Recent reviews by Hollapeno

I pre-ordered the deluxe edition of this game after playing the demo because it was fun, unique, and right up my alley. The performance was... not very good, let's say. And I have reasonable hardware. "Demo performance is often subpar," I reasoned. "They'll definitely have it ironed out by release."

FIVE months after release... NOTHING performance-wise has been ironed out. The game is choppy and unjustifiably demanding, and I'm not even running close to max settings. Shadows are unoptimized to the point where you either set them to high (how the game is supposed to look) and run at low FPS, or you set them to medium and run at reasonable framerates. Except here's the catch: medium basically looks like no shadows, the game is like 75% brighter, the entire atmosphere (and tbh selling point for many) of the game is slaughtered. DLSS has been added as a band-aid BUT instead of fixing performance, you get reduced performance AND an inferior picture. A two-fer! Thanks. This has been acknowledged but not fixed... it's been months. And don't think that just because you have a 4090 Ti that you're going to be exempt from these problems- take a look at the forums.

At this point, I really regret preordering this game, especially because it's now on sale with new DLC and I haven't even played past an hour of it. Once the performance gets fixed, I'll change my review, but for now...

STAY. AWAY.

Gorgeous, challenging, very, very fun. Once the gameplay loop clicks with you... wow, does it CLICK. Lots of work is still needed but what's there now is polished and like crack.

SImply a stellar feel-good ride. Can't help but smile like an idiot when playing, and this is coming from someone who doesn't care for Marvel or superhero media in general. Highly recommended. 9/10.

Incredible DLC to wrap up an already incredible game... and it's only $10. No-brainer, get it and enjoy it.

Absolute masterpiece of a remake, easily surpasses even the revered original. 10/10.

A surprising gem in the indie horror scene. Tense, scary, creative, and unexpectedly hilarious. Lots of heart, pretty lengthy as well. Very hard to say more without spoiling the experience- would definitely recommend if you enjoy adventure/horror/mystery!

+ there's a cat you can pet hehe

Very, very solid 9/10.

Great game, decent port, unforgivable DRM implementation.

The game hard-stutters almost every time you kill an enemy, and in some cases, when you just shoot or take damage. I thought this was just due to some optimization problem they were gonna patch out eventually- it's why I haven't booted the game up since I first beat it on release. Now, it's public knowledge that the stutters are caused by Capcom's DRM as pirated copies exhibit no such stutters.

I've never been one to complain about DRM because though I don't support it, I sort of understand where devs are coming from and performance is usually unaffected. But this? Unacceptable.

DO NOT BUY UNTIL IT'S FIXED.

Risk of Rain + Borderlands + arena shooter elements.

Very fun rogue-lite. The $12 EA price tag also can't be beat. ;)

The English text needs some proofreading but this is not a huge deal for now. If you need any volunteers... let me know!

Sticky controls, menuing, and animations make this a chore to play. Cool concepts, needs major tuning.

UPDATE [JAN 2024] - All rundowns + sectors fully cleared.

Well folks, this is it. The end of an era. And what an absolute high to end on as well - Rundown 8 is one of the best and definitely THE most challenging rundown released during this game's 4-year run. Despite numerous stumbles, hordes of bugs, and questionable design decisions over the years, the game manages to stick its landing. Thanks for the wonderful memories :')

Now that all previous content has been "remastered" and re-released in one complete package, there really is no better time to jump in. The biggest on-boarding tip for all has not changed since the alpha: Join. The. Discord. You'll find a (and maybe your) team there, no matter your skill level. Do NOT rely on matchmaking or the game will feel painfully empty - you'll find plenty of stubborn peeps yammering non-stop about this in the forums. For beginner gameplay tips, scroll down, but if you have other questions, feel free to reach out.

That's it. Good luck! You're going to need it ;)

___________________________________

Incredible. I've been following GTFO since its announcement and so far, it's been worth every second of the wait.

Essentially, GTFO is a stealth game in which a team of four gets sent into labyrinths of differing depths to complete objectives then escape. The deeper you go, the harder it gets. I'm not going to detail the game mechanics as they make more sense when seen than read, but trust me on this: the game is damn hard. In my opinion, this is the real draw of GTFO- its hellish difficulty and team play.

GTFO necessitates a level of team coordination that is rarely seen in games, let alone in the survival horror niche. One mistake can, and very likely will, cost you the entire match. There is no hand-holding or forgiveness. Needless to say, do NOT buy this game expecting a run-and-gun or something you can breeze through mindlessly. Communication and coordination are of the essence, and if you don't have a mic (or the willingness to cooperate/take orders if that is the case), then you're going to have a terrible time. You AND your poor teammates that is, because every misstep or selfish action you take will snowball into something larger that can break the entire team.


But enough about that! Here is a down-'n-dirty of how to have a good time:

1) Use Discord. The GTFO channel is currently the best way to match with people who speak your language and is in your region. As mentioned above, even if you don't have a mic you can still either match with others without mics (though I'm not sure how well that'll go), or simply agree to cooperate with or listen to people that do have mics.

2) Coordinate loadouts before starting a match! No team needs three snipers or three bio-trackers. Talk with your team. In my experience (playing Alpha, Beta, and EA), you at least want one sniper for scouts and two sentries for hordes. The other stuff is up to team preference.

3) LISTEN to your teammates. Understand what they're saying. Simply hearing is not enough. Consider everyone's ideas and discuss the best way forward. Please don't talk over people when you sense the slightest inkling of differing opinions. Even those without mics have valid opinions in the text chat. Don't be a dictator, plan TOGETHER.

4) Don't hog or binge resources. Really, don't even try it. You will drive yourself (and your team) into a guaranteed failure. Always call out what you just found or picked up, mark what you can't carry with MMB, and constantly check your teammates' corresponding resource levels. Inventories are public for a reason. You can see what someone has just by looking under their name in-game, or tabbing into the map screen.

TIP: Sentries should be top priority when tool refill kits are found. They are your best friends when someone accidentally triggers a room or when there's a mandatory holdout, and their utility can't be replaced. C-foam launchers can be substituted with grenades, bio-trackers have infinite usage, and mines are seldom used unless combined with C-foam or if you're trying to snipe-plode a giant.

5) Don't try to solo a cluster of sleepers. Coordinate with your teammates! What I usually do is a Charge-321-Hit countdown once everyone is in melee range of a target. Announce "Charge," count 3-2-1, release on "Hit." This tactic also works wonders on giants from the back. Don't let your guard down until you're sure your target is dead, however- if you didn't see an orange radial pop from your reticle, continue melee-ing immediately. Don't shoot, or the whole room will be alerted.

6) Don't run ahead of your bio-tracker if you do not know how enemy AI work. And if you are the bio-tracker, call out enemy positions using degrees if it's not in someone's immediate area. If you hold LMB, you can mark moving/aggro'ed targets. This is incredibly useful for when there's a scout nearby or when there's a horde. Mark, mark, mark! Your team will thank you.

7) Talking of scouts, if you're prone to accidents, the ONE place NOT to screw up is in a room with a scout. Their scream will not only alert the room, but also summon another horde. IMO if you're inexperienced, the best option is usually to set up sentries outside the scout room, send a sniper in to headshot the scout, then run back out to hold out. Your risk of being wiped is far lesser this way. Don't try to melee it unless you know what you're doing, or your team approves an unsure attempt.

and lastly...

8) HAVE FUN! GTFO may be stressful, but don't let it get the best of you. Remain level-headed, laugh off your mistakes (given that you survive them), banter with your teammates. Really. You're gonna need all the morale you can muster in a game as dark and punishing as this one.

-----
Personal score of this game thus far: 8.5/10