Recent reviews by CaLuhA

Having played the three previous games in quite rapid succession a couple of years back, I finally bought and played this, and I really liked being back in that universe. I'd say all four games are fairly simple puzzle-wise, but there is just something about the atmosphere that makes it so brilliant.

Great little game, if maybe a bit short for the money. It's beautiful though, and the nightmarish part of it is...well...disturbing. In a good way. If you like Limbo and Inside, you'll without a doubt like this one.

I'm not a fan of 3D platformers. At least, I didn't think I was. Maybe I am now. Or maybe, this game is so damn brilliant that no other 3D platformer will do it for me now.

I'm amazed by the level of creativity behind the different levels, and how varied it is. Took about 12h to complete, which is great for me, since i have a hard time completing games. This one I had a hard time putting down, though.

Big fat thumbs up!

I very rarely buy games on release. Especially hyped ones like Cyberpunk. For some reason though, I decided I wanted to be a part of the release of this one. I bought it, pre-loaded it, and started playing the very first moment I could. I happened to have a week off, and I had set aside all that time for this game.

I read as little as possible about games and movies before experiencing them myself. I want to know as little as possible. The result in this case was that I knew CD Project Red was behind it, I had seen the poster, so I kind of figured it was some kind of sci-fi future setting, and I had caught a glimpse of Keanu Reeves possibly being in the game. I knew nothing else. Having really enjoyed Witcher 3, I figured this might be that but in another setting. I even expected a third-person view. That’s how little I knew about this game.

So I jump in with this expectation to be blown away. That’s a high bar to clear, I know, but the hype being what it was, maybe it’s hard to not have high expectations. Did it clear the bar? No. And no, it’s not because it’s glitchy. It’s pretty much entirely due to story and overall game design.

But let’s start off with the good stuff. The game is very, very good looking. You can tell that the developers have put a lot of time in designing night city, the vehicles in it, and the overall graphical profile of the game. I like how weapons are designed. Not to mention the graphic quality, especially on an RTX card. But for me, the good stuff sort of stops there.

Keeping this review spoiler free, I’m not going to mention specific story points, but rather give a description of how I feel about the writing and pacing.

To keep it simple - I don’t buy it. The characters, how people talk, how that society is functioning. I don’t find it believable. To be blunt - I picture a bunch of young boys writing the script, and trying so hard to make it sound cool. The slang they’ve made up for this world, the criminal masterminds. Every single interaction with other characters I was in, broke the immersion for me. I was reminded I was playing a video game that someone else had written all the time. On top of that I found a lot of voice actors lacking. Not all - some are right out splendid - but others, like the male voice of V, is terrible. Once again, trying so hard to be bad ass that I immediately get reminded of the fact that I’m sitting behind a computer screen.

The second part to why I don’t like the writing is that I am constantly bored. Every dialogue was so slow, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. I’m not a person demanding action all the time, far from it, I’d say I prefer slow things. But slow is not the problem here - boring is. They talk and talk, and get nowhere. They just throw cool terms and slang around, and at the end of the conversation (I’m sorry, “convo”), I’m supposed to have learned some new information, but all I really could pick up was a bunch of bull.

The result of all this is zero investment in the story. I’ve really tried getting into it, figuring out what it is about, but I just can’t. I hear words, and then I get a point marked on the map. Apparently that’s where I’m going next.

So, the story is bugging me, but is the game any fun? I mean, it’s an open world game with tons of things to do. I hear people telling me, at least. My perception is just chaos. You start the game off with a little introduction, and then you’re free to roam night city. You open the map, and oh lord. It’s just crammed with stuff. As you move around, random people call you out of nowhere, giving you jobs. Marker after marker just ends up on your map, and I have no way of telling what all this is. I can’t remember anything about half of them, who gave me the mission, or why.

I sit back and remember Witcher 3. A game where side-missions sometimes had a more engaging story than the main one, where a simple farmer somewhere had more character than Geralt himself, and where you got invested in simple folk. Or Red Dead Redemption 2, where you could stumble upon a drifter, sitting drunk in the middle of the forest, calling you in to tell you his life story before falling asleep. Then suddenly I’m back in Night City, where it’s just complete chaos, and nothing makes sense, and I don’t give a ♥♥♥♥ about a single person in this world. Not even the main character. It’s just too much, and it’s too damn shallow.

I wanted to like this game so bad. I remember being sort of mad at people who said the story in RDR2 sucked, because I loved that game. But if this is what they felt playing it, I get it now. It’s just not for me. That makes me sad.

At the time of this review I have yet to finish the game. I’ve given it several tries, going in to get through the main story at least, but I can feel the joy of gaming fading from me, and I have to stop. Maybe one day I’ll know how the story ends. Or what it’s about. Or why I should care. But not today.

Unlike some others, I went the other way around. I got this here on Steam, and I just immediately loved it. Went ahead and bought the board game, and I love that too. It's a great, relaxing game. I don't think I ever played a game that can be played competetively in such a relaxing way. I'm sorry I'm using the word "relaxing" so much, but it is a great way of describing this game. I recommend it!

I'd say the puzzles are easier than in other games in this genre, but this game is also more about story and atmosphere, and I find it to be well balanced. At just above 5 hrs to complete, with 100% achivement status, my inner completionist is very statisfied.

So I've been playing a lot of Zombie-games. Enough to be the cocky gamer that says: "Bring it, Zombie Apocalypse, I'll kick your ass. I'm probably the most prepared zombie fighter there is."

So I felt confident playing this. Like, how hard could it be? Me and my pal enter this cave. It's dark. All I have is a glow stick and a gun. I'm scared. But I'm not telling my pal. I have to be a man.

Suddenly I hear gurgling sounds running towards me. My and my pal both start screaming like little girls and start shooting uncontrollably in all directions. And this is the easiest difficulty. We made it. Barely.

10/10 would piss pants again.

As a big fan of Guitar Hero, and as a person interested in music, I was certainly excited when I first saw a gameplay video of this game. I bought the HTC Vive just a few days before Beat Saber was released, and tried a few other games, but as soon as this game was released, playing the Vive has been the same as playing Beat Saber.

The game is really simple. In a good way. I’ve had many friends over, and I just pop the Vive over their head, start the game, and just let them have it. All of them get what they have to do immediately. All of them sound a little anxious, feel a bit ashamed that they miss a block or two, but a couple of seconds later, they’re completely immersed in the game. As soon as the song is over, they quietly ask: “Can I have another go?”.

For me, this game quickly became a huge motivation. I want to be better, I want to hit those global leaderboards. It’s no casual gaming anymore. I’m putting on shorts, prepare a water bottle, and play all out until I’m spent, lying panting on the floor. Even if I don’t hit those leaderboards, at least I’ll be as fit as Arnold Schwarzenegger was in his golden days by the end of the summer. And this is the first time in forever that I’ve been this motivated by a game.

Even though the songs are far from the kind of music that I listen to, I cannot help but walk around having the melodies in my head constantly. Some songs I play because I like the music, others I play because the level is just really fun to play. And some because both of those reasons. In general the music and levels are really well done, and I’m really looking forward to more songs and user-made content. I’m hoping the genres will be a bit more diverse later on, but I’m really impressed with how good these first songs are.

I do have a couple of suggestions to improve the game though:

I would like it if I could practice a certain part of a certain song, much like you could in Guitar Hero, so you can really hone your skills. Now your only chance to practice and study the song is to turn on the “No Energy”-mode and play without the risk of failing the level. If the part you’re having trouble with is 1 minute and 30 seconds in, it’s kind of frustrating to play through the song over and over again and not get a chance to really practice the hard part before you have to restart the song again. So a training-mode, where maybe you could even slow down the speed or something, to really perfect your gameplay, would be awesome.

The other thing that has been bothering me are the blocks that have no arrow, but a point on them. Everyone who’s tried the game, me included, has tried to stab these blocks the first time they’ve encountered them. It took a couple of tries before I realized that they were a “Swing however you want”-block. I think it would be better if these blocks had no marking at all. That would be more clear as to what you’re supposed to do with them.

Also, I would like to look as cool as I feel when playing. I don’t. I look stupid. Like I’m randomly waving my hands around, uncontrollably. Can you make me look like a jedi master instead? I would appreciate that.

Thanks for one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had in ages!