Recent reviews by Madcat

One of the most immersive street racers out there. I'd say it's aged quite well.
Though there's good reason why fans of the franchise are divided on this game, some hating it with a fervor while others laud it as one of the best.
I'll list the Good, the Bad, and the Debatable in the review below.

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The Atmosphere
Despite the nigh-photorealistic quality, it runs surprisingly well on my GTX 1050 Ti and Intel i5-8400 on max settings. (Though I have a mod that disables some unnecessary post-processing features which certainly improves performance) The way all the lighting, effects, animations and sounds are done though, that's what makes NFS 2016 truly magnificent.
When you're driving through the quiet forest-covered serpentine roads of Sinner's Peak and look at the distant highway lights... That hits hard.
Or when you're parked at El Rey Pier on the very outskirts of the map, radio and engine turned off, only hearing the sounds of the ocean, with the docked fishing boats rocking in the waves... Incredible.
You'll find each spot in Ventura Bay is worth taking a screenshot of! Speaking of...

The Map Design
I'll say that this is among my favourite open world maps in racing games.
The sense of scale is on point, and there is ludicrous amount of detail; it genuinely feels like a place people live in. Of course, there are roads for all tastes too. Like racing through the city alleyway to alleyway dodging lamp posts and parked cars? Prefer going Initial D mode and duke it out in the mountains? Just want to go at breakneck speeds on a highway that circles around the map? It's got it all. Very few dirt roads though.

The Soundtrack
Bops all around. Most certainly fits the theme and are worth to add to your playlist outside the game. You'll be surprised that some classics from Most Wanted, Carbon, Underground and etc. make a comeback as you play through Eddie's Challenges. I'm also a big fan of the Pursuit OST, it has this vibe that you're not fighting the cops like you do in MW or Rivals, but rather trying to get away as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the pursuits themselves are... Ahem...

The Customization
I'd say there's a good variety of things you can do to your cars! Most non-hypers have various body customization options and bodykits, while the paint and livery editor has some decent functionality. Not the best, but it's decent. There are even some hot rods for you to really rice up.

The User Interface
It deserves some praise too! The HUD and "Easydrive" menu help contribute to the realism and immersiveness of the game, taking on the style of phone apps, GPSs and dashboards. Meanwhile the main menus take on the visage of a huge collage of various racer lifestyle shots.

The Activities
There's huge amounts of things you can do. At any point in the game, you'll be racking up scores in 5 disciplines, chaining them together gives you the biggest points and is satisfying as heck.
But that's not it, there are a lot of various events dotted around the map, certainly more than in 2015's predecessor, Rivals. Though the variety of race types is basic - Sprints, Circuits, Time Attacks, Drift Runs and some Drag Races, there are interesting variations mixed in like Touges, Group Drift Runs and Gymkhanas.
You can do Daily Challenges to raise your Monthly rank and get somewhat big rewards. (Though I do them just for fun)
Finally, there are plenty of collectibles! Around the city you'll find Activities (kinda like Forza's PR stunts), Points of Interest, Vistas, "Free" Parts for your cars and Donuts (with very delicious names for each one :P)

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The Handling
Starting with the biggest offender. Handling is a crucial part of racing, and when you botch it, the experience is severely compromised. Case in point, this game's handling. It's very awkward and unresponsive. The brake-to-drift handling model makes it worse because you'll sometimes find your car crab-accelerating into a wall.
Allegedly, you can turn the assists off in the tuning menus in order to better adapt the handling to your preferences, but I literally can't tell in which way this changes things because it's terrible differently. There are more options in the tuning menu, but I won't discuss how accurate they are because there's no tooltip for inexperienced mechanics, but at least there's an option to change the whole setup towards a "Drift" or "Grip" racing style.

The Police Chases
They're very underwhelming. Police cars can barely keep up and the heat rises very slowly, so the first barrier roadblocks appear like... 10 minutes into the pursuit? That is if you don't fall asleep during the time or give up.

The Online Hell
While I don't have any particular qualms about this... You are required to log into Origin and connect to EA servers to play the game. If you choose the Singleplayer option all it does is just put you in an empty private lobby. There is also a mode called "Speedlists" where you race in a series of events against other players, but the matchmaking times are slooooow, there's no way to tell when the championship starts and you cannot leave until the end! At least, I assume you can leave the mode at the end of the championship, I've never found the button.

The Difficulty
Take this opinion with a grain of salt, but for me the vanilla racer AI is not particularly challenging. They can be easily overtaken with a good nitrous boost or drift. And I'm pretty sure their car performance doesn't scale up based on what you're driving. How about that Murcielago facing off against a Silvia? The only real way to challenge yourself is to probably go out of your way to have an equally or underpowered car for the roster you're going up against.

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The Garage
The car roster is solid with a decent mix of cars. I think they're reasonably priced since it gives you a goal to work towards instead of handing out cars left and right like in Forza.
There's, however, limited garage space. From a game designer's aspiring standpoint being limited to 10 cars fosters a sort of deeper connection to your machines and encourages you to upgrade and master a particular car instead of buying a new one. Some people may not enjoy being so limited in their choices though.

The Characters and Cutscenes
What about the overarching story? I'd say it's serviceable. I can see why people find it bad, but I appreciate this abundance of voiced dialogue, conference phone calls or diner meet-ups with the crew. It solidifies the feeling of being a part of a street scene rather than being an isolated lone wolf. Bonus points if you're fan of real life celebrities like Ken Block, Akira Nakai or the Risky Devils, as they make an actual appearance in this game!

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I'm running out of space to write, so my quick summary is...
If you value an immersive driving experience, the beauty of the environment around you, have a passion for cars, or want to take a break from the pretty unrealistic feel of most other NFS titles, you'll like this game. Be warned it's weak on the gameplay side.
I highly encourage you to check out the "Project UNITE" mod as I think it's a must-have for this game. Very easy to setup and makes some serious car sound upgrades, optimizes graphics (mainly by disabling the grain filter), introduces realistic handling and enjoyable police chases.

Final score: 7.5/10 "Get it on a sale!"

If I were to pick a favourite PC game of ALL TIME...
It would definitely be ProjectMoon's Library of Ruina!
And this is exactly why I have been compelled to write this review. Believe me: I don't write a lot of these!



At its core it's a turn-based strategy game with deck-building and dice rolling with some very neat mechanics on top adding to the tactical potential. The abundance of different equipment and cards you acquire as you progress through the game allow you to prepare your teams for any kind of encounter possible. You can build both universal and highly-specialized characters. All in all, the "Librarians" at your disposal are very customziable both mechanically and aesthetically, which is a huge plus!

I am also very pleased with ProjectMoon's decision to remove the rogue-like elements present in their previous game, Lobotomy Corporation, which would practically require the Player to lose days of progress at times. As such, LoR allows the Player to progress through the game at their own pace, without the risk of having dangerous anomalies obliterate hours of work or strict time limits for progression.

To sum it up, Library of Ruina is tactical, has very challenging encounters, and a bit on a grindy side if you ask me. However, you are free to mess around and experiment with different combat styles and setups, unlike its predecessor.
You may not like the gameplay if you don't like sitting and planning out your own and your opponent's moves several steps ahead, or if you're not a fan of trial and error. Although I feel that the challenge this game provides is very exciting and rewarding!



I don't think I'll be able to do it justice, since I have barely gotten through half of what the game offers, despite what my playtime might suggest. But from what I've seen (and heard), Library of Ruina has superior LoRe. haha get it
Masterful presentation, realistic character interactions, exceptional worldbuilding, and compelling writing. It's a kind of story that reels you in begging to find out more, and it's exactly the story that motivates the Player through the tribulations the City puts in front of them.
If you can be bothered to also grind out the many "books" that your opponents will drop, you'll find even more information on the characters and the game's world, in addition to their equipment!



My goodness, the graphics are awe-inspiring!
The subtle artwork coupled with beautiful character design and a UI inspired by the art deco movement mix so well with the story the game presents and the gameplay elements! I'd say Library of Ruina's UI is worthy of being showcased as an example of good design practices for interfaces. The sheer amount of spectacular artwork this game has is staggering!
haha made a pun about the game's mechanic

The SOUNDTRACK also falls in the category of Aesthetics. Let me tell you, this game has hours of bopping tracks you could listen to all the way from the menus to combat!
(I don't know about you, but the simple dynamic soundtrack system they have in place is bonus points from me)
Also, the theme song was performed by the talented Mili team, and if you like their work...
I have good news for you (･ω<)☆
They wrote even more songs for the game, which are just as boppin' as the "String Theocracy" from the game's trailer!



So, to conclude my literal essay, what are you in for if you are planning to purchase the game?
Library of Ruina is a deeply-strategic game, with a gripping story and beautiful art and music.
Despite being in early access, it already has hours upon hours of content for you to explore, and the active, passionate team behind ProjectMoon regularly update and balance the game based on community feedback!

It's no wonder this game has such a devoted fanbase worldwide.
Library of Ruina is a masterpiece which provides a unique and inspiring experience. So don't hesitate! It'll be worth every penny you spend.

Thank you for reading! I hope it was helpful! (￣▽￣)ノ