Recent reviews by Toni

The aesthetics are great and the combat is very satisfying. The wound mechanic is well implemented and I enjoyed the mix of sword and claw attacks. You have upgradable potions, dodge, parry, an interrupt to unparriable attacks and even a "mikiri", pretty much every mechanic has upgrade branches to choose from. Learning how to use plague weapons is a game changer as well and there are a variety of them to choose from.

The bosses range from extremely easy (some are easier than elite mobs) to incredibly challenging, but they are all enjoyable in their own way. I believe some of them would be a little easier playing with a controller, sometimes I failed to time counters on keyboard because of all the different actions, which led to a few extra deaths.

Thymesia has good length in my opinion, it's not super short but it also doesn't overstay its welcome. It took me 19 hours to get all achievements in one playthrough, which I think is fine. You can finish the game in about 10 hours or so on a first playthrough.

A fantastic soulslike that gets everything it sets out to do right. Not only does it apply the formula that has been popularized by Fromsoftware with true mastery, it goes beyond and adds many of its own spice to keep things fresh and interesting.

The more you play the more details you see in lore, art direction, character development and references to literature and music. For as beautiful as this game is, it doesn't require a very high-end rig to run well since it's very well optimized as well.

The weapon assembly system is just amazing and it really sets this game apart from traditional soulslikes. A lot of the fun is testing new weapon and handle combinations and finding what works best for you. Combat is active and exciting, it encourages you to learn the parry system (which is not as forgiving as Sekiro's but not as difficult as souls') while not making simple dodge useless either.

This game also has the best NG+ ever. Period. Up to NG++ there are new skills to unlock and new items to collect and a few changes that add to the player's understanding of the lore and the characters.

This is definitely my GOTY for 2023 and a wholehearted recommendation for anyone who enjoys soulslikes.

PS: This game has several different chest opening and door opening animations, which may be a small thing but a small thing I really appreciated whatsoever.

One of the best experiences if you're into Souls gameplay. Definitely the best and most diverse combat From has developed, amazing game for exploration and curiosity. The bosses are great, I believe some of them are the most difficult the team has ever conceived. There is also excellent fashion variety which includes some customization options, which is fantastic for build-obssessed roleplayers like me.

The DLC added so much to an already outstanding adventure. The new weapon types are extremely satisfying to wield, the hand-to-hand fighting styles have become some of my favorite armaments. The bosses are simply mesmerizing, as has come to be expected from their DLCs. They are very challenging, even more than the ones in base game, but still extremely fun to learn and overcome. SoTE is definitely up there as one of the best Fromsoft expansions. A fantastic game, and an unforgettable journey. Rise Tarnished!

I have great memories of my aunt's old PC from 1998. It was there that I played many classics, like Age of Empires and Diablo. It was also there that I played Fallout and... I forgot about it. I forgot I had played Fallout, even though I started to love the whole post-apocalyptic theme from then on.
.
Skip forward some 15 years. I'm playing New Vegas, it's my new favorite game and I want more Fallout. I play Fallout 3 and I love it. Then I decide to go to the classics. I start Fallout, the original Fallout game... and the memories hit me. I realise I had played that game over a decade before and I get this exciting feeling of re-learning the game, and re-discovering the secrets and everything in it. I had a blast, it was awesome.
-
Story aside, the game itself is an immersive RPG that gives you a good amount of gameplay options and approaches. The world is fantastic, it nails that Mad Max desolate wasteland aesthetic, society trying to rebuild while everyone adapts to the new paradigm, it's great to explore and find all the bizarre secrets and dangerous locations while learning about the different groups that populate it. Good selection of weapons, the character building system has enough depth without being overcomplicated, gameplay is still a lot of fun in my opinion, combat is turn-based so it's a little slow, you have to manage the cost of your actions to be able to attack, heal, move, and survive the challenges of the wasteland. It doesn't have as much content as Fallout 2, which I think is a positive aspect, FO2, though great, can be a little overwhelming at times. After playing them all (besides 76) FO1 is definitely my favorite in the franchise.
.
My overall advice is simple: buy it, it's practically inexpensive and chances are you're gonna like it a lot like I did.

If you just want to have fun playing with your friends it's a great game, there are many champions to choose from and adapt to your playstyle. There are some game modes to help with diversity and the ability to equip decks with different buffs to your champions is probably my favorite part. If you want to take it seriously and go comp/ranked and you don't have a team of 5 people to play with... you will suffer.

The return to Rapture is even bigger than the first visit, it may be a familiar place but it still had some surprises waiting for you. If you enjoyed Bioshock don't be afraid to get back to the city at the bottom of the ocean, you'll have tons of fun and feels.

This game gets harder every time I play it... it's perfect!

War never changes and neither does my desire to replay this game all over again.

I've watched some anime based on visual novels but this is my first time actually playing one and I just felt like sharing something about it here. This game has a rare feel to it and hits as heavy as a meteor(so please take the many warnings it gives you very seriously), it deals with taboo/delicate themes and it's certainly not supposed to be played without an open mind.

The programming is very clever(It reminded me of Undertale here and there) and the narrative can really elicit some thought from the player and make you think about real life situations. It's interesting that at times I felt both impressed and scared, a mix of admiration and uneasiness that few other stories have managed to imprint on me.

I've had an eye on this one for quite a long time and finally got to play it.

Odallus: The Dark Call is a mix of the older platformer Castlevanias and the newer metroidvanias, all resulting in a very solid, challenging and fun game.

Pros:
- Simple but effective gameplay, everything you'd expect: attack, jump, double-jump, glide, dash, etc.
- Collect upgrades to get stronger: increase health, sub-weapon capacity, get new abilities and new equipment.
- Secrets: explore, solve puzzles, break walls, overcome tricky jumps and so on to find your prizes.
- Different game modes, and you won't just get new and stronger enemies but the whole run will be affected. Can't exactly trust your memories from a normal to a veteran playthrough(Alucard reference from SOTN maybe?).
- Some references to other games/ media.

Cons:
- Some bugs here and there, not gamebreaking at all, just annoying sometimes, like with the minecart parts that sometimes you fall on land but can't move and this forces you to quit and re-start the whole level(might get a fix in the future, idk).
- Short, only 9 stages, although this fits the Castlevania style. It's important to note that there's quite the number of places to explore if you aim for a 100% run, and doing achievements further increases the play time. I've finished it all in 23 hours, but I'm not exactly fast.

To me it was a well worth game, the pros far exceed the cons, really fun gameplay, totally recommended to the fans of Castlevania/ Metroidvania, oldschool games and medieval fantasy like Berserk.