Hawke64

My condolences, Raithe.

Finished Itorah. It is a reasonably well-made Metroidvania. The story follows the last human (who is also a child) named Itorah and a talking axe named Koda (neither name appears too often) who are trying to find out what happened to the humanity and fight against the plague which is threatening the present not-humans (anthropomorphic animals, like Mickie Mouse, and living masks with limbs). The level design is functional - there are very few optional secrets and most of the maps must be explored in order to proceed. The movement controls are tight, rebindable (but limited to the keyboard only), responsive, and comfortable. All actions were executed perfectly. The character development system consists of health, stamina (required for some, but not all, attacks and actions, such as sprinting), the number and the potency of the healing items. In order to upgrade, some XP and material components (very few, fixed position on the map) are required, while the upgrades themselves can be done only in the main hub. Most areas loop back, and it is reasonably easy to reach the town on the way to the next objective. Since there is no fast travel, it is as convenient as it gets. From what I can tell, there is only one ending. The combat can be described as functional as well. There is 1 ground combo, singular directional and aerial attacks, and dodging (consumes stamina). The bosses are diverse and some of the encounters consist of running, instead of combat. However, they do not have visible health bars and there is only one difficulty. On the other hand, it is usually clear when the battle progresses and phases change. The saving system is checkpoint-based and there is usually one right before bosses. The graphics and visual design are beautiful - painted 2D images and backgrounds, though seeing the interactive objects occasionally was challenging. The soundtrack is rather good as well, the voice acting is limited to some noises to indicate who is talking. No bugs were encountered during the playthrough (Steam says 10 hours). Overall, it was a positive experience. --- Sands of Aura. After I've upgraded the swords, the game started to remind Diablo-likes, rather than Dark Souls. --- Saints Row. Created the main character. The range of settings (character creation, controls, accessibility) is amazing, though the DRM is not. I will probably get it on Steam on sale (would prefer GOG, but not available there). I am also pleased that it runs on my main PC, which I had doubts about.

Alan Wake: American Nightmare. Finished. The protagonist is actually controllable and can reliably dodge, the variety of weapons and foes is much higher, and the story is on the same level. The NPC designs, animations, and cut-scenes are noticeably worse. Still, it took 3 hours to complete the story mode. Strayed Lights. Started. It was looking like a nice action-adventure about a spirit of light whose parts were scattered throughout the world. There are no spoken dialogues, but the visual design was very bright and clear (very orange, very blue, and occasionally purple). It promptly tried to fry my CPU, so I was rather happy that I got it in a bundle. Probably will replay on another PC later, though. Itorah. Started. A Metroidvania. The protagonist is silent, the battleaxe is talkative, the environments are beautiful. The keyboard controls are rebindable, mice are not supported at all.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/watch-out-prince-of-persia-theres-another-platforming-packed-metroidvania-coming-to-steal-your-crown A Metriodvania, a part of the EA Originals. The article compares it to the recent Ubisoft release. £18 instead of £50, uses Denuvo instead of Ubisoft DRM. From my experience (10 minutes), the demo runs, the controls are mostly rebindable, except the movement (several WASD presets for that, but no arrows or the numpad), the FPS drops are noticeable. I assume the latter will be solved upon the release. The story seems fine - a young shaman makes a deal with a god of death to bring his father back.

I've watched the 2:50 gameplay trailer. The dialogue options look disappointing, the rest seems fine. Might be fixed before release, but doubtful.

Agreed. I'd blame the lack of keys on controllers. On the other hand, Dragon's Dogma (originally a PS3 game) on PC allowed to use several abilities as combinations of keys, while Dark Souls, as mentioned above, allowed to scroll through spells (it was not convenient). Also, I think, in Dragon Age: Inquisition, the number of active abilities was 8. So, it can be done and, hopefully, will change before release.

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.