Recent reviews by Colt

As someone with over 2,000 hours on the OG Oblivion combined from the Xbox 360 release, the GOTY Edition on PC on Disc, and the Steam release, this remake is everything I wanted and more.

Here's my spoiler free review partway into my playthrough:

Having a real difficulty setting that actually feels natural and not just a slider combined with the balance changes makes combat feel a lot better, the combat is hefty and responsive, and even has integration for adaptive triggers if you play with controller, making it harder to press down when you have less stamina.

The masteries for certain combat skills are changed now, too. The game is much more clear about what, for example, reaching Journeyman in Blade skill does, as it no longer just "unlocks a new power attack" like in base game but explains that this power attack leaves opponents vulnerable to follow up regular attacks.

They've also changed the way leveling works so now major skills are no longer the only skills that contribute to you leveling up. Instead, they just level up quicker. This contributes to a much nicer balancing and a more natural level progression. I'm about level 8 at the time of writing this and the curve has felt a lot more natural than in OG Oblivion.

The graphics are absolutely stunning. People were complaining about this remake looking 'brown' from the screenshots we had but honestly I don't really see it. Some areas, especially the Gold Coast, do have that kind of look to them, but it's setting appropriate, and other areas you will see plenty of vibrant greens, purples, and oranges.

I'm about six hours into my first playthrough of the remake and so far I have encountered not a single technical error and no crashes. I'm also able to run this on my gaming laptop, which bodes well for people who have even mid-spec desktops.

All the OG voice acting you know and love is here, plus a levy of new voices to add variety to town guards and some of the NPCs around. Overall it adds great immersion. They also fixed the classic meme where beggar voices would just go back to Wes Johnson's regular voice when you asked about rumors, Beggars now speak consistently.


The character creator is better than ever and is as much a freak factory as it was in the original. If you want to create nightmare fuel abominations, you can. If you want to make your character look good, you can. Some specific nice features for me were the inclusion of skin tone selection and the fact eye types are not race locked, so you can have Mark Zuckerberg lizard eyes if you so choose.

The OG music you know and love is all here, and just as beautiful as ever.

Genuinely breathtaking. I had a feeling this was gonna be a good year for gaming, but ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I did not expect my childhood to be resurrected this utter and completely.

Well worth the price and then some. Grab a root beer, kick your feet up and plunge back into killing some Daedra and making your mark, and close shut the jaws... of Oblivion.

Arthouse psychadelic Dark Souls with upgrade elements.

DEMOCRACY HAS ACHIEVED TOTAL VICTORY

I like the part where Reaps says "You're pretty tough for a softshell" and then inverts my anus

Keeping my review somewhat vague to avoid spoilers.

If you're a Dead Space fan, you gotta play this. I loved the first two Dead Space games, and with the disappointment that was DS3 and EA inserting money hungry practices into it, I was skeptical but cautiously optimistic when the Dead Space remake was announced.

I was hoping it would be a worthy experience. I got more than I bargained for. You can tell everyone who worked on this played the original Dead Space and understood why it was good. Not only has the story been patched up a bit to make more sense, the introduction of dialogue to Isaac makes this feel more like a fitting precursor to the events of Dead Space 2. Getting to see Isaac's personality in this is super refreshing and Gunner Wright reprising his role is the icing on the cake.

Everything about this, from the graphics, to the stellar sound design, to the gameplay loop, I can't compliment this enough. One of the biggest improvements is that none of the guns feel bad to use. In the original Dead Space, certain tools were laughable and barely functional at all (I.e. the flamethrower). In remake, every single weapon is viable, and some weapons I dismissed in the original became my go-tos in the remake.

You have to play this. This is a rare instance where I may even say a remake is better than the original.

Applause to everyone involved in this project. This scratched a Dead Space itch that has been in the back of my mind for years.

I don't know what the dev team plans to do next (if anything) but I have high hopes.

This is a solid 10/10, no doubts. No game is truly flawless but this comes very damn close.

This will be an uncharacteristically long review for me, one that will take a lot of effort to write. However, the devs of this game clearly put in 200% effort so I will be doing the same. I will be keeping this review fully spoiler-free.

If the below text seems too long, just read this: This is easily my GOTY 2023 and I will be recommending everyone I know play this. I've not passionately fanboyed this hard over a game in quite some time..

GENERAL OVERVIEW:


Trepang2 is a shooter made by a start-up indie company with a premise that on its own merit already sold it to me - a modern revival of the kind of visceral heart-pounding action we'd seen in F.E.A.R. back in 2005, the same kind of insanely dynamic, brutal, and action packed combat we'd seen against the Replicas in F.E.A.R, combined with the fast-paced movement mechanics and superhuman strength we'd seen in Crysis.

On its own it is a very promising premise, and it already had me hook line and sinker when the demo for the game first dropped. What I didn't realize then that I realize now is that Trepang is not just an imitation of these classics, it is a modernization and improvement upon them. Trepang has used the evolution of video game tech to bring us the type of action-movie esque shootouts that games like F.E.A.R. and Crysis attempted to deliver on, and now with the technology at hand and the talented team behind this game that vision is fully realized.

Trepang2 without exaggeration has the most satisfying gunplay of any shooter I've played in the last decade, and it's not an exaggeration to say I've played hundreds. Making shooting FEEL right is an artform, and Trepang's devs are Leonardo Da ♥♥♥♥♥♥' Vinci in that regard.

DIFFICULTY:

Trepang2 as a game does something I appreciate a lot, and not many games bother to do this - it has difficulty levels tailored to all levels of gaming experience. Some people scoff at things like Easy Mode being in a game, but because it is I can do things like recommend Trepang2 to people who I know love the themes and style this game has but perhaps aren't overly experienced with video games. Then you have options ranging from difficulties for people who play FPS games on occasion to people who can play them with their eyes closed. This means that, in my opinion, Trepang2 is just right for everyone.

I found that Very Hard is the ideal difficulty for me, just the right balance of challenge. I've never been super good at kinetic shooters yet Trepang fit like a glove once I got used to it. There's plenty of replay value to be found in challenging yourself to beat previous levels on the higher difficulties once you've mastered the game mechanics.

GRAPHICS:

When I played the demo, there was one worry I had - the environment seemed somewhat bland. I was worried it'd fall into the same traps as its inspiration F.E.A.R. by falling into the pattern of overusing easily-repeated industrial areas with no eye candy. I can gladly report that after having beaten the game - I can confidently say my concerns were foolish.

The environments in Trepang2 are breathtaking and varied, and the amount of detail and destructability in the environment is mind blowing. I am particularly partial to the gore effects in terms of graphics, but the environments are all masterfully created.

For "generic bad guy" type designs on the typical enemy soldiers there is a surprising amount of love and detail to be found in their models. All of the character models in this game look fantastic. Honestly with how good the game looks it puts a lot of triple A games coming out these days to shame. The graphics are assisted by good art direction and level design utilizing the assets to their fullest.

AI:

This will be an important category for longtime F.E.A.R. fans like myself coming into this - does Trepang deliver compelling and intelligent enemies who operate in squads effectively? Yes! And if you loved the quirky replica soldiers making tactical callouts, you'll love the way the enemies in Trepang communicate. The voice acting is phenomenal and the lines are so numerous and varied I was still hearing new ones up to the very end of the game.

The AI will use squad tactics and attempt to utilize a variety of engagement tactics, from having someone rush you while others cover, to using a well placed grenade to cause you to run out while the whole squad has you in their sights, there was no shortage of challenge and excitement in the gunplay.

I find myself enamored with the combat in Trepang to the point I keep replaying levels with different strategies and play styles just because the game is so fun no matter how you go about playing it. I am personally a very fast and aggressive player and the game rewards that in its own unique ways - for example, regenerating stamina when you kill enemies.

SOUND:

The sounds in Trepang2 are actually flawless. The gun sounds couldn't be better, I don't think anyone should even try to do better than this. We've peaked.

The environmental sounds and music are also absolutely perfect and accentuate the carnage. There's plenty of wet meat slappage when things get gory, too.

I didn't have any audio balancing issues either, and this is probably the first game I've played in maybe six years where I didn't manually need to change the SFX/Voice/Music volume balance. It's amazing what a game being made by talented passionate people who know what they're doing can be.

STORY:

It's good. Not the best I've ever seen it's good enough I felt invested in it, and you can feel the passion and inspiration the writers had for it - there's plenty of funny references and memorable moments throughout the campaign. I wouldn't say I got too emotional at any point but the detachment is somewhat expected when the game is primarily you turning people into red mist in the most creative ways you can imagine.


Conclusion:

So yeah, that's about it. Play Trepang2. Do it. DO IT.

I love what's here so far, but the game feels bare bones as it is. I can't complain too much due to the low price point, but something like having a couple different maps and a new character or two.

The reason I hope they add more content is this fills a niche I haven't really seen filled before in gaming and what they have so far is good. Everything from the way destruction becomes easier as you get larger to the cracks in pavement and satisfying noise of giant footsteps (pawsteps, if you will).

I know if any additional content comes it'll likely be far off, but even something like making the farm existing in the background destructible would go a long way.

Some additional variety in destroyable buildings would also be welcome, like maybe a hospital or a hotel or something.

Also Thrash is hot af.

I like imagining all the people I don't like are down there under my paws as I smush and crush em'. >:3


Music is mid af tbh but I just muted it and put my own music on so no biggie.

One of the few remaining games developed by people who make the kind of games they think are fun and not by people who view customers as sentient piggy banks, DRG is fun as hell and has endless charm. It's come a long way in its development and whether you're mining alone or with friends, DRG is worthy of your time and money.

I'm not exaggerating to say the existence of games like this is why I still have some hope left in the games industry.

The gameplay loop is fun, the musical tracks are all bangers and the beer is to die for.

Rock and stone, or you ain't coming home!

SPOILER FREE REVIEW:

As someone who grew up with Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom, this is the sequel we needed. Other than minor complaints, I really can't fault this game for anything. It's obvious the people who worked on this either A.) Included fans of the original B.) included members of what was once Heavy Iron Studios.

The biggest critique I have of this game is that the soundtrack is definitely missing the iconic touch of the soundtrack BfBB had. They play it disappointingly safe with the OST for this one and mostly just include music from the shower and rather generic thematically-appropriate music. I did enjoy the occasional inclusion of sea shanties though.

My other complaint is they are sometimes those detailed cutaway shots the later seasons of the show uses. I won't fault it too much since it never gets as graphic or gross as some of the more infamous examples, but I thought it's something I should point out in case that's a deciding factor in the buy for somebody.

Outside of that though, the writing has all the heart and charm of BfBB and there's jokes that both younger and older fans will probably enjoy. So if you're a pessimistic 20-something like I am, you'll still find some of the comedy genuinely charming.

The gameplay is smooth as ever and really recaptures the magic of BfBB's combat system. The enemies here, too, each focus on a sort of "gimmick", with the way encounters combine enemy types making for interesting and fun gameplay.

I highly recommend.

Life changing experience. I took out a loan to purchase this game and never paid it back, because the bank should feel PRIVILEGED to have their money spent on this.