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1 person found this review helpful
Recommended
5.8 hrs on record
TL;DR
A soothing mountainous archaeological expedition through a death of a civilization.

Positives
  1. A story of a hardy people that functionally experienced an apocalyptic event is richly relayed to the player without a single line of spoken dialog.
  2. Art direction is absolutely spot on. Great example of stylization trumping graphical fidelity.
  3. Level design is expertly used both as a story telling tool and to provide obstacles of an increasing level of mechanical difficulty. Several times during the experience, I came across vistas that completely took my breath away.
  4. The game stops at a fulfilling point in the narrative.
  5. In game actions are mapped to the controller organically, which makes the act of climbing exceedingly satisfying.
  6. The overall audio design errs on the side of letting nature speak for itself, letting the player explore the world in peace. Music is not ever present and comes in only to accentuate moments of importance.
  7. Exploration is rewarded with dead ends providing further flavor to the world. In particular, I enjoyed the three seashells Easter egg.

Neutral
  1. In most cases there is exactly one correct way how to proceed. While this is a shame in some respects as the 30 second loop is excellent, it allows the pacing to be tighter.

Negatives
  1. It is possible to wrap oneself around an obstacle which leads to the physics engine acting out a bit. Fortunately, the most amount of progress that I lost in such a way were mere seconds. This happened around 5-10 times in my playthrough.
  2. Triggering the devices that create shortcuts back down is a tedious experience. Sometimes the prompt shows quickly during approach. However, in some cases one has to dance around the thing for ten seconds to trigger the prompt.
  3. As I climbed the mountain I did not get the sense that the climber wants to make the ultimate sacrifice to return ballast to its kind or to bring back the rain. Thus, while I felt the final scene should have hit emotionally harder, the experience was lessened by the sudden jump in perceived lengths the player character is willing to go to in the last chapter.

Notes
  1. Purchased as part of the Humble Choice monthly subscription service for the month of October 2024.
  2. Completed at patch 1.07.1498596.
  3. Completed at around 5.5 hours with minimal AFK time.
  4. Completed exclusively on an XBox controller.

🧡💛🧡
Posted 27 January.
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7 people found this review helpful
Recommended
15.8 hrs on record
TL;DR
A slightly easier deck builder with a solid 30 second loop, a competent story and excellent music.

Positives
  1. Excellent adherence to theme in both art style, game mechanics and music.
  2. Love that different narrative situations are coupled with appropriate solutions on the gameplay axis. E.g. when a fighter performs hacking, it is on a very rudimental level compared to a hacking specialist.
  3. Robert Bruckmayer absolutely nailed the soundtrack. It is the exact blend of futuristic punk rock I would expect in a cyber punk setting. Special shout out to 'All Systems Alert' and 'System Smashdown'.
  4. The game nails the 30 second loop. Most cards have a type declared. This adds a combo effect on the base effect when played in a certain sequence. This results in a rhythm of alternatively playing 'A' and 'B' cards (think light and heavy attacks/support actions) with an occasional more expensive 'C' card (think special/expensive attacks) thrown into the mix. This rhythm becomes almost a trance like flow when, in the late game, it is not difficult to play fifteen cards in a turn with the base hand size of five.
  5. The game is split up to several heists. Each heist resembles a run in a standard rogue like card builder. But only from a distance. Compared to a traditional rogue like card builder, HeistGeist reduces the paths that can be taken in the service of the story. Moreover, HeistGeist adds team members to the mix. This results in the player switching between card decks and play styles, which keeps the game reasonably fresh until the late game. Special nod to mission Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
  6. The devs know when to end the story. I never thought I would be praising such a basic concept, but after completing a few games where the natural point was missed, HeistGeist hits the emotionally correct moment to stop perfectly, while keeping the doors open for a sequel.
  7. Alexandra/Werner full screen hug.
  8. Enjoyed the performances of Maayan Voss de Bettancourt (Zoya) and Mike Bodie (Werner/Rez). Both slid excellently into their respective roles.
  9. While built on a fairly standard template, I enjoyed the story with its quirky characters, emotional balance just on the right side of being too cheesy, while constantly nodding at a potential dystopian future.
  10. Neat little day transition animation.

Neutral
  1. Difficulty is rather low. I only lost in a battle once as I was going out of my way to build a very experimental deck going up against an area boss. (Even in that situation the boss only had 5 health left.) Normally, this would be a 'Negative' worthy offense, but the 30 second loop is so good that it drags the point up to 'Neutral' territory.
  2. Build variety is fairly limited with Alexandra's options are basically limited to branching off to either exploit stealth or not, Werner not getting enough options to even discuss build variety and Zoya mostly getting straight upgrades as the game progresses. With all that said, all build limitations make absolute sense story wise and thus, I personally don't feel I need to ding the game more than putting this to the 'Neutral' block.
  3. Would have renamed 'Toxic' to 'Corrosive', as it is somewhat weird that machines suffer damage from 'Toxic' attacks. Some of the cards explicitly have a design that screams 'should be used against organics'. E.g. 'Neurotoxin'.

Negatives
  1. Lack of enemy variety in last third of the game. Instead of different tougher variations of known enemies (cheaper fix) or more tougher new enemies (more expensive fix) the game throws larger groups of already "solved" enemies at the player. This results in Alexandra's fights a moot waste of time with a pre-determined result. At the same time I was still looking forward to all of the Werner fights (due to limitations on his arsenal and thus higher difficulty) and Zoya's hacking sections (while easy as well late game, they were bite sized changes of pace).
  2. Missing a skip dialogue option before boss fights.
  3. I am not happy with the overall performance of Krys Janae who voice acted the main character. Delivery on most of her lines is rather flat. I would chalk this up to directions, but most of the other characters provide an excellent, if somewhat over the top performance.
  4. The overworld map is a somewhat wasted exercise. Since the player has a very limited set of actions available each heist day, the map adds an unnecessary extra click or two to most actions.

Notes
  1. Purchased as the XZone physical edition at full price close after release.
  2. Completed at patch 1.0.6.
  3. Completed at just under 16 hours with minimal AFK time.

🧡💛🧡
Posted 2 December, 2024. Last edited 2 December, 2024.
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1 person found this review helpful
Not Recommended
57.7 hrs on record
Thank you for dropping Linux support.
Posted 14 November, 2024.
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249 people found this review helpful
2 people found this review funny
3
2
Not Recommended
17.6 hrs on record
TL;DR
Another casualty of mystery box writing with glimpses of great character work in the quiet moments.

Positives
  1. Solid implementation of the music mini-game. Great framing and camera work, with a side nod to the song writing process.
  2. The writers know how to write small scale character dialog:
    • Pax's arc with her mother or Pax's relationship with Ziggy throughout the game are the best examples.
    • Pax and Noam are cute and the complexity of their relationship is believable.
  3. Loved the art direction on the in-game comic.
  4. Excellent voice performance by Ioanna Kimbook as Ziggy. The bar scene alone is pure gold.
  5. Notwithstanding other criticisms I might have, the authors picked the end at an emotionally correct spot.

Neutral
  1. The game takes place in an alternative reality version of the US. I would have loved a bit more information on the setting or I would have loved the setting to influence the narrative a bit more. At the end it mostly used as just set dressing. For example taking what happened at the end would have triggered a war between two major players in the setting.
  2. Inconsistent voice direction. Some scenes have the proper emotional gravity, elsewhere characters have casual conversations in the middle of combat.
  3. The game feels rushed. The last chapter feels like it should have been at least three chapters.
  4. While the execution of Sai's betrayal and reversal is believable and well acted, it is placed too late in the story making Sai's reversal just another deus ex machina.

Negatives
  1. The writers absolutely faceplanted on the big, macro stuff:
    • There is a distinct political leaning presented, which is driven across to the player with a subtlety of a velociraptor in a kindergarten. Which is a shame, as at the core of this game lies an intriguing concept of how language can be constructed and how it can influence our perception. For a good example of how to discuss such politically charged themes would be the original Deus Ex.
    • The writers make an easy mistake several times in a very basic aspect of story-telling. Instead of "B happens because of A happened" they went with "A happens then B happens". Especially obvious in the structure of chapters 6 and 7. In chapter 6, even though CT has no problem seeing the road, the bus hits something that she is not able to identify exactly where the plots needs the characters to stop. (She should have seen the robogorilla and swerve out the way.) A small girl who is supposedly afraid is not guarded by anyone and runs off into a storm without protection, because the story needs the main character to be stranded alone for a horror fake out. In chapter 7, the bus breaks down just in front of an abandoned house that has just enough food for a group this big with fuel that is seven years old that did not go bad and so on. There are just too many conveniences to constantly not get pulled out of the story.
  2. The cast of characters is too large:
    • Some of the characters like Sol and Ophelia don't get anything to do and leave the story as they entered.
    • Nainai is used for a single joke five times.
    • Girl is only used as a plot device.
  3. There are two character deaths in the game. While I could see CT's death as being earned if it had been better executed, Theo's death is an absolute joke. It feels as if the writers decided to put Theo's death in last minute to add some gravitas to the final "boss fight" against another "not a character that showed up five seconds before they were dispatched" Axiom.
  4. Virtue signaling is, unfortunately, alive and well:
    • At one point after the squad added a short person, I jokingly noted (I am glad that I streamed this to have evidence) that we are now only missing a person on a wheel chair, which was added a couple chapters later...
    • At some points there is a pronoun discussion which in itself is fine, until the characters of the main crew misgender (rarely) or assume (consistently) the gender of others.
    • For a couple of chapters at the start, the game tries to pull the same BS as Batman did a while back: "We are not the bad guys. We are just knocking out these people. These baseball bats are not lethal. None of them are dead. Honest."
  5. Combat is pitiful. There is no threat to loosing all health. There is little to no time pressure to execute moves properly. There are no specific counters required to combat a certain mix of enemies. Combat animations lack weight. While the team combos and the "whale on one dude" attack adds a bit of flavor, there is not enough of it to pull combat out of the gutter. A better option would have been to leave it out of the game. (I chose the "I want more combat" option.)
Posted 22 September, 2024. Last edited 22 September, 2024.
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Recommended
18.6 hrs on record
TL;DR
A dramatic story about loss, friendship, family and the cost of war that stumbles in the finish line.

Positives
  1. Both voice acting and direction is excellent throughout (original French dub). Would like to applaud Léopoldine Serre as Amicia for her excellent (and very difficult) performance.
  2. The writers clearly understand the human condition. Characters react appropriately to their station, age and overall situation.
  3. Level design is consistently great throwing in fresh things all the way to the end of the game, while not feeling overtly game-y.
  4. Excellent use of mid mission checkpoints. The game rewards experimentation without punishing the player too hard for their mistakes.

Neutral
  1. While the game uses quiet moments to flash out the experience to great effect, most of these lie behind an optional path.
  2. The players kit is fairly small, but in combination with various skills allows for interesting world interactions.

Negatives
  1. Story after the half of chapter 14 completely falls apart. There is a very natural ending point where most threads are wrapped up and our heroes can sail off (both literally and figuratively) into the sunset. Unfortunately, "and the kitchen sink" approach was chosen leading the end of the game into a hyper death gloom spiral. I have finished the original game in 10 hours. The sequel clocked in at just above 18 hours. However, the formula did not change radically between the titles resulting in the excess time being more draining than anything else. If the authors just flatly removed half of chapter 14, chapters 15 and 16 and reworked chapter 17 to match, the entire experience would end on a much more well paced glorious ending. (Even though the removed content would account for only about an hour and half.)
  2. While I understand the desire to sequel bait players with the post credit scene, I found it further breaking the sense of a proper "full stop" ending. Yes, the writers signposted this from a mile away (and I called it live on stream) with the major theme of the sequel being "recurrence", I would have still preferred Amicia's and Hugo's toil to mean something more than "just another point of suffering in the chain of suffering".
Posted 16 September, 2024. Last edited 16 September, 2024.
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Recommended
9.5 hrs on record (7.1 hrs at review time)
TL;DR
A gorgeous love letter to 1960s sci-fi.

Positives
  1. The overall presentation is stunning:
    • The player is guided through breath-taking environmental features.
    • All tech is lovingly crafted with focus on the tactile feel of the 1960s.
    • Love the physical map and journal implementation.
  2. Silly attention to detail:
    • Doodads in places with humans accentuates the feel of a lived in world.
    • Terrain differences and the way the main character leaves their footsteps.
    • No unnecessary HUD to break immersion.
  3. Excellent sound mixing which works well with ambient noises to build up each location.
  4. Voice actors were clearly chosen so that both the Alliance and Commonwealth citizens sound different and consistent within their group.
  5. Excellent pacing on the investigation. The main mystery has time to breath. Did not rush and felt comfortable with finishing the story six hours in.

Neutral
  1. Voice acting hits the mark well enough.
  2. Minor continuity mistakes with rover placement and movement off screen.

Negatives
  1. I had to reload a checkpoint at two different points in the game as machine interactions soft locked the main character within the interaction.
Posted 28 July, 2024. Last edited 28 July, 2024.
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2 people found this review helpful
Recommended
11.1 hrs on record
TL;DR
Mechanically meager action game that pushes it over the finish line with a beautiful animation style and a zany approach to story telling.

Positives
  1. Beautiful cartoon animation style. Strong "Dexter's Lab" vibes.
  2. Creature design is out there. John Carpenter has been called out in the credits. I can definitely see the boss battle creature designs pulling from Carpenter's work.
  3. It might be a little too on the nose for some, but the story landed just on the right side of a stereotypical vampire hunter schlock cartoon for me.
  4. Environmental puzzles. Both good amount, design and placement.
  5. Decent enemy variety both in looks and fighting style.

Neutral
  1. Overall map design is a bit of a milk toast. Would have loved to see more gadget use and less negative traversal space.
  2. Currency and inventory systems feel tacked on. This is especially apparent in the final boss level where access to inventory is taken away from the player for no apparent reason.
  3. Checkpointing is up and down. In some cases the game provides mid mission checkpoints at every turn, in other cases larger chunks of a level need to be replayed.

Negatives
  1. Hitboxes and hurtboxes are difficult to gauge due to the used perspective. Some levels actively hurt this aspect. (E.g. freezer in the convenience store.)
  2. Combat is shallow and unbalanced. Some of the more late game creatures are a breeze, while the basic flies and black little vampires are obnoxious throughout the game. (The devs know this and use the buggers to increase difficulty even in arena fights where they have no business of being environmentally.)
Posted 14 July, 2024.
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Recommended
11.2 hrs on record
TL;DR
Well written, voice acted and directed piece. One of my front runners for my Game of the Year 2024.

Positives
  1. Script is tight all around:
    • Characters act within their knowledge space.
    • All of the story beats work on the second round around.
    • Writers know how to write relatable characters.
    • The story knows what it wants to do and focuses on that hard. It does not overstay its welcome.
  2. Voice acting and voice direction is excellent.
  3. Audio design is top notch. Scenes are accentuated by pulling back or blasting certain pieces of the audio landscape.
  4. Every single chapter is built around and works toward a strong emotional and narrative puzzle piece that completes the jigsaw of the story by the end of the fifth chapter.

Neutral
  1. I understand that the inclusion of the father in chapter five had to be placed there without too many breadcrumbs, as it would have lessen the emotional impact of the revelation, but it is still straining cognitive believability of the story in the moment.

Negatives
  1. I have nothing. Really well done!
Posted 14 July, 2024. Last edited 14 July, 2024.
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Not Recommended
66.7 hrs on record
A legendary multi player game left to rot in bot hell.
Posted 10 June, 2024.
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1 person found this review helpful
Recommended
72.8 hrs on record
TL;DR
Solid role playing game, with great side quests, at times overbearing messaging and mediocre gun play.

Positives
  1. Cohesiveness of the ridiculous post capitalist dystopia. This is reflected in a lot of smaller things:
    • Consistency of architecture, smart usage of prefabs.
    • Clothing and language used by the NPCs. All according to their place and station within the society.
    • Placement of interactibles (chests, consumables etc.) creates a feel of well lived in spaces.
  2. Voice acting and voice direction are consistently on the ball.
  3. Writing is consistently good.
  4. Character customization via skill points and the respective effects is a pleasant, competently built system.

Neutral
  1. I had weapon/armor design and variety under the negatives sections for the longest while. In the end the creativity shown with the science weapons pulled it just above water:
    • The variety in each category is small. Each weapon has basically three tiers without visual changes.
    • Weapons are further differentiated by levels. There is a minor possibility to update weapons with player levels, but it is often easier to just obtain the same weapon on a higher level.
    • Weapons/armor can hold up to four slots of upgrades each specializing the item further. Even though this hints at a huge build variety, I never had the feeling of choice.
    • Legendary weapons and armor provide a specific set of bonuses, sometimes with a custom look as well. While cool in isolation, due to the leveling system, I have used a higher level common weapon with upgrades instead of legendaries.
    • Science weapons are a definite highlight. Each with not only a custom look, but a very specific effect or set of effects. In the end game I was mainly using a combination of science weapons.
  2. I would have loved to have presets for armor combinations. (For example numbers 5 through 8 could have been used for this similarly how 1 through 4 are used for weapons.) While not that irritating that I would put it among the negatives, it still extra four actions I had to each time I wanted to swap out armor. (Around twice an hour.)

Negatives
  1. The "corporations bad" narrative angle gets overbearing at times.
  2. Most perks are fairly boring. For about half of the game I was just taking something to calm down flashing icons.
Posted 31 May, 2024.
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Showing 1-10 of 49 entries