Recent reviews by haln

The best combat in a game I have ever played. Unparalleled swordplay.

Exploring the Lands Between in Elden Ring is extremely satisfying. Beating tough bosses is so fulfilling. The variety is builds is mind-boggling. Elden Ring is a fantastic game that I can't get enough of.

Trying different builds and play styles is amazing! It feels like a different game every time I do it. It's such a blast to test out a new way to play and I'm glad there is so much variety for us to choose from.

This game definitely has potential. It's a bit like if Dishonored tried to be an open-world but still stay level-based, and had basically no story. It's still pretty janky at this stage in development, but I'm looking forward to how the game becomes increasingly polished and improved over time.

v1.0 Release Edit:

I still think it's a fun game as the combat is pretty fun, and Dream Cycle definitely has been massively improved since it's first release into early access. There's still a lot that needs more polish and plenty of bugs that need fixing, but in my opinion it's still got great potential since the devs are continuing to work on the game. At this point I'm still recommending the game, but it's with a warning that you'll have to be willing to deal with a lot of annoyances and bugs. It doesn't really feel like it was ready for full release yet, the v1.0 was rushed to completion and it shows.

The game starts off intriguing and with a bit of promise. But then as you continue, you realize that there is nothing more than what you see from the start. Sure, it's got a nice landscape, but in that terrain there is absolutely nothing to do.

The gameplay is extremely boring. The guns aren't fun to use, the robots aren't fun to fight, and the journeys between locations and fights are dull.

About 200 hours in now, and I've defeated all but the hardest monsters.
I'm sure there's another 1000 hours of content to go.

I played and completed the game (including the Apocalypse Weekend) on the Hestonworld difficulty that many people recommend. The game takes place over the course of 7 days. The main 5 day week was plenty of fun. The weekend overstayed it's welcome. Do keep in mind that this game uses dark humor.

The main campaign involves running errands over the course of 5 days. This leads to hijinks and violence, and is absolutely a blast to play. The game doesn't take itself seriously, and neither should you. It's a game to just screw around with, and it accomplishes that goal very well. If you're looking for a serious FPS game, look elsewhere. Running around with a scythe and cutting people in half is a blast. Pissing on people and laughing as you do so, shooting anyone who dares to bother you, it's chaos and absolutely worth your time if you think you'd enjoy that. Now, the game is a bit aged now, but if you can overlook the dated graphics and imperfect gunplay, you'll probably have a good time. Explosives in general aren't quite as fun as a more modern game, and the inability to skip cutscenes can make dying a pain if you forget to save after the scene.

Now, for the apocalypse weekend, which was originally an expansion, but has been included in the main game now. It starts off fairly interesting, with some new concepts in there. Saturday starts off pretty great. Unfortunately, it drags on FAR too long on Sunday, and the final boss fight is just shooting a bullet sponge until you win. The game becomes a linear snooze-fest, as the strengths of Postal 2 absolutely don't shine here.

Overall, I'd recommend Postal 2 if you're just looking to shoot some protesters, slice up some parents, blow up a few dogs and won't take the game too seriously. If any of those ideas offend you, maybe don't play this game, the humor probably isn't for you.

Maybe it's just because it's been a while since I played a decent single-player shooter campaign, but I really liked it. The last Call of Duty game I played was Modern Warfare 2, so it's been many years. The gun-play was smooth (this being probably the most important aspect of why I enjoyed the game), the characters were interesting, if simple, and the setting, while overplayed, did well to try and keep things fresh throughout.

I would definitely recommend this game! Keep an eye out for a sale though, because unless you're going to be playing some multiplayer or zombies, I don't think the campaign by itself (clocking in at 9 hours for me) is worth the full $80 price tag.

The game is good for the time it was released, but unfortunately it doesn't stand up to similar games anymore. If you enjoy diablo-likes, are interested in Torchlight 2, and really want to see where the series started, then check this one out. But if you just want a good diablo-like, then your money might be better spent on a more modern game, as they're pretty much all better than this one.

There's a lot to like in this game, from being able to have a pet companion, to the interesting magic, fishing and endless dungeon post-game. The gameplay doesn't feel as good as it's newer counterpart as it doesn't feel as responsive, but it does the job just fine. If you've never played a diablo style game previously, it's a good way to get into these types of games. It's not too difficult, the game is very straightforward, and your pet makes the trip a bit easier on inventory management.

If I wasn't reviewing this game in 2020, I would 100% recommend it to all. But if you are looking for a great diablo-like game now, try looking elsewhere as there is a lot of them around now, and they're all better than the original torchlight. If you're on a budget and want a decent experience, then Torchlight won't let you down either. It's still a good time!

Quite a hectic game, but fun to play with others. The nonsensical nature of the game makes for a good laugh and some child-rearing chaos. Level design was mostly good, and I loved the great variation in the levels and themes. The final level was a real headache though, and probably the only one where I felt would have significantly benefited from having 4 players when I only had 2.

The game mostly plays well, although there were a couple points in a few levels it wasn't clear if you could walk over the terrain or not, resulting in some small frustrations until the level was learned better. It made for some unnecessary repeats on levels. Repeating levels isn't a problem, it's even fun for the first few times. But once you're on your fourth or fifth failure, it gets to be a pain that you just want over with. I can't say I would replay the game, even with a different party of people, because I don't think I would enjoy it nearly as much a second time. To each their own though.

I would recommend this game, but only if you have somebody else to play with, because that's where a lot of the fun comes from. Just don't expect high replay value, and take note that the story can be beat in only 5 hours. Probably less if you had more players than I did.

I played a bit, but the level of jank that I saw just wasn't worth pushing through. It's workable, but I personally can't enjoy the game with how everything currently works. The start of the game felt tedious already, what with the grabbing of pieces one-by-one. I can't even imagine the tedium of building an automation system when you have to slowly purchase and haul over part-by-part. I might have pushed through the beginning to get to some of the more interesting parts of the game, but my shovel disappeared after half an hour of figuring things out. It was a sign to stop.

If I thought this game would eventually change enough that I'd enjoy it, I think I would have kept the game instead of refunding it. But seeing as the dev has stated this is v1.0, I don't foresee the major reworking of the game's systems that would bring the game to a state I could play it in. Glad that the dev is planning more content, but all the content in the world won't fix the basic gameplay for me.

For $10 it's not a bad purchase, I can definitely see the interesting parts of the game, but not one I personally can recommend. I'd suggest that you try it yourself and see if you can deal with the jank if the game interests you.

Since the dev has actually gone and gave the game a whole new version, I thought I'd come back and check out Hydroneer again. It's less janky then before. I did still somehow accidentally drop a pipe under the earth and never get it back again, but it doesn't feel as horrible as it did before. Unfortunately, still can't recommend the game. A lot of things in the game still feel awkward, and playing it isn't quite satisfying enough. Maybe by the time Hydroneer is further along in development, I'll change my mind, as the dev seems to be continuing development which is a good sign.