Recent reviews by xennox

When I first picked up Car Mechanic Simulator 2021, I was excited. Finally, a game where I could live out my fantasy of running a successful garage without actually getting my hands dirty. A unique, satisfying experience awaited me—or so I thought.

But oh, how quickly the spark plugs of excitement misfired. What started as an engaging, hands-on experience in virtual car maintenance soon turned into a relentless grind, an automotive purgatory where my only escape was finishing every single achievement.

And speaking of pointless grind… let’s talk about the game’s RPG system, because nothing screams "immersive simulation" like grinding XP to unlock the ability to turn bolts faster. Yes, you heard that right—there’s an entire skill tree dedicated to things like:

* Turning bolts faster – Because clearly, this was the greatest bottleneck in automotive repair.
* Moving faster – Ever dreamed of roleplaying as a mechanic who just discovered jogging? This game’s got you covered.

At this point, I half-expected to unlock a skill that let me blink faster.

And let’s not forget the mini-games. If you thought the worst part of being a mechanic was dealing with difficult customers, you clearly haven’t spent hours clicking through the same repetitive mini-games that serve no purpose other than testing your patience.

* Salvaging parts – Take damaged parts, play an annoying mini-game to get some scrap, then use that scrap to upgrade parts. Rinse and repeat. Ad nauseam.
* Repairing parts – You guessed it, another mini-game. I’d rather be fixing an actual car at this point.
* Wheel balancing – Because what’s more fun than a task real-life mechanics probably do in their sleep?
* Wheel alignment & headlight alignment – Oh good, more mini-games, because that’s what was missing.

These aren’t skill-based, they aren’t engaging, and they certainly aren’t fun. They’re just there, adding an extra layer of tedium to an already grind-heavy experience. If I wanted to do mindless, repetitive tasks all day, I’d take up data entry.

I respect the game’s ambition, and yes, the core idea is great. But after a while, the game stops feeling like a car mechanic simulator and more like an unpaid internship at The Bureau of Pointless Clicks.

Final verdict? If you love cars, repetition, and the sheer thrill of levelling up “walking speed,” this game is for you. Otherwise, buckle up for a ride that goes in circles—forever.

⭐ 2.5 out of 5 wrenches

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 is a straight-forward, skull-crushing, heretic-purging, Emperor-glorifying romp through the grimdark future—where subtlety is a xeno heresy and every problem can be solved with a chainsword.

This game could do with some major quality of life improvements, for example:

1. When selecting a loadout, allow us to apply a particular set of perks to our character and the chosen weapons. This would enable us to adapt tactics mid-mission, rather than feeling like a servitor programmed to only do one thing.
2. The low field of view can be really annoying at times. It’s hard to feel like an unstoppable Ultramarine when your peripheral vision is as narrow as a Commissar's tolerance for insubordination.
3. The most annoying one: not explaining the difference between the "blocking," "balanced," and "fencing" weapon types. I was being slaughtered while using a blocking weapon and couldn’t fathom why until a friend informed me that "blocking" weapons can’t parry. Truly, the Emperor protects... but apparently not from poor weapon tutorials.

Generally good in its execution.

Do you like jump scares? Then this game is for you.
Do you have ADHD and you cannot focus for long periods of time? Then this game is for you.

Are you expected depths likes games such as Alan Wake or Amnesia? Then this game will leave you disappointed.

If you're into puzzles with a story, then this is a game for you. Sure the story isn't something that keeps you guessing or on the edge of your seat, but it does add to the appeal of the game.

Some of the puzzles can get a bit tricky, especially when you forget about the locations of things.

An absolute fantastic co-op adventure.

Play this with your partner, would recommend. 10/10

Generally, I don't like "survivalcraft" games like Grounded, however I stumbled upon Grounded when it was part of Early Access and I thought that this would be a good game to play with my girlfriend. Turns out it was a good choice, and I landed up enjoying the game too. The uniqueness of the items, fauna and locations really turned it into a great game. Lots of fun was had, would recommend. It gets a solid A+ from me.

1 map, with fixed objectives lends to very little replayability, coupled with the fact that there have been zero meaningful updates in almost a year means that this is a no-go.

Having put a fair amount of time into this game (approx. 40 hours when this review was written), I can categorically say: avoid this game.

The predominant reason being the grind, the grind is insane. Sure, sometimes there are interludes where you get to explore some of the game, but some events are locked behind skill walls or behind grind events (purify all Haedirs in this region), but it inevitably goes back to being a grind.

After playing the first game in the series, I am left sorely disappointed by this sequel. If it wasn't for the grind, then I might have reconsidered my stance on the game.

A really enjoyable game. I bought the game without reading any reviews, or watching any launch - it just popped up in my "Recommended for you" section in steam - probably because I am a sucker for simulation over arcade style shooters.

The game sees you thrown into Italy during World War 2. You are a sniper, and you are tasked with amongst other things, assassinating people and blowing ♥♥♥♥ up. The game offers various difficulty settings, where the higher the difficultly the more realistic the ballistic model becomes, and the more dangerous the AI becomes.

I'm personally played this game on this hardest difficulty before "Authentic", which meant I had to contend with bullet drop and wind effects.

The good:

+ Really interesting gameplay.
+ Fans of realistic shooter games (ARMA 1/2/3) will probably enjoy this - but if you're a hardcore ARMA player, you may find fault with the realism of the game.
+ Choose your way - you can either go in guns blazing, or be a ghost, masking your shots with the sound of environmental effects.

The bad:

- The story is superficial.
- If you prefer twitch style shooters (CS:GO, Battlefield 1, CoD, R6: Siege, etc) you probably will not like this game.
- There is a choice of weapons, but some weapons far exceed others that you will constantly rely on them.

An interesting game. Quite short. My first playthrough took approximately 2 hours. The gameplay is fairly straightforward, and the controls are simply. You interact with a varing AI called Kerzan-85. The responses from the AI feel ... artifical at times. You'll request something, and it will respond with something that makes no sense.

Any way, I would recommend it. It's a refreshing game.