Recent reviews by CoolGuyRift

Just beat the first chunk of the game's story and I feel like I can properly give a review of my thoughts so far.

I was hesitant to get hyped about this game when it was first announced; Indiana Jones has always meant a lot to me growing up and I didn't want to be disappointed by a game that was just "okay". I can happily report I haven't found an ounce of disappointment playing this game.

My experience so far has been amazing. The game runs smooth, looks great, and plays even better. Like many others are saying, it feels like you're playing a movie. Every action, every dialogue, every satisfying whip crack makes you feel like Indiana Jones.

Many were apprehensive about the first person POV, but in my opinion it makes the adventure much more immersive. YOU are solving the puzzles, YOU are brawling fascists and Nazis, YOU are escaping ancient deathtraps, YOU are Indiana Jones (that sounds ridiculously cheesy but it's the easiest way to put it).

As I said, I've only just completed the first chunk of the story (the first major location), and I could not be happier with the game. If you are an Indiana Jones fan, this game is absolutely worth your time.

Rest In Peace Tony Todd, thank you for being a part of this adventure <3

Since it's original release last year, Payday 3 was a better heisting game than Payday 2. This isn't to say Payday 2 is a bad heisting game, but Payday 3 is more focused on stealth and heisting aspects, while Payday 2 excels at being (essentially) a horde shooter. The gameplay of Payday 3 was always fun since launch. But that fun did not carry anywhere else in the game once you were no longer actually in game heisting. Poor UI, messy servers, you can read countless other reviews to see what was wrong with it. I held off my review because while I enjoyed the game, at it's state when it launched I couldn't really recommend it, while at the same time I didn't want to give it a negative review.

Just over a year later, Starbreeze has done what Overkill used to be known for. OG Payday 2 fans will remember that the early days of Payday 2 weren't great, but countless updates, reworks, and overhauls have allowed it to flourish into the great game it is now. It's upsetting Skybound didn't let them do the same to their Walking Dead game, because that showed promise as well. In the case of Payday 3, things are looking promising. Coming back to the game after over half a year of not playing feels significantly better; the UI has improved, there's a server browser, offline play (beta) is working pretty well. The game has definitely improved.

Should a lot of this been in launch? Yes. I'm hesitant to blame Starbreeze for this, because Deep Silver has been on a streak of publishing garbage. I'm leaning towards putting more blame on them. But I was always confident that the game would improve because the previous track record.

I hope they're able to continue to support the game with additional reworks, new and remaster heists, and the usual free and paid DLC. I recommend the game in the state that it is now to anyone that was holding off. It's worth it, and it's a great heisting game.

Saw this on the store page on sale and thought it could be interesting, so I bought it off a whim. After completing the game, I can very easily say that this was the best game I've played this year.

I had my doubts in the opening few hours, but once the game hits its groove, it just doesn't stop; the narrative begins to flourish, the combat gets increasingly intense, the visuals become more and more unique with each environment and boss fight. I'm very happy I stuck through with it.

Nearly everything about this game is a positive; the only negative thing I have to say is about navigating the map UI. It's extremely annoying to click in and out of each region when trying to observe the map and figuring out what leads where and trying to figure out where to go next. The only bad thing about this game is this. As a metroidvania, I wish exploration was a bit more satisfying, but I don't think it was bad at all. Just using the map was bad, not actually moving around it.

Please play this game. If you aren't up for the challenge, please play story mode; the story alone is worth experiencing. I don't think I'll play another game this year that'll be as good this one. This is 100% a GoTY contender.

EDIT: This better get a nomination for the Steam Awards; can't believe it was snubbed entirely for the Game Awards.

I don't really care much for the outfits and I went through the game prior before purchasing this, so I have yet to use the amulet yet. I just completed the story DLC though, so this review is really about that, not about the bundle itself.

For $5 (the price of the story DLC itself), you should be happy with it. I found the DLC honestly to be a bit dull for someone who has already completed the game. Maybe it feels better when experienced naturally through the story instead of at the end, but I didn't feel this settled in well with the main story to begin with. Sure there are some cool platforming parts and a nice final boss, but I was kind of left underwhelmed with the DLC as a whole. However, the $5 price tag makes it easier to say it was worth it. I think I beat it in 4-5 hours and got all the achievements associated with the DLC in that time.

TLDR; buy this complete pack if you want the skins / to support the devs. Otherwise, just buy the DLC itself and save $5.

One of the best metroidvanias I've ever played. Very comparable experience to Hollow Knight for me personally.

I wish platforming was a bit more fluid during more intense challenges (may be a skill issue, idk).

The story can get weak/cheesy at some parts, but that is easily mediated with epic set pieces and a powerful score to go along with it. I would go "ehhh that's a bit cringe" and then something stunning would happen immediately after and whatever I was complaining about didn't matter anymore.

Playing on the normal difficulty, I felt the game was a bit easy. I generally play at the recommended setting the devs place for the optimal experience, and I felt the game could've used a bit more challenge. This isn't really a knock at the game because there are difficulty settings, and at any point I could've changed it.

There's really not much else I can say that's negative about the experience I had. Combat, platforming (for the most part), progression, most of the story, exploration, nearly everything about this experience was wonderful. Highly recommend.

When I originally played this after beating the first game, I didn't really take in the story. And when it ended, I was just confused but I thought it was cool. Reading into it more, actually digesting what was happening, and seeing (as the description of the game says) the aftermath of what Jacket started in the first game...

Hotline Miami 2 is a phenomenal sequel. The storytelling is even stronger than the first one, and so is the gameplay. Watching this story tie together different strands into one is quite impressive when you really take your time to understand what's happening. The new gameplay mechanics make this game (in my opinion) harder, and yet more enjoyable, than the first. Nearly single aspect of this game is either on par with the first or better. Getting all the achievements was a pain at times. Some of the difficulty in the levels gets... a bit much sometimes. Getting 50k kills for GENOCIDE is extremely tedious. But that's literally all I have negative to say about this experience. Playing this game was a blast.

Do yourself a favor and play the first one, then go pick up this one. It's completely worth it to buy at full price. Truly one of my favorite experiences in gaming.

Dead Space 3, in my opinion, expanded the lore of the Dead Space games in a positive way. I like the exploration of the origin of the Necromorphs and Markers, and some history into man discovering and covering them back up again. Lore-wise, I feel this game is a positive entry to the Dead Space universe.

However...

Dead Space 3 is the weakest of the 3 main games. Dead Space 1 is the scariest. Dead Space 2 was a great balance of horror and action with the best story of the 3. Dead Space 3 feels like they abandoned the horror and went full tilt into cinematic action. I think when originally playing I only got scared 2 or 3 times, and one of those was a glitch.

It can be fun playing with a friend, but that also alleviates some of the horror, or whatever is left of it.

While I believe the lore and world building are good, how it is delivered is poor. The story isn't great. Not even sure if I could call it decent.

I would only recommend this game to players that need closure after playing Dead Space 1 & 2, or people that want a "horror" game to play co-op with a friend. Dead Space 3 will disappoint many, but if you need to witness the end of the story, you gotta do what you gotta do.

TLDR: Clunky, a bit cringe, but for less than $20 and all the DLC? Could be worth your time.

This game isn't a very good heisting game. But at the same time I think it isn't trying to be. At its core, it is an action roguelike, like the tags say. If you're looking for something to scratch that Payday itch, this isn't it. Anyone saying this is better than Payday 3 is just trying to be cool by dunking on it. Tempered expectations are important when jumping into a game and expecting a heisting game will leave you disappointed.

The gameplay is a bit clunky. Shooting feels like it should be smoother. Looting and throwing bags takes an odd amount of time. Detection is funky and oddly forgiving until its suddenly not. Don't really get the point of civilians once the mission goes loud (if there is one???). Voice acting is stupidly cringe. Beyond the negatives, nothing really stands out as great.

But that's honestly okay for the price they're asking.

If this game was the original $40 I wouldn't be writing this because there would be a 0% chance I would've bought it. There's a reason this game (very quietly) flopped hard. But for less than $20? With all the current DLC? I'd say this game is worth screwing around with if you have a friend or two.

So as long as you know what you're getting into, you may enjoy yourself. Regardless on whether or not this game is good or bad (because I can assure you it's definitely not great), some might enjoy it. And with the right expectations going in plus the price, I do think it's something I can recommend; not for everyone, but for some.

Just made it to the "end" they have in place for the early access.

Very fun game; I see the similarities with Dead Cells but this game is able to stand on its own. Parkour is fairly fluid (some ledge grabs need some work). Getting used to no i-frames when you dodge is going to take some getting used to. The weapons so far seem pretty cool, although I'm already gravitating towards some favorites that will probably need to be nerfed. The music absolutely SLAPS.

There seems to be more story that gets built upon each time you die, similar to Dead Cells but even more so similar to Hades. I really enjoy this aspect.

Even though what they have so far can be completed fairly quickly, what they have so far is a solid base to what should hopefully shape up to be a great game.

I recommend, although some may want to wait until there is more content.

Sons of the Forest is a solid sequel to a great survival horror game.

There are a few elements to the first game that I believe are better. I liked how the story unfolded more in the first game, and discovering new areas felt a bit more exciting. Just my opinion though.

The second game however is definitely the superior survival experience. I get bored pretty quickly of survival games once I run out of ways to progress. I'm not super creative so building only gets so much enjoyment outta me. Once all my gear is collected and maxed, I get bored if I'm not playing with friends. But not here. The survival aspects are phenomenal in this game and are the best I have played in any game. Free building structures is so much more satisfying; more to build and being able to split logs adds so much to the game. But on top of that, electricity, guns, golf carts, there's so much that improved.

I don't think this game kills all joy to go back to the first game, but it is definitely a solid and superior sequel to what was already a great survival game.