Recent reviews by Raziel

Ghost of Tabor has been a massive letdown for me, and I’ve given it more than enough chances. The biggest punch in the face is the ridiculous amount of bugs. Sure, some may be tied to shaky connections, but I’m in the EU with a rock-solid line—yet the servers still seem to choke. When I play offline in training mode, everything runs way smoother. Guess that says a lot about their netcode (or lack thereof).

We’ve been waiting ages for a truckload of promised features: more guns, a real quest system (which they finally patched in), a feature-complete bunker, better weapon mods, a proper graphics overhaul, improved sound design, actual AI that doesn’t just spaz out... But somehow, after all these years, we’re still stuck with half-baked updates that never quite deliver. Even the basic stuff—like watering plants, fiddling with the janky vendor menus, or messing with that sloppy weapon wall—feels like a chore. Items keep shifting around whenever you log back in. Old bugs like match-join desync, rubberbanding, broken scopes, and jammed attachments are still rampant. Some of the doors don’t even function properly—like, come on, it’s 2024, how is this still a thing?

Don’t get me started on the godawful sound design and all the voice chat bugs. Loading mags is a nightmare too. And that black screen issue when you try rejoining on PC? You’re basically forced to wedge your head into a wall just to trigger the glitch so you can see again. Seriously, that’s the kind of half-assed nonsense that’s driving me up the wall.

What stings even more is that we finally have a competitor that’s doing most things better, faster, and with more thought and polish—Exfillzone. Meanwhile, Ghost of Tabor’s bigger team somehow manages to flounder, both technically and in how they handle their community. It’s a straight-up skill issue, if you ask me, and we as players are getting the short end of the stick. I keep hoping they’ll turn it around, but right now, they’re just eating Exfillzone’s dust.

This whole mess also highlights a bigger problem with VR in general. There’s a lot of garbage on the market—some of it made by a few hobbyist dudes just for fun (which is fine), but a chunk of it is churned out by money-hungry ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ who have fragile egos and only care about milking players dry. Ghost of Tabor feels like it’s edging into that territory with how shoddy it’s been, especially considering how long it’s been in development without delivering the basics. I really hope they eventually fix their mess, but until that day, I’m done wasting my time.

Contractors Showdown: Exfillzone blew my mind from the start. A few months ago, when I tried the Battle Royale mode with a friend, we joked about how awesome it would be if they made an extraction shooter like Tarkov or Ghost of Tabor. Suddenly, they drop an Alpha out of nowhere, mention it casually on social media, and boom—I’m in. The moment I explored my bunker and jumped into my first matches, I was hooked. It’s exactly what I’ve always wanted in VR.

Surprisingly, Exfillzone feels a lot more like Ghost of Tabor than Showdown. The time to kill is really low, the weapon handling is changed, and they’ve tweaked so many things just to make Exfillzone work. Even stuff Ghost of Tabor has been struggling with since early access—like organizing your bunker and having items stay exactly where you placed them—works perfectly. The walls for hanging weapons actually function properly, too.

Sure, there are a few more arcadey touches, like how grenades throw a bit too easily or how items sometimes feel like you just need to hold them near your gun rather than truly manipulate them. Everything might be slightly simplified—but damn, it all just works. That alone puts it miles ahead of Ghost of Tabor for me, where you can easily rack up hundreds of hours of frustration doing the simplest tasks.

On top of that, the devs seem to be taking in all the feedback and rolling out updates like crazy. They’re constantly fixing problems and improving overall gameplay. We also have to remember it’s an ALPHA, so not every planned feature is in yet, but they’re delivering new stuff at a steady pace. I’m convinced the Beta will arrive in spring as planned and that the full release is going to be on time.

Considering Ghost of Tabor has a much bigger team lumbering around, it’s insane that this group—supposedly around 15 people—managed to make something so solid in just a few months. Even if they reused some assets from Contractors, they were still lightning-fast. Honestly, I’m pretty hard to please when it comes to VR games. I usually nitpick a lot and return anything that doesn’t meet my standards. I did that several times with Ghost of Tabor. But I love this genre way too much to give up on it, so I put up with that bugfest—until Exfillzone showed up and gave me the best VR experience in ages.

Additional positives:
Movement is fluid once you get the hang of it. The bunker is way cooler than GOT’s and packed with features that actually work. Armor pouches can hold more than just magazines, can be stacked in pairs, and can attach to the pouches themselves. Loads of lootable items, almost all of which serve a purpose. The AI is fair and beatable. Scav Mode rocks. The graphics and sound are good (though the sound could still use improvement—still better than GOT, though). They’ve even got some really cool quests and a complex health system that I love.

Negatives:
The maps don’t feel quite right yet. They’re good, but I bet they can do more. Maybe a map rotation system each season would help. The handling could stand to be more realistic, so you really need to grab your weapon and insert magazines with more precision—something Ghost of Tabor actually does well. Would love more freedom with attachments, like stacking multiple on the same rail if there’s room. And of course there are still bugs, especially if the server connection isn’t great, but it’s nowhere near as bad as GOT. Sometimes bots feel like bullet sponges, too, though it might just be de-sync.

All told, Exfillzone is the extraction shooter I’ve been waiting for in VR. Despite the typical Alpha hiccups, it’s off to a killer start—and I’m stoked to see where they take it. If you’re craving a solid VR extraction game that doesn’t make you want to throw your headset at the wall, this is the one you’ve gotta try.

Steam Review for "Into the Radius 2" - Early Access 25/07/2024

Pros
- Feature-Rich Alpha: For such an early build, there's a surprising amount of content. Definitely more than I expected.
- Improved Graphics: Compared to the first game, the visuals have taken a major leap. The new enemy designs and death animations are top-notch.
- Immersive Mechanics: Body interactions, magazine reloading, and weapon handling are very well thought out. The starter weapon feels solid, though the chambering could use a bit of tweaking.
- Sound Design: The audio is excellent, adding a lot to the immersion.
- Gameplay: The single-player mode runs pretty smoothly, with very few bugs encountered.
- New Features: Probes are now limited, and there are different levels of healing syringes. Reloading and handling ammo feels much better.
- User Interface: New screens and menus are much more intuitive. Delivering mission items is now easier.
- Tactical Reload Wish: A feature like Ghost of Tabor’s tactical reload would be awesome.

Cons
- Performance Issues: Running on a 2080ti and Ryzen 7 2700, it still stutters a lot, especially through Virtual Desktop. Playable, but you'll need some patience.
- Player Size: Feels a bit off, but this is likely to be fixed soon.
- Navigation: The new tablet for navigation isn't as enjoyable as the manual route planning from IR1 V1.
- Base Aesthetics: The new base looks too clean and new for my taste. I prefer the grittier look.
- Weapon Handling: The chambering action feels too guided and smooth. Needs a bit more resistance.

Overall Impressions
This game is still in a super early alpha, but the foundation is solid. You can tell a lot of thought went into improving various features from the first game. While there are some performance issues and a few design choices I’m not a fan of, it’s clear this game has great potential. If you’re comfortable with early access and all the quirks that come with it, I highly recommend giving it a shot. The journey from IR1 was wild and frustrating at times, but ultimately rewarding. Looking forward to seeing how IR2 evolves!

Edit 04/08/2024:

The first patch and hotfix have been released, addressing nearly all the issues players have experienced in the radius. Great job! This makes the experience much more enjoyable. Looking forward to the first content patch.

I was there 3000 years ago, when early Access started. And the developers are top notch! (Really, this is a shoutout for you guys!! Good job!)

Blade and Sorcery: A Bloody Good Time in VR

Rating: 9/10

Blade and Sorcery is the VR playground you’ve been waiting for. It’s not the latest in graphical fidelity, but damn, the details and consistency make up for it. The gameplay? ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ epic. The magic feels powerful, the combat is intense, and the lore is pretty cool.

What rocks:

Graphics: Not cutting-edge, but rich in detail and consistent quality.
Gameplay: Absolutely badass. Magic is satisfying, and combat is epic.
Lore: Adds a cool layer to the game.
Brutality: The violence is beautifully savage.
Variety: Tons of different weapons and spells to mess around with.
Sandbox Mode: Built-in cheats and spawns keep things fresh and fun.
Mod Support: Hell yeah, more games need this.
Climbing: Super solid and enjoyable.
Boss Fights: Legendary. More of these would make the game even better. Magic makes it easier, but without it, these fights are epic.
Epic Moments: Charging the crystal with magic is a jaw-dropping scene.
Physics: Absolutely top-notch.

What sucks:

AI: The bots are dumb as rocks. The only challenge is when you're swarmed.
Overpowered Magic: Especially the gravity spells; they're all you need to wreck everything.
Climbing Gets Ignored: Gravity spells make climbing almost pointless, which is a shame because climbing is fun.
Loot: Can’t take weapons out of dungeons, which is a bummer. But you can collect almost everything else for your home.
Dungeon Variety: There’s not much. The random system is decent, but you’ll see everything pretty quick.
Stealth: Really damn hard—might be a plus depending on your taste.

In conclusion, this game is a must-play for anyone who wants to dive deep into VR. Sure, it’s missing a cinematic story, but the raw, visceral gameplay more than makes up for it. Get ready for a wild ride.

It's wondeful!

This didn't gave me a boner. It's just a downgrade and falsely advertised. - Sure, if you did not have played Boneworks before, you probably will enjoy it a lot. - But for me it is just copy paste with a big downgrade in physics and graphics. After 100 hours in Boneworks, Bonelab is just a boring copy. I already had the fun and this is just a worse repetition. No campaign, just a super long annoying tutorial with some suggestions for the modding community. I don't have a lot of faith in the mods, so I don't have a lot of faith in the future of this game. If I still could refund this game now, I would do it instantly.
Boneworks has mods too, you know? -- At least you can now enjoy the 'concept' on the quest.

Two 'levels' where quite fun. The Moon level was very cool in my opinion and the level with the roller coaster was well made. The Intro gave me high hope this would be a great campaign but then it just fell downwards. Especially how they introduced forcefully and flat the different body shapes. It was a stage in the game that just felt like work and was no fun at all for me.

They end up making fun of all the buyers who bought the game because of the campaign promised in the trailer on a wall with some text splattered on it.
But in my eyes that's just a confirmation that they know that they just delivered rubbish there. And as it is so often the case, you just badmouth it yourself and pretend it's ironic so that nothing is vulnerable to yourself. But let's be honest. Maybe they just can't do it any better. - Let's put it this way: I'd rather not play a D&D session with them. It would be very boring.

And it tells me that they think that the most players in their player base just are satisfied with half baked things. So they really do not care. And sadly, it seems to be right in some sort.

Perhaps some day they will overcome this weakness and also finally have the desire to make a complete product and show us that they can learn and improve themselves. To port this to the quest was perhaps a big chunk of work. But in the view of a PC Player the whole system of Boneworks was already there. Tweaking some things wouldn't justify this price tag at all, as it feels like and is filled like the same game, but just more wonky. So it was reasonable to assume that they are now also working on filling the game and making this time a complete game instead of just the same 'prove of concept'.

EDIT: Now a great deal of time has passed and the highly touted mods are still not as great and grandiose as they were touted. I'm very sad about this as I actually think Boneworks (not Bonelab) is the right way to build and play VR games. But it lacks everything.

EDIT 2: Still no update and still no complete modding sdk. And still the available mods are awful. I shed a tear for being right. I still had hopes.

EDIT 3: 2 Years of promised support ending soon and there is still no update to the game. :D We got ripped off.

This tool is awesome. It is so helpful! - I now can use the space above my huge corner coach and do not fear the lights on the ceilling anymore! Playing feels way less stressful. Before I had always the fear to punch something that sadly has to be in my playspace, cause otherwise it would been too small.
It's a bit complex to set everything up, but everything is explained. It takes 5 minutes to get into it.
And the good point is, because the settings are so complex, you can controll any parameter and set it up fully the way you want!
I tested it now for 5 hours. Intense gaming and no issue. I love it!

EDIT: Still loving it. Even disabled steams guardian as far as I can as it's no longer needed with this beautiful piece of software.

Almost everything with this game is amazing! Visuals, even when minimalistic and lowpoly are very clear. Physics are great, multiplayer works like a charm, level design is lovely as well as the sound design.

Found a teleporting trap inside a cave; eyes closed, eyes opened and I was near the end of the world. Looked up, got immediately killed by 5 awesome looking encounters. Exactly what I like about FromSoftware! :D YOU NEED TO PLAY THIS BEAUTIFUL SUFFERING!

Right now there are too many things I can't enjoy at all in this game.