Recent reviews by S1nnur_

A highly rated and very endearing adventure that will certainly hit you in the feels. Take it down a notch and make your way through some simple puzzle solving and platforming, with amazing audio, visuals and touching themes.

Definitely worth the experience, even if a little short at 3 hours.

A solid follow-up from the studio that brought us Until Dawn. For fans of the previous title a lot will feel familiar in Man of Medan, which continues the decision-based narrative, QTE format. We again find ourselves controlling each one of a group of characters, each with their own evolving personality traits, changing based on our choices. For our unsuspecting actors we make moral or practical decisions; some of the heart and some more cerebral, determining each of their fates as we do so.

A WARNING though, that it may not be the fate of our controlled character that we are deciding. Much like the previous installment, all is not is always as it seems.

Man of Medan retains the high-quality production value of the first title, with excellent voice acting and model capture that really bring the characters to life. The aesthetic, mechanics and episodic format will also feel very familiar for fans of the previous title, all of which are great. The studio has expanded upon the decision making mechanic, which can now steer the story in far more directions, allowing for fairly unique paths through the game. There are also a multitude of - distinctive - endings to see, meaning that the game has a lot of replayability.

In fact to 100% it you'll NEED to replay the game in order to see all of the different scenes and levels. Fret not though, as the game sits at around the 4-5 hour completion mark - the sweet spot for the story in my opinion.

Unfortunately the odd model glitch does present itself when the game transitions to one of its unique-to-decision(s) cutscenes, breaking the 4th wall a little. There is also the tendency for the game to progress forwards into the next area with no apparent warning that it's going to do so - walking through an open door, opening the wrong door, or interacting with the wrong object in a room.

I WANTED TO EXPLORE THE AREA GUYS, NOW I MISSED SOMETHING, DIDN'T I?

The environments are also a little limited, with the second half (OR bulk) of the game taking place on a dingy ship. It's a very nice dingy ship, but the PS4 / PS5 generation of hardware and my PC can do a lot more than the game is throwing at it from its release date. I guess the previous Sony "exclusive" budget was a lot higher.

With those few issues said though, the game is fantastic. It boasts a genuinely intriguing story and a high-fidelity decision mechanic that brings a lot of value in terms of both story progression and replayability. A definite recommendation, even at full price.

As someone that picked this up from the Humble Bundle Monthly subscription I can forgive the short campaign, which itself consists of a lot of cutscenes. The story feels a little inconsistent though and falls a little flat. The game's graphics have aged moderately well and look great in some areas, with a fairly diverse set scenery along the way.

There's also a significant amount of weapons and gameplay approaches, with the option for a stealth approach, and an espionage level. The standard tank-y vehicle sections, including a tank section and air fighter section are included. None of the aforementioned stand out significantly - that is to say all of the elements are quite bare, fairly mediocre.

I did enjoy the game for the most part, despite it being a middle-of-the road, standard FPS. Apparently it's quite historically accurate. You can definitely find better FPS games and better COD installments, especially at the completely unjustified price point.

Pick it up on sale if you like the series, otherwise your money and 6-7 hours are better spent elsewhere. 6.5/10.

Absolutely fantastic. LOTS of different abilities to have fun with and a nice variety of enemies. The visuals are a little repetitive at times and there is a need for a "New Game +" if you want to get 100% on the levels, but they are entirely skippable for the campaign. (More for the hardcore fans, I guess.)

As someone that's just been cleaning out their Steam backlog for some time now, I actually found myself really enjoying this game. Unfortunately my Xbox controller was bugging out and I had to use my keyboard, which could be a frustrating experience at times - Q or E AND Shift to dodge(!?), occasionally focusing on the wrong enemy or missing a target, and oh boy the amount of times I failed to (Q + Space) fly forwards, falling to my death.

Maybe it's just my aging gear, though...

The game also felt a little short for the sheer amount of combos and abilities that were available, like the tutorial ended at level 15 / 20. It's a small grievance for the overall quality of the title though, which is as I said, fantastic. There is a tutorial mode if required, and I'm sure many will master the game through "New Game +'s" - in fact there are two more unlockable difficulties after the campaign ends. Plenty of replayability for those who wish.

Overall the game is great and definitely worth picking up. I can recommend the main title at full price and the DLC on sale.

Oh God the nostalgia - it's perfect! It's just as it was on release in 2002 for the PS2!

At first I wasn't sure about this MULTIVERSE version of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It's a bit of a slow burn from the start, and for fans of the OG team it feels a little unfamiliar. In fact, both the Guardians and the majority of characters we meet throughout the game have not only had their models AND voices changed, but their backstories too.

It's not the Guardians of the Galaxy fans are used to and as that's not explicitly stated anywhere, so we're left a little confused from the start, having to guess as we go.

The opening gameplay largely consists of long platforming sections between combat arenas. In fact, that's mainly the case for the whole game, with some flashbacks and scenarios to explore along the way. (Oh, and some short, tanky flying sections that require some patience.) The platforming sections DO contain a lot of banter between the characters however, fleshing out their backstories and personalities, and filling the player in along the way. Which IS a nice way to do things, albeit a little slow, and too frequently presents the opportunity to miss dialogue if one isn't paying attention or progresses too quickly.

"Put your game face on Drax" - "I only possess one face, Peter Quill"

In fact the game is MOSTLY platforming around the - somehow - progressively more gorgeous environments. The graphics really shine in this title and the environments truly come to life, and despite the odd texture flicker or stutter during a transition or screenshot are extremely immersive. That is of course when you're not using Peter's visor to scan for the collectables, or the upgrade materials necessary for the player weapons...

In fact Quill's main two handhelds start as powerful pea-shooters, and the bulk of the damage throughout the game comes from his own and the squad's own special abilities which are purchased through upgrades. Actually, they mainly stay as pea-shooters outside of on-use abilities with cooldowns, which is a little frustrating.

Like the visuals though, the combat improves over time. Significantly. With upgrades to the party's characters via abilities, and additionally upgrades to the player character, the fights evolve from drudgery to a genuine want to master the mechanics and bring the fight to the enemy. It's quite satisfying to perfect the use of the situational talents and environmental objects, picking up those coveted achievements along the way.

In fact, at the end of the upgrade cycle the frenetic fights are so colourful, so satisfying - they pack a punch and you can really feel it. Add to that the "huddle" performance booster, which speeds up cooldowns, increases damage and adds an "Awesome Mix" track to kick ass to!

(I will add that the tracks are seemingly random, though. Kicking ass to Rick Astley feels a little silly, Marvel.)

Wait - are you Rick Rolling me?

The story is the final thread to mention, which whilst in set in a different universe is a very "Guardians" narrative. It has all of the expected themes of a Guardians game - taking serious issues and adding a layer of candor, whilst the overarching theme being one of unity / family. I did find that repeatedly referencing backgrounds of characters made for a darker backstory though, and that I questioned some of their actions going forward, especially through the lens of those redeemed. I thought you were the good guys now, guys? I suppose it's one of those things we'll have to overlook, especially considering the galaxy saving narrative(s).

You lovable rogues, you...

Overall I strongly feel the game is worth hanging on for, if a little confusing and a little slow in the beginning. It offers a whopping ~20 hours on the first playthrough and with New Game + a lot of replayability at a reasonable price. Definitely worth picking up on sale if you have the time to commit to it.

Whilst I'm sure Lovecraftian horror fans will enjoy the unique visuals and - mostly - effective atmosphere, I can't personally recommend it.

The graphics are the most immediate issue that presents itself, which aren't as impressive as advertised and paired with the strangely quiet dialogue made for a very deflating introduction. Following closely after were then the immersion-breaking invisible walls, which despite the lack of the later unlock-able jump command, made the linear experience entirely apparent.

The story elements also seem patchwork, with multiple characters being introduced to conflate the world before being entirely forgotten about in the next epistle, doing nothing to expand the anemic first-person narrative. Such did the gratuitous amount of skeletons you find in the first half - Whether or not the physical plane of the Island does anything for the story at all I don't know, as I quit during the other-worldly trapping of the game. (The purported actions of other survivors seem of dubious credibility due to their apparent knowledge and mastery of the game's ultimate power, confusing the elements of human fragility and the dark.)

Which brings me to my main frustration and criticism of a lot of indie horrors: a puzzle / or puzzles that shouldn't be hard to complete, yet that leave me baffled. The fear, the atmosphere then giving way to frustration. What remains is then a story that I don't wholly want to see to its fruition and a flat experience involving Google.

For fans of the genre only.

Ok Telltale, here's your positive review... NOW WHERE'S SEASON 2?

In my mostly favorable review of F.E.A.R 2 I praised its significant graphical improvements, but noted the move away from the fidelity of the first game and from the horror to action genre. Whilst I can see why some enjoy this game as a shooter, it's clear that from second installment the devs wanted to move in a far different direction than the original. That is to say towards a broader mainstream audience and console releases. This has continued in the third installment and the result is that there is no real horror left in the series. There is no fear in F.E.A.R 3.

In addition to the significant changes to the genre follows the changes to the gameplay, which retains little but the bullet time mechanic. Instead of a vulnerable soldier you now play as a psychically enhanced super soldier that self-heals and would be a one-man-army if not for the abysmal mouse control that obliterates your ability to kill things. These adjustments are clearly aimed at the console market and make playing with a keyboard and mouse a miserable experience. Undeterred by this, I picked up my xbox controller and started blasting away, only to find that I was stuck with sticky targeting and acceleration that made concise aiming HARDER.

F.E.A.R 3 also adds a level-up system that improves the characters attributes with points acquired from certain actions, such as psychically interacting with dead bodies, killing x amount of enemies with grenades or accruing x headshots. (Headshots that now apparently do as much damage as body shots.) You are then given upgrades like increases to bullet-time duration or greater ammo capacity.

The game now honestly feels more like a frenetic arcade game than anything that resembles the original. It plays like a generic shooter and has all of the mediocrity to boot. It's obviously fairly highly regarded by the fanbase, but for myself the quality of the first game's atmosphere and gameplay which should be staples of the series are completely absent.

And that's about it. I can't recommend this game as a sequel or as its merits as a console game. It's just not what you'd expect from the series and is more frustrating to play than anything.

Pick up the bundle on sale and feel free to ignore this one.

Another fairly competent indie horror with an eerie atmosphere and nice graphical style. The gameplay area feels a little under explored, and combined with the lack of items for designated keybindings makes me suspect that it was a project cut short - no oil for a lantern? There is no lantern!

There also exist a few killer bugs that result in the player becoming fixated on a particular spot, which requires a hard reset, impacting the flow of the story and impact of the fantastic environment.

I couldn't recommend it at full price with the aforementioned problems, especially at only 60 mins long, but it's actually fairly solid otherwise so I'm recommending it on sale.