Recent reviews by Poroner

While obviously inspired by the likes of PT, The Exit 8 keeps it strictly on the puzzle side of the spectrum. It's interesting at first but quickly you realize it just doesn't have a lot to offer. There should have been more areas, more intricate puzzles, different outcomes. There's way better games out there with way more content for the asking price. As it stands this is a youtuber bait game and nothing more. It's sad because a fully fleshed out title of the likes of this would genuinely be very interesting. Basically Stanley Parable without all the meta commentary.

My full playthrough of the game here. (it's in Greek)

My Curator page.

Since this is just a demo I am not going to base my entire opinion about the main game around it but what I saw here is a very mixed bag.

The obvious:
No different characters OR customizeable protagonist coupled with no news of a free mode where you can play any of the characters.

The good:
Game looks and runs great although I am not a fan of the more muted color scheme.
The story will probably be on another tier than previous DW titles. Considering it plays more like spirit of sanada and the shorter timeframe will be able to cover more events and battles than happened around that time period.
The combat system presents a decent challenge while also keeping itself familiar enough. It wasn't the hardest game I've played but finally picking higher difficulty means more than just extra health on enemies.

The bad:
The english voice acting isn't that strong, nowhere near DW9 levels but still.
While it is more challenging there doesn't seem to be that much more depth to the combat. Generals have a rather monotonous gimmick (shields) and that seems to be it.
The UI is overbearing
The camera... god the camera. There's 50 different angles the game changes constantly. Anything you do has a different camera angle and it becomes nauseating.

Maybe the story will be good enough that I won't care, maybe there will be a free mode but for some god forsaken reason they have kept that information from us. I don't know.
Still cautiously waiting for this title.

And by underrated I don't mean that it's not praised enough but that it never gained that much popularity. Having to compete very closely with two titans of the industry which released in the same month (CoD and Battlefield). Only years after its release did it somewhat started gaining traction but it was too little too late, coupled with the server issues that lasted months after all the late praise this game got, it's fair to say TF|2 never reached its full potential.

WIth its smooth movement system, you can double jump, run on walls and the variety of weapons offered that (almost) all behave differently from your standard Rifles and SMG's to projectile based beasts such as the EPG or Cold War. It's just a breath of fresh air from the modern shooter arsenal and something only boomer shooters offer (with the exception of Doom)
Let's not forget the combat in this game is twofold, there's also the Titan Combat which is different and good enough to stand on its own. Switching between the two offers just enough variety so playing never gets monotonous.

The verticality of the game is very reminiscent oldschool arena shooter classics such as Unreal or HL deathmatch. I love it and every map feels so good to play and has a different gimmick to it. It's sad that this game will never see community related content aside from the unpopular Northstar client which only houses different custom modes and not different maps.
There's also a wave based PvE mode that you can play with a couple of friends that's a lot of fun and can houses tens of hours of content.

But there's more than just the multiplayer on offer here, the game has one of the best, if not the best, FPS campaigns so far. A rather short but full of action story of a stranded soldier and his new war mech B.T. Despite not knowing much about the world and thrusted directly in the thick of things (unless you've played TF|1) the game still makes you care organically care for your mech companion both through the gameplay and story with what I could only describe as perfect pacing and a diverse set of events.

The game also runs like a charm, the perks of it being on the source engine.

So even if you don't plan on playing the multiplayer, what's on offer here is VERY strong for the price asked. A no brainer on sale and a classic must have for your library.

My full playthrough of the game here.

My Curator page.

It is with somewhat of a heavy heart I do not recommend this game, there's a lot of charm and it's clear there was a lot of passion involved in making the game... however a lot of the design decisions feel extremely dated, the game drags on for too long and the worst of all, I experienced (and judging from the forums not only me) heavy performance and technical issues which push this review over the edge.

This is the first full length game of this studio, they are the devs behind the viral HL2 mod "Nightmare House 2" which, for a mod, was absolutely stellar but when making a full length game and you are asking money for it the bar is raised, the standards are higher. Regardless if you look at this game story wise or gameplay wise I just can't help but be disappointed in aspects of the game.

Judging from the reviews story seems to be this game's strongest suit. In a way, it is. It's clear that the writers wanted to create something unique and touch on heavy subjects with their own spin, in some ways they succeeded and I applaued them for trying... I just can't bring myself to like it. Every aspect of the characters you meet is overexplained, the symbolism is overt and the main antagonist while, at times, entertaining is overall just plain annoying with his remarks and antics. The game also shies away from trying to make an immersive space and instead opting for "the funny memes" which is especially apparent in the hub world where a bunch of locked doors have signs in the likes of ":3" and "666".
While the protagonist had a few good lines, he also talked a bit too much for my liking.

Couple that with how much the game seemed to overstay its welcome it makes for a tedious and tiresome experience. Each area seems to be stretched as much as possible with busy work, the quality of the puzzles vary wildly and an enemy roster which in no way supports the length of the game. Aside from the first area, which I thought was the best one and had the most personality all other areas feel the same with just a different filter and slightly different layout slapped on top of it and they get so formulaic too. An unkillable enemy is chasing you, they aren't much of a threat. Each area is stretched out enough as it is and all but one of them feel the exact same as well.

Considering how much love was poured into the game I would be willing to overlook some of the issues, since I know a lot of people won't mind but sadly this one I can't overlook, the game runs awful. My PC isn't of the highest end but it's commendable. The graphical fidelity of the game just doesn't excuse the hitching and dip in fps which happens whenever you do anything other than look around. Take out the mirror? -40 fps. Shoot barrels? Hitching. More than 1 enemy on screen? -20 fps and hitching. I also had a gamebreaking issue where, without any fps drops my mouse would just "lag" while looking around, making the game unplayable. I tried every fix possible to no avail and the issue seems to fix itself all on its own at random.
Honestly, just a mess.

I can't fault the devs too much, it's a commendable first effort into a full lengthed game, it certainly oozes personality in writing and I am still interested with what they are going to do with the Nightmare House Reimagining. Hopefully they learned a lot from this game.

My full playthrough of the game here.

My Curator page.

Important Note: Grab the Mirror's Edge Tweaks from this guide.
For unlocking FPS and various other fixes.

This is a first person puzzle platformer and on subsequent playthroughs a speedrunning game first and foremost. From the visuals to the music to the mechanics it was a game with a singular vision and it realized it spectacularly. It is a short game but it's filled with no dead time whatsoever.

The visuals are clean, timeless with a clear aesthetic that go hand in hand with the rest of the package. Games like these are a testament to how aesthetic will always win over photorealism and it's always nicer to just look at a game, even a screenshot and it be instantly recognizable... now lets see if you can say the same about any photorealistic AAA game nowadays.

The controls are tight, albeit one small nitpick of the dodge being tied to the same button as jump and movement feels incredibly smooth but not floaty, something the vast majority of movement games fail at even today. There is a clear focus on movement / traversal puzzles over combat but the latter is serviceable as well.

While the other only negative I would have to say about the game is that it's short, there are some upsides to this, such as the level design being focused with nothing dragging it down. No drawn out / annoying sections that just bloat the game up. This is also true for the game mechanically.

And last but not least the music of the game is phenomenal. It perfectly fits and even elevates the experience. Every single track is on point.

It's a very somber thought that we are living in a world with no proper sequel to this game (Catalyst doesn't count) with its focus, vision and tight level design however the game stands strong on its own merits and is more than worth the asking price these days and on sale its a no brainer.

A masterpiece.


My full playthrough of the game here.

My Curator page.

WARNING: Get this game on a very steep sale. It's not worth 60$

What I mean by that is that it's a linear action game, with no upgrades, no levels, just stupid fun.
I didn't expect more going into this game and I was not disappointed.

The graphics are alright for the time, stylized so it never feels old playing it and the level design is pretty straight forward. There's a decent array of weapons to choose from of which you can only carry 4 at a time and they all handle great and have great feedback. Killing is the only thing you are going to be doing in this game so it should be as good as it is. Sadly, the game doesn't have a lot of bosses and what little it offers in that department just isn't very good. Bullet sponges with little to no feedback. They are not fun to fight unlike the regular enemies. Which makes me kind of glad there's no actual final boss in this game.

There's also a melee system in this game, you pretty much mash right click but it feels so good to use and there's finisher moves with each weapon that have a lot of weight behind them. Music is mostly ambient and not remarkable. This is at most a 6 hour romp (and I played on hard) through the story. There's multiplayer and wave based coop from my understanding but unless you are planning to play with a couple of friends they are dead modes.

There's nothing wrong with this type of game, it could certainly use improvements (that I hope are in the sequel) but it's a fun time regardless.
Being a 40K fan probably enhances th experience that much more but I wouldn't know.


My full playthrough of the game here.

My Curator page.

...Which is both to its benefit and detriment. There's an immediate sense of familiarity with the game which makes taking it in easier at first and the idea of combining those two worlds is great, however the game often lacks any identity of its own. There's shooting galleries Ala RE4 and then you've got a boss the Executioner which is so similar to the likes of Pyramid head which it might as well be.

The story of the game is very confusing at first, which is not necessarily a bad thing however you are never given a reason to care about anything that is happening. There's no character you are rooting for because everyone is just so bland or downright evil. For example, Ruvik, the game's antagonist, or villain rather, has good reasons for doing SOME of the things he does, however some other things seem to be added on top to what may only seem to make him more edgy? I honestly don't know. The two-parter story DLC somewhat remedies this which is why I consider it a must when purchasing this game. It gives a backstory to one of the characters and a cliffhanger for our protagonist and actually makes the plot interesting.
Regardless the game does offer interesting setpieces and visuals and you are definitely "in for a ride".

Now that's not so bad, I would actually rank this among the best survival horror games I've played but sadly, it's not.

Again concerning identity. The game just doesn't know what it wants to be. Difficulty from chapter to chapter will spike through the roof and below sea level depending on what it wants to do. There's on rails chase sequences in almost every chapter. Think of them like the Gator in RE2R or areas with barely any enemies and then the game for only 2-3 segments will go nuts with enemies or back to back bosses leaving you with no resources whatsoever, since there's no adaptive difficulty that will make enemies drop more ammo here. Some may like this... I didn't since you can screw yourself over because you didn't use a specific weapon for a specific part. The gameplay itself is good, there's weight to your guns and the crossbow is a very interesting weapon that brings it all together with all the different ammo types.

BUT SADLY we are not done.

This game is a mess from a technical perspective and this is the biggest issue I have with the game. Bugs if you unlock the FPS above 60, low FOV unless you use mods and no way to disable the nauseating camera shake (unless ofc, you own the gamepass or epic versions and copy over the files). It just makes me angry.

So we have the debut title of a promising studio, so the story or gameplay flaws I can excuse but there's also the technical issues which push this game into the "one and done" territory for me. Still, glad I played it considering the second game is seemingly an improvement.

Definitely more of a mixed bag but since there's no such ranking, I do recommend it.

My full playthrough of the game here.

My Curator page.

It's a game that knows exactly what it wants to be with the story serving more like a 3 hour long tutorial and introduction to the mechanics rather than an actual story.
There's a big arsenal of weapons you can unlock, a decent amount of enemies and an endless amount of modes and stages both from the main game but also from the workshop.

The game offers you tons of freedom on how to move around, wall running, kicking off walls even doing flips and dives. It's refreshing albeit kind of floaty with weapons serving mostly as single use (clip) items. Make no mistake, you are playing this for the score attack and the arcadiness rather than any meaningful story experience. With leaderboards, a daily mission and even a roguelite mode mixed in for good measure and if you get bored with all that, there's tons of modifiers to try for each.

The soundtrack is also absolutely excellent and it enhances the experience a lot and I say this as a metalhead first.

Grab this wether you want to have some fun or even just show off.

My full playthrough of the "story" here.

My Curator page.

...Its main and its ONLY gimmick, which isn't a bad thing. The grappling hook is satisfying and mostly mechanically sound. The game will mostly push it to the limit with what they can throw at you considering it only revolves around one mechanic. Now... I say mostly because I don't think the game reaches that "last stage" feel for the final act of the game, instead you go through its entirety again but just a small ramp up in difficulty where it should have had an entirely new area. Kind of a cop-out.
Some of the bosses were also a bit of a let down, almost all of them pale in comparison to the final boss.
Those, however are but minor complaints because the game IS fun and will keep you invested in the story... mostly.

The story is good, it starts out very strong and for the first act of the game comes off as, while cliche, a relatable revenge story that is serviceable, especially for this type of game but, of course, it comes with a plot twist.
I don't have a problem with the twist per say, I just think it could have been done with more tact, the pacing is just off. The game drip feeds you information and then in the final act just expo dumps on you to the point where I almost didn't care anymore. You've got 10 minute long cutscenes with almost nothing happening for the entire game and then 30+ minutes of exposition in the end with so much technobabble I was tuning out.
That's not to say the story is bad but when it is the focus like this and heavily praised in the reviews I expected something better. If you ignore that though, it's a very interesting story.

The soundtrack of the game is also worthy of note. It helped elevate a lot of the encounters and comes with a couple of certifiable bangers I actually listen to in my off time.

Overall, a great game with a couple of issues. It doesn't quite reach the peak of, say, Katana Zero but it stands on its own right just fine.

My full playthrough of the game here.

My Curator page.

The Ascent is a decent twin stick shooter with outstanding visuals.

The biggest draw of the game are the visuals, from the backgrounds to the weapon feedback and model animations the game is just amazing to look at but there's pretty much where the high praise ends.
The world feels pretty static and the npc's are as basic as they can be, even the ones you get side quests from. I understand there's not much to be done with the twin stick base as a game so I don't really hold this against it.
HOWEVER
The game is also a buggy mess, whether it is gamebreaking bugs that need a save reload or minor visuals, it's got it all and it baffles me how this long after its release they haven't ironed out at least some of them.
Still it serves its purpose well, the core loop is satisfying albeit with some jank. There's a huge arsenal of weapons to choose from all with unique playstyles to each of them. The upgrade system however kind of defeats that purpose because you can only max upgrade up to 3 weapons in a run and that is if you go for all the side content.
If you are that much into it, there is a New Game+ to choose.

That's pretty much it, there's enough variety visually to not get bored and it doesn't outstay its welcome. Grab it on a sale, if you really got nothing else to play or if you really wanna scratch that cyberpunk itch.