Recent reviews by akhsavi

Devs either too lazy to check playability of their own game or just believe that the main purpose of it is making gamer suffer...

It's about:

• brother who tries to save his sister;
  
• grim (dispite mostly white colour) journey through nowhere;
  
• solving puzzles based on manipulating with different kind of switches and involving a little physics interaction with objects (generally, telekinesis);
  
• fighting with unbearable controls.

Why you should play this:

• tempting iteration of Limbo, but mainly focused on action and with way less melancholy.

Why you may not like it:

• disgusting controls for "telekinesis" abylity: it's too sensitive, you fight not with time or boss (or both), but with flickering and twitchy aim;
  
• strange balance and puzzle's design: most part of the game puzzles are static and do not demand any rush, but in the end you are forced to solve them faster (especially in fight with 2nd boss) - with poor controls it transforms to endless irritating repeating of the same parts of the level again and again in tenuous hope that next time you succeed;
  
• questionable saving system: all saves contained into the registry, you aren't allowed to choose any part or "chapter" of the episode - only stating from last checkpoint is available;
  
• technical issues: no way to start a new game - such option just absent, "quiet game" option doesn't work properly and doesn't "close" the game.

You are welcome to try, but after you find yourself with absent look whispering curses to developers because your soul was sucked out of you, don't say you haven't been warned.

Vertical incidence.

It's about:

• falling, jumping, bangling, throwing bombs;
  
• collecting gears to obtain special equipment;
  
• girl with questionable sence of humor (and justice);
  
• female's rancour.

Why you should play this:

1. unsuall approach: there's mostly falling which is deluted by standard "from-left-to-right" levels and few chasing runs;
   
2. level-design: it's various for different game modes and tower's zones;
   
3. few levels' forks leading to different endings;
   
4. a lot of possibilities for success for your particular style:
   
   • you can rigourously collect every item to buy new equipment and "clear" the level;
     
   • you can ignore collectables and focus on speedrun (yet you need bombs on last level);
     
   • you can complete the game without any additional equipment;
5. perfectly balanced difficulty: it's hard as it needs to be to throw out a challenge, but doesn't torture you.

Why you may not like it:

1. if you not in mood to complete all challenges, "clear" all levels and unlock all endings, you will definitely find it short;
   
2. uncover story details through grafitti not a very good idea - for non-native english speakers it might be difficult to follow, narrator (or princesss in that role) would be much better.

Captivating charm of free falling.

"Mirage - a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects..." (Wikipedia)

It's about:

• sneaking, sneaking, sneaking... (shame on you IO Interactive);
  
• sniper riffle without silencer (seriously, IO, which pro-killer use it?)
  
• gameplay and "sandbox"-levels sacrificed for better visuals and so-called "story" (God, please, chastice Microsoft and Sony with their half-PCs aka consoles).

Why you should play this:

• Silent Assassin is your most favourite part of Hitman series; you've never heard about Blood Money and haven't played it (or didn't like it);
  
• stealth is your priority;
  
• an opportunity to "kill'em all" if your cover compromised is your priority;
  
• you looking for something similar to Assassin Creed or Splinter Cell - actually, it's the HitmanCreed (or HitmanCell).

Why you may not like it:

• Blood Money is your favourite part of Hitman series;
  
• it's not about planning an execution in a "sandbox" level anymore - there's only couple missions which remind about "good old days";
  
• idiotic "sneaking"-inserts in almost every mission - something what earlier was just one of the features on some reason became the main part of playing time; what's worse it's hardly made game better;
  
• our clon-killer got the personal motivation again like it was in Silent Assassin (another not the best part of series);
  
• instead of number harmonious contracts (levels) here is the "cinematographic" story filled with stamps and clishes of Hollywood B-movies;
  
• "instinct" instead of tactical "map" - successful attempt to break the balance and lead you to the frustrationland: it's meaningless to play with it, it's impossible to play without it, no middleground.

"Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead, only try to realise the truth. There's no spoon." (Matrix)

"Few-in-a-row" - what can be more primitive, right? Wrong!!!

It's about:

• city building management;
  
• "erasing" lines like in Tetris;
  
• shaping card deck to obtain winning strategy and flexible tactics;
  
• logic, calculations and thinking in advance.

Why you should play this:

1. calculation and neccessity to think before acting is an entertainment for you;
   
2. few game modes:
   
   • Campaign (consists of Solo and Versus stages, AI is competitive enough): you need to fill the row with different constructions and at the same time collect enough points to "erase" a row to move further - some cards aggregate points, other collect them, another - decrease;
     
   • Versus (against AI or other users): available space is splitted on personal zones, where only particular party can built, and common zone - this one available for all: you need to collect more points than your opponent;
     
   • Solo: you need to achieve maximum amount of points on a limited space or just play in endless mode.
3. various cards for you deck with fair amount of possibilities for different tactics;
   
4. many available characters with unique abilities and cards for deck;
   
5. couthie visuals and nice soundtrack;
   
6. high replay ability unless you don't like purposeless endless mode.

Why you may not like it:

1. despite the fact that cards have description and there're a lot of words in tutorial, it's easier to understand how one or another card works only after some fair amount of mistakes; especially if we're talking about cards which provide bonuses when they are merged in a group (block);
   
2. characters talk way too much before each mission in campaign - even skipping dialogs is tedious;
   
3. there're high chances that you finish campaign mode long before you unlock all available cards;
   
4. in some Versus missions in campaign AI starts with much better card deck than you are - it looks like a way to compensate it's imperfection;
   
5. there's an impression that in Versus missions in campaign AI gets right cards in right moment, in other words - cheating;
   
6. idea with building a team which consist of different people with diffrent abilities looks unfinished, because in the beginning of each mission you have to shape your card deck from the same 1st level card set regardless the chosen character.

It has its flaws, however, this concrete will cement you in front of your PC very firmly.

You will be lured by astounding steam review's statistic (over 95% positive), simple but stylish visuals, great soundtrack, in-game level editor... Unfortunately, all that serves only one aim - to f|u|сk you: mentally and literally.

It's about:

• jumping;
  
• catching the rhythm;
  
• reacting on rhythm's changes;
  
• collecting stars to unlock further levels;
  
• testing your reaction and nervous system.

Why you should play this:

• you've played BIT.TRIP RUNNER, liked it and considered as an easy game;
  
• complex levels with dymamically changing level's background;
  
• in spite of gameplay simplicity (just pushing one button) it's various enough: hidden paths to obtain a "Star", special points which throw your "quadrate" higher, portals turns things up-side-down, rocket-"flights" among deadly obstacles and etc.;
  
• soundtrack - in a nutshell, even better than JLo's аss.

Why may not like it:

• no checkpoints - levels way too long for that: how interesting to start all over again (hundreds of times) just for the chance to push the button in right microsecond is up to you;
  
• sudden and unpredictable changes of rhythm bring the feeling that game doesn't challenge (or test) you, but tortures instead;
  
• practice mode, which allows you to explore the level in advance with an oppurtunity to make checkpoints wherever you want, is absolutely meaningless because the soundtrack in practice mode is distinct (another feeling of rhythm) and level itself too large to remember;
  
• unexplainable freezes.

Regrettably, all strengths of this game is just a mask behind of which cruel, sadistic pervert is hiding and he desperately (but quietly) hates you. Yes, you, personally... Literally.

http://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=720409365

In a galaxy far-far away Spacebase DF-9 was forgiven by Gods and got another (much better) reincarnation...

It's about:

• farming and grinding (a lot);
  
• micromanagement;
  
• building a spacebase of your dreams;
  
• saving galaxy from the invasion of Bagelhead.

Why you should play this:

1. various gameplay with light elements of strategy, management and RPG:
   
   • conquer planets (through real-time battles) to get research points, gather resources and obtain better implants for your team members;
     
   • use research points to gain access to the new production technlogies;
     
   • use resources for producing goods;
     
   • build different spasebase's premises (shops, food spots, medical and entertainment centers, etc.) to attract visitors and earn money;
     
   • use money to hire new members for your team to keep sustainable growth of your production lines or/and for paying contractors which make your officers more expirienced for future assessments;
     
   • use implants to make team members more powerfull;
     
   • send your team to accomplish more difficult missions for increasing the amount of mined resources;
     
   • assign some of them to a planet's embassy to decrease the period of resources mining.
2. flexible difficulty: you can make a death of Spatials permanent, contract's costs higher, cut production in half or pay your officers a salary which is increases with their level (good luck!).

Why you may not like it:

• there's a chance you will find the game monotonous and repetitive (devs promised to make gameplay more vivid in V3 *);
  
• useless tutorial - it's faster to understand game's mechanic through decent video tips guide;
  
• despite the fact that there're dozens of planets, all tasks is about just simple "kill'em all".

Save the galaxy today otherwise tomorrow it will be saved by someone else.

* EDIT:
On May, 28 developer announced that promised V3 version morphed into a stand-alone game "The Spatials: Galactology" - free after release for all owners of original "The Spatials".