Recent reviews by sywex

I wish I could give Death Come True a thumb up, but unfortunately this interactive movie that barely qualifies as a game has been a disappointment. Read the summary at the end if you want a tl;dr.

Let me explain. First of all the gameplay element is very light. Every scene in Death Come True (DCT) is acted out by real people in live action. The game is closer to a visual novel but in film form, than say interactive adventure games from Supermassive or Quantic Dreams like The Quarry and Heavy Rain where you can fully control the characters’ movements and is able to interact with multiple objects within a scene to trigger branching paths. However, what makes good visual novels a game is that choices are consequential and branching story paths and scenarios are distinctly different and have substantial length. This is not the case for DCT where one can finish under two hours, and it is more linear than it first appears to the player. The general gameplay flow goes you view one scene, at the end of it you make a choice among two or more actions (except the first scene serving as a tutorial where there’s only one choice). Where DCT falls short is that there is only one story scenario, you either pick the action that advances the story or pick from the rest of the actions which immediately results in a very brief dead end scene or an invalid choice where the protagonist goes “that’s wrong, pick from the other options”. Granted some of these dead ends can be rather humorous, but they are not enough to make up for the illusion of choice.

Okay, so how does DCT fare as a film? In my opinion, a B movie. The story and premise is uninspired and the central ideas have been explored many times over past decades in much greater depth and sophistication. Those ideas were used quite shallowly in this game and without spoiling too much, I’d say this is a murder mystery crossing the Matrix minus the action, with gaming tropes like reloading a death, like in Re:zero. There are flashes of the quirkiness and ingenious absurdity from director Kazutaka Kodaka who created the Dangaronpa series, but the script is mostly mediocre and forgettable. The dialogue can be quite corny at times, like when you watch a live action adaption of an anime. Sometimes real people saying anime stuff just don’t work. Video quality is not very good either, the game being ~5gb and 1.5-2 hours long means you can expect Youtube 1080p quality with visual artifacts. Visual effects, music and sound, and the acting are not bad but nothing to write home about, aka mid. I feel like most of the budget went into hiring the actors, many of whom while not A listers are likely familiar faces to people who watch many Japanese films, TV shows and anime, like Chiaki Kuriyama from Battle Royale and Kill Bill, or Yuki Kaji who is primarily a voice actor with roles like Eren from Attack on Titan.

In summary, what I liked:

+ Recognisable cast.

+ Ability to fast forward and rewind right from the start. Important because you can only have 1 save and you can’t do chapter select until you have 100% the game, meaning if you want to redo an early choice you have to start over.

+ Extra footage, behind the scenes, blooper reel, like you would find on a movie DVD. Some of them are funnier and more interesting than the main story LOL

What I didn’t like:

- Lack of gameplay and meaningful choices.

- Mediocre story and writing.

- Short length.

I bought it heavily discounted during a sale, and even then I find it debatable if it was worth my money.

My score: 4.0/10

This is my review after having completed the main story, both DLC story quests, and the side quests and collectables for all of them.

What I liked:
- The combat, its free flowing nature refined from the studio's previous Batman games is smooth, has diverse moves and immensely satisfying to watch with detailed and beautiful animations. This is the best part of this game and is what an action game is about!
- The system of randomly generated Orcs and Uruks is well crafted. So many lines were recorded for them that you would find a hard time encountering an enemy saying the same thing. There's a huge variety of things Orc captains can say depending on their history with you, such as having been promoted from a grunt after killing you, survived an previous encounter with you, etc. This diversity truly give the enemies individuality and flesh them out thoughtfully.
- The graphics are alright in 2022, considering it's a 2014 game. The light GPU usage of this titles means any midrange or above GPU released in the last 5 years should be able to max out the graphics, though framerate is capped by the game engine at 100 fps.

What I didn't like:
- The story and the non-Orc characters. The setting is fine, the 2 maps being Orc-ravaged lands of Middle Earth. The MC Talion's back story of a avenger of his killed family is also alright but a bit cliche and certainly not exceptional. The other characters however, are rather bland and forgettable. You also won't be able to see or find familiar characters from the LotR books and films in the game. The only detailed lore can only be found in collectable letters and such. A bit of a shame for fans of the setting.
- The repetitive nature of quests. The side content without any of the story exposition of the mainline quests ultimately falls into the category of Ubisoft-style open-world tedium. Just lots of map markers of you doing the same things over and over again, like freeing rebel outcasts, collecting lore artifacts, etc. This is made worse in the DLC stories, where the only new things are small tweaks and power ups for your abilities, but very little story to go with the repetitive quests.

All in all, this is still a good game, for anyone who likes a good action game and not just LotR fans. I'd suggest playing through the story at least, as the road to powering up yourself with new moves to become the ultimate Orc slaying machine is very rewarding. Skipping out on the completionist stuff like the side quests, and also the DLCs is fine, if you're feeling a bit bored after maxing out your abilities.

My score: 8.3/10

This game follows a trend in recent years of VN games selling routes or chapters separately, a business practice I really dislike because the total cost of these routes tend to be higher than a traditional multi-route complete game.

That being said, this sales practice often discounts part 1 to try to get people hooked and that's exactly what happened to me. The plot is kind of chuuni as it has a pretty common anime premise of high schoolers with magical powers, Heck it has Abe Atsushi (Kamijou Touma from Index/Railgun series) voicing the MC! Plot development-wise episode 1 is mainly establishing the setting so we ain't at the juicy part yet (think mysterious new character appearing during cliffhanger ending). And yes Myaako is probably the most vanilla of the 4 heroines. But heck she and the other girls are cute, and that's all that matters isn't it?

I'll probably pick up the rest of the routes in a sale some time later, as I'm especially keen to play Sora's route.

My score: 7.1/10

P.S. Patch to restore Steam version's cut content is free and available legitimately on other digital stores. And while the game CGs are only in 720p, higher res CGs can be found if you Google.

Bright Memory started as a passion project by a one-man Chinese indie developer FYQD which eventually culminated into BM: Infinite released late 2021. As such, it is now essentially a tech demo for the latter in 2022 and I would not recommend purchasing BM if you haven't already played Infinite.

What I liked:

• Graphically, FYQD despite doing most of the development solo, effectively utilised UE4 engine's versatility and vast assets library and put together a striking presentation. The character models are pretty decent, though I think the MC's arms are almost comically thin, considering she's supposed to be a special agent.
  
  
• Gameplay-wise, gun play is solid, though sometimes the reloading can be a bit janky on the shotgun. There are only 3 guns but then again this is a demo precursor. The movement system is fluid and responsive: 2 jump heights depending on how long you hold spacebar, you can gap-close forward with a grappling hook and evade sideways and backwards with a flashstep to keep your distance.
  
  
• Technologically, I found it impressive dev made the effort to include raytracing and DLSS 2.1, available if you are using a Nvidia RTX GPU and launching the game in DX12. IMO, DLSS is a no-brainer toggle on but RT is not worthwhile. For reference, I have a RTX 2070S and I run 1440p max setting at 100 fps native, 120 fps (game engine's cap) with DLSS, 60 fps with RT and DLSS... I didn't bother trying RT without DLSS.
  
  
• Playing the game in English, the default English voice acting
  
  
• Homage to other games. Some elements and enemy encounter have a clear reference to a certain FromSoft series which I thought was pretty cool.

What I didn't like:

• Length and replayability, the primary reasons why people call BM a tech demo. My first run took around 40 minutes, learning the controls and dying mainly to terrain (cursed sudden holes on the ground!). Subsequent 2 runs averaged around 25 minutes each. There aren't many reasons to replay the game either. You probably need to play until midway in second run to earn enough XP for ability unlocks, and then you need to finish 3rd run to earn all the steam achievements. There isn't any new enemy type nor any new areas, and all MC skins are available at the start. All in all, The enemies might hit harder in later runs though but I'm not 100% sure. I'd say the game is around 2 hours long for the 3 runs that gets you 100% completion.
  
  
• Level design and enemy encounters are areas that I feel are bland and repetitive. Almost all fights occur in small enclosed arena type environments with flat terrain. All the bosses are medium to slow moving, have a melee-based move set that occasionally use ranged moves/AOEs/gap closers with short reach. This leads to me using the same tactic throughout the game to be effective: keep my distance with backsteps, dodge ranged attacks with side evades, shoot boss at range safely with assault rifle, occasionally clear the adds mobs with AOE abilities and shotgun. Oh and the pistol is pretty much never used unless you happen to have empty mags in both the AR and the SG. The human enemies are much more interesting to fight because they have faster movement, long ranged gun attacks and flashbangs to force you to adopt different tactics, but sadly there isn't a boss enemy that behaves like that. I think covers and vertical elements would've helped making more diverse environments.

Other mentions:

• Homage to other games. Some elements and enemy encounter have a clear reference to a certain FromSoft series which I thought was pretty cool.
  
  
• Voice acting can be hit or miss. I played with Chinese original for my 1st run, English dub for 2nd and Japanese for 3rd. Chinese is definitely a disappointment, lacking emotion and tension in many action heavy scenes. The English is solid, and very serviceable for those who prefer not having to check subtitles for dialogues. In my opinion though, the JP dub is the best of the bunch, not just because I'm weeb but also that Ishikawa Yui (2B from Nier Automata, Mikasa from Attack on Titan) is great at dubbing action heroines.
  
  
• Fanservice heavy skins like office lady and school girl uniform are available at the start, if you're into those.

In conclusion, I recommend you buy and play BM: Infinite first. If you feel like checking out this game afterwards, get it in a sale at discount with the BM collection bundle.

My score: 6.3/10

Fans of the visual novel genre have probably heard of Spike Chunsoft (formerly Chunsoft before the merge), the developers of the acclaimed Zero Escape and Danganronpa series. While Spike Chunsoft's VNs don't put a focus on cute girls or romantic drama, over the last decade or so they have gained a strong cult following with their intriguing mystery thriller plot and eccentric characters. What if I told you SC made another game that predates those two series and showcases arguably even better mastery of their strong suits? Enter 428: Shibuya Scramble.

Originally released in 2008, 428 didn’t get an English localisation until a decade later and I believe the biggest reason is that the game’s setting and writing makes many references to the culture and locations unique to Japan. Heck, the title is one of them! (The number 428 can be pronounced as “Shibuya” in Japanese, and incidentally most of the events in the game takes places on April 28th). Bearing that in mind, I am super grateful to the English localisation team for doing a fantastic job with the translation. They took a more literal approach towards the translation and opted to preserve as much as possible the uniquely Japanese elements of the script such as honorifics, Japanese puns, references to Japanese pop culture, etc., thus keeping the game’s charm intact.

Gameplaywise, it is remarkable how well 428 has aged in the storytelling department. In the context of Japanese anime/VN media, 428 is an early adopter of narrative techniques such as parallel timelines or nonlinear plotlines we later saw in Spike Chunsoft’s own Zero Escape series, other critically acclaimed VNs like Steins;gate, or in anime such as Baccano! and Durarara!!. What those works have in common is having an ensemble cast from different walks of life, with vastly different personalities and agendas, suddenly brought together by a conspiracy and an entwine of fate. The resulting stories are chaotic, unpredictable, and it is a joy to discover the impact of one character’s seemingly innocuous actions on another character’s fate down the line. The VN game nature of 428 allowed the creators of the game to further accentuate these qualities with branching endings, boasting over 80 bad endings (though to be fair 20 or so in the last chapter are the same thing albeit from different perspectives). All of this are masterfully weaved into brilliant and often humorous writing consistently throughout the entire story.

Oh, did I mention there is a post-game? That’s right, a post-game for a VN! After the main story and collecting all the bad endings, there are side-story scenarios, easter eggs, joke scenarios, trivia and a minigame! These range from heart-warming to downright hilarious, not to mention a certain big-name VN company produced one of the bonus scenarios. I don’t think I have ever seen this amount of quality bonus content in a VN before.

If there's one bad thing I have to say about this game, it's the lack of a skip button that's universal to every other VN out there. I'm not sure if this was a design choice, and I know you can jump to the beginning of each sub-section in a block, but some of the text have slow animations for dramatic effect. Not being able to fast-forward with a skip button when I needed to reread a particular line later in a section made easter egg hunting a bit more tedious than it needed to be.

My score: 9.1/10

Playing Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition in 2019, the game was still able to provide laughter and entertainment despite feeling dated in several aspects.

What I liked about the game was its humorous writing and well-acted cast. For the most part, the game did not stereotype its HK/Chinese cast which is a plus in my books, because western stereotypes of Asian people can often be cringeworthy, at least for me. The game's setting in the city of Hong Kong that had seldom been explored in video games, felt authentic and captivating, from the Cantonese spoken by pedestrians to the buildings and its skyline. Of course, SD being a game also exaggerated parts of the setting, generally leading to hilarious results in a good way, like the fan-favourite Pork Bun Vendor.

Now that I had talked about the good, I must also mention the ugly: the gameplay and mission structure felt dated, naturally since Sleeping Dogs was a 2012 game. The core story was delivered via GTA styled missions: go to point A, complete mission and advance the story, go to B and repeat. This was usually accompanied by side-activities in the open-world genre, however SD's offerings were similar to the Ubisoft's open world points of interest of that era. The side missions (with a couple of exceptions), hidden events, cameras and collectables were simple, plain, repetitive, devoid of dialogue, and ultimately boring. The combat also had its flaws. While Wei's kung fu moves were gorgeous to look at and satisfying to use, the counter stance won in most situations, and there simply weren't enough enemy variety. Heck, the "boss" design was to make the strikes and the grapples ineffective and counters the only thing that worked against them.

Finally, the DLCs had their funny moments with bizarre settings and characters. However beyond that the gameplay still remained largely the same. Same combat, same types of side-missions.

Overall, Sleeping Dogs still warrants a play if you want a quick GTA-like experience with a different setting. The gameplay is around 10-30 hours depending on the amount of side-activities you undertake.

My score: 7.6/10

Life is Strange: Before the Storm, despite being described as a stand-alone adventure, feels more like DLC expansion for the earlier game in the series.

BtS borrows much from the original game, so a comparison of the two shows this prequel is not trying to veer from the beaten path but rather preserving what everyone loved about the first game. This is evident when looking at the graphics: the engine, textures and character models are identical to the previous game as far as I can tell. Many familiar locations such as Chloe's house, the school and the junkyard are revisited, looking exactly the same as they did in LiS. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but those who are looking for big chances or vast improvements will be sorely disappointed.

Following that point, we expect BtS to excel at the areas its predecessor did, and that is mostly true but with notable difference. BtS offers a more grounded story, replacing the supernatural elements and the thrilling plot of the original with a focus on character interaction. Rather than trying to solve a mystery, the focal point of BtS is to simply examine key figures like Chloe and Rachel, among other support casts in slice of life situations, as well as their relationships which became the motivates and drives their actions in the original game. In that sense, fans of those characters who played the original would no doubt welcome such an expansion.

The "new" gameplay in backtalk challenge draws from Chloe's rebellious and punk personality and is a nice touch flavour-wise, but beneath that it's still the dialogue choices that we are familiar with.

In my opinion then, BtS should be the someone's entry point to the LiS universe, but best experienced after completing the first game, despite BtS being the prequel. After seeing the events in LiS, BtS had a much more profound impact on my enjoyment and appreciation for the story.

My score: 7.3/10

Civilization V is a modern classic in the turn-based strategy genre and I would argue that it is still the best entry in the Civilization series. Elements in the game such as units, buildings and wonders that are both historically significant and sometimes straight out of legends are carefully crafted and integrated into the core mechanics of the game, and beautifully presented with accompanying artworks and music.

After two major expansions and many balancing patches, the experience has been fine tuned and can be enjoyed by both casual gamers and enthusiasts of the genre alike. The more hardcore players can customise the game even further with mods that are still constantly being developed and supported by the modding community.

I still find myself coming back to this game year after year, endlessly craving for just one more turn that no doubt has brought much fun and joy over the past decade and will continue to do so for years to come. (I promise I will try Civ6 once Firaxis Games puts forth a final and complete edition of that game though!)

My score: 9.5/10

A must-play for any fans of historical simulation, the RTS or SLG genre, japanese culture and pure awesomeness. You can easily sink hundreds of hours into this game as it has tons of replay value: try a different faction and/or unit, go down a different path down the tech tree, challenge a higher difficulty and multiplayer battles and campaign. If that is still not enough, there are DLCs which bring you into different eras in Japanese history with a whole new feel, units as well adding more to the multiplayer. 9.2/10

Starcraft II meets Counter-strike. Innovative gameplay but needs more polishing.