Recent reviews by Puritan

Probably the best game I have ever played.

I enjoy the card system and the replayablility it brings. I do recognize that something is missing when it comes to the feel of the game. Zombies spawning in weird, lines that really don't convince you of the characters. Its so close to greatness but feels like it just needed a touch of something extra. I loved L4D and L4D2 and those characters stick in my mind to this day. I feel like I don't even really notice a difference when I'm playing as one or another on this game. To me its a really good game and all my negativity comes from wanting it to be something greater that I can just see glimmers of in the game itself.

Obviously the first thought is on the glitches. In the month it took me to platinum this game the patches made it much more stable and reliable. I've played buggier triple-A titles. I think on PC the problem is not as significant and I'm going to move past it.
Gameplay wise this game is engaging and can be challenging if you up difficulties and play with a focus on some of the weaker skills. Really though it is a walk in the park if you choose to be a Netrunner or if you push Body aspect. You can become OP very early and walk through the game. Stealth, which in most games makes you most OP, falls victim to the same problem that it does in many other games where you focus on stealth and can creep through levels but when forced into a boss fight stealth is no longer an option and you can have an unforgiving boss wreck you.
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Plot wise this game has some amazing highs and abysmal lows. They did an excellent job of representing enough people in a city looking for help that you really do feel like there are friends and acquaintance asking for your assistance in their own story line and you are just a merc briefly involved in their lives. It does a good job of immersing you and giving the city flavor. The overall aesthetic leans pretty heavy on the early cyberpunk influences like Snowcrash but they did a good job of avoiding some of the cringe that is so present in the source materials. Side plot missions often provide you with exactly what you were hoping. A good example is the Kerry quests which lead to Us Cracks. You'd seen billboards all over town with Us Cracks on it showing off their optical implants and now you get to meet and interact as part of Kerry's quest. The quest ends leaving you wanting more interactions with Us Cracks and a few days later you get it. These moments were very satisfying.
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The main plot is a very convoluted animal and with all of your starting options, dialogue options, and ending outcomes the game can vary wildly. Within those choices, like with most games, there is a BEST and WORST outcome. However, I can honestly say, I've never had the predicted outcomes of an ending so roundly defeat my expectations. To me the clear Best ending had to be leaving town with the Aldecaldos. I finished that ending and felt VERY unsatisfied. It felt so milquetoast.[Nomad life 5/10] The whole game you are being given this Blaze of Glory vs Quiet Life dichotomy and you got to see first hand what blaze of glory looked like from Johnny's perspective and it wasn't pretty. More frustrating than that is that Johnny didn't learn a thing and wants you to blaze of glory as well. This felt to me like a clear push toward the quiet life especially in the light that my first playthrough started as a cocky and ambitious Street Kid. The Devil ending in which you tell Johnny to shove every piece of advice up his ass is clearly meant to be the worst ending. It certainly was awful to play through and while I agree it was the worst outcome for the character I felt from a story telling standpoint it had more value than the Aldecaldos ending.[Devil 6/10] V can choose to stay in the body and remain in NC becoming a Legend of the Afterlife and going out in a Blaze of Glory for nothing more important than a gig and some Eurodollars. While this ending has some cool visuals it has no soul at all and felt more like a sell out than the Devil.[Legend 4/10] Another option is to let Johnny take the wheel and let him have a repeat of the 2023 attack. It goes better this time but he still loses people and then you are left with the same choice of weather Johnny or V should continue living in the real world. It is here where I got the first glimmer of what this game could actually be. Choosing to have Johnny keep living, seeing that he has chosen the quiet life and that he is living like a regular jack-off. The bells began to ring in my head. By the time you get to the end of the sequence and Johnny is on a bus with Never Fade Away playing and a knowing smile on his face it struck me. In this ending Johnny, not V, is the main character of the entire game. I then went back and started a character as a Corpo-rat and played through with the idea in my mind that Johnny was the main character and V is just getting a glimpse into his journey. It was profound. Johnny as a 50 year old ghost takes the emotional journey of forgiveness from almost all the main characters in his life and then has a second chance for revenge on Arasaka culminating in a feeling that he doesn't need to keep being the savior of NC or a legend of the Afterlife. He can live the quiet life and fade away and there is a beauty to that. [Johnny Fade Away 10/10]

Excellent JRPG with great music, characters, and story. It is a total package and one of the best games I've played.

Great immersion. Incredible depth. Very good with multiple players.

PLOT- The plot is detailed, orignal and reinforced by small chance dialogue placed throughout the levels. However the overall effect doesn't engage the player as much as it should. It does have a unique story and world. 7/10

STEALTH- The stealth mechanics for the most part are things we've seen before. The AI rarely looks up or sees anything in the slightest darkness. However the cloning mechanic is fun and fairly unique and everything to do with the stealth plays very solidly. Sound is used in the same way we've seen in the past however, I'd say these enemies are more sensative to sound than most seen in other stealth games. 9/10

COMBAT- This could almost be considered a part of stealth. The game punishes any combat with a horribly clunky mini-game that I cannot imagine anyone finding fun at all. In a stealth game this is the type of thing I love. However if you are looking to fight and kill the enemies in this game you will hate it. 8/10

ACHIEVEMENTS- The achievements in this game were completely reasonable and not very grindy. The problem comes in 2 forms. First, the AI on the enemies is slightly broken and they can accidentily push each other off ledges. This leads to a kill on a kill free run often enough that I had to redo a few missions multiple times because of it. Second, two of the achievments cannot be earned on a save that is set to the hardest difficulty. On the most difficult setting the game doesn't allow the combat minigame and if you are ever directly engaged by the enemy you just die. However two achievements require you to kill enemies using the direct combat. After completeing all achievements on the hardest mode I was forced to start a new save and play on a lower setting in order to complete the last two. Mission replay is available after completion with very clear guages telling you if you have killed, set off an alarm, how long you are taking, and how many hidden coins you've collected. I found this a rare and valuable addition to the game. 7.5/10

OVERALL- If you love stealth games, this is something you should play. It has everything that makes the stealth genre good with very few of the more recent additions that detract from the stealth ambience. The reuse of maps was a bit lazy and the errors I've described in AI galled me a bit. I would hope to see more unique maps and smarter AI in a sequel. That said I give it 8/10.