Recent reviews by lord peterman

Sonic Generations has always been one of my favorite games of all time, and I owe much of my love and passion for the franchise to that title alone. As such, I was very interested in this release. Hopeful that this enhanced re-release of the original title would improve upon the original release's flaws and provide even more fun and engaging content, I remained cautiously optimistic. Even in recent years, the quality of Sonic the Hedgehog's latest outings have been haphazard. Thankfully, however, that is not the case here; Sonic x Shadow Generations honors the outstanding quality of the original Sonic Generations and further expands upon it with the Shadow Generations campaign, providing players with an excellent entry into the Sonic the Hedgehog Franchise and a quality 3D platformer overall. After approximately 38 hours spent blasting through expertly crafted levels at the speed of sound and collecting hundreds of rings (among the wide variety of collectibles the title has to offer), I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed my time with this title. This is simply an unmissable entry for newcomers and fans alike, and a great entry point to the franchise too.

Animal Well is more of a puzzle-platformer than Metroidvania, and perhaps my expectations may have been misguided because of this. As such, I found myself surprised at many moments during my first playthrough, satisfied upon completion of the many exquisitely designed puzzles and immersed in the intricate design of the visuals and audio of this title. Like taking a step inside of a children's picture book (E.G., Where the Wild Things Are), Animal Well nails its presentation with beautiful, hand-crafted set pieces filled with many secrets and intricacies. These many secrets play a pivotal role in the game's Metroidvania-like approach; there's plenty to discover in the Well, so much so that one playthrough simply isn't enough to get the full experience. In my opinion however, this is also one of the game's weaknesses; I found that jumping back into the game after taking a break for several days was difficult. I lost track of where I was going or what my objective previously was, which made it frustrating to re-immerse myself in the world again in order to get a better grasp of where to go next. Even without taking a break for a lengthy time, I continued to have this issue across several segments in my first playthrough. The Well is large; it demands your attention to detail at every screen and your ability to chart your next path forward is crucial to making your exit. Perhaps to some this is a good thing, I'm sure many seek this kind of experience. But as an adult with little time to play games nowadays, I believe this kind of experience is simply not for me. The other elements of Animal Well are what sold me on this title; the platforming feels really solid, the tools you acquire are very interesting and provide a very unique experience, and the puzzles are so well crafted, like those of The Legend of Zelda series. There's a lot to enjoy in Animal Well, and if you're ready for the work that comes with the navigation, you're in for a good time. However, if you aren't an avid fan of puzzle-platformers or Metroidvanias, this probably won't be the title to sell you on the genre. Overall, I enjoyed my time with the title, but I'm hesitant to recommend this to everyone.

If you enjoy ticking off boxes in an Ubisoft-esque map, with some really, really fun gameplay, then maybe you will find some enjoyment within Infinite, too. At the end of the day, no Halo game is truly perfect (not even 2 or 3). Infinite may be further from perfect than many of us might have wished for, but it also wears its heart on its sleeve, and 343i wasn't afraid to branch from traditional Halo design and try something new, which I can respect. In the 23-ish hours I spent with the campaign of Halo Infinite, I left feeling more satisfied than underwhelmed, so I would rate this game pretty positively.

In short, this is one of the best 3D platformers to release in the past decade, founded by it's unique and innovative movement system and perfectly crafted level design, unfortunately plagued by game-breaking bugs. I've loved every minute of my time spent with this game so far, but through the crashes, clipping and collision issues, and overall lack of polish, this is a tough game to recommend.
I think it's important to begin with the positives of this game, plenty of which make this game sound like the best $30 anyone could spend right now. Like I mentioned previously, the controls and movement of this game make it stand out from any other platformer of recent memory; it embraces quick movement and jumping through the various techniques that can be performed right from the very start of the game. Moving and speed-running your way through levels and racking up a high score is the bread and butter of this title, it's simply loads of fun. Not to mention the level design; each stage is bursting with creativity, something I haven't seen in a 3D platformer since Super Mario 3D World. Lastly, the graphical design and music contribute to the overall aesthetic of this title, painting itself to be something of a late Sega Genesis or Saturn era game; it's simply beautiful in every aspect.
Unfortunately, this game is also the product of perhaps a rushed launch, lacking polish overall with bugs and crashes to supplement this theory. In my time with the game, I experienced plenty of moments where I would randomly clip through the world, causing many unlucky deaths. Not to mention the times where Yo-Yo, the protagonist's sidekick and means of movement, would randomly clip to objects and get stuck on them, leading me to have to restart levels often. Also, this game seems to crash on me every time a cutscene appears in-game or when a tutorial pop-up would appear on screen. This would happen every time I tried to view a cutscene or a tutorial pop-up, without fail, and unfortunately is what led me to making this review. Oddly enough, however, this would not happen when played on my Steam Deck, indicating that it seems to run perfectly on SteamOS? So if you do own a Steam Deck or some other handheld PC capable of operating on SteamOS, maybe that's the way to go if you're interested in this game.
At the time of writing this review, the game has only been released for a total of 4 days, and I'm sure plenty of these bugs and issues will be patched shortly. However, I feel it's important to spread awareness of these issues, as they lead to a much less enjoyable experience and could make-or-break someone's decision to purchase future titles from this developer. While I've greatly enjoyed my time spent with this game so far, I can't help but feel hesitant when recommending this. While it is only $30, a small price to pay for such a charming and delightful title, the bugs and issues I've experienced hold this back from what could have been an astonishing overall product.

If you haven't played the original Half-Life, or are looking to revisit the Half-Life universe, I can safely say that this fan-made remake of the original title exceeded my expectations and is an exemplary model of what a fan-made remake should achieve. While it largely sticks close to its source material, Crowbar Collective wasn't afraid to shy away from it either in an effort to improve upon the mistakes of the original title. Half-Life's universe defined my teenage years, due in part to its excellent world building, atmosphere, and gunplay. Black Mesa lives up to the standards set by Valve Software, building a world made to envelop you as you set foot in the Black Mesa Research Facility, and beyond as seen in the later chapters. As a fan, I loved exploring every nook and cranny of the research facility, there really is an admirable level of attention to detail. That being said, I think it's important to mention its faults too; I found a few chapters (notably Xen) to really drag on. Love it or hate it, this game isn't without its fair share of Source Engine jank, but to say that this title doesn't push the engine to its limits feels like an understatement. In my 20 hour journey across the BMRF, I found myself falling in love with universe of Half-Life all over again, and I owe that to the extraordinary efforts of the Crowbar Collective with this impressive remake.