Recent reviews by Pluvio

I'll start by saying this game is essentially a cross between C&C3 and C&C Generals and it has been done right. This game feels amazing, the sound design is epic and the units and environment are so detailed! If you love either of these two games and you enjoy RTS in general, Tempest Rising is a no brainier give it a go!

I've just finished the GDF campaign on hard and I solidly enjoyed it, going to run through the second faction, the Tempest Dynasty next.

Some big positives:
- There are more mechanics/systems in place for the campaign than just picking a mission, this feels good!
- You can choose to listen to the briefings and watch the clips or skip them, the game gives you this control and it feels great.
- The sounds are crunchy and rich, the voice acting is great for an RTS and the music is very C&C (Rock & Metal with a techno spin) but with a modern touch.
- The game runs amazingly well, I never noticed any dips or lags with sometimes 100+ units engaging on the screen. That's running at 2k ultra but I'll mention FPS is capped at 73. Have a RTX 4080 Super.
- Unit pathing is relatively good, issues only really occur when units are blocked off in some way.
- The level of unit detail is impressive, and I like the art direction of the game. They make great use of lighting to set the games mood, something I feel Tiberian Sun and C&C3 also did exceptionally well.

There is a little bit of clunk in the unit movement but honestly once I got used to how the unit aggro works in this game, and gained a better understanding of target units target priorities, the issues I had mostly fell away.

Overall I give this game a solid 8.5/10 but it would easy be a 9/10 after some further bug squashing, balancing and polish. I really REALLY hope Tempest Rising does well enough to gain an expansion or more DLC content, I am very interested to see where this game goes.

Stalker 2 is a buggy mess but it's OUR buggy mess, here in the zone!

I played the first stalker completely un-patched and cracked... I don't think I've ever experienced so many crashes in a game since then. However, the game was so fun that I had to keep playing. Stalker 2 on the other hand hasn't crashed once in my 20 hours of gameplay, take of that what you will!

The game needs some mods right now to keep it fresh and fun, it wouldn't be a bad idea to jump onto Nexus and grab a few, especially for optimisation, stealth and sprinting improvements. I recommend this game to people who love the stalker franchise, I DON'T recommend this game to new players just yet. Wait for a few large patches before playing, go play the old games first, plenty of content there, and come back once you are done!

Meanwhile the stalker fans, I'll be real the A-life system is borked but the games atmosphere is amazing. They've perfectly captured the feeling of stalker, it REALLY feels like I am playing a way more beautiful version of the same old game I love, and I have finished all 3 of the old Stalker games. The sound is excellent and I get really creeped out at times, ignoring glitches ofcourse.

Review is still ongoing as I have not finished the game yet, but I am really enjoying it right now!

I cannot recommend this game in its current state, it feels quite frustrating to play for many reasons. I highly recommend reading Boelz's review as it sums up the issues quite well, and I agree with the majority. I think that there is a lot of potential here, especially as an early access game, but it is going to need some serious balancing around moods, income and the ring system. Also your subjects (Royal family and lords) need to stop acting so stupid, and should require slightly less micromanagement.

Protecting freedom from tyranny, with the gentle touch of an IRON FIST.
For freedom.
FOR MANAGED DEMOCRACY!
FOR SUPER EARTH!!!

Helldivers 2 is one of the best co-op games to be released in recent memory. Ignore the drama, stay for the awesome game play, and remember if you don't salute your fellow Helldivers, you are the problem and will be reported to the nearest democracy officer!

10/10 would do my part again!

Misclick

Yeah, I've played it a bit. 10/10

Service guarantees citizenship!

I'll start by stating that I recommend Starship Troopers: Extermination. It's a solid game with an enjoyable gameplay loop and an awesome cooperative experience, up to 16 players! The classes feel unique and each role is required to survive the Veteran difficulty.

Hunters have increased movement speed and they have a jet pack, this makes them ideal for completing patrol objectives, lowering the bug infestation level and taking out artillery and ranged bugs.

Bastions are essential for laying down heavy fire while their slugs also stun the bugs. They are the tank class and are usually able to put down a solid area of denial with the support of an ammo dropping Operator! The SAW is highly recommended.

And finally the jack of all trades and healer/support class, the Operator. They unlock a very powerful sniper early in their leveling progression, and they are essential to any squad as their healing drone can revive allies. They also have a special canister on their back for carrying ore/gas and can carry two at once if needed!

One last point, this game is still in Early Access and needs a good deal of polish and content expansion before reaching a complete state. The game is worth its current price, what is here is solid and the replayability is high, but there is a great deal of content locked or still in development.

This review will likely be updated as more content is released.

The latest DLC has propelled Warhammer III back into the lime light, I can say with certainty that the game is feeling in a much better place now! I've already finished the Nurgle, Dwarf and Empire play-through's with the new lords and they all feel amazing, while bringing a lot of sorely needed modernisation to the factions they update.

Diplomacy is much stronger now, and being able to order your allies around feels good! The coop multiplayer is better than it ever has been, really impressed that they've managed to get the multiplayer coop experience to this point, compared to how broken it was in previous total war titles.

For more info, my Warhammer II review sums it up fairly nicely. I give the game a solid 8.5/10 in its current form. I have no doubt that it will move to a 9/10 in the future as more content, balancing and patches are released, looking forwards to the next expansion.

TL;DR at the bottom.

Longer review:
In Stray you play as a cat and the game does a masterful job of nailing the experience of verticality, from sitting atop buildings to running around the ground level between all these "giants" the game really sends home the experience from a cats eye-view. The sound design is also an excellent touch, lots of unique and quirky music throughout this game, with sudden upticks when the action hits and subtle creepy chords when things get a bit dark. Not to mention the exceptional sound design, I've heard games get animals right plenty of times, however when your game is based around a cat as your protagonist you generally want to nail the sound, and they've done just that!

Moving onto the actual game play, this game isn't the most challenging and neither is it very long, without following optional objectives one could easily finish it in 3 to 4 hours. However, this is by no means a negative factor, this game is definitely meant to be played at a slower pace, in a more relaxed and layed back manner, and the puzzles are fairly entertaining! In my opinion Stray is more about the story and the connection between the world and the characters than anything else, and it should be experienced in this manner. (You can always achievement run the 2nd time ^^)

Now for the movement and the interactions - How wonderfully the developers, artists and animators did in this department! The environment is so alive and interesting, and the various individuals you meet on your journey are often vibrant, varied and individual in their design. So much of the area that you explore looks totally unique and hand crafted, it's just an excellent environmental experience. As for the cute little fuzzball that you play as, the movement and look feels so natural and authentic, they really did a paw-some job.. (:

The only nitpick that I have for this game, would be the fact that I would love to see more of this world, and I wish the game had one more act. Although I stated earlier that the game being short isn't a negative factor, I do believe a little more to the story could have gone a long way towards rounding it off as a truly epic adventure. HOWEVER, this game is still excellent and I would whole heartedly endorse giving this game a try, it's a game for just about anyone unless you hate cats and/or story games. Enjoy! Catch-mew-later~ ;3

TL;DR - A lovingly crafted game with beautiful graphics, an engrossing sound track and an engaging and touching story. It's short and sweet, and they nailed the feeling of a cat so well.
9/10 would drop paint on robots again!

We continue to rip and tear while listening to some of the best industrial metal gaming has to offer.

9/10.