Recent reviews by eightcoffee

An incredible letdown from one of my (once) favorite studios. First game I ever preordered and I refunded it without a second thought. Who was in charge of this?

Many people bashed SOMA for toning down the gameplay for a more narrative experience (even though I loved SOMA) and here they doubled down on it - or even worse - figured they'd bring in the wrong kind of gameplay. I got until the Fort then got so fed up with both Tasi, Salim and her baby, and the horrendous gameplay that I quit and just refunded it outright. Since then I spoiled all I could for myself and oh my gosh was I right with my decision. Reading all the other reviews also further solidified my gut feeling. My review will mostly contain my thoughts that sparked up during the 2 hours I've played so it won't be too cohesive but it'll perfectly show what you'll also think and feel if you waste money on this "experience".

As you may know by now the story of Rebirth is about Tasi, a pregnant French woman who crashes with her crew in Algeria and tries to find out what happened to her crew and why she lost her memories. I don't have a full picture of the story but I know enough to say that the lore of Amnesia: TDD is just a backdrop and only serves as marketing so you get lured into buying this pregnancy simulator. Aside from a few references and encounters it barely expands upon the original material and it actively encourages you spend as little as you can exploring the area and instead just rush through all of it.

To start, the main character, Tasi, is an insufferable wimp who has to narrate every single brainspark of hers completely ruining any immersion and relation to the protagonist you might have had which is made worse by the CONSTANT PAUSES you have to suffer through when you touch even the most remotely interesting pile of garbage on the ground which summons up a hideous concept art and some rambling of random nobodies detailing past events (which are also unrelated to anything in the story, it's just exposition to the areas you visit). The game literally doesn't let me play the game. Even in TDD it was a bit obnoxious that I was slowed down to 1% when Alexander and Daniel were talking but here all control is taken away from me. And don't even get me started on the loading screens where every time I click a door I have to listen to goo goo ga ga and baby crying so I get immersed how emotional Tasi's attachment is to her baby..

"Hold X to soothe the baby" SERIOUSLY? Are these people living under a rock? "Press F to pay respects" was such a sh*tshow and they've learned nothing from that. You constantly have to check up on the baby which means holding X and rubbing your tummy for minutes - you can do this anytime, sometimes you're forced to do it. I'm not sure how I can relate to all this - or even how can the baby survive all the stuff Tasi goes through (with lots of falling, and stuff falling on you).

From what I've heard the enemy encounters are really bland and very few and spaced out so much that there is pretty much no danger throughout game. If you die you go sicko mode and run as She-Hulk a few areas back or the game just simply despawns the monster not to frustrate you. Genius..

The new sanity mechanic is also atrocious, you spend 10 seconds in the dark and very spooky low-res jpegs start flashing in your face with very loud noises.. I'm going insane.. woah... Not like you can avoid this even since the inventory system with the limited matches and useless lantern make you constantly roam around in the dark trying to find a way. The new screen effect with the black tendrils also evokes some itch.io indie game feels rather than something developed by a now rather big player in the industry.

It's just unbelievable how little agency the player has. We are constantly spoonfed these emo "OH SALIM SALIM" and goo goo ga ga garbage to spark some kind of connection towards Tasi and the other characters as if the whole game was merely a backdrop to this B movie plot. Why should I care again? I wish.. I wish Tasi was just a random draftsman Frenchwoman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the main goal was solving the mystery behind all that's happening. No no.. this is an emotional journey... a pregnancy simulator.. don't forget the breastfeeding at the end! The whole cosmic mommy wants your baby thing still baffles me. The problem isn't necessarily with the topic but how it's presented. You are forced to care for these people you've known for 1 minute tops. I just can't see how baby simulator and survival horror fit together. I can already see people thinking me sexist for dwelling on this too much but I had no problem with Tasi being a woman. I honestly don't care what sex the protagonist has. I just wish her being a woman wasn't central to the game, and she was just another character with more relatable struggles or something that has an actual connection to the story. Cosmic mommy stealing your baby doesn't count! I really liked Daniel because he was just a dude trying to set things right after the horrible stuff he has done and I also really liked Simon who was yet again just a random dude who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. At least they shut up for the most part of those games..

Also, don't even get me started on the inventory system. Tasi is apparently able to carry around a heapload of trash but unable to carry around more than 10 matches. You heard that right. In the original Amnesia (KHM KMH DEVELOPED BY WHO AGAIN?) you could collect a gorillion tinderboxes and an oiltanker's worth of lamp oil but ol' Tasi here is unable to carry 2 boxes of matchsticks. Did I tell you about the flashing jpegs if you stand more than 10 seconds in the dark? Yeah.. right... You can't believe how sad I've become when I found all these hidden matchboxes and I could pick none of them up.

I can't speak much of the puzzles since there are none in the first 2 hours of the game unless putting a doorhandle on a door counts as one. Supposedly they stay braindead tier for the rest of the game too so you can be "immersed in the narrative" without having to care for any gameplay or problem solving.

I'm still seething. I was looking forward to this game so much. They were going to do it again, all of their games are masterpieces (we don't talk about Requiem) and this is what we get. My last hopes died here for ever being hyped for a new game. I probably still have a lot of things I could add to this list but it's hard to collect my thoughts after such a letdown. I need.. amnesia..

Did I tell you that the studio is Swedish? The jokes just write themselves at this point lmao..

Played with an Oculus Rift.

Budget Cuts is my first proper VR game which isn't just a tech demo and damn it was real solid. Considering the amount of content and the 3 hour long story (I was pretty slow so that's how I got to 4.4) I'd say it's best to pick it up on a sale because it's definitely not a 25 EUR deal.

The whole premise is pretty fun, it started off like The Matrix but with a more cartoony style and by the end of it it turned into a horror game! Fighting (or avoiding) the robots is pretty fun and intense and looking around the environment for clues is also a nice touch although the environments were a bit bland with all the empty containers and non-interactive junk. Movement is a bit sluggish with the teleporter, sometimes I wish I could've just adjusted my position by actually moving around because fighting is a lot harder when you're locked in place. The story itself was nothing too great, the end is basically a To be continued.. but the game was good enough that I'm wishlisting the sequel for sure. People mentioned how bad it runs/loads but with the engine update (they backported the sequel engine improvements to the first game) it loaded for me pretty fast and it was a solid experience. I'd say it's a nice introduction to VR for someone who wants a slower experience instead of hack 'n slash ones like Gorn! But watch out for the ending, because the game seriously turns into some real scary stuff. One thing to mention is that the credits were amazing! Not like this is a huge factor but it was a nice little strawberry on the cake for me.

It has its flaws but overall a very solid blend of arcade/tactical FPS with incredible visuals and atmosphere. If you like GiTS then this game is that movie liquefied and injected into your veins. Why I decided to write this review is to counteract the impact of all the negative reviews saying "the game is dead". This is blatantly false because dedicated members of the community still upkeep the Active Neotokyo Players group and constantly post notifications about frequent gaming events when around 20+ people join the game at once - this happens multiple times a week in set times like with the usual "NEOTOKYO FRIDAY JOIN US ON RENRAKU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". There are still some clans around with tournaments too for the really dedicated players. Hell even the groupchat keeps buzzing every once in a while. The more you delve into it the more people you'll discover who actually cherish this game to this day.

I initially wrote a review discussing the unfair game mechanics and the problems with the RNG system in place but I found that my hatred for the game barred on the irrational so I went and read a lot about the whole deal on Reddit and played some another ~20 hours. I've found that this game in essence is rather easy and simple after setting myself to it with a clear mind. Choose your challenge, pick the right party composition and pray the RNG goes your way and you'll come out winning at the end most of the time. When things go wrong don't fret - heroes aren't unique in any way and are easily replaced. There isn't any losing condition in the game unless you're playing on Stygian which means you literally can't lose. There are setbacks only. With this in mind I don't even want to rant about the unfair mechanics anymore which although noticeably reek of bad game design (like the lack of importance in positioning on behalf of the enemies) are rather manageable. The thing is that I've found that those who got past the difficulty of the game realised (along with me) that the true horror lying beyond the dark and ancient corridors.. is the grind. Not even MMO-like grind where you mindlessly hack away at mobs and do daily quests as customary. The grind in The Darkest Dungeon is tedious and utterly boring and unsatisfying. You'll always be encountering the same situations, same enemies, same enemy composition, same loot. Characters aren't unique so there's no incentive to really care about your teams. You'll always progress at a snail's pace and don't forget that unless you're playing on Radiant the 4-man composition of Lvl 6 heroes can only do 1(!) run in the Darkest Dungeon (assuming that they're actually successful) and then you can start over grinding your low-level characters. To those wanting to mention upgrading the Stage-Coach for high-level heroes: there is a level-cap and even then there's merely just a chance that higher-level heroes will spawn - no guarantees. True progression in the game is fairly minimal, mostly consisting of upgrading the Guild and the Blacksmith to get better skills and weapons&armor. How fun.. The numerous classes and their skills seem a lot at first but since everything can be unlocked from lvl 1 and some skills are more useful than others the variety will become bland quickly especially since the game doesn't encourage experimentation at all (try the Antiquarian or succeed at the 30 min long mission.. hmmmmmm..) And the combat animations.. impactful in the first 10 dungeons - wasteful in the remaining 1000. I'd bet some serious cash that The Darkest Dungeon could be speed-ran in a couple hours or even less if it was terminal-based without all the slow walking and drawn out combat animations. Also thanks to the Lovecraftian charm the game is not only stressful to play due to the constant finger-crossing for the RNG but really depressing as well.

I think this game helped me in a way. I used to obsess over finishing games and I feel those times have passed - this is the true lesson of this game to me. What will I sacrifice in order to achieve victory? Because ultimately this is a man-made challenge purposefully engineered to be as difficult as possible which in reality merely means (compared to Dark Souls where your skills are what truly matters) sacrificing about a 100+ hours of your life to repeatedly grind and grind the same missions just to see a cutscene which you could've looked up on YouTube + reading some pages of text (if you're lucky to find 'em all).

Games are games. I'll pass on this one. If you're really thinking about buying this game - do your research first. It's not necessarily bad just know what you're getting into.

I wrote out a wall of text for this review but decided to scrap it. The game really is how the negative reviews describe it (I'm writing this review right after completion). It has not only made me mad but really sad too. If you don't consider the porting there is some potential in there but it is underwhelming in every aspect - from combat to story to game design. It would all be bearable and would be a simple mediocre experience if it wasn't for the bad port. The very few good moments and choices in the game unfortunately are not able to carry all this mess all the way along.

If you really want to experience a weak and sad homage to the Silent Hill movie (very important distinction to be made) then make sure to get it on Xbox and definitely not on the PC. It is playable there (if I heard it right) and might provide some hours of entertainment but personally I find it questionable to support a publisher who releases this SH game of all on the PC as of now and especially in such a state. It is really sad and disappointing. Watching a walkthrough might be more entertaining than actually playing it.

I'll definitely never replay it again.

A perfect game even with all its imperfections.

Blame not Obsidian for the cut content and the bugs - they have got enough bad treatment from their publisher already. Get the Restored Content mod and see how this game redefines Star Wars and provides an experience that will not only leave you gasping in awe but also give you a new perspective on life. Obsidian is the unwritten king of the RPG genre.

This game deserves more than how it is currently. It is actually a really fun game even if just for a short while (due to its simplicity) and with all the fantastic art deco design and included map editor, really the only thing that's missing is a playerbase (there is an official dedicated server still!). Buy it for your friends, get some snacks and beer and enjoy the feeling of being a mummy pretending to be a plane shooting invisible rounds at others!

This game is horrible. Unoptimized, buggy, has glitches, and almost no one plays it. There is just one gamemode/objective whatever you want to call it, and it's greatly monotone in terms of gameplay. BUT, and there is that BUT.

This game due to it's hilariously glitchy nature + text-to-speech system, and multiplayer availability (hopefully you won't get together with trolls) is pretty enjoyable. I haven't played that much, but from a game which would deserve 3/10 likely, it is a LOT. If there are servers up, it's real fun to make "supasnaik" the glitchy cable, and ask people to sing me the whaling tune.

Even if you think this would be a waste of your time, just hop in for a lil', it costs nothing and it's even better if you have a friend. Nasa provided us something of sentimental value which stands the test of time no matter how far we go.