice you - at least if you don't stay near them for long. As well as various resources, you'll always find other interesting things - new locations, more survivors... or more zombies. If you have a weapon in your hand (knife, scissors, screwdriver, axe, etc.), you can silently eliminate individual zombies from behind. Unfortunately, this often breaks your weapon - at least until you can craft better weapons... If you manage to cross a location from left to right, you can return to your base - hopefully without any serious injuries and with a backpack full of useful items. If zombies discover you, a fight ensues - strike, dodge. As long as you have a weapon, a zombie is hardly a problem. You can also visit locations over several days - first your fighter cleans up the zombies, in the next phase you come with a large backpack and collect all the useful stuff. Some of the locations can serve as your new base - after you have killed all the zombies living there.

Conclusion:
The game is brutal. Hunger, utter exhaustion, depression - and necessities such as food, weapons or medicine are scarce. Your base is surrounded by zombies and your exploration missions are always a game of life and death. Will you be able to escape from the town overrun by zombies? In addition to the management part in the base, the excitement lies mainly in the excursions outside your base. Your advantage lies in your intelligence - which the zombies largely lack. Distract zombies with noises, make them tear down obstacles for you, run away when things get critical. The levels are like puzzles - you don't have to kill the zombies - you just have to escape the city! The game makes a very polished and complete impression despite Early Access, the tension is high throughout - reminded me a little of the first seasons of The Walking Dead. Unfortunately, the frustration factor is also high - namely when the zombies catch you and eat you up! A run is only over when all your characters are dead, but of course there is no resurrection of dead characters in the game... good luck and stay healthy!

Is this game a masterpiece? Probably not, but it is still not a bad game.

The game begins in 1976, not in the world we remember, but a dystopian world, strongly inspired by the world of George Orwell's brilliant novel 1984 (which he published back in 1949). In the novel, society is monitored and manipulated by an omnipresent government - and KARMA: The Dark World is set in just such an environment. Ignorance is Strength is one of the first sentences I read in the game, on a work instruction in an institute where I have to fulfill an assignment concerning a theft. Society is divided into social classes - from A downwards, with class E being almost completely lawless slaves.

We play Daniel McGovern, an agent of the Leviathan Corporation, which controls people's entire lives. Our job is to use advanced technology to delve into the minds of the accused, investigate crime scenes, interrogate suspects and report the findings to the Leviathan Corporation. We're not squeamish about it. Incidentally, our social class is C - so we're not necessarily at the top of the hierarchy. Mistakes at work are punished severely - even untidy clothing is an offense, or if you touch something that doesn't correspond to your social class. Add to that being absent from work for too long, wearing make-up during working hours... Everyone is monitored by the Leviathan Corporation around the clock and everywhere - in comparison, Stasi surveillance in the GDR was an amateur club.

We move our character through a world with a 70s aesthetic from a first-person perspective. The head wobbles (slightly), so if you have problems with motion sickness, you should deactivate head bobbing in the settings as soon as possible. Our options for action are limited to hotspots where the mouse pointer shows us that we can perform an action. Things can often be picked up and viewed from all sides. Sometimes you can also use them further, such as opening doors, or you can read documents, enter passwords or pull levers. At the telescreens located everywhere, we can insert our ID card to see individualized content on the screen - in our case, information for our work. We are shown photos from the omnipresent surveillance cameras that could be relevant to our current case.

Our character's thoughts are set voiced, as are our conversations with other characters. The game saves automatically at certain points. Control with the gamepad works just as smoothly as with the mouse and keyboard. The graphics tend to be quite dark (at least at the beginning) and, like the story, reminded me a little of Observer. Unfortunately, this often makes it quite difficult to see the surroundings in detail.

Conclusion:
Walking simulator from a first-person perspective, but with an above-average number of puzzles and an inventory. Just walking around is not enough to progress, there are always puzzles to solve. There are also a few jump-scares to keep your pulse racing. The story is crazy - a brutal, dystopian world with paranormal phenomena... or is it just your thoughts that are being massively manipulated? Anyone who enjoys stories like 1984 and is not completely averse to 3D horror games will also enjoy KARMA: The Dark World.

Is this game a masterpiece? Probably not, but it is still not a bad game. Although… fall damage kills you, and I don't know how often I got shot mid-air and fell to my death. Or just couldn't grab the ledge and fell. I hate fall damage even more than spikes. This game also has spikes on the ground, but you would die in many cases even without spikes and just from the fall. Realistic, but annoying.

The world is corrupted by a strange plague, horrible monsters roam the area, most people no longer leave the few (still) safe cities. You play an Inquisitor in the service of the King's Priest. At the beginning, you can choose between six different specializations (classes). Do you want to play a Frontline Fighter, Flameweaver, Spellbender, Nightshade, Wyldwarden or Skywarden? You can also choose between a male or female character and customize a whole host of visual details to your liking. Hairstyle, hair color, skin color, voice and tattoos. You also have to give your character a name. Then it's time to get started.

At the beginning, you attend a ceremony. A witch has been captured (at considerable cost) and dragged into the church, where she is being miserably tortured by the almighty King-Priest. Unable to bear her screams, you put the witch out of her misery. Something happens... it looks as if the spirit of the tortured, dying witch takes refuge in your body. In any case, from now on you can hear her seductive voice in your head - without having to take any drugs. The king's priest is not happy about your act of mercy, but stands behind you so as not to lose face in front of the assembled mob. In private, however, he is pretty pissed off and gives you the order to take part in the search for a second witch that has been spotted near the town. You are to ensure that this witch is brought to him alive. And off you go out of the safe city, where you encounter the first stray wolf after just a few meters (and turn it into minced meat).

The journey continues in 2D, where you meet Ulfar - a traveling merchant from whom you can buy and sell weapons, food, potions, clothing, etc. in the future. You can also have a few things crafted here if you have enough resources for Ulfar. You move through the world, fighting enemies and collecting various resources. You can either sell resources or use them to craft new items once you have found the corresponding blueprints and your service provider is at the required level. You not only have to improve your own character, but also invest resources in improving your service provider. The blacksmith just needs a bigger anvil... Soon, however, you'll have more than just one NPC to level up - which means you'll be running around the world, collecting resources and then spending them on leveling up all the stores. Quite a bit grindy.

The battles require tactics and patience. Dodge, parry, duck and strike in a planned manner - button mashing definitely (I've tried it) doesn't lead to success. If you don't pay attention to your stamina, you'll soon be waving your sword harmlessly in the air like a fly swatter, causing no significant damage to your opponents. Fortunately, stamina regenerates quite quickly - a little restraint and you can strike again at full power. Especially in the multi-phase boss battles, it is necessary to learn the behavior patterns of each enemy and coordinate your attacks and spells to be more efficient. Essentially, however, with the standard enemies it boils down to landing a hit, dodging the counterattacks by rolling, landing another hit yourself, rolling when the enemy strikes... and firing the odd fireball (I play a flame weaver) in between to cause a little extra damage. Or quickly gulp down a healing potion or mana potion if things aren't going so well after all. Sometimes I got the feeling I am not really doing lots of damage at all.

Killed enemies give you essence. You can use this to increase your level at a witch stone, or you can use it to buy things from merchants. If you lose your life, you will wake up again at the last activated witch stone. The essence accumulated since the last save is located at the place of your death and can be collected there - unless you lose another life beforehand. Consumables are not lost on death. When you level up, you receive talent points that you can invest in your talent tree at a Hexstone. an The six different skill trees are quite extensive, but at their core are mainly improvements to your stats. It makes sense to concentrate on one weapon type and one talent tree, as some skills are useless with other weapons. If you want to play a hybrid style, you should limit yourself to two neighboring skill trees to get the best of both worlds. Witchstones are very versatile - they also serve as fast travel portals.

As usual, you will repeatedly get stuck in certain places. You see a glowing chest - but at an unreachable height. You are standing in front of a chasm that is simply far too wide to jump over. You are standing in front of another obstacle that you simply cannot destroy. Just as you need a key (or a set of lock picks) to open locked doors, other obstacles can only be overcome if you have the appropriate skills or tools at your disposal. And you often only get them much later than when you are standing in front of the obstacle. So you have to remember that paths are still blocked or resources are not accessible at this or that point. As soon as you have the opportunity to move on later, you can return there. The usual Metroidvania backtracking. An automatically drawn overview map helps you not to lose your bearings. As the game mechanics are not always completely self-explanatory, the glossary is extremely helpful. It explains both the mechanics and the various characteristics of your character in detail.

Conclusion:
The game doesn't bring any groundbreaking innovations to the genre - but it doesn't have to. It is based on the mechanics established in recent years that are expected of a Metroidvania. Upgrading your character and the merchants does take some grind, though. And combat/platforming is a bit hard - you die fast in this game.