Recent reviews by Malice End

I've never had games make me feel so stupid for struggling with a puzzle for so long, than figuring it out after way too long, like I have with Braid and the Witness. The updated graphics and sound do a lot of heavy lifting to bring this game up to a modern standard. Gameplay wise there's a lot to love and a lot to be annoyed at, which I firmly believe is just that Jonathan Blow charm.

The fact that I can remember playing this way back on XBLA when I was a kid and now I'm 25 playing it all over again, says a lot about this game's staying power in the indie scene after 16 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ years. Though it is a bit dated, this classic still holds up among the other powerhouses of indie gaming.

8/10 - ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I John Blow at these games.

It has been quite a long time since I've played a game with such addicting and genuinely well designed progression.

V Rising is a game that not only respects your time but gives you plenty of things to do within said time.

Customization is at its peak. You get to, not only, create a vampire lord with all of its unique weapons and skills, but also erect massive castles showing off just how pompously affluent your vampire truly is.

The boss tower being the actual visible diagram of your progress is a great touch and the individual creatures, militia members and other vampires only add to the beautifully crafted areas.

I am too ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ impressed with Stunlock for showing AAA developers that passion for game development and respect for the playerbase are what it really takes to knock it out of the park.

10/10 - I sucked this ♥♥♥♥ up like a blood smoothie, and asked for seconds.

Finally, a roguelike for a gambling addict like myself.

Wait, I can't make money off of this?

Let me get something out of the way first:

This game is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ gorgeous. With its genuinely impressive graphics and unique Slavic-Diesel Punk design, there's so much to enjoy here visually.

Gameplay wise, its not much more than a walking simulator with some moments of pixelated mini-games that feel a bit out of place even though they are fun.

Indika tells an interesting story about a young nun's struggles with the line between faithful and sinful and does so with grace, showing how world events and fickle humanity can influence faith in its favor or disregard it completely. I believe the devs did a good enough job handling this subject matter, but cut themselves off too soon, by making this game as short as it is. Imagine trying to explain a point to someone, and midway through you get tired of explaining and just stop. That's what this felt like.

I WAS super impressed with the narrative until that abrupt ending kind of killed it for me.

Overall, a stunning adventure with really unique level design with a (could have been perfect) plot marred by The Order: 1886 syndrome. 8/10 - Hope there's a part two, cause these devs have extreme potential.

I'm only 10 minutes in and I'm filled with an anxiety the likes of which I don't feel very often while playing most horror games.

I'm never swimming again...

Its not that its horrible... its just... that its a painfully mediocre game in the shell of something that could have been genuinely legendary, and that's almost worse.

Also ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Slipgate. Its 2024, implement quicksaves. Also make better games.

An excellent upgrade from the first game full of all manner of mystery and intrigue. Little confused why Chapter 5 was so short but overall, the environments, the music and the loving detail put into every intricate puzzle made this game worth every moment.

9/10 - "Can you just explain what's going on here?" "Hi thank you, I have no idea."

A short but sweet puzzler in the best way possible, with an intriguing and vaguely mystical narrative.

8.5/10

Don't bother trying to start playing the game now, there's no balance and everyone who's been playing already has the best cards according to the meta. They'll lock your deck, pull out the best weapons, and make your gameplay experience agonizing.

Kinda sad cause this seemed fun.

POV: Your squad is running out of ammo and the sad music starts to hit as you get surrounded by Al-Qaeda insurgents.

Honestly a really underrated FPS game that just couldn't compete with the heaters of that era. Single-player is really well put together, even though the story isn't very memorable and I have fond memories of the multiplayer being quite good (RIP EA Servers.)

Pick it up on sale if you want to relive a bygone era of military shooters we all miss so much.

8.5/10 - Draxx up some terries.