Recent reviews by InfinityPlusOne

Before you buy this game, consider the fact that you may be penalized for ignoring calls that you would consider to not be emergencies, or worthy of government intervention-trivial things like hornet nests that should be up to members of the public to resolve on their own, or immoral policy such as requiring a permit to own a gun. The examples may be personal to you, and your first instincts may get you penalized in the game, which might not be ideal for a gaming experience. Its a neat concept, but it is often times jarring.

It was a neat concept, but it was very off putting to get reprimanded by the game for ignoring a citizen report of an illegal possession of firearms, possession without permit. A permit to own a firearm? Just didnt feel right. It feels very weird to play a game where you have to make choices that would be in violation of your conscience in order to win. Not for everyone.

ARK is one of the best games I have ever played in my life. It's not perfect, to be sure. The story shouldn't be conveyed through notes. The multiplayer PVP is a disaster. Beyond that, though, I don't have much to offer in the way of criticisms. The environment feels so alive, and the gameplay is more expansive than most AAA action games. It's the most complete survival sandbox game that's ever been made. I recommend playing alone or with a small group of friends on a private server, with mods. This is one of the few games I'd give a rating of 9/10. If the multiplayer PVP were improved, and the game given an actual story experience, it'd be a solid 10/10. Go play this game.

Astroneer has shaped up to be a little disappointing, but regardless, it is one of the most original, and pleasant gaming experiences you'll ever have. Sandbox games often struggle with directing the player with purpose. They create large scale experiences, but those sandboxes tend to feel empty and without meaning if there's nothing to drive the player to explore and expand their capabilities. Astroneer is the most beautiful sandbox you've ever seen-or rather that you've ever heard. The sound design is phenomenal, and sets the bar higher than any game I've played. The biggest problem Astroneer has, is giving the player a reason to experience this beautiful sandbox in the first place. In my experience, I could fumble around for about 20 hours at most, before becoming utterly bored and directionless. I have no problem with gaming experiences that are only 20 hours long. The problem is, they shouldn't end with feeling bored and directionless. They should end with feeling a satisfying sense of completion. That is something that really evades Astroneer. Regardless, Astroneer still somehow manages to be worth a purchase at this price point. It's truly one of the most unique games you'll ever play.

Empyrion is probably the most fun, least niche iteration of this scifi, survival, sandbox genre that is so popular in the steam community today. That's probably because of the fleshed out shooter mechanics and powerful creative tools for building. The developers have really built this game up to have a lot of multiplayer potential. I'm excited to see what they have in store for the community moving forward. This is one of the few games that I can honestly say is well worth the money, even though it's not complete.

I can not recommend this game at this time. I understand it is in alpha, but the game is riddled with bugs so severe that it renders the game completely unplayable. I attempted to build my first shelter, upon which the build system began glitching and deleting huge swathes of my hut. Run/jump/attack animations are utterly broken as well. There are fundamental problems with this game that the developers need to address before anyone ought to consider spending any money on this at all.

EDIT: BUYER BEWARE, THIS IS ABANDONWARE. I have revisited this game after two years. Before even re-installing the game, I looked to see how often the game had been updated. Apparently the game has been abandoned for 6 months. I guess my intuition was right. The game is fundamentally broken, and the devs have no intention of fixing it. This game looked like it was going to be a cool rpg/simulation style game like Kenshi, but it turned out to be some garbage tech demo for a hypothetical MMO that no one asked for. Save your money.

Space engineers provides an excellent foundation for a game, but is not in itself a game. Despite this fact, I would still recommend it. The community is very passionate and creative, and with mods, you can actually create a satisfying gaming experience. The game is great, but it's unlike any game you've ever played before. It demands a little creativity and self direction, but in the end, I can recommend it. Definitely play it with friends. The multiplayer should be good enough to keep you sufficiently engaged, such that the price point is justified. Give it a go.

Kenshi is a labor of love. It's one of those games games, like rimworld, that clearly demonstrates its excellent game design and vision. The execution of the game is so in line with the developer's stated mission, that the only way it could turn out so well, is if it were directed by one single person. The developers knew exactly what to do, and how to do it. There is little I would do to change this game. The price point is reasonable, and the gameplay opportunity is vast. I only wish that the developer had more funds to build this game with, so it could be more polished visually, both in regards to the game graphics, and the graphics of the UI. Still, it's a phenomenal game, and incredibly fresh and original. Definitely worth a recommend.