Recent reviews by l33tn3ss_17

Heroes of The Inner Sphere is the best DLC, by far, for Mechwarrior 5. It adds a new mode, tons of new mechs and variants, new weapons, and other game additions that deeply enhance replayability. That said, I feel that the new Career Mode should have been included in base Mechwarrior 5, not in a paid DLC.

Career mode is the story campaign without the story missions. Do whatever you want with that information. Yes, you get different starts, but the meaningful differentiation with these starts is not enough. I would rather see more differences than just different mechs you start with. Starting your mercenary career during various periods should have you fighting in campaigns or mission sets within a conflict in the Succession Wars, depending on who you chose to ally with. In all my Mechwarrior 5 runs, I have always started a campaign.

The Cantina mechanic gives a new way to round out your mechs capabilities. I liked this inclusion; the Cantina can be improved with mods like most things in Mechwarrior 5. The Cantina is one thing that makes this DLC a must-have.

In terms of new mechs and variants, you get the Marauder II, which is one of my favourites, and I use it regularly. The Hero Mechs you get are also very good in some instances, so again, this is another reason to buy this DLC.

The new biome is nice; the artillery and airstrikes add more challenges to some missions and allow you to call in airstrikes of your own should you choose to. The artillery strikes, in particular, changed my playstyle to be slightly more LRM-heavy so I could target them at range.

Regarding new equipment, the short-burn lasers stand out as straight upgrades over the regular lasers. This is especially true with the right Cantina upgrades. You also have ECM and such, but I noticed little difference when using them against the campaign's AI mechs. However, the Active Probes help keep a lock when you lose line of sight. Buy this DLC if any of those interest you.

I only experienced a few minor HUD bugs with this DLC when I played it. I give it a solid 8/10 and mark it as a must-buy for anybody who does not own it. The lower rating is because Career Mode should have been included in the base game. This is similar to what PGI did with Mechwarrior 5: Clans and gatekeeping multiplayer behind DLC.

Space Marine 2 is a must-buy game that harkens back to the politics-free heyday of gaming. It is like taking a time machine back to the 2010s and going through all those beautifully made games during that era. It also shows how far AAA gaming has fallen. All publishers and development teams should take note and do better, focusing primarily on player experience over 'sending the message' and monetization. Saber Interactive should be very proud of what they have made.

If, like me, you are disappointed with the needless disrespect towards canon and established lore by Games Workshop lately, then you need not fear Space Marine 2. Space Marine 2 follows the story of Captain Titus in a way that respects what has been and does not cater to the tourists and nu-Warhammer fans destroying the hobby currently. Any true Warhammer fans can buy Space Marine 2 guilt-free.

The single-player campaign is long enough to provide a story that ties into the Era Indomitus and the previous story of the first Space Marine game. Playing it solo can be challenging, especially on higher difficulties, but I found it to be well worth playing and had very few issues with it even though I finished it on early patches.

Playing Operations solo is also likewise a very meaningful experience that you cannot replicate elsewhere. I am ecstatic that Saber Interactive is continuing to develop more missions for this mode. The mission where you kill the Bio-Titan is my new favourite. I have had a few drops when I played it, but otherwise, I have not had any major issues.

Multiplayer is fun, but I still think the Bulwark class is overpowered, and some balancing is necessary. It is not a mode I have played a ton, but I can report no major issues.

A huge bonus is that the usual suspects hate Space Marine 2 and its success:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4qeAeEMVCc

Another bonus is that the CEO of Saber Interactive is incredibly based:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXL1f00Yw6U

As is some of their dev team:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCbfQf7bPGg

I give Space Marine 2 a very solid 9/10, only citing some minor technical issues in Operations mode. Space Marine 2 is my game of the year this year on Steam, and I highly encourage anybody to buy it. Whether this is your first or tenth Warhammer game, this is a worthy buy and entry into the grimdark universe of 40k. Well done to Saber Interactive.

The Mechwarrior 5: Clans Trials of War DLC is Dezgra behaviour in DLC form.

For context, this review is post Hotfix #4. If further fixes come out post-review, there may be some alterations to the issues and bugs I mention in this DLC review.

My original game review is here:

https://steamproxy.com/id/l33tn3ss17/recommended/2000890/

Imagine a company that sells the 'collectors edition' for 130 CAD, then turns around just over a month post-launch and decides to gatekeep multiplayer by charging 20 CAD in addition to the base price for everything else. Well, with PGI, we do not have to imagine, as that is exactly what they did.

I have played the Trials of War DLC for a few hours on launch. The optimization issues are still there, and I still cannot play it on my Steam Deck at all, as it is sub-30 FPS, even at the menu. I tried a couple of runs in horde mode, and the map with all the terrain features still throws frames all over the place. My main computer has a 3070, so it should not be an issue. If you read my Mechwarrior 5: Clans review, you will see that these issues were also present at launch. It is disappointing that these issues have not been fixed over a month into the launch of Mechwarrior 5: Clans.

In terms of multiplayer, I am still having connectivity issues. It makes me wonder if these issues are related to the issues I had with my friends who returned the base game with co-op due to the random drops.

In terms of content, you only get variants of existing mechs, which for the price you pay for Trials of War is not acceptable in my opinion. Further, Horde mode has the same AI issues that single player has if you are trying to play it solo, and multiplayer has very few players currently due to the issue of PGI gatekeeping this basic game function behind a 20 CAD DLC. PGI is so lazy that they did not even add any new achievements for the new modes. In its current form, this is not worth purchasing.

Overall, I give this DLC a 2/10. I feel very strongly that this should have been included in the base game and that PGI likely had it ready or close to ready for launch. PGI could have just delayed the release of the game for a month and released the game in complete form, but PGI, being PGI, got greedy. I didn't think PGI could top not making the collector's edition content accessible outside the game or selling skins for a single-player game for 10 CAD, but it seems their greed knows no bounds. The only thing they have done worse historically in my opinion is switching to Epic exclusivity after all the Steam pre-orders for Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries.

A question to PGI: When will you stop being so anti-consumer?

The Trials of War DLC is a disappointment from top to bottom. As a long time Mechwarrior fan it is unacceptable on every level. Do not purchase this until they bundle it with the regular game for a decent price.

EDIT: As of Dec 5th 2024, PGI made this DLC free.

See the announcement here:

https://mw5clans.com/news/2024/12/135-hot-fix-5-and-trials-of-war-update

I am changing my score to 6/10 as there are still bugs with the AI and other issues I mentioned in my review with optimization and disconnects. As of Hotfix #5 which dropped today, Dec. 6th, these issues have still not been fixed. I still cannot get >= 30FPS on my Steam Deck on the lowest settings even at the menu and my main computer with a 3070 still struggles in maps with lots of terrain detail and foliage.

As of today, I did get my refund from Steam so I am changing my review to 'received for free' as well.

For context, I got this for free by buying the game within the first week.

I am leaving a negative review to send a message to PGI: selling skins that cost money when your base game is so expensive and only single player is unacceptable.

It should come with the base game, which means the skins are a huge money grab. Do not buy this and support this predatory behaviour.

I bought the Digital Collectors edition, as I always do, to support the development team. PGI has in the past pulled a stunt changing Mechwarrior 5 to Epic store exclusivity for the first year, which was a slap in the face to me and many others who pre-ordered on steam. Now, with the collector's content of this version of the game, PGI is doing it once again.

You cannot listen to the music or read any of the additional content outside the game. As explained in my review of the game, the game is very under-optimized and runs poorly. The mech variant is okay, I guess, but it is not something necessary for the game.

The part that bugs me most is the technical readouts, which seem to be the bare minimum and have no details on variants. This runs contrary to almost any other game that has come out in the Battletech/Mechwarrior Universe.

It is prohibitively expensive for what you get, and the fact you cannot access the soundtrack outside the game is criminal. Steam is a very robust platform that makes it easy for companies to put soundtracks as accessible outside the game, so this is a very deliberate and unfortunate choice.

I cannot recommend anybody buy this. It feels like yet another slap in the face to Mechwarrior fans. I hope someone takes the license away from PGI, as I have no hope for better at this point.

Mechwarrior 5 Clans is excellent in some ways but terrible in others. It is an improvement in some ways to Mechwarrior 5, but it falls short in many other places Mechwarrior 5 did well. For context, I have 100%ed the game before writing the review and completed the game before Hotfix #3. There may be changes to the bugs I mentioned in my review.

Mechwarrior 5 Clans has an exciting story that currently has two branches. It harkens back to some of the previous story-based Mechwarrior games I grew up with, which was a nice change of pace compared to what Mechwarrior 5 was. The cut scenes are well done, and attention is paid to the established lore and canon throughout. If you, like me, are worried about some of the needless changes within the Battletech/MechWarrior community as of late, rest assured none were found in the game. This is like a love letter written to fans of older titles, and it shows.

That being said, there are several key issues with the game. The first is the lack of optimization and how framerates are all over the place, especially in dense terrain. It is not playable on the Steam Deck either at >= 30 fps at the lowest settings, so if you want to play it on Deck, you cannot do so currently, even after the latest hotfixes. I often found myself on a mission, seeing my framerates vary wildly from mission to mission. This is similar to what Mechwarrior 5 was like when it launched, and I think the game needed more polishing before release. Two of my friends returned the game within the 2-hour window as even though their PCs were well above minimum spec, they could not run it at a reliable 30 fps. For myself, I can't get it to stay at 60 fps reliably mission to mission with my 3070. I have had no other issue playing any other AAA release game this year, so it is definitely a game issue. I hope this gets patched soon.

The game is very expensive as well. To 100% the game on expert difficulty and do both branches of the story took me only 23 hours. There is very little replay value currently. Although the dev team states that there will be DLC in the future, I can't grade the base game based on future promises. For my $100+ CAD, I expect more. Buy it on sale if you really want it.

My two previously mentioned friends had severe issues connecting and playing co-op. We had issues with crashes and disconnects even when I was hosting. I do not know if this has been rectified or not, but keep that in mind if you are buying it for co-op play.

Overall, I think as a long-term MechWarrior fan, it is a good game for the 20+ hours you get out of it. But with the issues with performance, co-op play and the high price of the game, I can only recommend people buy this game now if you are a hardcore fan. I give the game a 6/10 for technical issues, and I hope the development team can add more meaningful content and patch the optimization and co-op issues so that it can be played by more people.

It makes me sad that Mechwarrior 5 and Clans are so middling as games, and they need mods to truly shine. I cannot wait for mods for MechWarrior 5 Clans and hope the community can also help this game reach its true potential.

Void Shadows is one of the best DLCs Owlcat has ever made for one of their games. It is so good that I am willing to overlook they delayed it from the original release date when I preordered Rogue Trader. It is a master class of using time efficiently to polish a product and deliver something of exceptional quality.

This review is based on patch 1.2.1.17; there have been many bug fixes since then, so keep that in mind. For additional context, I did a Heretical and Iconoclast run in base Rogue Trader without DLC and a Dogmatic run with Void Shadows enabled. I have also 100%ed the game.

Writing-wise, this game is spectacular, and you can feel the love of lore in every syllable spoken and written in the game. It shows great respect for 40k as it has been, and as a long-term fan disappointed with many of the changes to lore recently that throws out established canon, I am pleased to tell all 40k fans that this DLC is well worth supporting.

As a 40k fan going back many years to 2nd Edition, and someone who enjoys learning the lore as a hobby, I have experienced many twists and turns in Void Shadows that have exceeded my expectations. Well done to Owlcat. The new companion is exceptionally well written, with a compelling backstory that is true to lore. On the battlefield, she can solo entire mobs by herself if kitted out right. She is a fantastic addition to the game in every way, and I found myself agonizing over who to cut during my companion quests to bring her when I had to bring some of the less useful companions.

In terms of gameplay, all of the new enemy types, characters, and choices you get to make work seamlessly within the Koronus Expanse and the existing game. I did a deathless run on unfair and found the battles to be challenging at times, even with min-maxing my builds. I really had to think carefully about what I was going to do, even more so than in the original game.

I only encountered a few bugs with a couple of the quests, and some of the items for cargo show on the map but cannot be picked up. I used the bug report feature liberally to help Owlcat iron them out. Unlike base Rogue Trader early on, I did not have to use the Toybox mod once to get a quest finished. I did all the Void Shadows DLC quests, companion quests and base quests successfully. I feel satisfied that this is worth the price Owlcat wants to charge for it. A lot of love and work clearly went into the making of this DLC.

My only complaint is that the final boss hitched frames all over the place; it did not do that the first couple of times I fought and defeated it. I did report this as a bug, and my PC is high-end and ran flawlessly otherwise throughout my 3rd run in Rogue Trader.

Overall, I strongly recommend that any true 40k fan get both this game and the Void Shadows DLC. I am eagerly awaiting the next DLC and hope Owlcat continues making DLC of this calibre. If they do, Rogue Trader's future is bright, and it will make it one of the few not-middling 40k games. A very worthwhile DLC I rate as a 9/10, only because of some framerate issues and small bugs.

I played this in high school. I have lots of fond memories of playing this game.

Without polling the player base, the devs have decided to incorporate forced pronouns and 'body type' A or B into the game. This means that a game that is over twenty years old now has gone woke for no benefit to the community. Naturally, the backlash has been swift, and rightly so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcRRlj8JkwU

When I see the Runescape mods on Twitter telling people, 'Too bad, so sad.' or 'If you do not like it, do not play it.' it angers me. I wonder if they understand that by forcing their twisted form of inclusivity, they are excluding people who just want to game in a politics-free environment and are taking away people's escapisms.

They are also actively closing threads and banning members on Steam and other forums to silence players concerned about this change.

https://deidetected.com/games/runescape-old-school

Some players are already reporting being banned or unable to renew their subscriptions.

https://steamproxy.com/app/1343370/discussions/0/6149188575100515916/#c6149188575101018797

A message to the devs: Stop catering to special interest groups and start catering to the majority of your player base. Nobody asked for this change, and the majority of the player base does not support it. Put up a poll like you have for other major in-game changes and see for yourself.

I will never buy another subscription, nor will I ever play this game again.

RIP Runescape.

This Mechwarrior 5 DLC leaves a lot to be desired. In my run through the (short) campaign, there were numerous bugs and balancing issues that meant it was a slog at times and not fun. While it is better after two patches, I think it still needs another one to deal with some of the outstanding issues I will go over. Stylistically, there are some very puzzling choices as well, considering there are existing systems that work relatively well already.

There was a set of campaign missions prior to the main campaign with Duncan Fisher, and I had to restart twice as one nav point would not get triggered, so I could get the next nav point on my map in one of those missions. The campaign there is very short, and I felt it could have been longer, especially since this is a full-price DLC.

Once you get into the primary campaign, there are underlying issues with balance. In several of the missions, all of the other players in the free-for-all matches literally jump over each other to target you. You are stuck in an arena with little room to maneuver, being shot at by multiple lances of mechs. You are forced to go in with a heavy/assault mech, as you will not survive otherwise. You also have to babysit Duncan Fisher, which means you lose anyway if he goes down. Not my idea of fun.

Later in the campaign, there are issues with the repair bays not showing up/working. This was fixed in my last playthrough, but I thought I would mention it. I have had issues with kill counts not counting properly as well. In another instance, one mech was stuck in a wall, and I could not shoot it in one of the last arena missions in the campaign. I had to restart. Also not fun.

One of my major complaints is the arena ranking system. Why the development team did not put a dedicated UI menu like they did for the mercenary system is beyond me. Further, you do not know what rewards you are getting at every level. Every ten levels you get a mech that seems to be randomized. If your luck is like mine, you will get one you have already. I wish the developers had put something more structured that made it feel like going through the arena was worth it. Right now, it does not feel like it was finished, like the mercenary system, and it is just grinding for the grinds sake.

I have had many issues with the arena battles not counting kills, so I have to keep restarting. As of the second patch, this seems to have been fixed.

The new mech is underwhelming and not something I will ever use.

Overall, this is priced as a full DLC but is among the shortest I have played in terms of Mechwarrior 5 DLCs. I really like Duncan Fisher's voice work, but he alone can not justify the price. If Mechwarrior 5 has any DLCs left, I would like more mechs, more fully fleshed-out mechanics, and longer, meaningful campaigns that aren't filled with bugs at launch.

Overall, I give this DLC 5/10. Buy it on sale. Even if all the bugs get fixed, it is still very short for the price you are expected to pay.

To start this review, I am level 107, and truly enjoy this game. This is my first live service online game, and I have played with people from all over the world.

With Sony's announcement that a PSN network is required, some of my friends can only play the game with a VPN. This includes friends I added from the Baltics and the Philippines, to name a few.

Per Sony's terms of Service here:

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/legal/psn-terms-of-service/

3.1. All information provided during Account creation, and during the use of your Account, must be accurate and complete. We reserve the right to suspend, terminate or restrict any Account (including as stated in Section 12.2 of this Agreement) that uses or was created using false information, or that we determine was created or used for a purpose that violates this Agreement.
3.2. During Account creation you must select the country or region of your residence and in which your account will be registered in. Once your account is created, you will not be able to change the country or region code associated with your account.
12.2. Suspension or Termination by SIE. With or without notice, we may restrict, suspend or terminate your PSN Account and PlayStation Device, or indefinitely restrict, suspend or discontinue your access to or, or use of, certain PSN Content, offerings, features, products and services, if you violate this Agreement or we have a reasonable belief such a violation has or will occur, or as otherwise may be reasonably necessary to protect our PSN users, our partners, our platform, or other SIE interests.

Sony can terminate your account and any games anytime it wants for using a VPN. The Playstation Network is not present in all countries worldwide and requiring it post-launch is a scummy move.

Here is one player from China being banned while on VPN.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjic6m/someone_has_already_gotten_banned_for_trying_to/

The developers have made some interesting comments about this nonsense:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjcyuo/the_real_reason_behind_this_recent_controversy/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjbguv/arrowhead_community_manager/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjb63e/community_managers_position_about_the_new/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjeygm/so_according_to_the_moderator_we_were_the_ones/

This is a very poor attitude to have. This is on top of the previous inappropriate comments a community manager made previously.

https://twitter.com/Grummz/status/1776398416819724799

They have also forced people to verify accounts with mobile numbers, which means they can limit people from making their concerns known.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjnh03/helldivers_discord_has_just_enabled_mobile/

Sony, for their part, has changed their wording about PC games requiring PSN.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjk9r4/playstation_just_updated_their_official_site_on/

Finally, in some countries, it is not just a throwaway email like certain discord moderators nonchalantly say.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1cjc5kw/just_use_a_throwaway_email/

Overall, it was a very disappointing move, and I hope Arrowhead pushes back against Sony. I theorize Sony has done this to improve their subscriber numbers for the next earnings call. There is no logical reason why a Steam ID is not enough to play a game.

Whether or not Steam will refund people after they have played more than two hours due to this change remains to be seen.