Recent reviews by NaCly

Solid mechanics with a lovely presentation. 100% recommend if you know the genre.

It's a mixed bag which is in stark contrast to the other SteamWorld games. Even if you love the franchise and card based RPG's you should probably still take a pass. Every game has it flaws but I think the unforgivable ones here are:

- Unskippable cutscenes, ugh it's SO bad especially if you play on Legend
- The overworld, it's just bland and not fun to navigate at all
- Lack of loadouts on characters, you get all these characters and then never bother to synergize their abilities because swapping between decks is just garbage
- Artificial difficulty, you're going to get killed just by not knowing what fight you're going into and bringing the wrong kit

And to make things worse, these problems compound. You'll show up to a boss fight with the wrong kit, have no chance of defeating it the first time, get wiped and revive, spend a fair chunk of time changing up your party and equipment to match the fight because you can't just swap loadouts, walk through the annoying overworld back to the fight, and then right click mash your way through the partially unskippable cutscene to then easily trounce the boss.

It's sad because there are some solid systems to be found under the hood. They're just not worth getting to.

Games Amazing. Fun. Interesting. 10/10. So I'm crushed I have to give this a negative review.

Netcode/Server Architecture is bad. If your friends have bad internet or crummy PC's then you're going to experience a ton of lag. Even if you're the host or are running a dedicated server (which really is more of a coordinator).

Will change this to a positive review if they fix it. Please upvote if you also want this fixed as a priority.

Hooning, Tofuing, or just plain Bending, this game really is the Zen of Drift. If you're struggling to get the feel stick with it because there's really nothing quite like tapping B for some handbrake on a midnight mountain run and then just easing on the accelerator as you effortlessly drift the longest corner of your career.

The highest quality ♥♥♥♥♥♥ experience you can have. It's not a bad game by any means but after awhile the amazing presentation wears off and it just stops being fun. And I don't just mean because of the grind... it's more than that, this game does something unique in that it wants you to confuse the fact that the theme aligning with your experience makes it good.

A winning run in Darkest Dungeon is a relief but rarely felt enjoyable... and a failed expedition was frustrating, not motivating. Applied to any other game people wouldn't be interested even if the presentation and mechanics were rock solid (which they are), but bundle those around a depressing and atmospheric title and it does fool you for awhile.

I played on normal difficulty and got my money's worth, but if I had a time machine I'd invest my time and money elsewhere.

Episode 2 is the no brainer of the half life series. It's everything good about Half-Life 2 bundled into a few crisp hours of gameplay. The lore and world building is great, old and new enemies rear their ugly heads, and we get some fun vehicle sections. It's better paced than Half-Life 2, and more varied than Episode one. 5/5 crowbars.

A solid follow-up to HL2. With a few new mechanics and the same solid level design the game makes for an enjoyable romp through a bit more plot. Not as much gunship or strider combat which is a plus, but also no airboat or buggy sequences which were arguably some of the best parts of the base game. Also, never thought I'd be so happy to get my crowbar back... so satisfying.

A vast improvement on its predecessor in every way, Half Life 2 deserves its iconic status. Characters you care about in a proper hero's arc with brilliant level design. And yah the platforming doesn't suck this time around!

I do have a few nitpicks though, the most notable flaw being the rocket launcher sequences. What should be the 2nd best weapon in the game quickly becomes the least fun of the gunplay since most of the time you're using it you're fighting gunships or striders and therefore cowering behind cover. It's tedious and by the end even the sight of a rocket launcher ammo crate made me cringe.

Later in the game when you get a squad also kind of sucks as moving with your team in tight stairwells and narrow doorways makes them constantly in the way. This actually left me feeling relieved when they invariably wandered into enemy line of fire.

I'm not complaining though, the game is fantastic. The controls are awesome. The vehicles are a blast. Respect to the crowbar.

Having never played it when it originally released, picking up Half Life today is a strange experience. Through a tangled mess of gameplay elements ranging from crisp shooting to puzzle elements and (occasionally clunky) platforming, the game is constantly driving you forward with its engaging narrative and unique level design. Sure, when it's being difficult for the wrong reasons you'll probably hate it... but as you save scum your way through those occasional frustrations it somehow manages to earn your respect as one of those games with a soul.

That said, based on the reviews of Black Mesa (the HD remake of this game) your time is likely better spent playing that as it seems to have captured the soul but improved on the rest. May your crowbar always be handy fellow Freemen.

I simply cannot recommend this game. It looks fun and the controls are crisp, but something just isn't right. All the potential there for a smash hit but it never quite connects.

The inventory/crafting is a bit clunky and the "invasion" which occurs if you don't complete a level fast enough struck me as unnecessary and frustrating.