Recent reviews by dimple

Conceptually, this is an intriguing game with top-down shooter mechanics and ship combat. Its execution is unfortunately fairly poor.

Grounded combat boils down to kiting and occasional gadget use, and it never becomes challenging. Air combat makes use of an aimed gun and broadside weaponry; while this is the more interesting side of the game, your weaponry can eventually be upgraded to the point that it's trivialised by your incredible damage output.

Upgrades are straight stat increases bought with blue or red steel. Weapons gain damage and the ship upgrades (applying to all ship types) increase durability, speed, cargo capacity, etc. The mod system for handheld weaponry offers some ability to tailor guns to your playstyle, but in practice results mostly in just increasing DPS.

The writing is uninteresting. Characters are footnotes, showing up only a handful of times and having no real personality to speak of. Dialogue is stilted, partly due to the developer's first language not being English, but also because characters are only ever reacting to whatever is in front of them and making statements in a very matter-of-fact way. Most of your game time is spent in solitude, save for your enemies which all behave more or less the same way.

I gave this game a fair shot, but it's devoid of charm and its gameplay systems are shallow. There are other games that will offer better competition for your time and money.

A well-made, intense experience that rewards precision, quick thinking, and enemy prioritisation. My only wish is that there would be more of it.

Divinity: Original Sin is an amazing experience. It features smart turn-based combat and a wide variety of possible character builds, but more importantly, it provides an expansive narrative to roleplay in. Quests are numerous and the NPCs are memorable. There's humour, drama, darkness, and whimsy often all within the same questline. It's a game to be experienced at least once.

A wonderful experience for both veterans of the DOOM series, and for those who've never picked it up before. It removes itself from its predecessors while evoking the same kind of gameplay, rewarding quick movement and smart gunplay. DOOM features a large portion of the demonic cast from the classic games and a host of weapons for any situation. id software did a good job.

Night in the Woods is about bonds. It's about anxiety, growing up, building relationships and trying not to tear them down. A charming art style, deep characters, and focus on real human issues really makes you care about this game, and leaves you thinking about it for a long while after you finish it.

A somewhat short experience, but a good one. DEADBOLT balances the knife's edge between fast-paced gunplay and tactical stealth approaches, set in a seedy underworld buried in conspiracy. Levels are learned through trial and error, so get used to a cycle of dying and improving your next run. Certainly worth your time and money.

the game has a dedicated hum button 11/10

Challenging, but extremely rewarding. One of those games where you're thrown in and you have no idea what you're doing, but by the time you've finished, you feel like you've really conquered it. The lore, although not fed to the player, is rich in its depth and the NPCs found throughout Lordran each have their own stories and plotlines to follow and speculate on. High recommendations all around.