Recent reviews by lepidolitemica

DO NOT LOOK UP GUIDES.

I just have to preface my review with that. This is an absolutely amazing example of a game that knows how to obfuscate itself, and every step of progression is taught by way of the manual's paced uncovering and two very important questions: "Can I do that?" and "Is that important?" Every single part of the game I learned from outside was either already in the manual pages I'd collected, or not required for progression to that point. Everything is taught to you, but in a wonderfully obfuscated format that rewards you for taking the time to analyze it. The Zelda elements are a beautiful meeting point of the original LoZ's completely obscured progression and LttP's combat/progression sandboxing (the same sandboxing that makes LttP so good for randomizers), and the combat is only obscenely difficult until you pass the knowledge threshold.

But, again, that knowledge threshold is MAJOR. Almost everything in the game can be accessed or completed from the start; the top speedruns are under 20 minutes and skip over half the world, because there's just that much access. However, the content is gated primarily (almost exclusively) by your knowledge thereof, and the structure of the game intends you to figure it out as you go and keep an eye open for any little detail that could possibly be important. If you give in and look up info online, you risk what is effectively sequence breaking by exposing information you were supposed to be rewarded for figuring out yourself. The single detail I could possibly say is worth spoiling early is the character customization, because it's not required for any part of the content and could easily be missed if you're not running into every conceivable corner looking for it.

No, I'm not saying where it is; go run into corners for it.

Having played everything that I can access in solo play, I lightly recommend this. It's rough around the edges, and the content's not nearly as fleshed out as other offerings, but it's light fun and provides a decent challenge if you're willing to work your way around its eccentricities. (Don't try Dirty Plumbing if you value your sanity.)

i portaled behind you three times and still lost because i can't shoot

You stuck googly eyes on a pillar and I instantaneously developed emotional investment.

And then you killed him.

An excellent, if short, time management game. Not much replayability, but then again most movies are about the same way anyway.

It's kinda funny to think about, the parts that are most apparently broken are my favorite parts of this game. Nothing really strikes me as particularly scary here. The game tries to emphasize stealth, but lacks the underlying systems to make stealth functional; it's near impossible to tell when enemies are aware of your presence, and everything is so slow in responding that you can get the upper hand regardless of whether you're spotted, especially once you've picked up a Destruction Charm and half the monsters become one-hit-kill. That being said, the movement system is akin to Quake or UT in ways that I very much enjoy, and having the option to crouch-slide through a gunshot hole in a wall is fantastic. The only enemies I ever feel credibly threatened by are shoggoths and statues, and both are more irritating than dangerous; shoggoths can't jump and take a good two seconds to telegraph their attacks, during which they freeze in place and I can escape easily, and statues only attack what they can see, so a Materialized barricade cuts off their offensive ability entirely. As far as improvements go, a proper layered map on the pause screen would be nice, and an interaction key for ladders so I don't auto-attach to them on ledges when pursued would not be remiss.

TL;DR little threat, awesome movement, 10/10 would guard the Endless Library forever

Oh yeah, and the Lockpick Kit states that doors you open will remain locked for other "explorers"; does this mean we're getting a multiplayer soon? That could really only make this game better.

Not 2D Minecraft; don't let the early game fool you. The block-based system on the surface bears a decent resemblance, but once you start going deeper and getting further into the game the Metroidvania starts to creep in from the sidelines. Definitely recommended, but don't go expecting Minecraft because the Eye will mess you up if you don't expect him.

Creation Club is a Special Edition component. While I don't approve of Bethesda's actions, the original Skyrim remains free of their BS and I would definitely recommend it.

Alright, it's time to change tunes, if only because it's taken me this long to see I'm still recommending this. GTA is a game with heart, but a heart clogged by the ever-increasing pull of Online. The singleplayer remains a hallmark of storytelling, and were this game only that I would still recommend it. However, GTA has become in full form Online, and it is in Online that it has died. Due to P2P networking, the game is easily rescripted by any aspiring modder, making it a hotbed of money drops, player cages, and random explosions, all brought by people with menus looking for a power trip. These skids are not wholly to blame for their downward spiral, however, as the moneymaking system in GTA has continued to slide further into uselessness due to shoddy payouts and enemy player incentives; it becomes almost necessary these days to acquire a mod menu simply to skip the pointless grind and stop other menu users. To top off this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, R* has enacted a zero-appeal ban policy based entirely on computerized selection, resulting in ineffective banwaves that largely miss actual cheaters but strip cash and even character data from legitimate users. I enjoy this game immensely, in the slim moments where I'm socializing with decent people and having fun driving, flying, or any of the activities left over from when GTA was made to be fun; nowadays these moments are dying, and the game is suffering for it.