Recent reviews by Valkian24

Great atmosphere, crazy characters and interesting puzzles can't make up for the basic combat, control issues and a very buggy experience.

Click here for the full review: https://www.qualbert.com/reviews/moroi-review-pc/

NOTE: This is coming from someone who has never played the N64 originals and only the remasters.

While I had a few hang-ups with the first two games, I still had a great time with them even if they were frustrating to get through.

Turok 3 is where I can see why the fans are divided since it tries a few interesting ideas (especially for the time) but comes off as a weaker follow-up in the process by making the choice of playing one of the two characters feel rather artificial as they do offer some differences but doesn't change a lot.

The stages are more linear which may make those who enjoy the bigger exploration from the 2nd game disappointed, the gun and enemy health balancing is all over the place (except for headshots) and the boss battles are way too easy. (On the positive side, you don't have to go running around to find all the keys, etc. to progress aside from a handful of things but nothing too massive.)

So yeah, it's not good but not bad either. Just okay.

As for the remaster, Nightdive once again did a great job with updating the visuals, sound quality and controls of the game to make it more accessible for new and old fans of the Turok series (and since this entry never got a PC port, makes it all the more admirable that they had to reverse engineer from the N64 original) but what holds it back is that due to the game's shockingly short length with barely much replayibility, it makes the asking price all the more egregious. I can only recommend this game on a deep discount.

(Glad I was able to get this with the NightDive FPS bundle on Humble when it was up, along with Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition)

I kinda wished there was a neutral option when doing reviews on Steam because I have a very love/hate relationship with this game (similar to the first one). Mind you, I didn't play the originals on the N64 back in the day, so going into these games blind was a unique experience for me.

What I loved:
- Cool weapons to play with
- Better platforming (when compared to the first game)
- Neat visuals and sounds (that still holds up)
- Simple but fun gameplay
- Smooth controls
- Excellent remaster (with some helpful hints added in and can be turned off if wanted)

What I hated:

- Levels are so massive that it's easy to get lost (and auto-map doesn't always help)
- Boss fights are simple and a bit irritating
- Massive amount of key-hunting (especially the primagen keys which are needed for the final boss)
- Limited ammo in the levels, so have to shoot sparingly as possible
- Lack of detail in certain environments to find unlockable areas (especially when getting all the talismans which are needed to complete the game)
- Smaller enemies that are a pain to get rid off

I feel like between this and the first Turok that there is a great game somewhere but for what they are, I think they're entertaining but also annoyingly tedious. But I do recommend this on a curve, especially for those who want an FPS to reminisce on the old days, don't mind the massive amount of exploration and the challenge it offers.

This is the best worst game I've played in a long while.

The story - Nonsense
The combat - Functional yet clumsy (yet hindered by poor balancing and dumb AI)
Presentation - All over the place and badly performed
The mini-games - Totally lifted from Like a Dragon/Yakuza series and done badly

It's pretty much a 2004 game that came out in 2023. (Like a HD Devil's Third, considering the devs behind this game did work on before leaving Valhalla.)

Cannot recommend this anymore than $20, especially considering it's length (Mine was inflated since the app didn't close properly).

A very nice remake of a fantastic game that I struggled with back in the day but now have gotten smart enough to get through it with no problem.

That said, the settings for this game is ridiculously over-demanding, even with the correct specs to run the game at ultra.
If you must play the game at that setting, it's important that you have DLSS on at all times for smooth performance.

Rest in Peace, James McCaffrey.
Wouldn't have been Max Payne without your amazing voice.

Despite on how unpolished this game is, Hellworld is a love letter to the classic platformers of the 90's with a fun story, quirky characters, charming presentation and creative gameplay as no level is the same as the next one.

It's a quick breeze, even with the faults but it's still a joy to go through from start to finish. Definitely worth a look!

This is one of the most (if not, the most) unpredictable and uneasy horror games I've ever played...and I think it's pretty great.

The fact that this game is randomly generated every time you do a new shift really adds a different take, even if some of the scares are similar from the last shift you've done, they can still get you off-guard and you don't know when they or what will hit you.

The only downsides I can say about this game is that due to it's small, condensed nature, the process of embalming 3 bodies in each shift can get repetitive, so I'd recommend doing each shift at your own pace (as the scares can also get to the player a bit much at times) and due to the unpredictable nature of the game, there maybe some events that may not trigger that can allow you to get a different ending.

Still, the concept and mechanics work very well (despite some bugs here and there and turning the gurney can feel rather stiff), the sound design is solid and the atmosphere is nicely done. All this crafted by a solo developer is astonishing.

The full retail price may seem a bit much for many, so I do suggest waiting for a sale, even for the most curious. I got this during launch week at a 10% discount and I haven't regret it since I streamed this game online via Twitch and has been quite of an experience. Definitely worth a look (if you can handle it).

UPDATE: They've added a new ending to the game which expands the lore of the story in a very intriguing way that I cannot spoil and it does leave the player wanting more. That's one positive I'll give is the developer's dedication to not only improving the game but adding more post launch. Wish them all the best!

Heard about this game for as long as I've been following the publisher and didn't know what to think of it at first but after seeing someone stream it, I knew I had to get onto it.

I haven't played many dating sims since the times when I used to frequent on Newgrounds but this was a different change of pace in terms of themes that combine romance, comedy and especially horror altogether with the Lovecraftian mythos as part of the story, especially with the eldritch horrors you meet (Ln'eta being my personal favourite).

The ritual mechanics are quite unique and it does become important in the later chapters (won't spoil it there) and the visuals and sound (music and voice acting) is superb.

The only complaints I have is that while it's rewarding to try different paths to get the different endings, it can be rather tedious to hear through the same dialogue over and over again but thankfully, the developer offered a fast-forward button to skip what you may have heard already and the game is riddled with bugs that can cause parts of the game to break immersion with audio issues, clipping with the cursor and even dialogue text that doesn't match the audio at one point in the 2nd chapter.

But overall, it's still a fun and intense experience to go through and complete. It's tricky here and there but still worth a look.

This is game is one of those rare moments that one unique feature make it stand out compared to the many other Metroidvania games we see a lot of nowadays in the indie space.

I can only think of one other game that accomplished that, which was Yoku's Island Express and while Webbed is FAR shorter than that game, the unique feature where you play as a (rather cute) pixelated spider, trying to save their boyfriend, after being kidnapped by a Blue Bower bird is quite something with the combination of momentum-style platforming and physic-based puzzles.

Your web abilities along with lazer eye shooting (yes, really) make this experience all the worthwhile, along with it's gorgeous pixel visuals and excellent music. Some of the aspects of the game, like trying to find out where to go and how to accomplish it can be cryptic at and can lead to small moments of frustration, but it doesn't take away the experience of something to relax and have fun with.

While there are some collectables in form of stickers (and a cameo from another indie game), the game can be beat within about 3 hours, so as I've said, the experience is rather short lived but the quality of the game makes it well worth the price (even at a small 10% discount). Another quality indie title from a small group of Aussie developers. Check it out!