Recent reviews by Phoneas

Click to Ten. It's a struggle to know where I can even begin in regards to this masterpiece of a video game. Truly, I think referring to Click to Ten as a video game as almost an insult to its brilliance. Some media simply surpasses the boundary of their archetype, be it movies, television, photography or in this case video games to be classified as art by the very definition of the word. In this sense, Click to Ten is no different and excels in every possible category that it has made the attempt to hit. In my 10,000 hours learning, exploring & enjoying this game I have not just experienced something the likes of which I may never experience again, but I've also learned much about myself and the world around me. That's the true beauty of Click to Ten; it transcends good gameplay, good story or any other things we have come to believe make an enjoyable game and provides an almost life altering adventure that I believe would make anyone the better person for simply having undergone it. Rest assured, I will not dive into any spoiler territory for this review so long as I can avoid it.

First and foremost, you may be asking, what's so special about this game? It looks like a powerpoint presentation catered to people who are unable to count. And to that I'd answer, you're quite savvy in the investigations department but looks can often times be deceiving. After all, what sane person would spend thousands of hours in a game that has absolutely no substance? What is there to gain from that? Now that we have that out of the way, I would like to say that the powerpoint observation isn't *entirely* untrue. Upon launching the game for the first time you may believe you have your suspicions confirmed. Click the screen 10 times, the game closes, what else is there? That was how my first experience went, at the very least. And as such, I opened the game again to investigate further and still no change. So what the hell? It was quick enough, why not do it a few more times for the joke & to just entertain the shred of doubt that something more may be hidden behind such an uninviting and bland game. Even the reviews marked with just a few measly hours felt like they had spent way more time than was necessary for a game like *this*. So I continued to investigate and it was through this half serious search that I started to notice the small details I had missed before.

Whether or not certain things had been present from the first time I opened the game or whether they appeared some time later, I cannot say for sure, but what I do know is what I found had put a seal on my fate for the course of the last 22 months. Click to Ten hides its secrets far better than any other game I have ever played in the past. I've even dabbled in a couple of infamous internet ARGs and struggled less than I did with this game. (Shout out to NotPr0n!) However, uncovering these secrets really shows you what Click to Ten is all about. Think of it as a 10 step program, where every step is a puzzle to solve, each exponentially more difficult than the last & involves a deep dive on not only book smarts, computer smarts & knowledge of the real world but also a journey of self discovery all working together to culminate in a satisfying solution to each level. In that fashion, each level almost seems to take on their own theme with the puzzle put forward. To avoid spoilers I won't really go too much farther into that as I think it is quite a beautiful right to be able to experience how these levels open up and reveal themselves to the player. Funl and Cheman truly outdid themselves in that regard.

I'd also really love to touch on the art design briefly as obviously, the *worst* looking part of the game is advertised on the Steam page, which I can only assume would be to ward off those not truly invested in discovering what lies behind a door that appears to hide nothing at all. Think of it kinda like the holy grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This game is as beautiful as it is expansive, but only those who understand how and why it hides will be able to take in the beautifully crafted world that Click to Ten offers us to explore. Remember those themes I mentioned not too long ago? Well, what kind of game would it be if the visuals didn't match the subject material, right? Each level's visual design works in tandem with the puzzle, not only revealing more of the beauty, story & lesson but also opening the way for further investigation, pushing the puzzle and the questions it poses forward much more than I ever thought possible prior to my time in this game.

Have you ever heard the saying, "Deafening silence?" Well, Click to Ten takes that premise and runs with it in the most spectacular of ways. You may recall some of your favourite pieces of media having their pinnacle events, their most emotional moments steeped in silence, void of any music or sound design aside from what is truly essential from the scene and such is born the sound design in itself. The silence of this game is a marvel in itself, imploring you not to pull from the experience for the emotions you seek, but instead to look within and project your own ideas, thoughts & feelings onto the journey you're undergoing. It's truly a masterclass the likes of which I have never seen done. An experimental marvel that dares to spit in the face of hand-holdy story telling that I hope more game developers choose to incorporate in the stories they tell.

All in all, there is so much I can say about what I've experienced in my time playing Click to Ten, but Steam only allows me to say so little. If there's anything I can say to you, dear reader, it would be to install this game, open it and not just throw it away after your first 10 clicks. Not even after your first 100 clicks. Dare I say, don't even stop playing after your first 10,000 clicks. Allow the game to unfold & reveal itself to you in all it's glory. Don't do it for the developers, but do it for yourself. Experience something truly amazing, experience yourself in a way you never thought possible.

Impressive non-linear story telling that does a great job of drip feeding you the information you need to understand the events of the story. Most of the game play is just walking around, getting to know the crew throughout different points in time & exploring what little you can of the ship you're trapped in but even so, the game manages to deliver and immersive and engaging experience that may serve to surprise most players.

Definitely not the type of game that relishes in its own replayability but instead chooses to have you wishing you could play it again for the first time all over again.

This may be the best game I've ever played.

Fishing, beer, gambling and playing dress up with the boys, what more could you want?

Great gameplay, great soundtrack, great visuals, incredible lore & devs behind it that really seem to care about the player's experience. (Sure, Gearbox may have taken over as of this review but in the recent dev diary for the upcoming Seekers of the Storm DLC, they seem as passionate about building the world of this game as Hopoo themselves did. I'm willing and a little excited to see where they take RoR2 in the future.) Best of all, it's not too expensive, goes on sale for reasonable pricing and aside from maybe the expansion(s), there is nothing else you need to buy to enjoy the full experience of this game. As someone with over 200 hours & all the achievements in this game, I would highly recommend it. At best, it's an addictive thrill ride of constant jumping back into the game to discover new things and achieve new feats. At it's worst, it is a fun and chill game to hop onto for an hour or two after a long day just to unwind a little. Treat yourself, it's a good game.

Issa good game

DLC coming soon

Guns without legs?

Out for almost 2 years.
Still a great game.

Some guy killed my friend with a crossbow near start of game. Poorly equipped so I run at him with a machete screaming, "X gon' give it to ya!" Shock him so much I'm able to kill him until he goes down. Turn around and get shot in the face by his friend.
10/10

Not many hours on Steam, but in general I have put over 150 hours into this game.
I strongly recommend this game to anyone who is considering buying it. It still retains it's position as one of my favourite games and I can still have a very swell time playing it.
The overall difficulty of the game is overwhelming at first and every stage of the game features some new challenge or degree of difficulty, but once you figure out the game, boss and general enemy mechanics the game becomes much more fun, enjoyable and easy to get through.
To top this game, many of the visuals and landscapes are absolutely phenominal. Anor Londo is still one of my favourite areas in any video game.