Recent reviews by cfenton

Even a week after launch I'm still having problems with the online mode. I wanted to test out a few classes, but I had to click the create character button several times before it would allow me to actually create the character. The other times it just hung for a minute and then did nothing. They should at least put in an error message or something to let the user know something went wrong. That left a poor first impression and it didn't get much better from there. Sometimes when I went into the first town area, I just warped backwards, like the server was trying to do some kind of rollback to sync everything up. It feels really bad and unpolished. Finally, there were a few bugs I encountered that might be related to the servers, but I can't say for sure. For example, when I used a town portal to return to town to sell my gear, the map reset when I went back through the portal. This caused me to lose the stuff I left on the ground and, even more bizarrely, reset the chest I was standing next to so I could loot it again.

Ultimately, I didn't play it long enough to form an opinion about the game's systems. At the very least, it seems like a solid ARPG. It might be a great game if everything worked, but it doesn't, so I can't recommend it.

This is a review of the singleplayer portion of the game. I didn't play the multiplayer. I don't like competitive multiplayer games. If that's what you're interested in, this review won't help you.

I bought this game because the setting looked cool and I like the idea of a simplified RTS that works well with a controller. I ended up really enjoying the setting. The story is very light on content, but the dialogue is often funny. The characters could all use more development, but hey, its an RTS and they're mostly there to set up the next mission. As for the controls, the game does work very well with a controller. The developers did a very good job of simplifying the mechanics of an RTS while keeping it strategic. The maps are small, there's no tech tree, there's only one resource, and there are only a few units available in each mission. These might sound like negatives to some people, but I think they are good compromises to keep the game focused on strategy rather than APM.

Unfortunately, I just didn't like playing the campaign very much. The levels are all over the place in difficulty. Some of them I beat on my first try, while others took me five or more before I figured out the gimmick. I think there are two main problems with the campaign design. First, there are way too many gimmick missions. For the most part, I enjoyed the straightforward battles, but almost every other mission has some gimmick. Gimmicks are fine when they are both interesting and used sparingly. Tooth and Tail’s gimmicks are neither of these things. For example, there is a mission in the third section of the campaign where you have an aerial bombardment on a cooldown. You don't have a base, so you have to defend several campfires around the map with very limited resources. Your enemies can build unit spawners almost anywhere, and they seem to have unlimited resources. To win, you have to kill 100 enemies. It took me several tries before I figured out that I could beat the level by fortifying one corner of the map and hoping I could bomb enough enemies before I was overrun. It worked, once I eventually got a good map layout, but it wasn’t fun.

This leads to the second problem I have with the design. The randomly generated levels are terrible for a campaign. Sometimes the level works to your advantage, other times it makes a simple mission much harder. I often found myself beating a level I’d had trouble with simply because I eventually rolled a good map seed. The randomly generated levels make it almost impossible to work out iterative strategies to beat tough levels. Since the map changes each time, if you fail, you can’t do what worked and tweak what didn’t in the next attempt. One time you might start surrounded by water, and the next you’re relatively exposed. Some people might find this a fun challenge that adds replayability, but I just found it frustrating. In a strategy game, I don’t want to win because I got lucky, and I really don’t want to lose because I got unlucky.

To be clear, I don’t think Tooth and Tail is a bad game. I do think it has major flaws that make the campaign both frustrating and dull, which is why I don’t recommend it to people looking for a good singleplayer RTS.

The Witness is a puzzle game. Specifically, it's a line puzzle game. If you don't think you'll enjoy solving hundreds of line puzzles, then don't bother playing this game. It's beautiful to look at, and the puzzles are certainly clever, but there's nothing else going on. There is no story, but more importantly, there is no reason to keep solving puzzles. I understand that's enough for some people who really love puzzles, but it wasn't enough to keep me interested.

I really enjoyed the first few areas of this game. The puzzles were fun, clever, and relatively quick. However, I found the later areas frustrating. I could solve the puzzles by drawing them out on a sheet of paper, but that wasn't fun. It felt like doing math homework. After spending a few minutes drawing out a puzzle, your reward is another slightly different puzzle. Then a dozen more similar puzzles after that. I think this game would have been significantly more engaging if it had far fewer puzzles and more to explore.

Ultimately, I didn't finish the game, and that's why I don't recommend it. I solved approximately 350 puzzles and made it to the treehouse area. I didn't find it a good use of my relatively limited gaming time. There are certainly many things to like about the game, but I just didn't have much fun playing it once I got through the first few areas. I tried to push through to see if the later areas were more compelling, but they just got more and more tedious.

In short, this game is already amazing. If it was released right now, it would be worth $15. If you like this genre, you should buy this game.

I like the persistent upgrade system, it makes every run feel productive, even if you don't get to a new zone. What really impresses me though is the feel of the combat. It feels tight and responsive in a way that many other games in this genre don't. It's kind of like this game is Mario, and other games in the genre are Bubsy.

The weapons and abilities are diverse already, and allow you to craft a loadout that suits your playstyle. If the developers really double the content, as they claim, there will be a ton of possibilities.

Factorio is one of the best games I've ever played. It has such a refined gameplay loop that it always feels like there's something to improve or expand. It is complex, but everything has a strong internal logic, which makes it easy to always make progress. It takes a long time to learn how to build efficiently, but I find it very satisfying to figure everything out. I've been playing Factorio on and off for years and every time I play it I find some way to improve my base.

Civilization is famous for 'just one more turn', and this game has a similar hook. I frequently find myself thinking 'Ok, just one more problem to fix and I'll go to sleep.' But then there's a new interesting problem and the cycle repeats. To me, that's the mark of a well designed and engaging game.

I really like games that tell a story in an interesting way. I really liked Firewatch. If you don't value storytelling in games, then don't play Firewatch. Other than the story, characters, and voice acting, there isn't much here, but I don't think that's a problem because those three aspects of the game are really strong.

Without spoiling anything, I really appreciated that Firewatch didn't veer too far into the realm of hokey video game story twists and even managed to play with that expectation a bit. I've seen complaints that the game doesn't conclude very well and that it leaves a lot of things open, but that didn't bother me. You are playing through one summer in Henry's life. You don't understand everything that's going around you, and you don't have to in order to enjoy the experience. Not everything revolves around Henry, and that's a refreshing change from most stories.

If you liked Enemy Unknown, then you'll probably really like Xcom 2. If you didn't, then the changes made in this game probably won't change your mind. If you haven’t played Enemy Unknown, then maybe give that a try first.

I have run into enough technical problems, bugs, crashes, etc., that I'd recommend against playing on Ironman right now. I’ve had enemies that I can’t target despite being right next to them, characters that have gotten stuck in a prone animation and then teleport around, and enemies that have remained floating in the air after getting caught in an overwatch animation. So far it’s been nothing a quick load of an older save won’t fix, but I’d be really frustrated if I couldn’t do that.

I ended up writing down almost two pages of scattered notes trying to piece everything together. It's the best use of FMV I've ever seen and just a really fun time.

If you're prepared to treat this game like a $60 retail game and buy a few heroes, then you'll have a great time. If you want to play without spending any money, then you're in for a grind like any other free-to-play game. That said, there aren't any timers and you can buy almost everything with the in-game currency if you're willing to grind for it. The heroes are lots of fun to play and are quite different from one another. The developers are also good about having regular BOGO sales and giving out free stuff (not heroes) to keep you interested.

If you like Marvel superheroes or ARPGs like Diablo or Torchlight, then you should give it a try.

It has many bugs and not a lot of content. If you don't have high expectations, there is some fun to be had, but be prepared for potentially game-breaking bugs.

For example, in my first 1.0 base, one of my first colonists got sucked out of the airlock because it opened for someone else after he had taken his suit off. That left me down a person and made the early game much more difficult. In my second base, the seed pod didn't spawn and one of my colonists spawned stuck in part of an asteroid. I decided to just restart at that point. My third base is going better, but the AI doesn't work very well even when it isn't bugging out completely. My builders will often stand around chatting or working out even though they have a bunch of stuff to do.

Ultimately, it just doesn't feel like a proper release. I can see building a few more bases, but there's just not enough content to keep me coming back.