Recent reviews by abislwise

This game will be 8 years old this year. Is it still worth it? Yes, absolutely. The graphics are acceptable, the music will have you humming it nonstop, the gameplay will just delete 8-hour sections of your life, and it's... it's just fun. It's a fun game. I really enjoy playing it. This isn't one of those games where it's a chore. It's a genuinely fun game.

It's just a FOMO grind factory. I played it for a long time, and was always stressed about grinding to get the next thing. There's little to do in the endgame except grind for your next FOMO battle pass.

If you can get it really cheap, the story's okay. But they've walked back so many parts of it (e.g. the "no one in Appalachia" thing) that it's really just a mess at this point. Take it from someone who played for a long time: don't bother.

The apparent designed pattern of play is to quicksave constantly, die constantly, reload, and continue this loop until you figure out the intended way to approach any encounter. It's like a puzzle game where everyone hates you, and you don't get XP for nonviolent solutions. If that sounds fun, you'll probably enjoy it. I just find it exhausting. And don't get me wrong: I'm going to finish it just so I can talk with all of my friends who're playing. But I'm not looking forward to it.

EDIT: So 200 hours later, I finished the game.

I think I still stand by what I wrote above. The game very much intends for you to save scum, I think. Which... isn't super fun and is very immersion-breaking. And basically no fight is ever fair. You have to either use very strong tactics or make very strong characters--there's no real option to roleplay and build organically. You have to exploit either the build mechanics or the combat mechanics to win.

The story, barring one INCREDIBLY frustrating moment in the endgame, is generally strong. There are a few twists that took my breath away, but in general it commits 100% to being a standard fantasy D&D plotline and manages to pull it off *because* it commits 100%. There are a few characters you'll find yourself caring about, but also a few that you'll never care about hearing from again.

All in all... I guess I recommend it. It's very commonly frustrating. But, ultimately, I don't regret the time I spent on it and I spent a lot of time thinking about it when not playing it. Which is a recommendation, I guess.

One of the best, if not the best, turn based strategy games ever made. Can be played over and over and over. Has exactly the correct amount of story to get your buy in but not overwhelm one of the most solid gameplay designs ever. You will love this game. Just remember that 80% isn't as likely as you think. Good luck, Commander.

The game didn't save my progress across two tries, wasting almost two hours of my time. I might buy again when this is fixed.

One of the best games ever made. An emotional tour de force. The best handling I've ever seen of some truly dark themes, with unforgettable characters throughout. And it's all freaking hilarious.

This game is a steal at the current sale price of around $5. It's a great adventure. The ending is a bit of a letdown, but it's got some very good twists and turns. And the writing is stellar otherwise.

I really wish Steam had a "maybe" option.

This is a story game, and it lives or dies on its story. And the pacing of the story, due to the game's mechanics, is really uneven. It's also not always clear what's important when, which can lead to some kind of disjointed moments. The characters are mostly compelling, if a bit unsurprising at times, and there's a couple of them to get invested in.

Mechanically, the game isn't really balanced well--there's an ability that allows you to stabilize super quickly, an ability that completely redefines the dice game, and an entire stat that has no useful abilities whatsoever. Were it not for needing that stat to unlock the easiest source of a particular item, there'd be practically no reason to increase it at all.

Citizen Sleeper is an okay game. I don't regret playing it; I just don't feel super satisfied having finished it and don't really feel the need to play through again to pick up the few achievements I missed. I certainly don't think it's the amazing genre-definer some people seem to. But it's okay. Give it a go if it's on sale for under $10.

It's pretty good. Get it on sale.

So first off: holy Lord of heaven and Earth, this game is bleak. If you try to be heroic in all aspects of your life, you will die. Repeatedly and frequently. I got what is probably one of the better outcomes, and it required me condemning two genuinely good people to horrible fates. Not to mention literally hundreds of nameless others.

This game is entirely choose-your-own-adventure, with some stats adding an RPG aspect to it. The writing is pretty good, if, y'know, bleak. The illustrations add a lot, but like the sound design (both effects and music) they're reused and tend to get repetitive.

All in all, if you're in for a bleak as hell universe and don't mind some repetitive elements, it's pretty good. But if you're looking for a truly great text-based adventure, get Roadwarden instead.

I bought this game nine hours ago. I have not done literally anything else in the past nine hours. I completely forgot to eat a meal, and it is now 3 AM.

Play this game. It is *unbelievably* good.