Recent reviews by fialnar

It's a good AAA game, but not a great Dragon Age game. I had fun playing and I was entertained for hours, there's no denying that, which is the main reason I'm giving it a positive review. There are many things I have issues with however.

Bioware abandoned and changed - or sanitised - a lot to get where Veilguard is, and it hurts the narrative in my opinion. It feels too clean, in a corporate way. I think it needs conflicts between companions or factions that could give characters more depth or a chance to grow. It did not leave me with the feeling I got from playing previous Dragon Age games, don't know if I'd feel different if I was new to the series. It does feel like the game is aimed for new players, with some as-safe-as-possible nods at previous games for those already familiar with it. The fact that your past decisions no longer matter as they used to in earlier games in the series is what distances me from the story. Overall the quality of writing is inconsistent.

Veilguard has a problem with pacing especially at the start, and the end. The game ends rather suddenly with a bang without leaving much closure. Which is weird, considering they really emphasized the companions and their bonds with you before release, only to deny you a chance to talk with them when it's all over. It's a shame really, because the one thing I really liked in the game are the companions and I wish I had more opportunities to talk with them.

Some factions have way more content than others; compare Grey Wardens to Lords of Fortune. Factions are not equal in dialogue either, as Rook or npcs might have much more to say depending on which faction Rook belongs to. There are some really good moments in writing with some of them, like the Wardens, so there's proof they could do better.

Gameplay itself is smooth enough, I have encountered a very small amount of crashes or glitches and my pc is garbage at this day's standards. Combat is much better than I thought it would be and I like it, even though I'm more fond of the tactical view of past games. Rook is pretty clumsy, platforming with those jumping skills is not the most fun thing to do when you can drown in a puddle. The less realistic style they went for with characters grows on you and I believe it will work in the game's favor in the future. Realism tends to age like milk after all.

There are more things I could talk about, but they're spoilers and I'd rather let people experience the game themselves. As much as I complain about the game, I did have fun and I plan to play it again to see what I've missed, maybe update this review. After 10 years of waiting I will take any Dragon Age content I can get, with a grain of salt. Or lots of it.

refreshing to see a game about the sámi!

it's a pretty and atmospheric game with good worldbuilding, clearly a lot of love was poured into it. i love the music especially, the drum matching the beat with the soundtrack is a nice touch. the drum mechanic is interesting and i like the concept, but i gotta admit the precisely timed platforming often didn't feel very good to play; it was the death of me plenty of times and progression was delayed. it wasn't a deal-breaker for me but i can see why someone might drop the game because of it. this might be just me publicly admitting i'm not good at this type of game or the mechanic truly is a little janky.

skábma is a unique, beautiful and entertaining cultural lesson in a modern format. i would recommend the game for the experience and to people who enjoy 3D platforming and have more patience than me

There's a lot of good in Fields of Mistria and it's very polished for a game in EA!

I was very surprised by the amount of things there is to do already and the QOL features. You can craft things even though you forgot to bring materials with you. You can see the location of NPCs on the map as they move around. Your inventory is full but you caught a bug that you need; no worries, it will stay there on the ground until you come back with room in your bag. Don't know if items on the ground despawn at some point, but it doesn't happen overnight!

I have read a lot of comments saying Fields of Mistria will be the new Stardew Valley or a copy of it, and while I see they (and other farming sims, naturally) share mechanics I think Fields of Mistria has it's own thing going on. I believe its identity will only grow stronger in time when it gets more content updates.

The only thing that somehow bugs me at this stage is the time; the days feel a little bit too short? Not by much, it's not the end of the world and you can get things done in a day and requests have no time limits. But I don't know, I feel like Mistria's day is the shortest of all similar games I've played and sometimes I could use an extra minute or two.

The art is charming and I love the amount of detail put into the character sprites. Giving everyone different outfits for every season is a lovely touch (I'm looking at Hayden's summer and beach outfits, respectfully. I'm very normal about him). I also think the writing is one of the game's strongest aspects, I love listening to NPC conversations and fridays at the inn are my favorite.

There's a lot of things to gather and collect, I have already spent hours fishing, bug hunting or just running around the map and the mines looking for stuff to pick up. Then there's rare animal colors, cosmetics for you and the animals, furniture, food recipes... The collector in me is already obsessed but not overwhelmed; everything feels organized.

Definitely recommended, I look forward to future updates!

(Will edit this review as major updates drop)

Lovely game, but I was left with mixed feelings.

The art style is top-notch and the concept is nice and fun. What I didn't like was the pacing of the quests and progression, and how the darker story teased at the beginning is explored only at the very end of the game, leaving a weird gap in the middle and then ending very suddenly. The NPCs have lovely designs and clearly they had some personality build into them, but they fall a little flat because there's very little dialogue outside the quests, so they don't get an opportunity to really shine. Which is shame, as the dialogue too was well written and hilarious.

The gameplay itself is simple, if a bit tedious towards the end? Some quality of life improvements are needed in my opinion, such as letting you sell items or ability to select multiple items at once. The cooking minigame was my personal favorite, though collecting ingredients felt like a chore and took most of my time because how limited some of them are in quantity. Same goes with crafting materials.

Overall a cute, decent and casual game with a lot of potential. Despite my complaints I did have a good time.

*Affirming bear noises*

Delightful game with an incredible atmosphere!

It's not a very long game and the gameplay itself is pretty simple, which I don't think is a bad thing. For me it was just long enough to grab my attention, get me used to the gameplay and not get bored of it.

Stray's worldbuilding, NPCs and story are all well put together, it was wonderful to explore the many streets of the long lost city, cause trouble and chat with the unique inhabitants. I love the lingering feeling of mystery and hope the ending leaves. It was overall a fun, poetic and a little bittersweet experience.

10/10, gonna start yet another playthrough just to knock over more paint cans and scratch everything

You can hug a cat. Do I need to say more?
But really; the art style and soundtrack are beautiful, and the character are well written. I grew attached to every spirit on the ship sooner or later, which made the ultimate goal of the game very, very sad.

Usually I'm not a big fan of management games and the grinding, but in Spiritfarer it doesn't get too overwhelming. The gameplay is overall simple and chill. Some things like where and how to get ingredients, for dishes for example, might be hard to figure out in the beginning and cause some headaches, as the game doesn't exactly tell you how to do it. You just kinda have to keep exploring to eventually gain access the more scarce materials.

It is a bittersweet and wonderful game that really knows how to make you feel things.
10/10, would and will play/cry again!