Hawke64

Somewhere in the middle of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. A few things I've noticed only because I'm playing through the series sequentially - the sound design is better (VA, music, and random noises are separated mostly correctly), the targeting is much less forceful, and the boss battles are somehow more diverse (might be because of the QTEs, though - no giant griffons* this time). On the other hand, the graphics and animations are poorer and the gallery unlocks are not exactly immersive (the "Sand Credits"). *it was odd that the only boss faced during the infinite Sand period did not have any Sand-related gimmicks (like slowing down Mahasti in T2T). Purchased The Last Hero of Nostalgia after playing the demo. It is a Souls-like with a very unfriendly narrator, similar to The Stanley Parable. The controls are comfortable and mostly rebindable and the progress is saved on exit. Will continue after finishing the trilogy.

Mostly agree, though the only issues I had with Farah in T2T (vs TSoT) were the lack fire support during gameplay and the kidnapping part. Liked the new VA a lot, though. The Prince's character development seemed to make sense in the context (especially that not all switches and arena-shaped spaces are traps, but one should think before pulling/entering them). For combat, stealth became a viable approach (which was incredibly ironic with one the Prince's lines in WW - "Where I came from, we face our opponents"). Going to replay T2T next.

Finished Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. The "realism" (as in "How would it work/be used by human beings normally?") of the environment and the combat barks/visual design of the enemies are somehow worse, but the platforming and the ability to traverse the island more freely (to backtrack to collect the health upgrades) feel good. There are more optional collectibles, such as weapons and artworks, but now I am much less interested in hunting them down. I also realised that I had forgotten what some of the switches did and was pulling/pressing them to find out, which was very in-character. Defeated the final boss on the first attempt, the thing did not glitch (it used to instantly pull itself from the ledge in one of the previous playthroughs). In terms of combat, Warrior Within is more comfortable than the Sands of Time, but the targeting and auto-activating the combat mode are somehow inconvenient and some of the actions are bound to the same inputs (e.g. rolling back and doing a backflip with S+Space, which was unpleasant during the final battle). The total playtime, according to Steam, is around 6 hours. Finished Fable III - Traitor's Keep and Understone DLCs. I had forgotten some of the design issues (rather poor combat, untracked fetch quests, and good-looking but inconvenient GUI, including maps), but overall it was a very nice experience. Also Fable III has one of the most impressive character customisation systems and environments - the stats affect the PC's appearance and the story choices change the locations. I suppose, if the reboot is anywhere close to that (and preferably returns visible HP/MP, local maps, and the magic system from the original Fable), it will be great. Also, the game definitely needs a chicken companion animal.

Finished Lucifer Within Us. A short (3-4 hours? If I didn't check the store page, I'd think that it the whole game was an introduction) investigation game. Somehow, it captures the idea better than Pentiment did, but the objective is also different and there is a specific murderer for each case. Fixed the save files for Fable III and was able to load them. Somehow relieved that I can access and use my digital media (technically, we purchase licenses, while the files are the means to fulfill the agreements), although with third-party tools (DRM remover and save editor). I still might start a new game after finishing the DLC, as the saves are from the post-game. Finished Solasta: The Lost Valley. The update slightly messed up the pregen characters' backgrounds. The paladin's I noticed (from Lawkeeper to Lowlife), but missed the wizard's (from Aristocrat to Acolyte) and added her to the party (a rogue, a barbarian, a wizard, and a druid). At some point, the party got another wizard as a follower for a side quest. Because the quest was for a higher-level party and the follower wizard was very effective, he stayed with the party for the rest of the campaign. Overall, I chose a wrong party composition and the parts that I liked were not the ones intended by the developers, such as being able to explore an area without fighting our way through it or using an NPC in the manner described above. I am curious if it is possible to kill and loot Orenetis on the first meeting (thus skipping most of the game), but not going to test it.

You are correct - the water sound does lead to the right door, and I have never noticed it between the characters' comments and the music. The reboot is fine (the controls are a bit unresponsive due to the animations), though the semi-open-world format hurts it - you know that nothing horrible will happen mid-area and that you have to clear all the areas and possibly backtrack to gather the light blobs. But it looks gorgeous and the companion is likable. The Forgotten Sands would be better if it was a stand-alone game (the trilogy has 1 theme and it has concluded; it also does not have HP pickups falling out of vases) without any online components. I think, at different points I've encountered 2 progress-stopping bugs (a handhold not appearing mid-game and a door not opening somewhere late-game). Also, the Steam version might not work at all due to the DRM issues. --- Installed Fable III. After downloading external patches, it agreed to run, but I could not access my saves, because the DRM player's ID was different.

Finished Bad End Theater, a visual novel with the ability to replay the story from each MC's perspective and set the behaviours of the other MCs. The number of unique images is very impressive, though the playtime is rather short - 2 hours in total. Replayed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It still holds well, though the combat, the targeting, in particular, is rather uncomfortable. At least once I was defeated in combat (was getting hit while trying to get up and the rewind was reset due to finishing off a foe) and the NPC companion died once as well (was surrounded during the final elevator ride). It is also interesting that the save points are locked behind combat encounters, some of which are skippable. Overall, PoP:TSoT proves the quality over quantity approach - it is concise, on point, and takes less than 5 hours (including the doors puzzle that requires a sheet of paper and a pencil to solve).

It was somehow low on interactions, and the ones present were rather uncomfortable, from the slow exploration to the mini-games to the very low interactivity of the story. Speaking of, the first MC becomes severely unrelatable, as a major story event happens off-screen, and (end-game spoilers):

Finished Tacoma. Nice, but linear. End-game spoilers:

While regional pricing is an issue, especially with the last year Steam guidelines adjustments, waiting for a more bug-free and less expensive versions of the AAA games* seems to be the most reasonable course nowadays (the last 15 or so years). Starfield is also a Bethesda game, which are well-known for their issues on release. *Not applicable to independent developers, they do need support and less likely to attach invasive DRM or exploitative monetisation to their games. --- On another note, I am curious if the Prince of Persia reboot requires the Ubisoft DRM. As is, the game does look interesting, but not outstanding. I guess, I would prefer it to be a separate IP. Also, I think, it would look better with cell-shading, considering the visual style. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown-is-so-much-better-than-it-looks-in-the-reveal-trailer

Agreed. I hope, there will be different ways to approach the oath and the employment, even if their presence is pre-determined.

Finished Dreams of an Exile. It is a functional and minimalistic action-adventure with platforming. Due to a bug, I was able to achieve only the bad ending and not quite inclined to replay the second half of the game. Review: Started Tacoma. It seems to be a walking simulator. Unironically, the character models are very impressive - the NPCs have different heights and weights, which is rather rare. Usually, there are at most 2-3 models of the same height in sci-fi games (thinking of Mass Effect in particular).

Sounds reasonably good, though I would have preferred more races and specific classes. Curious if it is possible to do a complete diplomatic pacifist/stealth/murder playthroughs. Also, I am very happy to see a purely single-player game. An adequate integration of co-op tends to mess up SP and drains resources. Speaking of, I doubt that Obsidian would go for text-only dialogues in a first-person game, so less interactive dialogues, I suppose.

A fair point. The developer and publisher is Neowiz. I haven't played any of their titles, but have 2 of them on the wishlist. I suppose, Lies of P looks somehow similar to Steelrising (a fancy-looking robot* fighting other robots in a European city), but, according to Steam forums, is better optimised. I didn't get further than the main menu, but unlike Steelrising, Lies of P (demo) does not support the 4th and the 5th mouse buttons, which might be fixed in the full version. *I also can't quite unsee that P looks somehow similar to Evie Frye (Assassin's Creed: Syndicate). I don't think that it is intentional, though.

Lies of P PC demo is available on Steam. The price seems rather high for an independent game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1627720/Lies_of_P/

Finished Self-Checkout Unlimited. It was a quite surreal 2-hour-long walking simulator, despite the first scene implying horror.

There is some sort of complex survivability rating for each character, depending on their role, loyalty, and team composition. So, it is entirely possible to have a fully loyal team and lose some of them and vice versa. The non-combat crew survivability depends solely on the reaction time - the sooner you start the final mission, the more survives. It also introduces a problem with the ME3 world state generator - it is either the loyalty missions or alive non-combatants, but not both. As mentioned above, the OOC PTSD was worse. Kai Leng is poorly introduced and written in-game (he first appeared in one of the ME books and seemed less annoyingly dumb), and covered in plot armour, but fine otherwise. The ending is fine, though I would have preferred it to be more open. --- Finished Record of Lodoss War ~Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth~. Enjoyed it overall, though cannot see another playthrough. Review:

Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-. I have realised that I should have watched the anime (or at least read the summary) first - the MC recognises NPCs and bosses, but does not elaborate on their background nor there is an in-game wiki (that I could find). The elemental system (Fire and Air spirits charge one another when the MC attacks foes, and when the charge at level 3, the MC regenerates HP and MP) is rather convenient, but it feels slightly OP. Then again, it also seems to be incorporated into the boss battles - when you get hit by a Fire/Wind attack and the corresponding spirit is active, you take no damage and regenerate MP. Thank you for the information. Could you elaborate if there is any branching in the story, alongside the sponsors (what do they affect)?

If I remember correctly, the werewolf is to be encountered somewhere in the late-game. Finished Hob. It looks good and the changes in the areas are quite original - a lot of them literally rise from the ground, but the fixed camera angle, poor collision detection (worked more often in my favour in combat), and the somehow simple combat are disappointing. The worst aspect is the story and its presentation - there are no spoken dialogues or written texts, the characters just gesture vaguely, then a quest marker appears. Maybe. When it does not, trying to guess how to progress, when you also do not know the objective due to the lack of dialogues, is somehow unpleasant. The map takes some time to get used to and still does not cover the dungeons, but it is serviceable when it works. Additionally, there is one unique boss, the rest are regular foes with armour. Occasionally, it is not clear when killing everything on the screen is required to progress. The most reliable indication is an inactive mechanism in the room. If it is still inactive when everything is dead, then the battle was optional. The character development system is present - the health can be improved, the sword can hit harder, the glove can charge faster. There are also outfits that change the stats, but I was unable to unlock them - they required both to be found, then to be unlocked with XP points, which seem to be better spent on the glove.

Replayed Weird West (demo) and went directly to the husband's location after the opening cut-scene. It was possible to get through without skills or weapons, though the lack of lockpicks led to the need to find the keys (1 key, to be fair) which were in the pockets of mini-bosses. So I had to circle and knock the targets out one by one and drag them into the bushes. In the other area it was a bit harder to cross unnoticed, but running, rolling, and jumping were sufficient to get away from the foes who could not jump. They could go the default way to my destination, but their attention span was short enough to forget about me. It was just the wind, after all. Also, found a Dishonored easter egg.

Weird West (demo). Finished and somehow annoyed. Enemy positions randomise on reloading a quick save, the loot mostly consists of junk items sold for $1 taking the limited inventory space (a side quest earns about $100), the controls seem to be console-focused - from the GUI to holding and pressing a key being different actions (using a melee weapon requires both - holding the "aim" key and pressing the "attack" key), the quest descriptions unclear - "question the NPC" did not mean "talk to the NPC", but "go into the basement and talk to another NPC". Additionally, there are children NPC, who are immortal but possess the same ability as normal NPCs to report if you are trespassing. Just in case, tried to shoot them and to stab a "Mysterious" child surrounded by the corpses whom I had not killed (at a later interaction a pack of dynamite made the plot-armoured abomination run away). Also, it does not seem to be possible to aim up or down at a distance (possible when the auto-aiming kicks in), but at the same time there is very little verticality for a stealth game. The detection of interactive objects feels imprecise, especially when they are close (e.g. an unconscious NPC and a bucket; a door and a random rat who, unlike the children, cannot harm the PC, but are possible to kill accidentally). The NPC followers are not particularly intelligent - one caught fire by standing next to a torch and kept standing there until I moved. On a positive note, you can pet horses and there are some surface/elemental interactions (i.e. throwing lamps to cause a fire AoE). The character development is bound to exploration and most of the abilities should carry between the playable characters, who cannot be chosen, only played in order. The strategy of knocking foes down in one-hit, then slashing them with melee weapon 4-40 times has been very effective (defeated the final boss that way). At least in one area it was possible to lure the human foes to be killed by a monster. I guess, I am glad that there was a demo. Overall,Weird West feels like a worse version of Seven (which had its own issues) in the Wild West setting. Playable, but not exactly enjoyable.

Thank you, yes. I've looked it up, and there are 2 games (and a turn-based tactical prequel) with Very Positive ratings on Steam.

If I'm not mistaken, there was a stealth game about a goblin assassin in an orc fortress? I've seen it several times on Steam front page, but haven't played. Probably, not quite like Gollum in terms of story, though. Also, a Stardew Valley-like game in the Shire or a competitive fighting game about the Mordor orcs would be curious to see. I think, there were several action-adventure and RTS games in the setting and an MMO RPG.

Stylised graphics, including pixel art, is significantly easier to read, it looks good longer, and provides lower system requirements. On the other hand, highly detailed, including "realistic", styles age rather quickly and are much harder to process. The mitigation usually includes various forms of "eagle vision" (Assassin's Creed) or "Witcher's senses" (The Witcher 3). I think, one of the Tomb Raider reboot games (haven't finished any of them) had the option to disable the paint on climbable walls. Curious how it mixed when the initial design was based on the not-subtle "hints". I suppose, if it was possible to completely disable visual junk (grass, foliage, non-interactive items that look similar to interactive ones), it would be preferable. The closest I can think of (again, haven't played) is The Last of Us 2.

Stealth (non-lethal KO) is mostly viable. Then a boss battle happens and suddenly it is not. If I'm not mistaken, the dialogue skill checks are static and the options unavailable are not shown, so it might be considered to use a guide for them and to avoid investing skill points unless necessary (e.g. important dialogue or boss battle). Playing Weird West - Bounty Hunter's Journey (demo). It seems to be a stealth-action. Fine so far, but feels somehow restrictive. The controls are rebindable and the saving possible almost at any time. The opening with the Data Policy was interesting to see. I also managed to set myself on fire within the first 2 minutes of gameplay.

The Talos Principle 2. Not sure how it is going to work, considering the ending of the first game, but it looks interesting.