Recent reviews by Zafyr: Robojql Supreme

A moment of silence for all the STALKERs who weren't able to be here today.



STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, and its direct expansions (CS, CoP) were a games that, when they came out, ran competently well on my PC, but the severe amount of Slav Jank made certain things rather buggy and un-optimized. Textures would Z-Fight, physics would go absolutely bonkers, and all kinds of things would cause the game to freak out. Despite all this I feel that a lot of that buggyness and jank gave it a bit of personality and character, I loved playing it. It was easy to get immersed in.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is a game that runs competently well on my PC, but the severe amount of Slav Jank makes certain things rather buggy and un-optimized. Textures will Z-Fight, physics will go absolutely bonkers, and all kinds of things will cause the game to freak out. Despite all this, I feel that a lot of that buggyness and jank gives it a bit of personality and character, and I love playing it. It's easy to get immersed in.

However, it's not without it's caveats - this iteration of a STALKER game is definitely geared to be console-friendly. There's a gear wheel, a (slightly) stream-lined UI, and how some HUD elements interact with the player seem definitely slanted to be friendly to a console gamer experience. That all having been said, all of that can be turned off, or otherwise ignored. you can curate this game to be as ball-bustingly difficult (And jank) as the original games were. And I can only imagine where the game is going to be in the next year or two once the modding community has firmly grasped and understood the games engine.

The game is pretty damn good and I think you should buy it right now if you're a fan of the STALKER series. If you aren't a fan, watch this space, maybe wait for a sale. If you're hesitent, see if a friend you know owns the game and let them stream the game to you. NO ones playthrough is ever the same, and that much holds true here as it ever has in the past.

We're so back.

TL;DR: Even if I don't recommend the game currently, buy it if you like it. Its Early Access, and it has potential. But only raw, unrefined potential.

The Forever Winter is the type of game that I really enjoy the concept of, as well as some of it's execution. However, as it is with any Early Access game, it comes packaged with a myriad of bugs, glitches, un-optimized graphics, some placeholder assets, and poor controls, in both interface and scheme.

For instance, the game currently lacks any sort of meaningful "Lean" feature. Sure, it has one, but it's so minuscule it may as well not even be there. Not to mention a lack to switching shoulder view in third-person, a feature that is woefully missed in a game so fixated on you being able to observe the battlefield and understand whats happening and where. There's also the lack of a sprint toggle, aim toggle, or toggles for a few other features I would much prefer having, and some of the user-interface systems just feel plain bad - the most egregious of these user-interface and social connectivity issues is the strict requirement of being signed into an Epic account in order to actually play with other players. For a game released on this specific platform, which emphasizes with such belabored imperative for cooperative play, that feels just plain insulting.And if I am to be specific about this, I don't care nor mind if signing into Epic is a component of this game, but having it being a forced requirement for actually connecting to other players is a problem for me. The games ability to connect with other players should be able to operate independently of that.

Despite all of this, however, I love this game. I love it very much. There is a soul to this game, there is a passion to it and it shows in such dramatically abundant fashion that there is no denying that the development team is dedicated to crafting something spectacular.

I can only hope that the sudden burst of sales this game has garnered in just this day alone tells them how much everyone feels equally invested and interested in seeing this game shine as bright as it can.

I cannot immediately recommend this game in its current state, but I will implore you to buy it anyway, as it is currently on sale, and won't stay on sale for long. Buy it, keep it in your library, let it cook. Or, if you are like me, and you love the current state of the game despite its problems - get it, play it, enjoy it. Maybe as features get addressed and fixed, we can play together, and more importantly, I can rewrite this review to something more positive.

Until then, sit tight and watch this game development.

Or, if you're in the trenches like I am, keep lootin', Scav.

The words of other theoretical in-depth reviews need no further embellishment, I will speak of only personal practical experience: I have waited for a game like this for a while, ever since the first Space Marine, and it has been a delight and a refreshment to have such a game in my hands and wish to experience further.

Now go forth, and lay waste to the enemies of the Imperium.

For The Emperor!

Major Order Complete.

For Super Earth.

Never let Sony win again.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon has probably got to be my favorite Giant Stompy Robots simulator out there thus far. It's a lot faster, more snappy, and responsive than most others. That, and it hit me with such a refreshing feeling that Fromsoft still has what it takes to make a damn good game that isn't Soulsborne. On the topic of Soulsborne - this game sort of is, sort of isn't one. It's less "Soulsborne" and more "A game you can definitely tell was made by Fromsoft." There's a certain level of...atmosphere to every element of the game that oozes that signature Fromsoft game feel.

That being said, this is probably as accessible Armored Core has been a very, very long time, and boy howdy is it such a good experience. Is it easy? Hell no. Is it harder than Elden Ring? That really depends on your own skill level. If you found Margit hard on your 1st playthrough, then yes. If not, then no. Is it an enjoyable experience? If you're an avid enjoyer of Fromsoft games, and I imagine you are, then yes. A bit grindy and repetitive at times, but that's kind of how Fromsoft games get - what matters is how much fun you'll be having regardless of that.

And seeing as I just got done with a play session that lasted 9 hours without even realizing it, yeah, it's a lot of fun.

is it for everyone? Nope, definitely not. There are gonna be some people who will find this to be an absolutely garbage game, and that's okay. Not everyone is suited to the playstyle of a Raven. Some people prefer their big stompy robots to be much slower, cumbersome, and bristling with far more weapons. But, while that is also valid, I like this more. A lot more. I will probably also get extremely salty at the pvp, but that's my problem, not anybody elses. I'll probably cry about it somewhere else.

Anyway - Game is very good. I love it and I will probably be playing it well into NG+2 and beyond. Highly recommended.

Pour one out for all the Ravens who didn't make it to see another Armored Core.

I like it more than the first game, that’s for sure. It respects my time a hell of a lot more than the first game did. Game is nothing like the first game and I think it’s a far better experience for it. Still brutally crushes you for no reason. Because of that, I feel like some of the gameplay loops are still a bit repetitive and unrewarding, especially when RNG decides to throw every last random crit your direction despite the fact you kept debuffing the enemy. Guess it’s that “that’s x-com baby” tier rng at work.

And I can’t emphasize this enough, this isn’t the first games style or mechanics at all, it’s a lot more enjoyable and respectful of my time and effort, and I don’t feel like I have to keep a wiki page open for every little thing I encounter.

Recommended, maybe wait for a sale.

Life is meaningless, and it always has been. We all know that, but what if Death was as equally meaningless? That's the world that Cruelty Squad lives in. Cruelty Squad is what I think a future without the meaning of death would look like - senseless violence and killing for the sake of it, if only to remotely incite anything that would resemble an emotional response beyond the dulled and senseless din of white noise of the mundane, this point exemplified by the variety of interactions you can have with NPC's in this world mere moments before mutilating them into a pile of lootable organs.

"When the beat drops, I'm going to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ kill myself"

Cruelty Squad stands out beyond just being this painful to look at game with tons of violence - it also sends an extremely powerful and important message to those who listen to it. That message is a warning; it sends a bold statement that we are dangerously close to a reality like this becoming manifested. Whether or not the visuals that accompany said reality follow through is up for debate but given how some corporate interests in our own reality are as they currently are, I don't doubt somewhere in our future someone might consider it an option.

Cruelty Squad: When even death has lost it's market scarcity, and all emotions and senses of reality have been dulled to the point of nothingness, it makes sense that everything in this world is so garishly painful to look at - it's the only thing reminding these people that they're alive, and not in some state of non-existence waiting for their flesh automaton body to have its neurotransmitters zap them back to a conscious state of continuity.

At least fishing is still relaxing. Never get between a corporate CEO grindset killing machine and it's primal desire to fish.

If you're a fan of the original Phantasy Star Online, but felt it could use some better gameplay mechanics and better combat, then that is exactly what this is. It's pretty good at what it does. It has a few shortcomings, but so did the original PSO. Story's there but it doesn't get interesting until the later episodes, and it can be a real drag to get there. You can get overloaded real quick on all the things you need to do, all the items, materials, etc. you need to gather, as well as the constant barrage of events, urgent quests, etc. always getting in your way of normal progression.

ON the Cash shop side, it's kind of a personal preference thing more than a must have or need, or anything. Sure you can pay for things, but the most you're going to get is cosmetics. It's a Gacha Game, afterall. Some items are convenient, but you're more than able to get through all the content in this game without ever paying for a single thing with cash.

Personally, I love this game, flaws and all. Its the right mix of good things and nitpick negatives that makes for a really fun overall experience.

S'pretty good so far I suppose. At this time it has a lot that can be improved upon, but as the current concept stands for the game it is enjoyable. I do hope to see more that they implement in the future for it. Until then, it is like some of other good early access games: Good ideas with a good foundation, just needs time, development, and more direction.

I was originally liking this game. I would have recommended it too because of what strides they were making to reduce the level of grinding necessary to move forward with the game.

Unfortunately this was all undone because of one new addition, the DLC. While the DLC adds a bunch of new cool features, it comes completely undone by a one, singular item: The Crimson Curse. For some, this may not be a problem, but for those who are much more careful and methodical about playing games, finding blood is extremely difficult. Whats worse is that the Crimson Curse can spread at complete random. A playthrough that I've been playing for the longest time came almost instantaneously undone. Everyone was infected, including the roster of heroes I had lined up for each piece of The Darkest Dungeon itself. This deeply infuriated me as that was -all- of my playtime undone by one, single thing, and it was completely out of my control. I had no blood to give, as I never found any. And it just spread, and spread, and spread...

This has ruined Darkest Dungeon for me entirely. I recommend this game only if you -do not get The Crimson Court.-