Recent reviews by jnj0217

To put it plainly, this game is a rare gem. As a fan of the genre, and as someone who just really enjoys different types of shooter games, Selaco has a punch to it that I have really not found in other games.

The combat/gameplay:
The combat is very tight, weapons feel like they have a great impact with really solid animations, sound design, and damage (with a solid variety of weapons and upgrades to boot). Enemy AI is on the higher end of what I have seen in the genre. They communicate and react to your actions really smoothly and frequently keep you on your toes on the edge of death. The game implements "invasion tiers" as you progress the campaign, allowing enemies to use more weapons/tools and tactics, which really help make even the basic enemies feel like they are growing to match your power.

A lot of people compare this game to doom and fear, and while there are a lot of similarities, Selaco reminds me a lot more of Half Life 1. The interactions with the environment, the detailed and interconnected levels, the weapons/enemies; it all gives me the feeling of a modern day half-life with more futuristic elements.

Visuals:
This game is simply gorgeous! It is the best looking GZDoom engine game I have ever seen, and the way the lighting, effects, and general style is implemented it is one of my favorite games visually of the last few years.

Sound/Music:
The soundtrack slaps. You have a solid mix of ambient atmosphere tracks that do a really good job matching the tone and visuals of the game and songs that just escalate encounters another level. The music feels like a mix of the driving beats of the doom 2016 soundtrack and the rolling electric notes in the Risk of Rain soundtracks. I love it.

Maps:
The levels that I have seen (Roughly 2/3rds of all that are out as of this review) are really beautiful. The level of detail and interactivity is insane to me. It honestly feels like a build engine game on crack. Each level (and many of the subsections within) have really nice distinctive designs that have a solid variety to them while still feeling like they are part of the same city. And it is very common to have rooms/encounters that really facilitate you trying out different tactics, weapons, and the like. It has made dying less of a bother and more of an excitement to go back and try an encounter differently. It is really nice.

The Cons:
There were only a few things I found that I didn't like. First is while I do love the maps, some can be a bit of a labyrinth while you are first getting familiar. It gets better as you move through the levels, but i did find myself getting turned around on a few occasions. Having some more visual distinction in certain hallways or small rooms would help this a bit.

The other thing I noticed (and this may be simply the difficulty I was on) enemies move very fast. And while that alone is not bad, the way you play this game changes drastically with each difficulty. Lower levels you can play it more like doom or half life 2. Higher up though you have to be much tactical and often times slower due to taking a lot more cover. The speed of some of the enemies I feel like makes that a little too difficult in some of the rooms. Though this is very much so a nitpick that might just mean I havent gotten good enough at the game yet lol.

TLDR:
The game is amazing. It is a beautiful mix of half life 1, fear, and doom. Weapons, enemies, and overal design and detail are incredible and in a league of their own in many regards. Maps can be a bit difficult to navigate in some areas, and some minor adjustments to designs/balancing may be needed. But overall, this is one of the best and most complete packages you can get in the genre and in the gaming industry as a whole. You will not regret this purchase if you are a fan of the genre or are interested in getting into it.

Important note:
Even though it is in early access, it is a FULL GAME. It is only in early access because the devs want to add additional content for free. When is the last time you heard of a dev making extra content for free because they love the game? Pretty incredible if you ask me, give this game a shot guys

Long Thoughts, TLDR Below

I do not review games generally, I only tend to do it on a whim or if asked. But after playing this game for roughly 20 hours.... I can safely say that I have never experienced a game like this. The quality, the detail, and the pure radiant passion that you can feel dripping from every detail of this game is jaw dropping to me. I currently have one solo story run I am doing (Dark Urge Dragon-born Wizard) and second one (Elf Ranger) I am doing with my fiancee (Half-Elf Druid). And the experience has been profound to me. Its FUN! Just pure atmospheric, immersive, and creative fun. I do not remember the last time I had a game (especially one in a genre I do not generally enjoy as much) pull me in like this. From creating a character, to meeting companions, to learning and exploring the mechanics has been nothing but joy for me. There is such a wide range of ways to play your character and ways to make creative approaches and solutions to puzzle/problems you face in the world. I do not know how they did this, but they truly managed to take the wide-open sandbox potential of DND 5E and put it into a game while still having a cohesive and immersive story experience to follow.

Going into this I was excited but hesitant. I have some experience with DND, but I am far from what I would consider experienced. And as for role-playing games, I have only recently started enjoying the genre. But after seeing a few youtube videos and reading the occasional early access update, I decided I would pick it up the day it was fully released. The intro was amazing, the controls took a few minutes to get accustomed to, but the tutorials were thorough while still being bite sized and easy to follow (no 3 paragraph tutorials you have to scroll through to understand the most basic of tasks). And before I realized it I was already playing along with the groove of the game, making discoveries, and having a blast getting into the story and world.

When is the last time you had a complex and deep game (in a genre you are not familiar with) introduce you to all/most of their systems without making you feel overwhelmed or like you need to reference back to figure out WTH you are doing?

This exemplifies my entire experience in the game so far. Everything has been smooth, easy to understand, and completely player orientated and friendly. It has been such a relief and has helped me sink into and enjoy this game so much more. And frankly the game cares about you as a player, not just as a consumer.

You can tell that Larian spent years really developing every detail of this game. It is an entirely complete experience from start to finish. It runs well (I have only experienced a handful of very minor visual bugs and a the occasional frame rate drop that only lasted a brief moment, and this is only a week after launch). And what I noticed more than I was expecting, there are no required or pushed additional purchases. It is an experience you pay for 1 time up front, and there are absolutely no points in-game that ever even remotely suggest additional purchases. There is a deluxe pack, but it only adds the soundtrack, some DND goodies, and a few small items in-game that are by no means necessary. It serves as a thank you bag of goods for people wanting to support the developers a little more. And OMG can you feel it in game. I think we all know the feeling of playing a game with friends or even alone where after every match or even mid-gameplay you have some sort of ad, reminder, or game-play blocker to push you into making some additional purchase. And we are seeing this even in purely single player games. It is frankly tiring and immersion breaking to have a game (especially one I have just paid for already) lock-off content and consistently push for more money just to experience a game that was supposed to be a complete experience. And having this not be the case in Baldurs Gate 3 helps me as a player feel respected, and allows me to enjoy the game without any hindrance. And it is because of this I have talked all of my friends into getting this game, and why I will be playing dozens of campaigns to experience different styles with each of them. And it is why I decided to purchase the deluxe upgrade 20+ hours in to say I appreciate a AAA company designing a game with these type of core beliefs. And I will buy every game Larian releases for as long as they follow this model, the industry needs it. And frankly it is really nice to play a AAA game I am excited for, and have it be fully functioning, complete, and fun DAY 1! No waiting 6-8 months hoping they update the game to "fix" or "add" broken or missing content.

TLDR:

Baldurs Gate 3 is a feature complete game. That is fully functioning in both design and in how it preforms. And I cannot remember the last time I said that about a AAA game. You boot it up and you are thrown into this world that it complex, deep, and richly detailed and immersive. And it is a world designed with your time, wallet, and needs respected. It is $60 on release, and once you hit play it will never ask you for even a penny more, and you will have a beautiful and fully complete experience from start to end that is of some of the highest quality I have seen in all my years of gaming. And I will be buying everything Larian releases for as long as they continue releasing games with this type of quality and player friendly design.

Thank you Larian, this is truly an amazing experience playing this.

This was my first game I have ever gotten on Steam. It is an incredible game that you will never want to stop playing!!!! Highly Reccomend