Recent reviews by Dinoctes

A lot of reviews I've read about this game refer to it as a gem, and it is - an unpolished one.

The mechanics of the gameplay are truly amazing, with each citizen having their own personal information, relationships, and routine that you can glean from their belongings or talking to their friends. When investigating cases, you will often only obtain a snippet of information about the culprit: their fingerprint, shoe size, first initial, etc. It's up to you to follow that lead and pursue the culprit, and it is immensely satisfying to finally pin them down after rummaging through countless suspects, each with their own lives. The citizen AI is developed enough that suspects may linger around the crime scenes (much like in real life), and murderers tend to strike close to where they live. The procedural generation means that every case is unique. It is by far the best part of Shadows of Doubt.

What degrades the experience is first and foremost the multitude of bugs and glitches in the current version of the game. These issues often cut into the main gameplay loop, making them incredibly frustrating to encounter. For example, on the crime scene of a murder, the culprit had written a bloody message on the wall that I later discovered (by reading the newspaper) contained a vital clue about their identity. But the writing texture had glitched into the wall, making it entirely illegible. On another occasion, I sat down on a bench outside a suspect's apartment, waiting for them to come home, only to glitch through the back wall and into an adjacent apartment, where I was promptly attacked by the resident after they pulled the alarm. Aside from the bugs, there is also the inclusion of status effects such as hunger and thirst, which feel incredibly out of place in such a game. Furthermore, the murder cases are by far the most interesting cases (the others being minor side jobs like vandalizing an apartment), but only one is active at a given time, and there is a seemingly random downtime after solving one before another becomes available.

The game is still in Early Access so bugs are expected, but these immersion-breaking glitches were a little too big to ignore. Ultimately, the reason I still recommend this game is because the core gameplay is so good. Bugs can be fixed, and I have no doubt (or any shadows of doubt) that the devs will be polishing this gem until it shines.

IXION can be described as a narrative-driven survival city builder. But there are two factors that set it apart from other games in its genre. The first factor is the ability to move the "city", given that your "city" is actually a space superstructure in search for a new planet to colonize. The need to manage Power (which depletes as you move) and the distance your ships will need to travel to get to and from resource areas make positioning the "city" an interesting strategical feature. The second factor is its narrative, which draws from sci-fi and cosmic horror to represent an indifferent and, at times, hostile universe. The game is constantly throwing new challenges at you that tie directly into the main narrative, and while there were perhaps one too many bait-and-switches for my liking, my overall experience was very positive. I'll be looking forward to an Endless mode that the developers have already stated to be in the works.

OVERALL: 7.5/10

Pros:
- Very atmospheric. The city looks beautiful and every environment is rich and detailed, even areas that are only utilized for short quests. Horror elements are used to good effect; jumpscares are used sparingly in favor of creepy environments.
- Countless elements of Japanese tradition/mythology are heavily incorporated into the story, environments, enemies, etc. If you're a Japanese culture enthusiast (or a weeb like me), you'll have a great time.
- Wide variety of interesting and unique side quests. Some are fairly generic (e.g. defeat waves of enemies, fetch quests, etc.) but others have fully fleshed out plot lines and unique areas.
- Combat is flashy and stylish, but limited in its options (see below).

Cons:
- Variety in both combat and enemies is severely lacking. Combat plays like a shooter and mostly consists of cycling between a small number of attack types and mashing/holding the trigger buttons. 80% of encounters recycle the same 2-3 enemy types. The game could have really benefited from more unique enemies or move variety, possibly having certain moves interact with certain enemies in a special way.
- The story had potential but is paced poorly and should have been longer to give more time to flesh out the characters.
- Boss battles are rare and lackluster.
- Due to the setting, NPCs are practically non-existent. You'll mostly be interacting with animals and ghost spirits that barely acknowledge you. The city can sometimes feel empty as a result.
- For its price, the game can be rather short (~20 hrs, with side quests completed).

GNOSIA is a great blend of sci-fi worldbuilding and werewolf-style deduction gameplay. The main gameplay loop is that you have a bunch of crew members gathered in a discussion, but some are randomly selected to be infected as "Gnosia", which choose one crew member to eliminate each night. The entire crew must also vote on one member to be sent to "cold sleep" each night, which effectively removes the member from that loop. Aside from crew and Gnosia, there are a variety of other roles that can investigate the status of crew members, or who otherwise have their own goals and objectives.

GNOSIA's greatest strength is the complexity and diversity of its characters. Each character behaves in a unique way that is supported by their stat distribution (logic, charm, intuition, etc.) and their surprisingly intelligent AI. For example, one character might have very high intuition that allows them to easily pick out liars, but they stand out due to their low charm, which often causes other crew members to dislike them. Another character often plays the victim whenever they are accused, making it difficult to get people to vote against them. A big part of the game is learning how each character behaves over time, as their personalities remain constant over each loop. This will allow you to better determine who is infected -- or if you're one of the Gnosia in that loop, you can use that knowledge to manipulate the AI into voting in your favor.

The story of GNOSIA is told through mostly random events that happen if the conditions are right in that loop. While I did enjoy the overall narrative, I will say that it can be frustrating to cause these events to trigger sometimes, and the circumstances of that loop may not be favorable to completing the event. For example, you may be tasked with protecting a certain crew member, but that crew member coincidentally is Gnosia for that loop and will actively seek to eliminate you. You will likely need to try these events more than once to complete them.

Aside from that, one of the negatives of the game is that the gameplay loop may become stale over the 100+ loops that are required to complete the game. Some players may easily become bored with the repetitive dialogue and player dialogue options. For me, this was saved by the aforementioned random events that gradually reveal more information about the characters' backstories, though are more interesting than others. If the gameplay doesn't bore you, it will definitely suck you in as you try to master it.

Overall, I enjoyed GNOSIA and the story that it had to offer. It's not for everyone, but if it hits, it hits hard.

9/10

Cyber Manhunt is a game about gathering information, hacking into emails, and piecing together a narrative based on what you find. The stories that unfold are genuinely complex and intriguing, as they explore dark themes and jarring plot twists across five chapters (excluding DLC). I would highly recommend this game to fans of similar detective games like Orwell and Ace Attorney.

However, one of the biggest gripes I had with Cyber Manhunt was its text: it is rife with translation errors, awkward phrasing, and unrealistic dialogue that mar the experience. When the most key aspect of the game is reading through lines of text, it can be a problem when your text is translated poorly. Instructions for minigames can be confusing as a result, especially when you have a timer counting down as they are presented to you. The voice acting ranges from good to cringeworthy, as expected for a small indie studio on a budget. If you can look past these flaws, Cyber Manhunt will still have plenty to offer, and is well worth the price.

A charming game with a great amount of detail. Gameplay consists mostly of identifying a particular plant based on a visual description and/or the plant's effects. I never had to use a trial and error approach, which is something to be proud of in a puzzle game.

A innovative puzzle game with a charming aesthetic and crisp, satisfying sounds and animations. A great pick for programmers and perfectionists.

The development team behind Syndicate did a great job at world and level design. The main assassination missions are also fun, giving the player freedom to choose how to approach and take down a target within a highly fortified base (though you will often end up choosing the path that the game blatantly points out to you before the mission).

However, I cannot recommend the game due to the sheer frustration caused by a multitude of technical issues and in-game glitches. At one point, the game would crash to desktop within 30 minutes of starting. The AI is unpolished, meaning that you will often see enemies running in circles or attempting to reach a certain spot, but getting stuck in a wall or other obstacles like trees and lampposts. The combat largely reuses the same formula as past games, boiling down to mashing attack while hitting the counter button when you see a yellow flash above an enemy's head. And while the game offers you different types of weapons to pick and choose from, the functional difference between them is minimal. Carriage driving is an interesting addition to the franchise, but ends up being more of a chore than a fun activity. Finally, the free-running/parkour system is immensely frustrating; you will often be fighting with the controls to get your character to jump to a certain spot or land behind an enemy (it will usually end in failure).

I haven't played the more recent games like Odyssey, but I sure hope they're better than Syndicate, because the lack of innovation in this game is an ill omen for the fate of the franchise.

The Beginner's Guide is not a game. It is something so deeply personal that I sometimes feel like it shouldn't have been published. This is a story, a homage, a tribute hiding a deeply aching emptiness that will undoubtedly resonate with many players. If you've come here because you loved The Stanley Parable, be warned that The Beginner's Guide is hardly an equivalent. It needs to be taken seriously and, above all, it needs to be treated with respect.

I have conflicting thoughts as to whether or not I should be recommending The Beginner's Guide. There are times when it feels like it doesn't want to be played. Fellow game developers will have an easier time relating to the events portrayed, but to others, it might feel distant and unrelatable. If you are planning on purchasing, however, play it with an open mind. Think about it. It deserves that much.

Murdered: Soul Suspect has an interesting concept. You are a detective who has been murdered but brought back as a ghost, and you are tasked with solving your own murder as well as a series of killers throughout the town of Salem.

But in the end, it's nothing special. Gameplay consists of running around talking to people and finding things, putting facts together, and hiding from ghost demons to sneak up behind them and banish them with a single button hold. This is the extent of the gameplay. There is no real challenge, and the most 'horror' you'll get is some creepy demons and a couple cheap jumpscares.

I finished the entire game in five (5!) hours, and with a price tag of $29.99 USD, I was honestly expecting more.

Pros:
- Good concept and story
- Great voice acting

Cons:
- Repetitive and boring gameplay
- Occasional graphical glitches
- Incredibly short (~5 hours playtime)
- Rather high price tag