Recent reviews by DaveTheBaker

After finishing Silent Hill 2, I've come to understand why this game is a classic in the industry. I have played numerous horror games in the past decade and to my greatest surprise, Silent Hill 2 just stole the show from everything else.

Let me start with the visuals. While I wouldn't go as far as Konami saying that the remake has "cutting-edge" visuals, I'd certainly go with "this is what a AAA game in 2024 should look like". Not exactly like this, but for 70-80€, I want my jaws dropped. My favorite parts were the streets of Silent Hill covered in the thick fog. I stopped every now and then to watch the reflection of puddles, and kept staring at buildings and windows. Not only were those the most atmospheric areas, I could also explore a lot and it felt safer than in buildings. However every area in the game had me hooked from the start and there is not a single one I wouldn't go back to... obviously, not in real life.

For the first time in a long time, conversations in a horror game didn't feel niche or cliché. They were either entertaining, sparked an interest or just simply unpredictable. Unpredictable, especially with Eddie.
Characters were well-written and honestly I can't even complain about the performances either.

I've played the game without radio and melee only, which added an extra layer to fear and unpredictability. There isn't hundreds of enemy types, so close combat is pretty easy to get used to once you learn the move set of each enemy. Although I enjoyed combat, I can understand if these encounters feel underwhelming for some players, especially those coming from souls/hack-and-slash genres. There was one boss fight in particular that caught me so off-guard that it made me kind of ♥♥♥♥ my pants and also keep focusing on surviving at the same time.

Animations were correct, enemy movements were well-designed. There was only on a few occacions where I felt like facial expressions were less refined, but the overall quality was thorough.

I can't write this review without talking about the musical score. Mr. Yamaoka nailed every scene and added something special to an already great game. I promise this wasn't the last time I listened to this OST.

Bloober Team did a phenomenal job, they proved every doubter, even me, wrong. Silent Hill 2 is a monumental game of the horror genre, with its soundtrack, terrifying locations, terror-stricken gameplay, frightening atmosphere and surprisingly human story.

You know you've found something special when you feel empty as you watch the credits burst onto your screen, sit in your chair for minutes silently, embracing the void that just filled your heart and soul.

If someone was to ask me now:

"Well, is that everything you hoped for?"

After playing The Last of Us Part I, I can say without a doubt: Yes.

Without ever saying a word, this game left me speechless.

After waiting to play this for 8 years, I finally got to play Nathan and Sam's adventure. During this time, I grew up, I have played several games similar to Uncharted but now I can confidently say that none of them comes close. In my review, I will focus more on the 4th installment to the series rather than Lost Legacy, as A Thief's End is the main selling point of the collection.

Let me start by saying that Uncharted is going to be among the best games you'll play this year... or the year you get to play it.
It is undoubtedly one of the best action-adventure games ever created with its beautiful graphics, detailed animations, staggering fight/chase scenes and most importantly its characters and conversations.

The conversations and the exploration together are the best parts of the game. I see a lot of people complain about puzzle hints and how characters give hints to you but to me puzzles felt like I was solving the puzzle with Sam and Sully together. Their comments were organically implemented enough to feel immersive rather than condescending.

Troy Baker already cemented himself among the greatest actors in the industry, having him and Nolan North play the siblings is like having Messi and Ronaldo in your team. I want to highlight Emily Rose's Elena, whose performance kept Nathan together in the difficult moments of the game and Richard McGonagle whose depiction of Sully stayed loyal to the the trilogy, but his role was pushed back to being more supportive.

There is a minor spoiler incoming about 2 encounters, nothing major or important story-wise.
I loved Rafe and Nadine but I absolutely hated the fight against Nadine when she was fighting off Sam and Nathan. I'm not here to say a woman can't beat a man, I was already a bit surprised by the first fight, but when 2 strong, in-shape men, who climb rocks and have great endurance can't even touch a lady that is half their size... well, my smile wasn't as honest as it was during the rest of the game.

The graphics are top-notch from the year 2016. It was a jaw-dropping experience for everyone when the game released and looked like this without a single loading screen in the entire game.

The animation speaks for itself. Typical Naughty Dog quality, Assassin's Creed's climbing looks like an enthusiastic indie game compared to what we see here. The facial expressions and body moves are the best you could see back in 2016.

Chases and fights are fun, intense and visually impressive.
I didn't really understand why the silenced pistol was originally a multiplayer exclusive feature on the PS4, later it was added to Lost Legacy but it would have been a really useful weapon for Nathan and Sam.
At first I was struggling with encounters on medium difficulty, but after playing "Crushing", medium felt like a walk in the park.

Henry Jackman did an awesome job with the soundtrack, every track starts at the right time and some tracks sound and feel as if the Pirates of the Caribbean are in the middle of the greatest fight in the history for Henry Avery's treasure. I loved "Reunited", "Brother's Keeper", "Race to Libertalia", "Join Me In Paradise" but I could go on and on.

There is a lot of aspects I could highlight as this is truly an exceptional game, but lastly I'd like to say a few words about the gameplay. It mainly consists of 3 things. Combat (aggressive and stealth), climbing and traversal around the map such as walking and having a conversation, casually exploring your environment and puzzle solving. Despite having to climb several times in the game , it doesn't feel boring as Nathan and his companions talk all the time in the game, there is not a single minute they are silent not even when they're climbing. I've already mentioned puzzles above so I'd rather talk about the combat/stealth. The AI is good. Much better than what we're used to nowadays. There are only a handful of times that Sam or someone else stays in the open, right in front of an enemy that ignores him and there are surprising differences between difficulty levels when it comes to combat. Once you get spotted, especially on higher levels, you will be eventually forced out of your camping spot. In a lot of games nowadays, you can just stay behind cover and clear up the place but not in Uncharted. You will be pushed by a heavy with a shotgun, enemies will throw grenades or just destroy the box or wooden object you were hiding behind. You are forced to move and forced to take chances and make decisions. Great way to keep the gameplay fresh even when you replay the game, it will feel different in a good way.

All in all, go and play Uncharted if you haven't already as it is one of the best of its genre and highly unlikely to disappoint. I loved it, had an absolute blast of a time and will definitely replay at some point.

After the ending, I sat silently in my chair for a while. There was not much I could say as I felt empty inside. So I stood up, walked up to my plush fox, grabbed it, hugged it and said: sorry.

It's not every year that a game touches my soul as much as Road 96.

This is a journey you won't regret.

I'd like to start off by saying that this game is probably something you'd try when you have nothing else to play. If that's the case, I recommend checking it out as you can spend a good 5-6 hrs while playing through the story.

Get Even surprised me the most with its interior levels as it can be super unpredictable. The level design is also something they worked really hard on. You can tell, again, mainly inside the buildings, that the developers paid attention to every graffiti and object they placed around corridors or on tables. The newspapers, voice recordings and documents we find during the game are also something I wanted to highlight for their creepiness.

The style of gameplay you have to adapt to is also interesting, you may think it's a shooter but the story tries to push you to rely more on your map than on your gun. You've got to use each feature of your mobile to progress with the story but you are not forced to use them 200 times throughout the game.

The audio design is pretty decent, although I personally disliked the music during gunfights that played after I got spotted.

I think it's a decent game for a weekend when you've got nothing better to play.

Not long ago, I was searching for something to play and I just stumbled upon this hidden, overlooked game, which got my attention.

First of all, the I didn't expect the story to be as interesting as this was. I was immediately hooked when a mysterious guy started giving me calls.

All the levels including the main building is entertaining to explore, I didn't want to miss anything, especially after finding the "Bottom of the pit" vinyl record. I was just standing in the middle of my office, listening to that beauty and was completely wonderstruck.

Puzzles are decent, it won't make you struggle for hours but it requires some effort from your side.

I can only recommend this game, the time I spent playing it, it was great, enjoyable, brilliant.

It is difficult to write a review about a game which was definitely not made for me. I'm a very, and I cannot stress this enough, *very* down-to-earth person. I'm not really into these types of stories with a lot of scientific explanation and obscure cinematics.

However, I have to give a thumbs up on this for the journey I had the opportunity to take. Walking, driving, climbing and occasionally falling around this environment with all its obstacles whether if it was the weather, a camp or a rock, was a really calm and rewarding experience.

The story, as I said above, is definitely not my cup of tea, I tend to fall in love with more fleshed out human characters, who don't have any specific powers or high-tech tools but their ambitions, motivations, reasons and willingness to change their situation/life.
The Death Stranding, although shares some profound thoughts, ultimately is a story about a post-apocalyptic United States and how a porter, Sam Bridges, connects the remaining, now cities, together. You will be introduced to a lot of weird or rather unusual characters not to mention the numerous cutscenes (especially at the beginning) that make no sense until the end.

I have to highlight the soundtrack as I'd gladly put it next to my favorite video-game OSTs including Alan Wake, The Last of Us 1, 2 and Red Dead Redemption 2. I was genuinely surprised by how beautifully crafted music was in this game.

I'd say that anyone who is looking for something interesting, relaxing and just simply something new should give this game a try, but it will test your patience and open-mindedness in a good way. People who are into this or a similar type of storytelling have an advantage.

Firewatch got my attention in the very first minute and managed to keep it until the very end.
I feel like a journey like this or a similar one, is walked by every human being at least once in their life.
It didn't have an ending I expected, but it was as human as I imagined it to be.