Nylige anmeldelser av Therm0z

Since CS:GO has been replaced I think it’s time to update this review to reflect my views of the current chapter of the game as it has changed much over the years. While the core of Counterstrike is still here, there has been quite a noticeable shift from moving to Source 2 and moving to premier as the primary gamemode. All this has come with a multitude of benefits but also lots of problems which the community have pointed out. One big one atm seems to be an inconsistent queue, games just don't feel balanced most of the time and in premier loss and gain is exponential leading to people quite far from where they should be.

First to address the big change, moving to Source 2 and all it has to offer. A choice that has been controversial as even I can agree it doesn’t feel like Source, if this is for better or worse though is harder to say. People will say it’s worse just because it’s different, and people in the gaming space love digging themselves into corners when it comes to changes, personally I’m neutral on this topic until we see what’s possible now. One thing to say for sure though is that the new much better codebase and devtools available for Source 2 means the game is easier to work on and modify which in turn should give us more content and more advanced modifications in the long run. Whether this be from the community or devs will be seen. The game has always been driven by and for the community in terms of maps, skin designs, videos and even whole new games inside of Counterstrike. All which should be easier for everyone involved now, even though the community is obviously emotionally split over the merge over to CS2. We shouldn’t expect a game this full of life to stay static, and personally I think this move will be seen as a good one in future even if that isn’t most people's opinion on it today.

With all the engine stuff addressed it’s time to get to the juice of it. With the new graphics engine and pipeline the game just looks miles better than anything in CS ever did. Whether it be the guns, models or maps it’s just on a modern level now without being too demanding of a game. Don’t get me wrong, performance is definitely worse than in Source but considering the graphical and engine improvements I’d say that it’s very acceptable as any relatively modern hardware can easily run the game at over 300fps. The higher quality assets can also be seen in community content as we have already had lots of maps and other stuff made for CS2 and it all looks stunning. The community workshop and market are both thriving even when content drop is very slow on Valve’s part. Weapon handling is basically the same except for a few changes though most could probably be boiled down to the change in the ticksystem. Another big change is the change to premier as the new “main” gamemode. Having a global leaderboard and actually being able to see where you are within a rank is great even though it kinda removed the rank system in the process which was a staple of CS:GO and it’s not as satisfying seeing just a number so it kinda lost its charm.

Onto the problems. The dynamic tick system has been the reason for lots of outcry and while I think people complain about it way too much it definitely does feel inconsistent. The idea is great in theory but with how unstable some people's connections are, it’s unfortunately not the best idea in practice. In a perfect world it would be awesome but it just isn’t in its current state. The game still plays well and the cheater problem is definitely a bigger problem, unfortunately the war against cheaters is a constant wild goose chase in today's gaming scene. I don’t blame Valve for not having a perfect anti-cheat and the hope for a good one is not high, it’s just how modern gaming is and kernel level AC has already been proven ineffective so that’s not a solution, though it could definitely be much better than it currently is. Other than that it’s mostly just missing content, from maps that haven’t gotten updated to the lack of dangerzone (which I actually liked) and some shaders stuff like pearlescence not working fully which has upset a few peeps. Sadly no big new content on operations the past few years and I guess the reason was CS2, hopefully we can get back into that cycle in a bit. Though I’m happy to see Valve not jumping onto the battlepass trend, cases are gambling which isn’t ideal but I honestly prefer that to the time crunch addiction money generators that modern gaming monetization has become.

And while we don’t see much in CS2, Valve seems to be back to developing in full swing. From new titles being created like Deadlock (check it out, first fun MOBA I’ve played) and projects being datamined to new hardware being worked on I can’t help but feel like Valve is going back to their golden age. I’m sure stuff is happening for CS2 behind the scenes even if we don’t see much of it, remember that this happened between older Counterstrike titles as well.

People look at this game and see a downgrade from the stuff we lost from CS:GO, and while I can see that point of view I can’t help but see the possibilities and future of this game. It’s clear that Counterstrike is not going anywhere and that Valve has some cleaning up to do. While I’m a little saddened that the new big drop of content is virtually the same as a battlepass I’m sure Valve is cooking. They would never have put in all the years to move to Source 2 if they didn’t have big plans down the line and I’m so here for the next decade of Counterstrike.

This game is quite the experience, hours passing by like nothing and after you’re done, you’ll have a beautifully managed colony of nitwits who do everything in their power to off themselves. Truly a masterpiece of a game and perfect for anyone who wants a small engineering challenge and some survival colony management. All the systems may be simple by themselves but combined becomes a haywire of things to manage and think about so knowledge of how these interact is crucial for completing the game. The DLCs change up the game quite a bit, more towards being different game modes than extra content as they both play very differently.

There are lots of ways to solve most problems and lots of ways to decorate so you do definitely have some creative input when it comes to your colony and some people in the community have truly shown off how to fully utilize this freedom. While the game has a high knowledge ceiling there is almost no skill ceiling, some well versed in the arts of engineering might be able to make something the most efficient way but as long as you understand the game you should be able to replicate the results in your own way albeit using a few more resources. The engineering challenges really scratch a specific itch that only modded Minecraft and Satisfactory has been able to do before.

It’s clear this game isn’t for anyone as it’s both very time consuming, trial and error and the likes just to get into the game and being able to do stuff by yourself. But if you invest the time and persevere through your failures you’ll see how much you learned and adapt to using this knowledge in the next playthrough. Through all my hours I’ve only completed 2 full runs of the game and currently playing the DLCs and looking back on my old save files, I truly didn’t know what I was doing. If you do get stuck however, I recommend looking up Francis John on youtube as I’ve found his tutorials on the systems and mechanics of the game being excellent for learning the more in depth stuff, he also makes other good content.
Around mid-late game it does eventually become a slight hassle to calculate everything you need on your own and there are both spreadsheets and websites to make this less of a pain. Oni-Assistant and Professor Oakshell’s lab are both excellent websites for this combined with guides as well for when you need it.

The game however is not only computationally taxing on you, your computer needs some power too. Early game there is no problem but once you get into mid-late game you’ll probably need either a 9800X3D or in-game solutions to reduce the amount of calculations made per second, by creating storage piles or filling parts of the map with tiles as the game slows down quite a bit. This is a problem but nothing I hold against the devs over at Klei as they have clearly done everything in their power to make it better, but optimizations can only go so far.

Even being this old, the game does receive its fair share of updates and quite recently another DLC mixing up the formula. Most updates get small adorable animations showing off the game world from a different angle and really makes this game feel like a passion project. Along with the devs interacting and implementing features/mods made by the community while addressing problems when they occur really shows how competent the team is.

Since I’ve mentioned mods now, they’re really easy to get as the games framework has a steam workshop API hook. So from downloading and sharing or even creating your own mods, it’s quite a simple process for everyone involved. At this point there are a few mods I can’t like without like Blueprints, Show Building Ranges, Bigger Camera Zoom Out, GasOverlay and Plan Buildings Without Materials but there are many more QoL things and other stuff as well.

This game is in my top 3 of all times and I don’t think it’s leaving any time soon. For something that sounds so simple as a colony survival game it truly is a unique experience and worth both my time and money. From engineering to designing it’s a blast throughout the whole game and I really wish I had more time to play it. Keep on making bangers Klei, you have my money for future DLCs.

Please treat your duplicants like your children, they have feelings too :)

One of the few games I've been following since the early beta days and man has it ever evolved to a masterpiece, with the lost river update being the most memorable. I keep coming back to it every once in a while just to bask in the beauty of this world and it's environments and once again experience the terror. This truly is one of my favorite games of all time for a multitude of reasons as the devs really nailed basically everything in this game. Whether that be because of how the game was developed with community feedback alongside it or just the cheer talent and creativity of everyone who worked on this.

Everything from the biodiversity to the alien structures feel so integrated with ecosystem as a whole and the story that it just meshes together into a wonderful experience where you feel really immersed and want to try to solve the mysteries of 4546B. The game really feel designed to want you to explore but you can hunker down and build a beautiful base somewhere in a kelp forest and live there if you wanted. The game will nudge you towards everything important every now and then but the game is very much: explore at your own pace, which grounds you in the world and the person you're controlling. I certainly wouldn't go down 500m under water without atleast a month worth of prep if I were stranded on an alien planet. This is something the game really takes advantage of, utilizing thalassophobia to it's finest degree to make you want to stay in the safe shallows until you are prepared to face whatever is out there. Adding terror and mystique to the world you find yourself in which is great for immersion.

This game just like all it's creatures and environments feel very unique and memorable. That combined with the dynamic between the player and the environment being so good, with larger carnivores also attacking fish or larger predators relocating if you beat them enough makes the world really FEEL alive in a way that I've basically haven't seen before. Something the Aurora somehow ties well into aswell with it only being leviathans close to the Aurora which itself is beautifully designed both exterior and interior with insane amount of detail. That can also be said to all the leviathans in the game, all of them are just top tier terror and a cornerstone of this game.

The music composition alone is straight up a masterpiece and you bet your ass I'll be vibing to these soundtracks even outside of playing this game. The techno/synthwave style of the music just fits the futuristic unknown aesthetic so well. The futuristic aesthetic is something you only really feel when you start building bases but damn is it ever fun to design your habitats. The degree of freedom you have over it is quite substantial and much of it is very useful aswell. it's also quite rewarding seeing your work after it's done in it's full glory, tied into the into the environment with all your planterboxes.

I just want to say huge props to the developers for having created this at all, the praise this game receives truly is deserving. Lots of creative and competent people who really seem passionate about this project and I hope them the best in life. Whether it be the music/audio designer or all the amazing voice-actors helping bring this incredible world to life, I thank you and I hope you can all make Subnautica 2 just as great.

This definitely is a game where if I could erase my memories and play it over again I would. Exploring this game and what its world has to offer while piecing together the story is just something else. The story ties into the game and environment so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ well and that ending is so good it made me feel empty afterwards, knowing it's now over. So if you haven't played or seen much of this game don't go spoil it for yourself, go in blind as it truly is the best way to experience this game. This game truly is a 10/10, go play it!