Recent reviews by ChaosContrl

This game could have been a wonderful experience reaching new heights. But with the lack of crucial bug fixes for years, and now the announcement of a UE5 port of the game (with most probably the same lack of bug fixes shipping along with it) in a few months from now which will take down all official servers for this game at the same time, buying Ark:Survival Evolved is only for collectionists at this point.

Oh and, the UE5 port is NOT a free upgrade of this game, but another full price (49.99$ USD) purchase. And you gotta buy the DLC maps too (19.99$ USD for the first 3 story maps, then another 19.99$ USD for the Genesis section) separately (which is now rebundled into a single 59.99$ USD purchase without Ark 2, meaning Ark 2 is worth around 30$ USD as a phantom game).

SO BASICALLY: The ascended version will be great for players who never had Ark before, but a big middle finger for those who supported the game for at least 6 years now. Just think about it should you want to purchase the ascended version (or even this version).

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If I ever find the reason to spend time to write a review on this abandoned game, I will. But to sum it up:
- if you like a second day job that will not give you even a base salary;
- if you like to fight, tame, and breed dinosaurs who only know to move forward and attack without a care for their surroundings;
- if you like to fight the building system of a game to find the correct non-clipping positions without terraforming;
- if you like to see your months long investments literally fall down pits and be gone in mere seconds;
- if you like seeing water bodies reflect your mount's wings as if you were a giant;
Then by all means, welcome to the world of ARK: Survival Evolved

Originally posted by Games Inc:

"Could be the Large Hadron Collider; could be an urethra"

***As an Early Access game***, the gameplay elements are on-point, professional, and greatly enjoyable! The continued work to balance, adjust, and continuously improve on existing elements further push these elements to both casual and competitive enthusiasts. It is to note however, since this is ***an Early Access game***, that character modifications gameplay-wise or move-wise can break existing combos or change the rhythm of inputs, meaning a patch can mostly mean needing to relearn the character a little again. Despite this inconvenience, blending a social aspect to a fighting game is a really interesting touch to a genre all about competition, skills and superiority. The lobby system and its style is most easily achieved in Them's Fightin' Herds thanks to the art style and comedic visuals, as well as the overall cuteness of pixelized cartoon ungulates. Not only that, but the community and player base are highly keen on helping others, even coming from the higher skilled groups and players. I highly recommend getting this game if you want to try the fighting games genre or if you seek diversity in your skill set (and perhaps recognize familiar fighter combat styles.)

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With the game now in full release, I honestly feel like this game is solid. Very solid. The gameplay is top-notch, the characters are amazing, the music is spectacular (and the fact it changes depending on who is winning is such a wonderful treat~), and the story mode is WORTH IT! The TUTORIALS have all you ever wanted to learn and practice for a fighting game, the TRAINING MODE has so many options that everyone can find exactly what they need in order to practice (full AI control, combo trials, practice level 2 supers, and way more!), and the PIXEL LOBBIES are fun, social, without hindering on the core of the game in the slightest!

It is NOT a "pony game". It is a "legit, mechanically deep fighting game". And it's a whole lot of fun to play, practice, and get better in! I fully recommend this game for any players, be it newbies, professionals or anyone in-between!

I couldn't feel more satisfied upon reaching the true ending of this game. Not in order to end the animal aspect of it, not to end the endless horror of dying countless times, but to finally give myself a big pat on the back, for completing what I think was the Dark Souls of the furry fandom.

I highly recommend this game if you want a big challenge that won't hold your hand AT ALL, and let you work your mind for once without giving out big, obvious clues or mercy!

First things first:
YES, it has keyboard and mouse support.
YES, you can use the Celestial Brush with the mouse.
YES, you can skip any cutscenes and text without needing to complete the game first.
YES, you can use a drawing tablet to play.
NO, there is not the original song "Reset" in the entire game, be it from the end credits or the presents from Issun.

Now:
After the first few minutes (16 to be exact), I felt all the childhood memories resurface in my mind, the excited fan inside me screaming to continue in this beautiful game. Used to play the game on the Wii with 480p resolution on a small screen, now with 1440p on a computer monitor large enough to be fully immersed in this work of art, I can't begin to imagine what 4K will look like. Not only all the textures are sharp, but the added post processing effects from the original on PS2 makes the experience simply better.

This newest edition of Okami allows both controller and keyboard/mouse support, the game open to the Playstation or the "Wii" playstyles. I have not tested the controller part yet, however for the keyboard/mouse part, all the controls can be rebound to your heart's content. The camera is controlled by the mouse, in case you are wondering.

Using the Celestial Brush feels natural, comfortably giving you full control on your line work without horrid wavering drawing (Wii version with its Wiimote not being stable in your hand, for example). I miss the ability to change the thickness of the brush freely like on PS2, although at least there's the ability to paint a constant, thicker line instead.

You can also change the refresh rate of the game, as well as the resolution and if you want it fullscreen, windowed, or borderless windowed. Either you can't change to a 1920x1200 resolution if you don't have a 16:10 screen (even if your 16:9 screen is bigger than that), or it's locked at 4:3 and 16:9 only. You might get some black lines if you are using a 16:10 screen.

With all the positive above, I do have to point out the controls overall can take a little while to get used to. As for framerate, the Fan Menu can go at 60 fps, while the game itself seems to be capped at 30 fps. In any case, the framerate of the game was not wavering at all on either situations, which is a mega plus compared to, say, an emulator.

Overall, the game compared to its predecessing versions is simply stunning, completely worth the $20.00. This 30 hours game is a masterpiece, a classic, and simply a unique and fun experience. Now's your chance to play this amazing, way underrated work of art!

P.S.: For the artists out there, try out your drawing tablets with the game and see if it works. If you can move your mouse cursor with a pen, so should the camera and Celestial Brush. This can be a unique way to play~

EDIT: I forgot to point out by default, the right mouse button makes the alternate, thicker line. Now if you have some sort of plugin for a PS3 controller for detecting analog inputs, I wonder if the game will still recognize that data and allow you to draw variable lines, like on PS2...

UPDATE: I can confirm that Okami is playable with a drawing tablet like Intuos Comic and the likes. It actually makes for a very interesting playstyle! However, the camera is a little bit hard to control unless you have a very high sensitivity, since you can't just reposition your pen like you would with your mouse in this case. For the first time, I finally was able to really draw in Okami...

TIPS:
If you need to walk for the "Pick Nami's clothes" minigame, hold B on the keyboard. It will make Amaterasu walk instead of run when you move around.

Pressing the Fan Menu button twice allows you to skip nearly all dialog in the game, without the need to complete the game first.

Applying Gold Dust on weapons apply different visual effects on them, no matter how subtle they are. It's easier to notice it now in this edition of the game!

One of the most creative indie game ever made... it's a must-have-played-at-least-once-before-you-die experience!