Recent reviews by 0dds_0f_Even

The closest to getting that Ace Attorney fix with a touch of learning Chinese history set in the late Qing Dynasty with touches of Sherlock Holmes as an influence. I really loved learning both the bad and good of China's 19th & 20th century with how they dealt with the tragedy of Opium use especially with the last case showing the lengths greed would go to keep addicts sending money to corporations (the worst case being the Sassoon family's influence), how controversial the Mixed court system was for allowing corruption & bias in criminal cases which I never realized Britain's influence in China at the time, how China struggled to compete against Britain & Germany regarding Steel & other metals, How the chinese were inspired by classic books like The Wizard of Oz as a way of opening up their culture more to different ideas, how oppressive China was towards their own people, how corporal punishment was reduced with new legislation attempting to be more like the western approach of fairness while also preserving their culture & so many other facts that were never taught in school.

Even with the influences the devs noted, the game does a pretty good job telling a story while also educating the player on a part of history that isn't really talked about. I do have to warn you that for the default settings the FPS settings are set on unlimited for some reason so you'll have to immediately set that down if you want to play smoothly without screen tearing. I can't wait to see what they do with the DLC since the journalist character never got a lot of spotlight except for the final case. The voice acting is also pretty good for a small studio & the ink/painted brush graphic style the game chooses really fit the vibe of reading an old scroll.

If you're looking for an Ace attorney with some more mechanics to it like debating, logical reasoning and so on then I definitely recommend this game either full price or on sale. I really valued its message against drug abuse and showcasing the tragic history of how drugs stayed in business illegally. I could tell this was an important part of the game the devs wanted to share and it was very heartfelt with how connected the cases were regarding drugs.

This one will be a cautious positive review since I still feel conflicted on the use of AI in our entertainment. I was originally going to avoid this game until I saw how fluent the conversations can lead into this game. The game has a 450 character limit & I've never in my lifetime played a game where you can actually feel like a detective without restrictions such as choice boxes and other previous tools used in older games. Especially in RPGs where choice is one of main enjoyments such as Fallout New Vegas or newer games like Disco Elysium with good writing. I see why actors and ones that do voice acting are horrified of AI. AI as unknown as it is currently does a more capable job of being believable than a written script. It's really scary the lengths it goes and I believe the devs did a good job showing how dangerous this new tool is with each of the cases. Exploring the ethics of AI, what happens if we can reverse death with AI, how we deal with grief, the impact of art in the technological world & so many other relevant topics that I believe are very important in how we steer the future.

I say this is cautious because not everyone will be for games with Deep learning AI in them such as ChatGPT or other tools. I know infamously when creatives such as Studio GHIBLI director Hayao Miyazaki was shown the potential of AI, he was so disgusted that he believed robots will never understand human pain. After playing this game I believe this technology will be inevitable for usage despite past warnings. Unfortunately a lot of bad knowing our human history of discovery but with a cautious approach like how the devs handled the use of AI. I believe we can still keep AI as a tool instead of our downfall.

This one is a potential 2024 GOTY for me for asking the important questions of life while also being a well written detective mystery. For some people it'll be a last straw for innovation, that we went too far. The third and fifth case for me were a reminder of the dangers of unresolved grief and having to remind the player the simple lesson to move on. Never forget your relatives to empower you but don't disrupt the biggest step to life which is death. I still miss my father but I wouldn't want to resurrect him at all knowing how personalities can be forgotten.

I've been on a puppet combo rush lately and after playing for the first time Cannibal Abduction (this game is one of my favs and the closest to why I loved Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Glass Staircase (Mid game IMO), Nun Massacre (love the lore), Blood Wash (I wished it was longer, definitely one of the more messed up villain lores), Night in the Gates of Hell and Christmas Massacre on the Xbox. The game is pretty nostalgic of when Blockbuster used to be around with funny references to Titanic, Godfather, Indiana Jones, Toy Story, Halloween and other classic movies as you try to work as a clerk dealing with rude customers, a rude boss, and a killer on the loose.

When I first saw the store screenshots I thought the villain for this game would be aggressive but the game is actually more forgiving (there's only one chapter that isn't a scripted chase which involves the most out of memorizing the level layout) and more of a puzzle game with a beginning that involves minor management. Plot is the closest to a B movie horror as you can get and I wanted to know more of the actual setting and minor characters including why the killer became the way he is. I'm also hoping if this store setting is brought back again, it involves more management and freaky shenanigans since it has potential to be really scary.

I would say overall to either buy it full price or wait on a sale if you like VHS styled horror. If I had one more critique the chase music could've been improved, it doesn't fit the vibe of being chased at all by a killer. Still loved the concept & game but hoping the next project by the devs will be expanded on better.

Pretty decent conspiracy thriller with a good twist to the story. Mostly deals with identity and the purpose of your job at the FDI. Has a cliffhanger ending which burns the experience a bit. The only time I struggled with the game is with the bomb defusal which is the most frustrating to do in the game, other than that I loved how the desktop plays a huge role in uncovering clues. You become either a loyal agent or an espionage spy which it does pretty well to keep the player engaged.

Price wise it's a bit on the expensive side for only 3-4 hours of gameplay so I would wait for a sale overall. This is the closest to something X-files, Bones or Mindhunter just as tv show examples would've done in a videogame format in the perspective of a techie. Hopefully if the sequel is released it can expand on the underdeveloped tools like the sample analysis for example, have multiple endings and remove the time limited puzzles. The opportunity to do multiple cases (subplots which would either help your detective or not) instead of following the main story would be amazing potential as well if that's possible too.

I loved the first Talos Principle so I was surprised to see a sequel come out this year and nearly miss out on it. First off it is possible to play the game without an SSD if you're fine with playing on the lowest video quality settings only and with V-sync on. I'm a little disappointed that the game is graphically demanding due to Unreal Engine 5 (Don't do what I did and buy the game unless you have an SSD) despite upgrading my graphics driver but the gameplay makes up for it since the puzzles have a lot more of the same (along with the new) with new options like finding Stars to skip puzzles entirely, an open world setting with different areas to explore at your own pace & a whole cast of robot characters (some named by philosophers and some from authors) that'll accompany you. Even from what I played so far you decide which robots to support along the journey.

Philosophically I have mixed thoughts on. The questions were engaging but they aren't as memorable as the first game's questions especially with the Gehenna DLC from what I played of the sequel at the moment. I will update the review if I finish the game.

Overall worth every penny.

EDIT: Extended thoughts after playing & finishing the Xbox Series X version. Gameplay wise I have mixed feelings on. Worlds like Desolate Island and Antropic Hills are way too big for exploring especially dealing with the constant backtracking. Puzzles are either too easy or headache inducing which I'm glad the spark skips exist. Gone are any cryptic secrets from the original Talos to more of an open approach here in the sequel which I prefer way more than just manipulating object physics to find secrets.

The real meat of the game is the story which I have nominated for the 2023 Steam Awards. The debate this time is the same, old climate change debate but I think the game is balanced enough to consider all perspectives. Topics also explored are civilizations, Death (I related to this the most due to my own tragedy), morality, human history (each good and bad) & so many other topics that you should see for yourself. The writing here is way more engaging which actually left me to ponder for minutes to decide if my answer is just. Robot perspectives include Byron (based on a historical figure named Lord Byron) who has a utopia approach (He knows the world is awful but still keeps on believing in the best for mankind) sort of like what Star Trek used to be, Rand (Ayn Rand"s objectivism in-game) on his path to discovering what true morality is in the universe, Herman's (Saying his full name is a wordful) stagnatic approach to keeping the status quo due to his fear of repeating human history & those are just the main choices for the story which again you should play for yourself to see how enriching it is.

References include author G. K. Chesterton, author John Milton of Paradise Lost, a bunch of greek philosophers including Socrates (The lack of eastern philosophers is disappointing but maybe a third game would introduce them?), This one is a theory for me so psychoanalyst Carl Jung or Sigmund Freud when you hook up to the somnodrome regarding one of the answers about mentioning the self, A lot of mentions of sci-fi author Iain M. Banks which I believe inspired the game's hopeful approach, Horror film director John Carpenter being praised in an audio log & so many others that I possibly never heard of.

As mentioned in the unedited part of the review. It's worth every penny.

I voted Viewfinder for the most innovative game for the 2023 Steam Awards. I loved the concept of placing photos and then going inside the photos to get to teleporters in anyway possible. Whether it's to form a bridge, destroy a building or just to explore inside dungeons this game has surprised me a lot from what I played so far. I swear this is a Jorge Luis Borges concept in videogame form that somehow works. Get this game if you can if you want unique ideas to thrive in the games industry.

The settings are also plenty to to customise your game however you want to play including the option to disable the time limits if you want to solve puzzles at your own pace.

Indie games like this put Triple A games to shame.

Absolutely beautiful game. The game gave me mixed emotions with my grief but I'm glad I played this game to help me heal even if it's only temporary. All the tragedy in this game with the victims of the plague (previously they were haunted by a shapeshifter luring the men to stake their hearts for dark magic), King Nils losing both his wife (from the labors of childbirth and son (assassinated after he was cured by a witch's flower when previously his father's madness killed innocents during the witch hunts searching for this bloom to save his only son) due to unpredictable circumstances, the baby scene which broke me down to tears reminding me of the nightmares I had as a child about dying, the lore behind the Nacken which made me feel bad for the creature & so on ended with a hopeful message to keep finding the light even under the worst circumstances.

The narration is also well done and I'm not sure if its a fading memory returning but I vaguely remember hearing the voice somewhere from Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. If my ears aren't deceiving me then the studio made a great choice with the narrator. The mix of Scandinavian and Norse mythology is full of lore alongside the journey as well & am happy the game didn't hold back on its dark themes. If you played Little Nightmares then you would love this game as well except for me personally I loved this so much more than Little Nightmares. Only downsides I can give is the aiming system not being consistent which led me to dying multiple times so maybe a toggle feature could fix that issue, due to the Unreal Engine expect to have stutters with your frame-rate and the platforming can be dodgy sometimes but it gets the job done.

I strongly recommend getting this full price or on sale. The game time is short yet it leaves a huge mark on you after you finished.

Not really that good compared to the dev's previous game Fran Bow since there is a lack of puzzles & the game only allows you to go A to B instead of freely clicking around. The dark humor itself for me is a miss and the story really wanted to end itself quickly with the narrator encouraging it.

Only good is the art style & the voice acting. For the price it's asking is not worth it and only worth it if you catch it on sale. From what I understand of the story a bit is that it's about a little girl with an active imagination to cope with an abusive household & that her imagination encourages her to run away from home.

Sadly not much else to discuss about this game.

One of the few horror games with a unique concept and an almost accurate representation of how a mortician does their job excluding the game's gimmick of banishing demons. I'm almost convinced the dev either worked in the morgue or did a lot of research because I learnt so much of that line of work. For my experience playing through the first 5 shifts did tense me up while training myself to remember the steps which the game wonderfully does well on scaring you. The scare factor does lose its crunch if you try to go for the multiple endings since there is no skip cutscene button at all for every haunt that you encounter but the 5th ending is worth it just for a cry (I miss my dad everyday as well) if you manage to do the correct steps. The story itself is simple and effective at accomplishing a believable story of a former heroin junkie turning themselves around to finish their university degree to get to a job they love while also dealing with the death of their father over an accident on a rainy day trying to save the main protagonist from drowning themselves to death.

I could see this game getting a sequel or maybe its a one time thing but if there's one thing to improve if a sequel does happen is to improve the gameplay loop since it does get repetitive seeing the same scares over and over.

Sadly not the game for me. Getting the good out of the way the atmosphere is oppressive since it starts out with tragic violence & then through a house that is completely haunted by either the murderer's mental health or ghosts. The graphics are of top quality and the detail of the house is like living through sleepless nights of grime due to the mess of the place.

What holds it back for me is that the puzzles are incredibly obtuse even if your thorough with checking every drawer, closet and so on. The UI is also incredibly janky to get the hang of since your inventory is inconsistent on how the hand mechanic works and on top of dealing with a sanity system would get tired quickly if I were to continue.

For the price this game is offering only get it on a good sale since it asks way too much.