Recent reviews by Enkufka

After 7 hours of play and reaching a certain scene, I can say this game is categorically Just Fine and no better than any other coop game out there.

I've found the gameplay to be neutral, and the level design and animation are amazing, some of the areas are absolutely delightful

but the writing is awful. The two lead characters may just as well be the same person played in two different ways despite all the protestations that they constantly make about being two different people with very different problems. It doesn't feel like a game for kids, it doesn't feel like a game for adults, it feels like a game for people who think quips are equivalent to good writing.

Nioh 2 has some of the best combat I've experienced in a videogame.

The rest of the game makes me very exhausted with it very quickly. This is a critical review, with an eye towards improvements for myself and myself only. If you relate, Cool! I'll go over the combat system at the end.

My main problems with the game boil down to the following:
-Mission Structure
-Loot system
-Story

The game uses a mission structure, broken up into levels which you pick from in a hub menu, rather than the open and contiguous map covered by other Souls-Like games. You can go back to any mission you've done before to play it again, but this serves to make everything feel ethereal, like I haven't really accomplished anything solid.

The loot system seems to be modeled off of games such as Diablo or Torchlight, where the enemies drop equipment of all sorts which the player is expected and encouraged to replace as the character advances. Each piece of equipment has a consistent core set of stats, with several numbers to consider for a given build, which increase with level. And then each piece of equipment has several randomly given minor boosts depending on rarity, some of which can be transferred to other equipment through fusion. But these boosts are so minor that I've never noticed them unless they apply an elemental damage aspect, such as the Yokai or Pure weapons. And the boosts that *can* be transferred to other equipment *can't* be doubled up, any boosts are replaced, so there's no chance to invest in any particular weapon except for the aesthetic and even that you can just replace with another look. It all feels very mercenary.

The story, I just can't follow it. My character has no solid purpose in anything they're doing, I'm just fighting monsters because that's what the game says to do and by god I will. But everything feels like there's scenes that explain what's going on that just haven't been included. The translation feels *off* in a way I can't put to words, like the localization was given a bit too much leeway or has been dumbed down for western audiences, but these are just gut feelings I have.

Now before I get to the good sides of the game, some background. I've played every Souls game, the first that I enjoyed and beat was 2. Since then I've almost beaten 1 and 3, and beaten Bloodborne and 100%'d Sekiro. I love the Soulsborne series, and most of my complaints come from comparing Nioh to these games that I do love. But if Nioh wasn't a souls-like, I wouldn't have any interest in it at all, as it feels a lot more like some kind of MMO ported to single player.

The good stuff: The combat.

The combat is simply some of the best stuff in gaming. Each weapon, and there are 8 different kinds to pick from and master, all feel so unique, and it's hard for me to pick a favorite. What's more, each has a definite playstyle and even unique mechanics that play completely uniquely. The new additions that I enjoy (Splitstaff, Fists, glaive and dual axes) all play completely differently yet very recognizeably to the old standbys. The Splitstaff has a morphing set of attacks that change to whiplike attacks by holding the attack button. The fists link their special attacks together, gaining power with each one. The glaive has three different forms that can be switched out mid combo, chaining into different ranges at will. The axes are meant to be thrown and play into that with a great degree of mobility. Team Ninja is fantastic at this kind of frenetic, considered combat, and it shines here. Even the ninjutsu and onmyodo drew me in despite not being in my planned build, but the way they reward you just for using them, I can't ignore that, it's so good.

All in all, I like this game. But it's not holding me the way Sekiro did, the way I was drawn into Bloodborne, the way Dark Souls caught my attention. Recommended, with reservations.

I love the original Receiver, and honestly Receiver 2 has surpassed it for me. I still recommend it, but those recommendations come with caveats.

Pros: A bunch of new guns, and while most of them work almost exactly the same, those little details really color each run. A whole lot of improvements over the original, not least of which is that turrets now drop ammo and fliers are far more fragile. The result is that it's much, much more fun than the original.

Cons: The big thing is the ranking system. I enjoy it for the most part, but it drops you a rank for quitting the game, and that's frankly not excusable on my part. Additionally, and this may not be a problem for everyone, but I find that the tapes have an incredibly mixed message, and much of what it says can be read as implicitly nationalistic. The game depicts suicide repeatedly, even going so far as to have a random effect of some troubling tapes be that the game attempts to turn your gun against you (but this can be turned off in the options which I am entirely on board for), and the wording on the tapes is vague enough that it can be both Pro "getting help for suicide ideation" AND Pro "Suicidal people are beyond help, focus on yourself."

Even if you agree with... whatever its political slant is -- and frankly any game that calls The Media "A threat" is inherently political -- I've gotta say that it is not coherent.


What I'd like in future updates would have to be the ability to un-assign buttons in the options menu, since hitting Tilde with some guns puts it away and also shoots you in the leg, but also 1 is used for inventory space. Also I'd like to see the ability to fast forward some tapes. I've heard a few of them dozens of times, while I'm still trying to get all the tapes from the Baretta M9 and SIG Sauer. Also, picking what gun you get, or at least modifiying what guns you want to play with, would be very welcome.

Unable to finish tutorial due to world map bug that prevented me from continuing. Tutorial needs to be re-worked and allow players to make choices to keep interest rather than forcing them to do just what the current part of the tutorial wants.

This game has several severe problems from general game flow to interface design. While I had fun with the game, it is not something I can recommend to other people nor will I play it again.

-The AI soldiers that aren't under your direct command cannot be controlled and I have had several moments in the game where I ordered a vehicle only for the AI to get in and steal it before I can use it.

-If the game has any resolution or fullscreen options, I could not find them.

-The game has no tutorial and a very limited tips section on loading screens, making understanding of the game very difficult. The "tutorial" section is simply an empty level with nothing to interact with, and is simply not acceptable in a complex game.

-The game changes your loadout after you die if you equip any special equipment, even though it can charge you points and give you the same loadout anyway.

-The game loads into a small map over the opening menu. This makes the initial load time extremely long, and you have to load another map anyway which further increases the load time.

-I don't think the game is feature complete when you first start playing. You have two weapon options and you're barred from even trying to equip weapons if you don't have proper XP. The game needed to have a fun base game and use the XP/level system to add features, not keeping players playing with the promise that there will eventually be fun gameplay.

Streamlined gameplay can be fun, but I found Kingdom to be an exercise in needless frustration. Played through 27 days, long enough to enter winter, and what I found was that the unit that produced money sustainibly and without chance decided to throw its expensive scythes away. Once you've lost all your money without a means to make more, that's it. I did not enjoy this game, and I logged about as much time in the original.

A fun diversion, but I would not suggest it to others. There are too many ways the game will seemingly arbitrarily choose to leave you high and dry, and in ways that aren't readily apparent.

Please, take my review with a grain of salt. This is my own opinion, not objective fact.

Survival crafting games are numerous, but Hurtworld attempts to combine a more cartoony style with DayZ style player interaction. In my personal opinion, these disparate gameplay bits do not mesh well. The current options for crafting are geared towards death and mayhem which is all well and good if there was anything to shoot at other than deer and squirrels. 7 Days To Die give the player zombies to fight against, but against other players, such crafting gameplay is not satisfying, as the very components the player makes in order to fight are risked when fighting. I would not recoomend this game.

While the game is still in Early Access, I found it to be incredibly fun. I'm eager to see how it develops. Early game is rather boring, as lack of funds and favor means that you cannot do very much, however as the game progresses and you learn how to craft different items, you can accomplish more and more. Especially fun is about midway through the game, where your plans begin coming together and you're able to see the ultimate route you can take. That is the strength of the game, the open-ended nature of the goal.