Hawke64

Alan Wake. Finished the main game, started the DLC. The story is nice, the technical aspects of the gameplay, where the MC cannot hit in melee, sprint for long, or dodge reliably (might be the "git gud" thing) could be better. I suppose, the MC wasn't working out, unlike the Control MC, who could sprint indefinitely. In terms of structure and pacing, Alan Wake feels tighter than Control, though losing all gathered weaponry at the start of each episode was unpleasant. The music was excellent. Slay the Princess. The developers were quite compelling in their post, thus, I purchased the game on GOG. The art style and the voice acting (which I kept on, because the Voices/characters had too similar fonts, except the Princess) were very expressive and fitting, while the length of each scene aligned perfectly with my attention span. The most important aspect for me was how much the game reacted to my choices and how many branching paths were there. After finishing the game, I can confirm that there were many more than I have experienced (checked an achievement guide) and I would like to try some of them.

Could be context dependent, like, if (target==enemy) and (distance to the target>5 m) and (weapon type==melee), then (charge); or even something more simple. Not a new thing*, but if it is possible to program the conditions for the actions to be used, like it was in Dragon Age and PoE, it would be convenient. *I remember in Vampyr, teleportation, picking up items, and talking to people used the same key.

Probably old news, but the new games on Steam have started to explicitly state how the generative AI was used during the development. So far, 3 of anime-style products released today have it. Examples: I suppose, it allows to make informed decisions about purchasing them, which would be harder if it was a tag that could be added to the Ignore list (granted, mine is already full). E.g., DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is ML, so the text-based disclosure seems like the best solution.

I've been using it, though only JPEG can be uploaded as screenshots through Steam (which now crashes with a 50% chance when I open the Screenshots window). With the uncompressed files and, for example, Imgur, it looks much better. Control end-game spoiler.

Same, but it feels better when you make the conscious choice to recruit the companions, instead of them being mandatory. I understand that making the story work with more variables is more complicated and costly, but it was possible in PoE and TOW, so why not now? On the other hand, if, say, Spiders (Greedfall, The Technomancer) told that the companions are mandatory in their new project, I would have shrugged - they do ACTION-RPGs, so less is expected from them. All companions in Larian's D&D game were optional. Some needed more encouragement to be on their way, but none of them was required in the party in order to finish the game. Even the areas where their side quests would take place were available without them. (If you mean the Sharran priestess with a McGuffin, the priestess was optional, the McGuffin would teleport to the PC on its own).

Nova Hearts: Spark. A visual novel with turn-based combat (no positioning) about superheroes. The controls are not rebindable and the character animations gave me a headache. The number of save slot is limited to 3, but I strongly suspect that the story is linear. Haven't noticed any branching, at least. The only positive qualities are the visual design of the fencer companion and the combat system not being FF-like/ATB. I suppose, I appreciate that there was a demo and now my wishlist is slightly shorter.

Control The facial animations of the NPCs are amusing. Somehow, the mirror and the janitor outfits look the best, but obtained too late, unfortunately. Late-game and optional bosses. Steam seems to compress the screenshots a bit too much. But the game is pretty and the MC is nice, especially the facial animations (just a neutral expression most of the time, like an actual human and not a Customer Service employee).

Finished the two remaining optional bosses in Control - Tammasi (the flying manager) and the evil twin. They were significantly easier with all health and energy upgrades. Also done one expedition. I suppose, it is nice to be able to go through a story-free mission for the sake of physical action, but I am not going to replay these. Weird West. Started from where the demo ended, with another MC. I forgot some things and set myself on fire by standing next to a torch. Slay the Princess. The developer's statement was very inspirational, so I got the game on GOG. The content warnings were curious, though, I have not progressed far in the game yet. To think of it, the only unusual one is existential horror, the rest are depicted quite often in games - e.g. in Control, the employees became zombies (various level of bodily degradation) while controlled by an otherworldly entity, while the MC could regularly hijack what remains of them to use as meatshields.

Thank you for the information. I somehow doubt that Obsidian can do action combat better than, for example, Dragon's Dogma 2, which should be released this year, while first-person rarely works well with open melee combat. Still going to get the game, but the description is disappointing.

Finished Control. It was fine. As was mentioned, the optional larger bosses were more interesting than the main story ones, who consisted of the regular foes with names and larger health bars. The enemies spawning out of thin air were annoying and Saints Row was a jollier superhero simulator, but it was fine overall. There was one mission with a song by The Poets of the Fall playing in the background. Not sure if it fit, but the area certainly was memorable and, fortunately, linear - if the labyrinth was both changing and more labyrinthine, it would be worse. I also unlocked some new outfits, and the janitor one was unironically the best looking so far. Will finish some side quests and try to write a review.

Considering that in The Outer Worlds the foes, after starting the combat, always fought to the death, is there a chance that it will be fixed, so, for example, mercenaries can be demoralised and flee combat while dropping their weapons and animals can actively avoid contact with the party (or stand their ground and try to intimidate the party in order to avoid combat)? So, unless the antagonist sees their life's goal in committing suicide against the party (and has the story to back up such a decision), can the opponents perceive their continued survival as valuable?

Thank you for the summary. Could you elaborate, the interactive items (e.g. an apple or a sword) are highlighted or environmental objects (e.g. climbable ledges and explosive barrels) or foes and allies? (Would prefer all 3 in different colours and thick outlines).

I hope that the pacifist, low-int, and murderhobo play styles will be supported, like it was to some extent* in The Outer Worlds. A fantasy FPS would be much less appealing for me. Dark Messiah had quite a lot of stealth/immersive sim elements and some story branching if I remember correctly. *Could be better - the enemy placement and items (e.g. ManufacturerName Gun Lvl 30) seemed to be done poorly, but there were also lock-picking, stealth, and dialogue-focused skills.

I assume that the inconvenience should be enough to dissuade most people from attempting, considering that Steam and GOG, in general, seem to be affordable, especially with the regular sales.

If I'm not mistaken, Steam and GOG have some protection from VPN shopping, while Itch.io does not have regional pricing? Agreed about G2A - the fees from the banks hit the developers.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/piracy-preservation-and-the-devs-who-dont-mind-if-you-have-to-pirate-their-game Which reminds me to purchase Slay The Princess sometime this year - there should be an update. Not sure if getting it on GOG and playing the original version first would provide better experience and the ability to compare. Overall, I like the attitude, though with the regular sales and occasional giveaways, the price is less of an issue than the system requirements or DRM. Which the developers mentioned. Then again, with the number of titles released daily, I find it difficult to determine whether something from an unknown developer should be purchased or not, while the above-mentioned sales bring the insta-buy price significantly lower. The full/enhanced/definitive versions coming a year later after the initial release encourage patience as well. Granted, I do occasionally back crowdfunding projects or purchase Early Access, but it must be very close to what I want to play or from a developer I know well.

Yes, I've played Coteries and it was somehow more enjoyable - there was a choice in terms of missions and some of them were unique for the chosen clan. I was also able to choose a clan (with the background and appearance attached, but the MC still was nameable) and there were some resources to manage (I think, the blood level?). Additionally, it was possible to fail building the coterie, though I don't remember if I reloaded or the members still showed up during the pre-final confrontation. I have several other WoD games from the recent Steam Sale, VtM - Swansong, Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood, and Werewolf: The Apocalypse - The Forest. Will try them after Control. Speaking of, the optional bosses seem more unique and interesting than the main ones (fought the Fridge, died at the same time as the boss to gravity, but the game counted it as a win). The regular foes appearing out of the air are somehow irritating. It seems that the game would have been better as a more mission-based experience, with the hub in the Executive sector where the MC returns after each mission anyway.

VtM Shadows of New York At that point, the game railroaded me into the ending. An arguably good one, but still.

Vampire the Masquerade - Shadows of New York. Finished the game mostly by holding Ctrl - I have much lower tolerance for visual novels, pretty or not. While the art is outstanding, the saving system, GUI in general, the choices and the story make it hard to recommend. The writing and music are fine, the VA is not present. The protagonist is predetermined, from the name to the background to the clan. There are some choices that do determine the ending, but I was unable to follow the logic. There is no gallery to view the backgrounds and CG, but there is a dictionary with 1-paragraph descriptions. To elaborate on the saving system, there are 3 auto-saving slots, one per playthrough, and the game just deletes the save after the playthrough is finished. It was the same in the previous game and seeing it not fixed is disappointing. While it is possible to use Windows Explorer, the developers should have implemented manual saving at will as in any technically-decent visual novel.

Cult of the Lamb The mini-game was quite fun. Cloud Meadow (the community hub on Steam is not safe for work) Control I did not realise that it was a passage. Later on, it is frustrating to see them on the map and the outlines on the walls, but being unable to use them. Might be the temperature, but I wish it was a cover-based shooter. The regenerating ammo reminded of Mass Effect 1. The game is pretty, though I'm not quite fond of the general gameplay design - there are RNG'ed padding missions and rather pointless XP-based character development system.

Finished Cult of the Lamb. It is an action-roguelite with management elements. The management elements include raising the titular cult and taking revenge on the gods who demanded you to be sacrificed. The cult requires members, who can be found during expeditions or recruited after boss battles. In turn, these members produce Devotion, which is used to purchase new abilities and unlock new buildings, and require food and housing. The resources can be gathered during the above-mentioned expeditions, the Crusades, or grown at the base. The Crusades include venturing into the randomly arranged rooms, slaughtering the regular foes and the bosses, gathering resources, rescuing potential cult members, and occasionally meeting NPCs. The loss of progress on defeat is minimal - only the part of the dungeon in progress. The only negative aspects of the game are the random elements which are rather unpleasant - an unwieldy weapon, such as a hammer, can make a Crusade unsuccessful, the requirement to sacrifice 3 followers to progress in the post-game (as I understand, it was added after the initial release), and that the game is still in active development, which was not clear from the store page. The controls are rebindable, 5-button mice supported, no critical bugs have been encountered (some minor issues with building placement). The accessibility options allow to auto-pass the mini-games and stop the time at the camp when the MC is on a Crusade. The graphics, visual style, and sound design are lovely and expressive.

We also had a barge with the Legionella bacteria. Not sure if it's still there. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-67063219 The issue is that the Home Office works slowly (unless you throw about £1000 extra at them, then the decision is made within 24 hours) and there are many refugees who need housing while their application is considered. Additionally, obtaining a visa has become more difficult in general. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48785695

Control. After resolving the issue with crashes, it seems to be fine. I don't like shooters much, regardless of the camera being first- or third-person, but I can tell that it is better than Alan Wake 1, despite the foes looking rather similar - twitchy shadowy dudes. Defeated a boss (a flying shadowy dude) by hiding behind a column, which was rather anti-climatic, but still on the first try (died 2 minutes later by falling from a cliff). Some RNG-looking missions appeared at the save points. I am unsure how character development works or why my Excalibur-gun cannot morph into, well, Excalibur.

It is odd. The only information I have related to the modding from Capcom is that they consider some mods negatively affecting their reputation (because purposefully lowering the performance and removing modding do not /s). In the context, I assume it might be related to a modded copy of Street Fighter running during a competition. I hope that the blow to the public image from the DRM will be larger than from the nude mods, not to mention the time and resources it will take to implement. https://www.eurogamer.net/capcom-warns-of-reputational-damage-from-mods-which-violate-public-order-and-morals https://www.pcgamer.com/street-fighter-6-tournament-accidentally-broadcasts-chun-li-nude-mod-to-the-world/

I've tried to play it on EGS, but the Ubisoft DRM kicked in and after several windows, the demo still was not running. So, I guess, missing this one. I doubt that it will be available on GOG or Steam/EGS without double DRM. The RPS review was favourable and I like the screenshot-on-the-map feature, accessibility settings, and the visual style.