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Recent reviews by Bruun

Showing 1-9 of 9 entries
1 person found this review helpful
594.4 hrs on record (60.6 hrs at review time)
Fun
Posted 29 November, 2020.
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34 people found this review helpful
4 people found this review funny
57.3 hrs on record (8.1 hrs at review time)
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan:

Introduction:

I would like to begin this review with a quote from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): “You best start believing in ghost stories, Ms. Turner. You're in one!”. The plot is about four friends who hires a captain and her boat in order to go on a diving expedition. From there it all goes downhill. Will you be able to uncover what happened aboard the ghost ship 70 years ago? More importantly, will you be able to rescue the four friends and the captain? Remember that this story is yours to write.

General information:

“Supermassive Games” developed “The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan” and it is their 16th game. It is a story-driven, choices matter, mystery, horror game. It has gameplay that is quite similar to Until Dawn.

It has ordinary quick-time events (QTEs), limited-time dialogue choices and a Breathing-Pattern type of quick-time event. Which I think fits this game perfectly as it would otherwise just be a game, where you lean backwards and watch a movie rather than actually play a game.

The game is a “Choices Matter” game so everything you do has a consequence for the story. Every piece of a dialogue that you choose every action you make – it matters. Which I like very much as it makes you feel like that you are significant to the story.

Comparison:

I will compare this game to “Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy” and “Life is Strange”. I know that neither of the titles are horror games but I know of very little “choices matters” horror games so these will have to do.

In “Life is Strange” there is a lot of choices and actions to be made but it does not really feel like it actually has a significant impact on the story. Which I find to be a bit disappointing for a game, which is tagged as “Choices Matters”. In “The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan” every little choice and action seems to have a consequence and that makes the story a whole lot more intriguing.

This part will be about the quick-time events in “The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan”. In “Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy” you get moments to lean back, relax, enjoy the dialogue and cutscenes. Because each time that there is going to be quick-time events, you will get a 5 seconds warning prior to the series of quick-time events. Whilst in “The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan” you have to be prepared for these quick-time events at all times. It makes you sit on edge and makes you less focused on the story, which I think is a shame.

Rating (out of 10):

Aspect:
Score:
Graphics:
8
Music:
6
Ambience:
7
Story:
6
Gameplay:
7
Replayability:
8
Controls:
6
Average:
6.9

My reasons for the ratings:

Graphics: I think the graphics are very pretty. I would love to have given the game a higher rank in this category but odd facial-expressions of some characters annoys me to a point where I am settling with an 8 instead of a 9.

Music:I think the music is good. Most of the time you will not notice the music, as you are absorbed in the dialogue and the quick-time events. Get me right, it is not bad but in harmony with the ambience, the story, et cetera. It is something that lies beneath all that and it is very rare that the music itself stands out.

Ambience: It is great! It really sets an unnerving feeling in the player. The ambience really benefits from the background music to a point where they are almost interwoven.

Story: It is a bit slow in the beginning however as it takes momentum you will find yourself locked in your chair with the urge to keep on playing.

Gameplay: it is very fitting for a game like this. With quick-time events, dialogue choices, walking simulator. I am still a bit dissatisfied with the “on-edge” quick-time events but without the quick-time events, this might as well just have been an animated movie.

Replayability: Choices matters. That alone gives this game at least some replayability and it is seldom to find a single-player game with replayability but as the outcome of the story is dependent on your choices and actions, it gives this game replayability within the different paths you can take story-wise.

Controls: The controls are a bit fishy and not only because the protagonists are on a boat but also because it feels like this game was made to be played with a controller. Using a keyboard whilst walking around can be a bit difficult which is a bit of an annoyance.

Conclusion:

The premise of the story is a bit cliché; one would not be surprised to find a horror movie with a very similar plot. However, I do not think that it is a bad thing. I personally welcome the idea of movie-like video games, which one might say that this is. There were not any bugs (at least that I found) and the gameplay was good, smooth.

I recommend “The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan” and I would appreciate more games in this category on Steam. I simply cannot wait for “The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope”.
Posted 30 August, 2019. Last edited 30 August, 2019.
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24 people found this review helpful
16.7 hrs on record (16.1 hrs at review time)
Early Access Review
Rapture Rejects:

Introduction:

Right, so let us begin: God has initiated the Rapture – an end-time event where people will either ascend into the Heavens or descend into hell and I am sorry to tell you this but you did not make it to heaven. Thankfully, you have one last chance to ascend into the kingdom of God. All you have to do is kill your fellow man until there is no one standing except you.

General information:

Rapture Rejects is a Battle Royale made by Cyanide & Happiness, it is developed by Galvanic Games (their 7th game) and by Explosm Games (Explosm = Cyanide & Happiness). It is a top-down, cartoony, fun, action game. The game contains many references to the Cyanide and Happiness comics.

It is a Battle Royale (the term comes from the Japanese movie “Battle Royale” from anno 2000), which means it’s every man for himself (unless you are doing duo-queues, in which case it is every group for themselves).

There is a character customization menu right when you log-in. This character customization is the sole reason for playing (besides the fun gameplay) because determined on how well you do in matches, you will receive a number of “tickets” – these tickets may be used for unlocking new but random cosmetic items which have no impact on gameplay.

There are supply-crates in-game which can contain all sorts of fun weaponry, disguise-kits, F-bombs, toasters filled with knives and such. All sorts of funny references to the Cyanide & Happiness comics. There is also the possibility of “God” dropping an “Ark of the Covenant” from the skies but to my experience, the loot table from these seem to have the same drop-table as regular supply-crates except that they drop slightly more of it.

Comparison:

I am going to compare Rapture Rejects with PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS and of course Fortnite’s Battle Royale.

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS being the most realistic of these three games it is also the one with the most bugs, slow render of buildings, vehicles messing up, et cetera. The most important features for me in a Battle Royale are the following two things: gameplay and character-customisation.

I did not like the character customization in PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS – I find it somewhat dull and boring with very few options and the items are often the same model but in different colour-variants. The battles in PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS takes too long and as a result, the action is drawn-out to a point where it gets bloody boring.

In comparison with Fortnite’s Battle Royale, this is where Rapture Rejects will have a hard time. Fortnite’s Battle Royale does have cartoony graphics, silly weapons and features but Fortnite has the same problem as PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS – the matches are too long. In this aspect Rapture Rejects really shines through – a match can take a mere 5 to 7 minutes. An enjoyable, repeatable 5-7 minutes session.

The character customization in Rapture Rejects is also a lot better. Both in the sense that there a lot more options but also because you unlock cosmetics items through playing – which to my extend does not happen in Fortnite’s Battle Royale (except if you have a “Battle-Pass”).

However, Rapture Rejects will add a store to their game at some point in the future – which I suspect will give you to unlock items directly with “golden tickets” bought for cash. I cannot account for this store yet as it has not been implemented.

Rating (out of 10):
Aspect:
Score:
Graphics:
9
Music:
7
Character-customisation:
7
Gameplay:
8
Replayability:
8
Controls:
7
Community-toxicity:
9
Average:
7.9

My reasons for the ratings:

Graphics: What can I say? The good thing about cartoony graphics is that they will never grow old. NEVER. Also, since this game is in the Cyanide & Happiness universe it suits the game very, very well.

Music: There is not a lot of music in this game but it isn’t needed either. The music that is in the game is however really good and I do appreciate it quite a lot. The music fits the Battle Royale genre very well.

Character-customisation: Well done character-customisation however a few items clip weirdly with others, which is a little disappointing but I am certain that these items will be patched in the future. Nonetheless, a good variation of items with more to come in the future.

Gameplay: Each match is short and fun. Does not take much time of your hands, which gives even the busiest of people a chance to sit down and enjoy a match. I also love the silly little references and jokes. If you like Cyanide & Happiness, you will like this game.

Replayability: There is a lot of replayability because every match is different and fun whilst you keep on playing, competing to get those tickets which will grant you deliciously silly cosmetics.

Controls: Controls are good but to some degree the default controls are a bit odd (as an example, bandages, chicken, alcohol, drugs on respectively “7”, “8”, “9”, “0”). Luckily! These are all rebindable.

Community-toxicity: I have decided to include this as a thing to consider as toxicity often appears in competitive multiplayer-games. The game has no way besides of the in-game ping system and emote-system to communicate with other players. Giving no option to be toxic except on the forums where I have yet to see even the slightest toxicity. I am very pleased about the lack of toxicity.

My thoughts:

This game has a price tag of 16.79€ at the current time. A little pricy one might argue and I would tend to agree but given how much fun you will have with it and how often you can put in 5-7 minutes for pure fun and silly gameplay – I will definitely say it is worth it.

I know people would prefer if this game was Free-2-Play and that is respectable but I would prefer it to have a heavier price tag rather than living solely on micro-transactions.

If you do not think that, it is reasonable to pay about 17€ for this game then that is understandable but I will DEFINITELY recommend you buying this when it’s on sale. You must not skip this game.
Posted 3 December, 2018. Last edited 4 December, 2018.
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No one has rated this review as helpful yet
5.1 hrs on record
Outlast:

Introduction:

“Outlast” is a first-person, story-driven, horror, survival video game developed and published by Canadian “Red Barrels”. You play as the journalist “Miles Upshur” who has received leaked information about the sinister things taking place in an abandoned mental asylum. I will be comparing this to the game: “Amnesia: The Dark Descent”.

General information:

As I’ve mentioned, you play as the journalist “Miles Upshur” who enters this mental asylum to uncover what secrets it may hold. You do so by progressing the story by doing actually just following a designated path often guarded by enemies who’ll try to kill you and from time to time you’ll have to acquire Z that unlocks Y in order to unlock that path.

You may also unlock parts of the story (not necessary but possible) by picking up journals and record certain events and things with your handheld camera which will give you some notes on that character, event, item etc.

When facing an enemy you have no other choice than to hide from them and if that fails you have to run – and then hide. Hiding in closets isn’t as effective as I’d like it to be because monsters apparently have a way to “sense” if you’ve gone into a closet or not – no matter how close you are.

Comparison:

So I can see many similarities with “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” when it comes to gameplay. In both games you can’t fight back you only have the option to run and hide. You have a light-source (Your cameras night-vision) which requires batteries to power and in “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” you have a lantern that requires oil. In addition, both video games uses notes as a way to tell the backstory of the games.

However, some crucial things vary in the gameplay of the two games. In “Outlast”, you have certain movement-mechanics, which does add a little variation to the “path-finding” progress of the game which “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” does not. Examples: you can make jumps to grab onto a ledge to crawl up or walk on a ledge from a window to another window. In “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” none of this can be done and if you try the latter, you’ll probably fall to your death.

“Amnesia: The Dark Descent” does however have a “Sanity” mechanic in its’ gameplay instead – if you stay in the darkness for too long, witness certain events or look at enemies for too long, you’ll start to go insane. The state of your mental health tweaks the gameplay of “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” quite a bit. Which I find interesting.

“Amnesia: The Dark Descent” also has another thing which I really do enjoy. Variation in the sense of progressing through the story. It’s not only about finding the right path to follow – it’s also about puzzles. This aspect of the gameplay makes the story-progressing more interesting than just trying to find the right path to follow. Sure, you will come across some of these “acquire Z to unlock Y” but it’s always a new item and a new thing to unlock. Whereas in “Outlast” it’ll almost every time be either a key or a keycard to unlock a door.

Rating (out of 10):

Aspect:
Score:
Graphics:
7
Music:
6
Characters:
3
Story:
5
Content:
6
Controls:
7
Gameplay:
6
Average:
5.7

My reasoning for the rating:

Graphics: The graphics fits this game really well aesthetic-wise but it’s nothing extraordinary.

Music: The music in the game fits a survival, horror game well especially since most of it’s very tense and suits a chase-scenario. Which often occurs in this game. However, this makes most of the music in the game sound alike and therefore gets dull rather fast.

Characters: One of the true dead-weights in this game. There weren’t really any of the characters that I liked or found interesting (might be because I didn’t really like the story that much). The only exception to this would be: Dr. Wernicke and I didn’t even like them very much.

Story: I didn’t find the story very interesting which is sad because I do like the way it’s being told and how you have to put an effort into unlocking the backstory if you want a complete picture of it.

Content: “Outlast” does have some replay-value but not much – it would be if you want to get every single note and journal. Besides that it took me 4.5 hours to complete the game (not counting in the “Whistleblower” DLC).

Controls: The controls are done well. Especially in the sense of the “movement mechanics”.

Gameplay: Wouldn’t hurt to have a little more variation in the progressing of the story in this story-driven, survival, horror game but I suppose it’ll do. It’s not mediocre but I don’t find it fantastic either.

My thoughts:

Personally I think that at 20€ this game is a little bit pricey for the 4,5 hours it took for me to complete but I think if you think the story is interesting then it might be worth picking up – I sadly didn’t enjoy the story but their way of telling it was nice (though seen before).

I don’t think that it’s a bad game, not at all, I just didn’t like the story which is kind of a key element in any story-driven game.

I’d say you should definitely consider picking it up if you like games like “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” but I’ll recommend that you’ll wait for a sale because 20€ is a bit too much considering the length of the game and the replayability of it.
Posted 17 July, 2018. Last edited 30 June, 2019.
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3 people found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
0.5 hrs on record
Root of Evil: The Tailor:

Introduction:

“Root of Evil: The Tailor” is a horror game with puzzle elements. It’s also the first game from the Vietnamese “EastFog Studios” which to my knowledge only consists of 1 person. Its’ regular price is 7€ but at the moment is 2.09€. I will be comparing it to “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” as it is the only other game which I can compare to “Root of Evil: The Tailor” and that I’ve played.

General information:

It’s about a haunted house where a murder took place 20 years ago. A mother kills her husband and thereafter commits suicide; their daughter wants you, a telepath named James, to uncover what happened.

You start right before the front door inside the house. Where you’ll have to complete puzzles in order to advance in the game and it’s often not very apparent where you’ll have to go next. The story of the game is told through cinematics, which you unlock by progressing in the game and by things like newspaper articles.

The game horror-elements mostly consists of the music and jump-scares combined with sound effects.

Comparison:

It might not be fair to compare this game to “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” as the latter is a classical horror game but both of the games are indie horror games with puzzle elements.

They both progress in the same way but it appears as if in “Root of Evil: The Tailor” one has to find every-last single piece of information to progress in the game, while it’s not mandatory in “Amnesia: The Dark Descent”. In “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” there are certain little neat cutscenes if you find let’s says three linked pieces of information which I think is a really cool and rewarding thing to have in your game. A neat little reward for finding information in your game. What I really despise is that a lot of the pieces of information are ruined by the flawed English in the game. It’s not helping the atmosphere or the story - on the contrary, it detracts from it.

In “Root of Evil: The Tailor” the horror-elements mostly consists of jump-scares and unsettling music which tends to get a little dull rather quick. In “Amnesia: The Dark Desecent” one does not only experience these two ways of scaring the player but also the chase and hide element which really adds variation to the gameplay. Not tremendous variation but it’s enough.

Rating (out of 10):

Aspect:
Score:
Graphics:
3
Music:
3
Atmosphere:
2
Story:
3
Content:
1
Controls:
2
Gameplay:
3
Average:
2.4

My reasons for the ratings:

Graphics: It will never be a necessity for a horror game to have good graphics if the story, the jump-scares and unsettling music is in order but this game just look like an old source-mod which doesn’t add much to the game.

Music: There’s nothing much to be said about the music in this game. It’s mediocre at best and I believe I used so long to figure out the first puzzle that the music ended. One could say that the mediocre music fits the mediocre game well.

Atmosphere: The horrible storytelling, flawed English and the mediocre music ruined it.

Story: I’m not a big fan of the whole supernatural telepathic thing but I gave it a shot nonetheless. The story isn’t really that interesting and even though the game may be short if you know exactly where to go but you probably won’t (except if you’re looking at a guide) it’s not really worth the time.

Content: As I’ve said, the game is short. It’s not really fun to wander around trying to figure out what to do and I seriously doubt that there’ll be any sequels or DLCS let alone any more patches/fixes to this game. It simply doesn’t have a lot of content.

Controls: Very simple and basic controls as far as I know since there’s no “keybindings” section in the options menu - which I would very much like there to be.

Gameplay: This is probably where this game shines the most and it’s very dim. Its’ got some puzzles which isn’t that challenging. Some of them will take time to figure out exactly where to look which Is mostly frustrating and not very fun. I do miss some puzzles which actually takes brainpower instead of these basic puzzles.

My thoughts:

I know this is a game made by one person (as it says so as the very first thing when you launch the game) but this game is just plain bad. Not even the achievements unlocks correctly for finding some small symbols around in the game (which seems to have no purpose except for the achievements?).

I do NOT recommend this game – not even on sale (as it currently is at 2.09€) and at 7€ it’s just throwing money out of your window.

I’ll give the developer that this is their first game, that Is fair. I hope they’ll improve and thereby make better games in the future but this one isn’t worth your money nor your time.
Posted 15 July, 2018. Last edited 17 July, 2018.
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3 people found this review helpful
315.7 hrs on record (138.6 hrs at review time)
Dead by Daylight:

Introduction:

Dead by Daylight is a video game by the Canadian developer Behaviour Interactive Inc. and it's a 4v1 survival horror game. Not unlike games like "Friday the 13th: The Game" and "Damned" (which are the games that I'll compare it with). It's a 20€ game and here is my thoughts on whether it's worth the pricetag or not.

General information:

The objective of the game depends on which side you play - you can either queue up as a survivor or as the killer. The objective of the survivors is to get 5 generators running to power the exit gates without getting noticed by the killer. If the killer does find you, you'll have to hide from the killer or leave that generator for the moment. If the killer does catch you, the killer will put you on a hook where you'll be dependent on your teammates to come and unhook you.

The objective of the killer is to stop the survivors from powering the exit gates. Doing so by trying to find and kill the survivors whilst they are repairing generators - mainly using their special abilities to get an advantage on the survivors. A dead sin for any killer is to waste time because that means the survivors will have more time to repair generators and therefore escaping before you can kill them.

Comparison:

As I've mentioned I will be compairing "Dead by Daylight" to "Friday the 13th: The Game" and "Damned", which are the only similiar games which I remember playing.

"Dead by Daylight" has something that "Damned" and "Friday the 13th: The Game" doesn't have - a tutorial. Is it needed? Not really. Most of the mechanics in the game you'll learn by playing - I didn't play the tutorials untill I had about 50 hours in the game. In the matter of objectives, it is a bit more straight-forward than any of the 2 other games. In "Dead by Daylight" it'll show you exactly how many generators still needing to be fixed/find an exit gate when playing. This is the only way to escape except for "The Escape Hatch" which is very situational and not something to be aimed for - a last resort.

"Damned" is very confusing about its' objectives: finding random keys that fits random doors untill you've unlocked enough doors and found the right key that lets you escape. "Friday the 13th: The Game" does this a little bit better - it's too random but you have multiple ways of escaping Jason. Either by boat, by car, calling the police and run towards them or simply kill Jason. This is NOT the case with "Dead by Daylight" there's only the exit gates and "The Escape Hatch".

There is a perk/level-system in "Dead by Daylight" which I like a lot compared to the two other games. I don't recall there being a perk/level-system in "Damned" and if there is then it's so dull that it's not worth remembering. In "Friday the 13th: The Game" it's randomised which perk you get and what quality, also the amount of perks you can have is limited. So at some point you'll have to jeopardise your perks to get ones that are better by rerolling your current perks.

The perk/level-system in "Dead by Daylight" is called "The Bloodweb" - you use bloodpoints (which you gain from matches) to unlock perks, items, add-ons, offerings etc. in "The Bloodweb". When you've gotten everything in "The Bloodweb" it'll close and open up a new "Bloodweb" with new items and perks - when it does this, it means you've achieved a new level on that character. Congratulations.

By achieving level 10 with a character means "The Entity" will start stealing items from your "Bloodweb" as well - this means it's time to get picky about choosing items and perks.

Rating (out of 10):

Aspect:
Score:
Graphics:
8
Music:
7
Level-system:
7
Story:
5
Content:
6
Controls:
8
Gameplay:
9
Average:
7.1

My reasons for the ratings:

Graphics: The graphics in the game are good which is always nice. Who would criticise a game for looking pretty? It isn't exactly a necessity for a horror-survival game to be good or scary but it's nice that the game is pretty to look at.

Music: One of the more important. Music and sound is important in this game as there is a special sound for skill-checks, when the killer is nearby etc. there are also situations where the music is important. Like when the killer is following you or he's really ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ close.

Level-system: Aka. the perk-system. I'd love to give this one a higher rating but I really don't dig the whole "random items popping up in your Bloodweb"-thing. Too many items, offerings, add-ons I'll never use as they don't fit my playstyle.

Story: I've decided to give "Story" a 5. Not because it's told in a way that's in any way unique or revolutionary but because it exists. In a game like this a story isn't needed and there isn't a whole lot of it only background-story on the survivors/killers to explain how they got into this universe. From time to time their background story will also explain certain perk-names.

Content: Well, the content in this game is most about reaching level 40 with each character to be able to unlock its' perks on all characters in the end. Currently they are adding a new killer and survivor every quarter of a year so you'll have time to level your characters up.

Controls: I think the controls are good and sensible. I don't like the "wiggle" thing where you have to try to wiggle off a killer's shoulders before he hooks you (you do this by spamming "A" & "D") and of course the "Struggle" phase of being hooked (spamming "space"). They both make sense but it's not very pleasant.

Gameplay: I really like the gameplay of trying to hide from a killer - I guess I'll always be the hare in the "Hunter and Hare" scenario. That little adrenaline-kick, when the killer is in your proximity and looking for you, that is just one of the best things on this God-given earth. Also you'll always have the options to just try and run away from the killer and thereafter hide.

My thoughts:

Right, so this game costs 20€ (when not on a sale). Would I recommend you buying it? Yes. Yes I would. You'll have hours of fun. If you play it with friends, you'll have even more fun. The DLCs are a bit pricy in comparison to the game, especially since the DLCs doesn't add that much.

Like every game you'll not win everytime but in about 80% of the games you'll have fun playing it. It does however depend on who plays the killer, who plays the survivors etc. because some people, just want to watch the world burn.
Posted 15 July, 2018. Last edited 17 July, 2018.
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2 people found this review helpful
28.7 hrs on record (14.6 hrs at review time)
Early Access Review
Rather fun gameplay. It's funnier with friends but which games aren't? It's a proper (no punt intended) prophunt game, which I can highly recommend.
Posted 24 November, 2017.
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5 people found this review helpful
10 people found this review funny
0.9 hrs on record (0.2 hrs at review time)
Cons:

Extremely bad.
Not funny at all.
Poor optimisation.
Plain immature and vulgare.
Bad controls.

Pros:

Boobs.

My opinion:

10/10 game, would definitely recommend even when it's not on sale!
Posted 11 February, 2017.
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No one has rated this review as helpful yet
58.6 hrs on record (54.4 hrs at review time)
An excellent game, the game itself is one of the best choices-matters games out there. The story is brilliant and it has a fairly good depth. The characters in the game is really well-made and features great voice-actors like Ashly Burch (the voice-actress who voiced Tiny Tina in Borderlands 2).
Posted 2 January, 2017.
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Showing 1-9 of 9 entries