Recent reviews by Dexem

Horrendously optimized, cannot in good faith recommend buying the game in this state. If this mess ever gets figured out I'll update the review.

When I saw the monster for the first time I Alt-F4'd the game and haven't touched it since.

Mayhem, intestines,and slaughter. Three words that instantly come to mind followed by maniacal amounts of fun in short bursts. Killing Floor 2 delivers exactly what it promises: violently killing a bunch of things to the comforting sound of screeching guitars over brutal drums. If you like guns, dismemberment and metal then this is the game for you. Alternatively if you just like guns and dismemberment it's also the game for you, provided you mute the soundtrack and put on something like calm lo-fi beats to murder ZEDs to.

My experience with Killing Floor 2 was one of excitement upon realization this game would be made after having sunk a considerable amount of time into the first game of the series. Thankfully they didn't stray too far from what made the original so damn fun and opted to just improve the gun-play and spice up and modernize how the ZEDs behave. That is to say if you didn't like the gameplay loop of the first one which boiled down to: defeat loads of ZEDs for each wave then fight a huge ♥♥♥♥-off boss at the end of it, then I can't imagine you having much fun in this version.

Thankfully though that's exactly what I bought this game to do. Sure there's the PvP mode which is three steps away from a good idea and two steps away from anyone playing it. Another new addition that the original did not have is endless mode in which the difficulty increases with each wave until your whole squad ends up dead. Endless, along with objective based maps and zone defense in normal maps help to change up the wave defense just a little bit so you're not just doing the same thing over and over.

Maps are designed in such a way that keeps you on your toes at all times. There are only a few good holding spots and players are encouraged to move when things start to get hairy. On top of that maps are designed with varying elevations and obstacles to make shooting ZEDs a challenge but not coming across as unfair. They are neither too big nor too small making difficulties rather consistent across all maps.

ZEDs (the monsters you get to kill in the game) come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Each zed has a specific purpose in the game having resistances to certain types of damage as well as unique attacks they can make against the players. This is really par for the course in a game like this and really any game that has enemies but I find that Killing Floor 2 does this especially well. If you're a returnee from Killing Floor 1 and for some reason haven't purchased this yet you'll be happy to know they've done a fantastic job upgrading all the original ZEDs making them more interesting without losing their original feel.

These are just a few things I really enjoy about the new Killing Floor but not everything is all sparkles and bloodshed. One thing I thought I could get used to were the E.D.A.R. enemies. These robots are unsatisfying to kill and seem a little bit out there in comparison to their flesh and bone compatriots. Seems a little forced as if the developers weren't quite sure what more they could add. This is less obvious in the "upgraded" versions of some of the mobs (Gorefiend, Alpha Clot, Alpha Crawler) which are essentially just reskinned stronger mobs. Sure they add interesting gameplay elements but I would have loved to see them make different models that made more sense with their abilities.

There is one big cherry on top though. Throughout the years Killing Floor 2 has been out the developers pour their hearts into making (roughly) four events every year introducing new maps, new guns, and sometimes new enemies. These were previously completely free however just recently they have changed they're financial strategy. It still is an enormous amount of content that keeps me and my friends coming back over and over. This leads nicely into saying that the game is not meant to be a marathon. I found it was most enjoyable when played for a few days at a time every couple months.

In conclusion, if you couldn't guess, I wholehearted recommend this game, it is and will continue to be one of my favourites.

No BS this is a worthy, I don't know, addition(?) to Subnautica. Meaning if you liked the first game, you will definitely like this. It has a fantastic setting with the completed Biomes being very interesting to explore. It feels like this is a proud statement by the developers saying "Look how much we learned from Subnautica, and look how we'll make it better" as even though it is in early access it has a good amount of polish already. Story wise it is already more engaging than Subnautica One (as I'm now calling it) which had many a month early in development that lack any sort of story aside from your ship crashing.

Though it can't be all fluff and early access comes with it's own problems. First being it is of course somewhat short with the (hopefully vast) majority of the game being incomplete; as in you don't have much of a sense of what to do after a while and that leaves you with just a Seaglide and several empty biomes to look at and say "Ah yes this could be very interesting in the future". In fact I was a little disappointed to find out the new vehicles unique to Subnautica: Below Zero aren't even legitimately obtainable as of right now and I'm sorry if I didn't want to go exploring into the big scary open ocean parts with just a Seaglide and no promise of something interesting in those cold uncaring waters.

To summarize it is very much like Subnautica One, breathtaking and yet thrilling. I am sure the development team will take this game very far, if what they have shown us with Subnautica One is anything to go by. I can in good faith recommend this game, however if you are the type who would rather wait for the game to at least have more content then I beg of you please avoid spoilers if you can. These games are best played with as little knowledge as possible with the main focus being exploration and figuring things out on your own.

Upsidedown simulator.

10/10

-Core Review-

Gameplay . 8 (with friends 9) average = 8.5
Music . 6
Art . 8
Mechanics . 9

*bonus
Comedy . 9

Total . 8.1


-Nice Words-

The game is a blast, a short and sweet adventure. Play by yourself or with friends. With it's extremely responsive mechanics and challenging maps this game is really fun. If you like platformers and laughing it is definitely the game for you. Music is fitting but not anything substantial. Art style is very comical and will have you giggling as you work your way through the maps.



-Personal Experience-

Honestly I'm already hooked on this game, and I've only been playing for about an hour. It has been an amazing hour of laughs and trying super hard to run through the levels as fast as I can collecting ALL the gems. The comedy is really well put, I think this game (by itself) has made me laugh more than any other game I've ever owned.

The movement is what you would expect from a platformer, and there are plenty of hilarious obstacles. I also thought the level editor looked cool, haven't touched it.
The Art looks like it came straight from the internet with all the funny lookin' faces.
Also the narrators voice, and comedic timing is perfect, I should say.

All in all it is a very enjoyable game by yourself, and much more fun with a good friend. Perfect for if you're tired of try-harding your balls off in the games you really want to be good at, and just want a break with some laughs.

-Core Review-
Gameplay . 7 (with friends 7.5) average = 7.25
Music . 6
Art . 8
Mechanics . 8
Story . N/A (Didn't finish)

Total . 7.3


-Nice Words-

I don't really know what you want me to say. It's everything you love about Borderlands 1, just more. Music fits with the game, but doesn't stand out. Art is the same unique comic book style art that we've come to love. Mechanics are fluid and still work like a well oiled machine. The only downside really is that it is just more of Borderlands 1. Would still recommend it though as it is an enjoyable game to play solo, or with friends.


-Personal Experience / Old Review-

Okay borderlands2 is the awesome you've been waiting for, although I know most of you already own it that's no surprise, it combines badass with... BADASS! Explosions, blood, explosions, and money... did I forget explosions!?! With more unique weapons than the original Borderlands this game offers more unique ways of fighting, let alone the fact it has more landscapes than the boring deserts we're all used to (but don't let that get you down there are still plenty and deserts are badass too just.....

Okay you got new guns and you've killed all your bandits, great, but guess what that's not all, PLENTY of new mobs/types of bosses to fight too! Of course there is also loot loot loot, to keep you on your feet!!

After a good amount of hours...

This game kinda fell off for me as I played it because I am unfortunate enough to have a computer that can only run this game at a solid 27FPS on okay settings, so I didnt get to complete it, but the Boss fights and the content I DID get to explore was very good, and living up to the over-rated-ness of BL2.

Looking back...

I did get a chance to play it on my new computer which can run the game fine at max, so I decided to update my review a little. It's an okay game but nothing really substantial, I look back and the only thing that really made the game for me was playing it with my friends, not really the game itself. Even though when you are playing the game friends don't really contribute that much, it's the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ between the missions that are so fun.

I will not be playing the Pre-Sequel because it looks like the same content over again with only a very slight twist, so let's be honest gearbox, it's getting stale.

-Core Review-

Gameplay . 8
Music . 6
Graphics . 8
Mechanics . 7.5
Story(s) . 8

Total . 7.5


-Nice Words-

Fun solo adventure, immersive environment, well built characters. That's what you'll find in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (Clear Sky). This game might or might not give you the spooks, and will definitely have you running around for hours trying to figure some things out. Over all its a beautiful game and I recommend it to most everyone.


-Personal Experience / Old Review-

To give you a idea of how confusing this game is, the first time I played it I thought it was in Russian. Waking up in the middle of a house in a small town where people pull guitars out of there asses after being blown up in a giant nuclear explosion totally makes sense, as does the rest of this game.

This post-nuclear-war game has you wondering who turned off the lights whenever it is night time. Usually in most FPS games ammo is always around the corner but I find myself walking to the next town just to get 60 of my trusty bullets, and I'll definitely have enough time to carve all of my mutated targets names on them by the time I get back to where i originally started.

This game has a great sense of atmosphere and has a story, that starts out unusually so I suggest playing the first one. However it is one of the best single player games I've touched, and by that I mean the series.

Also turrets are OP

*= I'm going to give this another review after the 1.1 & 1.2 update for Terraria. =*

-Core Review-

Gameplay . 7 (with friends 9) = average 8
Music . 7
Art . 7
Mechanics . 8

Total . 7.5/10


-Nice Words-

If you like building, and platformers with a very arcade feel then this already may be just the game for you. It offers relatively solid fighting/movement mechanics with interesting mobs and very exciting bosses. Character customization is also incredibly high (for what the game is) giving you plenty of different pixels for your sprite character. Music is catchy, and will not cause ear bleeds, though I prefer my own tunes. Best of all, the team behind this game has a very good sense of humor and have provided many references to other games, and 'Easter eggs' to find. Better with friends, but hey, most games are.


-Personal Experience-

At first this game was fun, there is no denying that. I hopped on, got a server going (somehow) and played with my good friend Michael for about 100 hours. Exploring this game and all it had to offer was really something, I mean it was like Minecraft just with something more, special, about it. Trying really hard on bosses, (that were really challenging) and the like, using superior teamwork and strats to finally complete the game.

The problem with 1.0 is that it had trouble maintaining interest endgame. Sure it was fun to jump around the surface in all your gear killing slimes and building uninteresting houses over and over. However after a while this gets tiring, which is why I was extremely thankful for the 1.1 update.

1.1 Hardmode, awww yisss. Hardmode was fun, suddenly all of your top gear was suddenly worthless (almost) and you had to re-explore the game again. Albeit upgrading all the bosses and adding the new zone was really cool, it didn't hold my attention as long and I kind of forgot about it and moved on to playing other games.

I stayed inactive in Terraria for most of 1.2 occasionally hopping on with a couple of friends to do a challenge run or something. We would usually get bored half way through which means I never got to experience anything that was added after 1.2. At least, until recently.

A little after 1.2.4, on a cold stormy night (or something like that) my good friend asked me if I wanted to play Terraria again. We've played before and it was okay but never really something that got me hooked. Luckily for me, I recently ran out of games I was interested in playing at the moment. So that left Terraria, so I agreed and we started playing. After the long trek through most of the normal gearing, and some of the hardmode gearing something amazing happened. I found this game fun again.

1.2.4, was amazing. It was admittedly shorter than the other two (in terms of how long I played it for) but those short hours were exceedingly fun, fun enough to warrant buying this game several times over. I had a blast fighting all the new bosses with their interesting and unique mechanics and boy was Fishron a pain in the ass, but hey, after 30 or 40 attempts at his life I beat him, and the endgame gearing started again from there.

Around this time I developed a new sort of appreciation for this game. The kind you get after playing a game for years. It became a classic for me, something that was a (noticeable) chuck of my life. Definitely something that made the gamer that is myself today.

At the end of it all, it left me with a strong feeling of wanting more. I did go around and play some other games that are very similar to this game in playstyle, but nothing really came close to providing the same experience this game did, and for that I thank you Terraria. I will for sure be waiting anxiously for the release of Terraria 1.3. Whether I update my review after that remains to be unknown...

*= 1.3 Update =*

1.3 came out for Terraria and I was extatic, unfortunately I was unable to play it for a couple months, however when I finally did I had a blast working my way through the game on expert mode, which was a nice change of pace, and almost revived the feelings I had when I first played and every boss was really challenging.

Despite everything being challenging a couple of friends and I got through the pre 1.3 relatively quickly so there weren't any boring moments. Then came the anticipated 1.3 gameplay, and I have to say the last boss was super challenging for us, and we finally managed to best it after a couple tries.

That being said it felt like there was surprisingly little update compared to the last two, which is understandable considering the focus of 1.3 was to improve a lot of the gameplay and inner works of the game than to add more content. The introduction of yoyo's was a really cool idea though, and I think they did a good job of introducing this new theme without it impeding on what the game already was.

Although I think 1.3 might be the last major content update, I'm still wanting more, I personally would like to fight cthulu as a whole, that would be amurzin. For now, I'll just build around, mess with the new building items and such until I eventually move on to other games, until the fateful day Terraria lures me back into its grasp, or perhaps Terraria 2.





**= Old review =**

I have mixed feelings about this game. Its unusual. Fun, oh yes, it is completely awesome. Just? What the ♥♥♥♥ do we do, after we have everything? There is no endgame (that was a complete lie there are three end game places you can go to the hellworld the dungeon and the jungle). But besides that, It dosn't really work as a building game, making the actual "end-game" not all the fun.

Im giving it a steady 7 - 10...

-Core Review-

Gameplay . 6 (with friends 8) average = 7
Music . 8
Art . 7 (outdated)
Mechanics . 6 (outdated)

Total . 7


-Nice Words-

Killing floor is a fine game if you want to grab some friends and kill thousands of mutants. The music is very intense and surprisingly fitting to the game itself. Art style is a little old now, considering the game itself is a little old now. However it is perfectly fine for what the game is. Mechanics are old, the engine is old, the game is old, old old old. YES it's old, but good! mm back to mechanics, yes they are old, yet it is extremely satisfying to blow mutants heads off, or chop their limbs off in slow-mo. Over-all it is a great game to play with your buddies. I would recommend it to anyone who likes gore, and killing lots of things in short amounts of time.

Still, get it on sale.


-Personal Experience-

I had just gotten out of playing L4D2 for a while and I was in the mood for another zombie-like shoot em up. So naturally when my friend Michael suggested this game to me, I hopped on board very quickly. Not knowing what to do was half the fun, and exploring about the game, learning the different maps and different perks was an experience on its own. For the first 20 or so hours I never even fought the boss, but when I did, man I was not ready.

When the first of the events started that was a real blast and every event after that was something nice to come back to and try to complete. Now however I'm running out of custom maps to play and events to do. The workshop addition is nice, organized way of offering skins and maps, but I am definitely more excited for the release of Killing Floor 2.

This game has grown more of a classic to me now, after so many hours of playing, I occasionally go back to play it, and it never disappoints. All I hope is that Killing Floor 2 will be better than this game, from what I've seen it looks like it will be the same stuff over again, with updated mechanics and (slightly) upgraded graphics. In which case, I will not be playing it.


**= Old Review =**

This game is siiiick, grab a buddy (maybe a beer) and shoot some zombie ass. Not the complete best graphic/movement wise, but this game is a MUST GET. Remember its boring alone, get a friend to play too!

Kick ass game, 4.5 Stars!