Recent reviews by Shoopshadoo

I loved playing through this game, and had even more fun going through it again on New Game +. The combat system, and its focus on perfect parries, can be extremely satisfying once you get the hang of it. The style and atmosphere of the game are amazing, only further enhanced by its soundtrack. The story progression was really great, and there are many impactful story beats and twists that I still think back on.

Compared to other souls-type games, 'Lies of P' is a lot more relaxed in its progression. Much of the game is linear, and any optional side-paths, quest-lines or one-off interactions are all very clearly presented to the player, making it difficult to miss anything. While I don't think all souls-type games should abandon the immersive openness of missable areas and quests, it was certainly a nice change of pace.

Just as a side note, a core theme of 'Lies of P' is the age-old philosophical question, "can a machine learn to become human?" At times I found this game's stance on the topic to be needlessly reductive, and I took issue with the wording used. This however is an issue that can be found in many films and games that came before 'Lies of P', and is more of a personal gripe I have.

I enjoyed this game quite a bit, but I cannot recommend it based on its price, even on sale. Everything it does right can be found better in other games.
I really enjoyed the first game for its gameplay and aesthetic, but had issues with a lackluster story. Here's how the sequel compares.

The gameplay is still very fun, although it feels like they've put less focus on the character blending into shadow, which was practically the identity of the original game. They've also shoehorned in a combat system, which I largely avoided. I praised the original game for dense environments that fit the stealth mechanics, however this game ramps up in difficulty by making levels longer/larger. This is far less fun, as a single attempt of a level can be over an hour long.

A notable appeal of the original Aragami was the cell-shaded stylisation, which suited the player character's ability to disappear into shadows. The sequel has abandoned that unique artstyle, losing a big part of what made the franchise stand out.

I didn't care for the story in the original game, and couldn't get into the new story either. Aragami 2 introduced a hub world to fit the new multiplayer gameplay. Along with it brought plenty of running around to NPCs, just to be talked at until the next level becomes accessible.

I really loved The Stanley Parable when I played it, and I've had a good time with the ultra deluxe version. For people who have never played The Stanley Parable, I would definitely recommend the original version to them instead.
It's easier to think of this, not as an expansion of the game I loved, but a spin-off thrown on top of it. The added content is drastically different in tone, and certain decisions for the new content took away from the experience that I personally had with the base game.

This game is absolutely still an experience that should be entered blind, so here come's the inevitable massive block of spoiler text so I can be more specific:
To me, The Stanley Parable was about a storytelling narrator, and his protagonist who has received free will via the player. Each ending and event was obviously strange, but always explored the relationship between the narrator and the world/story he created in interesting ways. And it was this weird, indecipherable exploration that was so interesting to engage with.
The new content starts with a big adventure that I really enjoyed, and it had me laughing a lot. But they gave the narrator character an extra level of awareness; he started talking about Steam Reviews that The Stanley Parable (2013) received. Now his meta remarks were no longer contained within the game itself. It felt like it was no longer a character, but just the voice actor himself. This extra level of meta-ness meant his fourth wall breaking was simply because its a "quirky game", and that's it. It's harder to feel anything for this character when they're painted to just be the voice actor setting up funny content.
Then there's the bucket, the biggest reason I describe this as a spin-off rather than an expansion. Achieving any ending while holding the bucket will change it into a more outlandish, ridiculous ending. The endings weren't mysterious or thought-provoking anymore, they were "lol-random humour", often about how desirable a bucket is. The endings lost meaning for me, because they're entirely rewritten when the bucket is present.
I'm sure there's a portion of the fanbase that love all of this. I don't want to call the new content bad, because it really is very enjoyable. But it takes away from what I loved about my experience playing the game for the first time.

It's also very possible that I haven't put enough thought into any of this. Perhaps the bucket represents something, and this was all very intentional. Who can say?

This game does not offer much in terms of difficulty and length. I was able to 100% complete it in just under 5 hours. That being said, those 5 hours were extremely fun. The animations and the player move-set were super fluent and felt great to use.

This game is absolutely incredible, I loved it so much. As someone who has never suffered from depression, but has been close to people who have, the entire experience was so effective and greatly affected my thinking about the message it gave.
Through a single playthrough, the game proved to be eye opening and very intriguing, and I found myself re-evaluating what everything represented several times. I highly recommend playing this game, I am surprised that it's free cause its well worth going through and experiencing.

I will now talk more about the parts of the game that I consider spoilers.

The second playthrough
Instantly upon reopening the game I was filled with dread and excitement as I realised it wasn't over. I was beaming the entire time as I played, audibly reacting to every difference. What I thought was a simple, short game was quickly added to my Favorites on Steam. I was so excited to find every little detail left in the game.
The third playthrough
Christ. It was just fear and despair. I was getting afraid to go on. It really felt like you were trapped inside the mind of someone going through a depressive episode. But the ending was well worth everything. So so worth it.
I love love love this game, and can't recommend it enough for anyone who knows someone with depression. Maybe you'll take something different from the experience than I did, and I think that's where the beauty of this game comes from. I'll say it one more time. Get this game. It's incredible.

Y'know, for a trashy pile of crap, its pretty good. I'd say its worth the price. For as cheap as it is, the developers really added as much as you could expect in a game like this. Its not supposed to be challenging or thought-provoking, its just stupid fun and that's all you're gonna get. There's a lot of customisability, a lot of which is pointless or badly done, but it keeps the game entertaining for longer.
As far as I played, there were only 5 types of dinosaurs, and I'm pretty confident it stays like that. There's about 25 weapons in the game. You unlock all of both these things in the first 5 levels so don't expect more for investing time.
From the parts of the story narration that I didn't immediately skip, it seems to be about dinosaurs with laser cannons and stuff? But no, the dinosaurs are super ordinary. The story has nothing to do with the gameplay from what I've heard.

The main appeal this game had for me is the 1080 achievements. If you're like me, and you're getting this game because you love steam achievements, mayyyyyybe reconsider. It deals with the 1080 achievements in the most unappealing way possible. Instead of just randomly giving them to you over time while progressing the game like I thought it would, it gives them all to you in 4 groups of around 270. So by 20 minutes in, you've got every achievement, which I thought was the lamest way they could have done this.

Also the music and the voice acting for the player's character were great, in a super tacky way. Get this game if you're thinking it looks like the stupid fun you'd be into.

Love, love, love this game! It's super addictive, controls super well, and of course has a good soundtrack. The game is pretty easy to get into it, but really rewarding to get better at.

I would definitely recommend adding the custom songs mod, but it does provides a lot of content and can definitely be played for hours upon hours without it.

I definitely reccomend this game for its visuals and controls but if you expect any more from it, you may be dissapointed.

Pros:
The style of gameplay works really well with the controls and the environments of each level. It feels really great when playing to your advantage well, and, although it was challenging, it never seemed unfair or annoying. The art style looks really good and the music fits the whole theme of the game really well.

Cons:
The story is pretty boring and lacking of any attachment to the characters, and I found every plot twist to be extremely predictable. Also, the game isn't very clear on what you can and can't do, as I only found out how to buy upgrades and go back to previous levels after I had already finished the entire story.

Overall, this game is a lot of fun, and can be played and replayed for hours. Unfortunately, it is a little overpriced for its length in my opinion, but can be a great experience if you don't care too much about story.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I got this game, and I had a whole weekend to spend on it...

Oh boy, where do I begin...

This game will make you happy, and sometimes will make you sad. It will give you a sense of adventure, while also making you scared to venture on. It will make you really like the narrator, while also making you believe he's a bad person. The game makes you feel important, while other times making you feel worthless. Just when you think you've escaped, the game is already three steps ahead of you, because the end is never the end.
All of this, while confusing you completely, and making you rethink everything you thought you knew, over and over. After a while you'll find out the truth behind the game's lore (more or less) and it will amaze you that such a simple game can have such a huge story behind the scenes.

Also it has great music.
I love this game... 8/8

This game is amazing and beautiful! The best game I've played in a long time.
Only problem I have with it is you need a very powerful computer to delve into everything this game has to offer (and there were a few glitches, but nothing too serious).
Other than that, this game is brilliant.