Recent reviews by Voxelated

Probably my 5th favorite Final Fantasy to date (I have played almost all of the main series and some side-games). The main quest is (mostly) very well paced and they've nailed the combat system; you feel like a veritable god performing some of the cooler moves in this game, and chaining abilities is satisfying in a way few other games are capable of pulling off. It's certainly one of the most spectacular games I've ever played: some fights with Eikons are better kaiju fights than those in actual kaiju films! That being said, FFXVI has three main issues for me:

1. The game runs rather poorly in places; I noticed that especially after the sky turns pink from lack of aether the game dips into the 50s and 40s on an RTX 3080+Ryzen 9 5900X, 2K monitor, high settings. Thankfully the combat in this game causes little additional lag, which makes me think that the problem comes down to the way the environments are rendered.

2. The animation and dialogue systems in this game cause certain scenes and quests to be VERY stilted, and make story moments feel longer than they need to be. Sidequests with potentially touching interactions are sometimes ruined by the awkward transitions between cutscene frames, long pauses between lines being read, and seconds-long black screens of (sometimes disquieting) noises. Typically these issues make the cutscenes stiff and certain exchanges awkward, which is unfortunate because many VAs in this game have very good delivery. Most of the issues and complaints around cutscene length are probably due to this.

3. A lesser issue, but still a felt one: I was missing the mechanical depth of the RPG systems from previous Final Fantasies. They definitely leaned into the "Action" side of "Action RPG" for this game, and it makes character progression feel linear. Side companions aren't controllable beyond your dog, Torgal, who acts more like an assist mechanism for chaining combos on certain enemies than a genuine party member with their own skillset. I forgive this issue because the combat is just so damn fun, but it's worth pointing out.

If you're willing to accept these flaws and see past them I think FFXVI is well worth your time. The rest of the package is a blast and captivated me for the whole of its runtime (I did every bit of the main game and DLC content, roughly 80 hours in total). 8.5/10

The primary reason why I am downvoting this is because it's too expensive; compared to the other DLC, The Rising Tide, the amount of content this DLC offers is pitiful. It's only worth buying this DLC in tandem with the other one, as its new content actually gives you a reason to play with the new accessories and weapons the game offers up. Otherwise, this is nothing more than a poorly written short storyline with an interesting dungeon to romp through and an admittedly *very* fun boss fight.

If I had purchased this by itself, I would be disappointed--but the bundle is well worth it.

New Eikon abilities are very fun to play with and the areas added in the DLC are rather well designed. I noticed some framerate issues while in some of the areas with denser greenery; with an RTX 3080, 2K monitor, and high settings, I saw dips into the mid 30s at the worst of times. The quests are well-integrated and do well to highlight different aspects of Mysidian society but the animation system issues and awkward pauses between dialogue persist from the base game, making them sometimes a chore to sit through. The new fights in both side- and main quests are very fun and Leviathan is probably the only truly onerous foe I encountered throughout my time in Valisthea. Even the new roguelike mode is fun and rather well fleshed out, if a bit easy.

This DLC is worth MUCH more than Echoes of the Fallen ($10 for like 2-3 hours of content is crazy).

Pretty good!

I had a good time with this game. I got 100% map completion and all achievements. There's clearly a level of polish and expression that's gone into this work--the worldbuilding is engaging, the town building is rewarding, and there's enough to keep you exploring and caring about the world right until the end. I really enjoy games that meld town building and action (a la Actraiser) and this scratched that itch perfectly. Not to mention that the Diablo-esque loot system and relatively intricate resource and weapon crafting also make gearing up your character equally interesting. (There's also a half-decent incremental game baked into the Tavern--and it actually integrates well into the main gameplay loop!) For all of these reasons alone, I would wholeheartedly recommend this game to anybody interested in this genre.

That being said, the difficulty curve on this game is... backwards? I played on "Troll" (Hard) difficulty, and towards the beginning you're fighting for your life on every encounter, using what little scraps of gold you can gather to heal yourself and ready up for the next area. Then, once you can sustainably get enough gold to hire followers, you let them do the busy work for you and sit back. *Then* later on you get access to really strong gear and fly around every map one shotting everything. This, in tandem with some of the absolutely broken weapon skills (DOUBLE melee and ranged damage abilities?), make you feel like a total glass cannon by endgame. I say glass cannon because there's still the risk of being barraged and taking lots of wounds, but most of that can be mitigated by a good troupe of followers and good height/distance management. Normally I'm all for a power fantasy, but this left the last six to eight hours of the experience feeling kind of samey. It does not help that the economy can be easily exploited--by mid-game you'll be able to get any resource you're interested in relatively quickly--and that enemy types never really evolve past the tropes you see within the first couple of hours. If you're one for serious depth/variety of combat and a game which makes you use all of the tricks and intricacies of its systems, you may wish to look elsewhere. None of these quirks bring me to rescind my recommendation, but caveat emptor.

The gunplay is great. I continually think about it, despite having not played in a while. I cannot speak on the campaign, but I've heard that it's pretty fun. The map pool, round diversity, runtime performance, server maintenance, monetization scheme, customization options, and overall gamefeel leave something to be desired. This game was supposed to be a killer app for Microsoft, and while I see elements of a wonderful game in here, I only think I enjoyed this game as much as I did because I didn't have to pay retail price for it (and very nearly regret paying 20 dollars for it instead of just 10). I recommend on these caveats.

EDIT: I updated my review because it was written late at night and doesn't represent the verbiage I'd like associate a proper review with.

Just beat the game 100% on hard. Fun game with a surprisingly engrossing atmosphere if you are willing to tolerate the slow, methodical style of play. Fans of fast paced shooters where you're superman, this one isn't for you. If you want STALKER-type life-or-death gunfights with a bit of an eerie, nebulous mystery, you'll find something to like here. The story is nothing revolutionary but really gives you the sense that you're a small part of a bigger thing that you just don't understand.

Be warned that performance issues are abound: even on an RTX 3080 and Ryzen 5900X I still had areas (especially towards the end-game) where the FPS dipped below 60 at 1440p.

You can finish the game in 6 hours or so if you weren't trying to 100% everything and probably around 8 hours with everything checked off on the map. Getting the last 5 achievements took another hour or two of my time. Will be trying the Polar Regions free expansion throughout the rest of the week, though from what I have seen it only provides a new map and no additional mechanics. More Tölva never hurt anyone, though.

EDIT 2: Just finished the Polar Regions DLC. It adds nothing new that the original game does not have, but if you enjoy the main gameplay loop, you will enjoy this one too; neat set design but with some of the features of the original game feel neglected. Very fun final areas.

Already more content than the first game, and that's without the entire roadmap of content being added over time. The new campaign mode is quite fun and the variety in dungeon environments is greatly appreciated from the first game. The new upgrade system gives a reason to vary your weapon and character choices, although I wish the game provided a character roster close to what we had in Ziggurat 1. I can tell that I will be playing this game for a long time (100+ hours, even without future content).

At the moment, the only thing this game is lacking is variety in its creatures, bosses, and characters, and the devs will be correcting that issue throughout 2021. I'm excited to see where the game goes from here, because mechanically it already plays, feels, and looks better than the first game.

Note -- My playtime is roughly 30 hours extended due to time I had the game idle. In truth the game took me approximately 40-50 hours to complete.

This is a fun little RPG that I think doesn't hit quite the same highs as the first two games.

Geneforge 1 is one of the best RPGs in terms of player choice and exploration. You really DO feel like you are choosing whatever path you want, and the world is open to you completely. Geneforge 2 strikes a wonderful balance between the exploration of the first and the strong guiding story elements of other cRPGs. This game cuts a lot of the exploration from the first two games out.

This game comes with a lot of improvements, so those should be noted as well. There is an interesting new item enhancement and crafting system which leaves you to discover recipes throughout the world and encourages discovery within the zones provided. The new multi-zone option allows for cool areas like the Madness Mire, where the power supply to difficult creatures located above-ground can be cut by going below the earth. Environments are varied, though cut from the same cloth as the past two games. I was particularly impressed with the Isle of Spears' ability to feel harsh and forboding from a gameplay sense, not just from a story perspective, and I really felt like I was fighting a war of attrition. Party formations and bartering did feel more clunky, but other UI elements (especially the quick-item toolbar) were indeed welcome.

What gameplay improves, however, the story does not. For better or worse, this game does not hit the same marks as the first two games. Characters feel more forced here and story beats are the same as is found in other RPG series. Almost every character which is directly affected by usage of the canisters feels well written; without the canisters as a crutch for depth, many of the others fall flat. My favorite character was Khyryk due to my sympathy with his position on the conflict. I wish he had been a third faction, but alas. The other factions simply were too black-and-white for my tastes; if you've played the other two, think Shapers vs. Takers and take out the middle-ground. I walked into the game wanting to be a radical Shaper who sympathizes with the suffering of the Serviles, and was forced to come out a battle hardened Shaper loyalist supreme.

When I can notice these things (and I noticed it right away), I shift my expectations to meet the game. This game is an excellent cRPG, and I can recognize that. However, it is thus far my least favorite Geneforge due to my love for exploration and discovery in video games, both things that this game unfortunately lacks. Perhaps you aren't like me, and this will be your favorite of the series thus far. I hope this review provides you with the ability to consider that for yourself.

One of the best roguelites I have ever played. Game is tough without being too punishing. The castle generation is fantastic and feels unique every time. Lots of content and plenty to do, even after you've beaten the game for the first time.
Absolutely worth your money.