Recent reviews by Sasha Nein

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an amazing sequel to the first game. I wholeheartedly recommend.

Where Ori and the Blind Forest (OBF) is a relatively short experience with a rich but linear story, Will of the Wisps (WotW) takes that same formula and doubles it. OBF was elegant in how you are learning new things throughout the game and it all culminates into a grand finale in 10hrs or less. In WotW I was introduced to all the mechanics that were in OBF in just a few hours, leaving 15 more hours of game to learn new things and to combine it all in new and interesting ways.

After having beaten WotW, I think the only thing that saddens me about the game is that there was not really any need to respec into older abilities for puzzles, rendering some cool mechanics obsolete in favor of new ones later in the game. Definitely could have been a little more thoughtful in that department...

However, I very much enjoyed everything else in the game. The revamp of combat, the larger map, the side quests... It was all I wanted in a sequel, which was literally: 'I want to play more Ori doing more things'. I was not disappointed at all. This game is definitely going down in my list of all time favorites.

Did you like the first SUPERHOT game?

You'll like this one.

It is definitely more repetitive than the first one, but there is far more content to get through in this one. They add in new 'upgrades' or mechanics and give you the opportunity to play with those over and over. Otherwise, it's just more infinitely satisfying time slowing head popping matrix dodging glass shattering goodness.

Destructible environments, procedurally generated maps, hordes of baddies, plenty of grinding, mining game...

If any of these sound cool to you, you'll enjoy this game. It is a beautifully crafted game with a lot of polish. At 70 hours in I'm still finding cute little things around home base. The in-game progression is just savory enough to keep me coming back, and I have yet to experience a crash or game breaking bug which only adds to the flavor.

UPDATE: At 326 hours in... still loving this game and still only experienced the rare bug that has been promptly fixed. The new content is fantastic and always keeps me coming back for another round.

If I had any peeves with this game, it'd be in the simplistic graphics which are terribly disorienting for new players, and the lack of tutorial options. What's there, is good... but then it dumps you into other missions with very little direction and if all the mission parts aren't in plain sight it is a bit difficult for new timers to figure things out.

However, that being said... the lack of direction objective markers is a breath of fresh air. You've got to explore the maps on your own and figure out how to accomplish your objectives. But don't fret if this isn't your thing, once you've done one mission of each type, there's near zero ambiguity for the rest of the game. Now if only our announcer would stop repeating the same lines for each mission... sigh.

The public multiplayer co-op is... adequate. I've yet to encounter anyone truly out to annoy other players, but I think the real co-op experience shines with friends in voice chat. If you've got a good team that communicates well, you can start to take on the tougher difficulties and have a blast becoming a well oiled machine against nonstop hordes of baddies.

Also, minigames: a beautiful addition to the home base while waiting for your buddies to outfit their characters or connect to your lobby. Thank you, Deep Rock overlords!

At almost 100 hours, I still am undecided on my recommendation. I recommend this game because it is fun and has a very cool concept... but the hardware requirements for this game are highly misleading, and playing with even recommended requirements will inevitably lead to a poor experience.

I'm a big fan of sandbox and survival games. Scrap Mechanic has achieved a unique twist for itself that very much works within those genres. The physics concepts behind the game are a lot of fun to experiment with, and I can't wait to see what else is in store. If you've enjoyed time in survival, sandbox and/or creative games then this will certainly be a fun pick up.

However... This game is early access, the physics mechanics I mentioned before are definitely cool, but they're a double edged sword. My PC specs far above the recommended for this game, except for my CPU, which is an i5-6600K, and I can barely get 15fps once I start to fill my world with creations. This game requires almost nothing from your hardware except for the CPU which it will work to death... and while I'm no expert I am quite sure this is because of the physics that this game employs for EVERYTHING. So, if you've got better than me... maybe it won't be that big of a deal. But don't assume for a second that the recommended CPU is enough to play this game for any length of time, because it's not.

For this reason, I really hate to fully recommend people getting this if you're on the edge. I enjoy it so much, but it has all the rough edges that come with being early access, so honestly I'd say to just keep it on your wishlist until it releases or gets some chunky QoL updates if your hardware does not exceed the recommended requirements.

Many reviews I've seen I feel either give this game TOO much credit, or were experiences born from poor hardware and thus terribly negative. If you've got a dated PC, this game will run it through the wringer and you'll not have a fun time. The gameplay is unique, but it's nothing groundbreaking or to write home about... It's literally got a little something for everyone (IGN 2019). It dabbles in so many different pots that nothing stands out to me except their iconic mechanized take (hence scrap MECHANIC) on buildings and creations.

It took me just over 60 hours to complete all of the single player content with a smattering of PvE(vP) required to progress through everything. This includes all the expansions.
I have to say, I very much enjoyed the original campaign, as well as all the cutscenes which were incredibly juicy... and frequent. I really appreciated that I didn't have to grind at all to complete the story quests, and because of that I've very much been encouraged to continue playing the game as I'm now interested in just seeing what comes next. The gun play for this game is satisfying, and there's a large enough selection of weapons to make even the pickiest player happy.

This game definitely has enough content for people who enjoy grinding. The loot doesn't have Borderlands (or Warframe) level of variation, but it's a large enough selection, and the game encourages you to keep rotating your loadouts for different missions to get improved gear; which I think is a very smart choice by the developers as it keeps things fresh for the individual and keeps them out of a 'one size fits all' kit. I've applied an additional 50 hours of grind gameplay, with a decent chunk of PvP in that. While I'll never enjoy the competitive side as much as CS:GO or the new Valorant, competitive has a very punchy and high octane style like CoD which is fun and satisfying play. However, for me, this game really shines in the PvE with friends and completing challenging missions together.

As a free to play game, I think it's completely worth picking up and giving it a shot. Then, if you enjoy the game enough, you can look to purchase the expansions and a season pass as I did. What I was pleased to find is that even after 30-40 hours of game play into the base game, I didn't "miss out" on any of the loot or unique opportunities as most of that content is for late game anyways. If you enjoy FPS games in any capacity, this is definitely a game to at least play for the single player experience at the healthy price of nothing.

I do want to add a comparison in to Warframe as I've heard a number of people talk about it. I have 60 hours into Warframe personally, and I feel that is an acceptable time to give a fair comparison, especially to a casual player.
Warframe is a grind fest. Many die hard fans are going to try and play it off as being highly rewarding and extremely unique experience with far better customization and loot options than Destiny......... and in the basest terms, they are right. Yes, there is more Warframe content. Yes, the whole 'Warframe' concept is definitely unique and the options for customization are rather mind boggling.
But the game's execution is just... not as vibrant as Destiny's. Story progression is capped behind intense sessions of grinding to level up. Lore is honestly TOO hidden and requires a lot of time to read/find, which just doesn't interested me and is going to be a drag for anyone that's not a 100% completionist. The game is a series of repetitive missions which the only variation you have is your loadouts (which are numerous to be sure), which just doesn't cut it when its not as punchy and pleasing as Destiny 2.
Warframe is technically not pay to win, but unless you want to get 60 hours in and still not have any significant upgrades or changes to your gear... then you're going to be spending money on SOMETHING. To me, this game is honestly just... TOO grindy, for not enough satisfying return. Even having veteran guidance, as I had, it was still just taking too long to me. I shudder to think how much longer this will take for a new player on their own... and how much time they'll be spending on the wiki trying to figure out their next steps.
Now, this appeals to some. I'd like to bring up Path of Exile as an example, where the game does provide an infinite number of combinations for you to try out and play with; but it's just... not terribly satisfying to play when compared to Diablo, even if, technically, the content is far greater and time to complete is infinitely longer.

Take it how you will. To the people who enjoy the intensely detailed journey of Warframe (or PoE), they will always be the superior games to them, and they'll hate on this review. But for me, the far more vibrant experience that Destiny 2 (and Diablo) provide is far more important to me even if the game is shorter and filled with 'less content'.

Here's the thing:
I wouldn't pay more than tree fiddy for this game. I'm giving it a thumbs up on solely on that. If you pay more for this game, definitely not worth hands down.

It's really not great, it crashed on my group multiple times and was really glitchy. Then, there was the shared camera... Now, a shared camera is one thing... but what this game has is another animal entirely; you had best have a solid stomach because you're gonna go on some wack rides.

However... I enjoyed my co-op experience, and so did my buddies. The game didn't overstay its welcome and it had a decent smattering of loot and secrets and unlockables. But would I play it again? Probably not.
If you've got a group of game buddies and you enjoy co-op, pick it up on a super sale and you'll enjoy yourselves... Honestly, we laughed our way through most of the glitches, but the frequent crashes were frustrating and it's nice that the game was very forgiving with checkpoints.

If you enjoyed Trine, and/or you enjoyed Magicka, you'll enjoy this game.
Nuff said.

It's short, but it's pretty, and does have some replay ability in the form of multiple characters to unlock. There is some small frustration with the controls, and the menus can be confusing, but for a cheap little sale price co-op this is a good experience.

Story is meh. Typical. Simple. The narrator from Trine does guide you through this game, though. So if you enjoyed his lovely voice, you'll be excited to hear him all game long.

This co-op adventure is perfect for three people. While it's easily played with one or two, the experience is richest if you've got a couple of good buddies along for the ride.
The environments, like previous Trine games, are quite pretty and enjoyable to be in. The storytelling is simple, but it's not really what you're here for and it serves its purpose. The game is adequately long, but my group still beat it in 8 hours.
We found the puzzles to be a piece of cake and didn't encounter much difficulty throughout the game, but it was very fun to switch up roles and watch someone struggle with a character you've already mastered. I highly recommend if you're looking for something to play with friends, it's beautifully lighthearted but filled with engaging gameplay that requires a lot of teamwork to accomplish.

I like to think of Left 4 Dead as the father of the modern zombie game. The mechanics, the team play... The versus! This game a beautiful mesh of competitive, thriller and high octane FPS. I think it has aged quite well, and if you have a solid group of friends, the replay ability is limitless.
Left 4 Dead 2 contains all the content from the first game as bonus content, and is a little more polished. If you haven't played this title yet, you're in for a real treat and I highly recommend purchasing.

As far as source mod games go, this one is quite good.
It suffers from all the common source mod issues which are poor, community made maps, glitchy game mechanics and the fact that it's visuals are from 2004.
However, the developers are still releasing updates to this game in 2020, and after having played it again I was surprised to find that it aged well. The core game that I love so much is still there. The guns feel very good and the zombies are some of the most terrifying out of any zombie game ever, because they're played by your fellow humans.
The gameplay is basic, and honestly fairly slow, but I feel this SOURCE MOD captures the horror of surviving a zombie apocalypse better than most any other zombie game I've played.
It doesn't hurt that this game is free, either. All you need is Half Life 2 for the texture/model assets. I encourage everyone to at least give this game a try, although I do admit it's not for everyone. A word of warning, though, the community that still plays this game is small, and dedicated. I'd recommend getting a feel for the game with a friend before joining a full server. I only play this with friends, and in my honest opinion playing a match with 10 or less people is always ideal. Any more than that and it is just not fun anymore.