Recent reviews by nCatalyst

Back in 2005, I played Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. It was such a a great game. You got to call in weapon drops, vehicle drops and airstrikes in order to complete missions. The one thing I wished for the game was it to have multiplayer.

Helldivers 2 is scratching a 20 year old itch in just the right spot.

Review from a souls veteran. 500+ hrs DS1, 130hrs DS2, 1760hrs DS3, 580hrs Elden Ring

So janky I apologized to Dark Souls 2. Its definitely a souls-like and worth a try if you're already familiar with the genre. If you arent familiar then this game isnt for you IMO. I feel its so rough around the edges that newcomers might get turned off a little.

This game took me 31 hours to beat without any guides or walk throughs. Build was STR/INF melee only with dual swords. No projectiles, didnt rely on summoning or coop.

As a melee only build, I didnt struggle at any point in my very first blind playthrough. I died to some bosses but I didnt feel like I was ever stuck. Had a good time over all but I think going through the game again would be such a chore. The umbral puzzles will take forever to complete with little challenge and most bosses were lackluster.

The umbral feature is cool for a while but it gets old really quick as most of the puzzles are solved the same way. For example, using the soul flay to destroy umbral entities blocking paths is the vast majority of progression based puzzles. Other than that, its just using soul flay to move platforms. There is a distinct lack of variety with how you use the umbral lamp which is a bummer.

Its clear the budget for this game was on graphics. They are good but dont make the game good. The same enemies are reused over and over. All levels lack variety. Nothing is sacred and lore doesnt seem to factor into enemy placement which is very disappointing. Other games like DS1-3 and ER reuse enemies too, but this truly felt like enemies were just copied and pasted to fill out the game. As a result many areas and even boss fights are just not that memorable.

Frictional games puts out another amazing title. I've played them all but this one easily has the best fear mechanic. Very immersive and thrilling all the way through. 10/10 buy the entire franchise collection today.

As a big fan of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, this game delivers big time. Lots of references to older titles game that I haven't played in years but got me saying "OH YEAH I REMEMBER THAT!!!". Rebirth references other Amneisa titles without riding on any waves; meaning, its a true standalone title but it also does a great job of bringing the entire franchise lore together. This is the game I was literally dying for after I beat Dark Descent.

The best mechanic is when you "die" or succumb to fear. Instead of taking you back to some checkpoint and forcing you to redo parts of the game, it actually makes it seem like you try to resist fear or avoid danger by panic running away to a safe space. It then drops you somewhere safe, shows how you resist fear and then lets you keep playing. Even when you die, you never really stop playing the game. There are also some sequences where you pretty much just run away from enemies and through a bunch of corridors until you get to the next area - a chase scene. Losing doesnt mean you redo all of it. Basically you never get stuck. I've also played Outlast I and II among other horror titles, and getting stuck in a horror game sucks and it takes you out of the moment.

TL;DR: buy the entire franchise asap its all so good.

Played a few rounds of Siege and Team Deathmatch and so far its pretty fun.

Mechanics:
Smooth, crisp controls. Shooting and aiming feels very precise. Jumping, rolling, crouching and sprinting are also very smooth.

Gameplay:
TDM is not just a meat grinder. The map (the only one released thus far) is well designed in that there are both long, medium and close range combat opportunities.
Siege offers objective based gameplay. The arena changes as objectives are completed and more objectives are unlocked.

The only complaint I can think of is when you die, your screen abruptly takes you back to the class selection where you can change your loadout and respawn. To me, it just feels a little choppy. With how smooth everything else is, this could stand to be smoothed out too. It would be cool to linger on the corpse for a while and display the name of the player that killed you and with which weapon. It shows that information, but its kind of dropped right on top of the class selection screen and its hard to see.

Graphics:
Overall the game looks pretty good. The lighting in certain places, particle effects and combat mechanics all blend into a single immersive experience. UI is intuitive.
Grenade explosion look really weak and generic, they could be enhanced to have more of a visual effect rather than a single 'poof'

Overall score (early access):

7.1/10 - Worth trying out at the very least. I plan on sticking around as they add more content. I think what they have is good and can only improve.

Performance and graphics:

Graphics are fine, gameplay is smooth. No performance issues to speak of.
8/10, the UI is clearly a work in progress.

Mechanics:

The first game I joined was supposed to be a 4v4, but was actually a 3v5. I optimistically left the session thinking I could just queue up for another match but upon returning to the lobby my only option was to rejoin the same 3v5, the game wouldnt let me search for another match.

Controller support is pretty terrible and has a long way to go. You can adjust the stick sensitivity but you cant adjust how fast it moves when you aim down sights, so its impossible to hit a target at any range using a controller as it is currently.

3/10 hardly playable

Overall impression:

4v4 is a complete and total snooze fest. Easily the most boring shooter I've ever played. If there were teams of 10 people or more then this game could have a lot more action.

The PvE aspect in this game was very refreshing as you need to kill enemies to gain essence to level up and complete objectives. Though, in the short amount of time i played, this became mundane, grindy and very repetitive.

Overall score: 4/10 Wouldn't recommend

3rd Person Shooter Review

As a 3PS, the controls are tight and very crisp. Aiming and firing with any weapon comes very naturally for me, even though I'm used to first person shooters. Mechanics are very polished and one of the most noteworthy aspects of the game, as may shooters don't have the same level of smooth gameplay. Vehicle controls are also very tight and precise. The lock on mechanics work without issues in spacecrafts.

Space to Air to Ground

A must-have from any follower of this game, and its done flawlessly. Flying from space into the planets atmosphere and down to the ground is surprisingly smooth - very little lag, hiccups or frame loss. It wont be as smooth on every computer (true for literally every game invented ever), but even on a moderate rig with high graphics settings its running fine with no issues.

Dynamic Game modes

One game mode that catches my interest is Space Tower Siege (or something like that). It works in a series of objectives. One team starts in space and assaults a large space station while the other team defends the station's shield generators. Once they are destroyed, the other team can board the station and capture respawn points. They also must hack into consoles to unlock an "egg" which they then must steal - running out of the station back to their base. In other words, it starts as king of the hill then transitions into a capture point, then transitions to a one-sided capture the flag. While there are simpler game modes like TDM, many game modes featured are unique and highly dynamic.

OK but is it a good game?

YES! and its only a Demo! Very excited for the Kickstarter to take off and I hope it does well!

I really wanted to like this game. I am a fan of the more difficult genre of games, so I thought it would be right up my alley, having put ~1400 hours into Dark Souls 3. While the difficulty level was perfect for me, there were several things that made me drop this game 3 separate times, just because I got bored.

===The Drop System===

I love getting drops in games. Loot from beatng tough enemies and bosses was always so satisfying. In Nioh, it is the most tedious and repetitive process you could possibly imagine. You can't preview items before picking them up, so in order to see exactly what you got, you have to go into your inventory and look for it. Playing through levels gives you easily 50-100 different items. Most of the time is spent scrolling through all of them to find the one you're looking for and deciding if it's worth equipping, rinse and repeat when you pick up a new item that might be better than what you have equipped. You have 5 armor pieces, 2 melee weapons, 2 ranged weapons and 2 charms; 11 equips total, unless I forgot something. Go through the same scrolling and checking process every time you get something that's potentially better than what you have and you end up spending more time in the menus than actually playing the game.

===The Craft System===

Just as tedious as the drop system, as you need to break down rare items into materials use to upgrade and forge new items. It's not overly complicated, but I actually found the game more enjoyable just ignoring this feature because it was just complicated enough and it was hardly worth the time. The weapons I forged were good, but the next big enemy or boss I beat I'm rewarded with a better weapon, making the crafting system a waste of time.

===Enemies===

Play a couple of the missions. Notice the enemies you're fighting. You will never see anything different. The same handful of enemies are all you'll see throughout the game. Different combinations, sure, but once you learn how to deal with some of them the game starts to get really easy and boring.

===Stat System===

I tried 3 very different builds and all of them played exactly the same way, regardless of the weapons, spells, skills and spirit used. There didn't seem to be a huge advantage in using any one weapon over another in PvE at least, nor did any build stand out as better, stronger or more adventageous then the others.

===Bosses===

Bosses were super tedious to fight. If you make one mistake you usually end up dying. Even with a big HP build, you won't survive 2 or 3 hits from most bosses. The first hit is usually a stun lock and the follow up attacks kill you because you're stun locked. Most bosses won't get stunned from your attacks unless their guard is broken, meaning that no matter how strong your weapon is, you will die if you try to trade hits. If you do break their guard, you can stun lock them for only a few hits before they counter and recharge their defenses, making it hardly worth it to take risks and try breaking their guard.

In addition, most bosses kept doing the same strategy and attacks the entire fight, making them super predictable throughout once you've learned their moves. Other games I've played usually mix it up a little at certain points in the fight.

===Summary===


Pros
+ Great level design
+ fully featured crafting, upgrading, etc
+ good story
+ Immersive
+ diverse levels

Cons
- repetitive gameplay
- inventory management is tedious
- crafting is tedious
- forging weapons is a waste of time when you tend to get better drops as you progress
- zero character customization, story is on rails
- copy/ pasted enemies throughout the game
- boss fights are more tedious than fun
- lots of one-off 'gotcha' kill mechanics instead of challenging enemies or levels

UPDATED pros and cons after beating the game

=== Overall impression after beating the game (~15 hours) ===

Level design: 8/10 (shortcuts, interweaving paths)
Mobility: 7/10
Combos and combat: 7.5/10
Tie-ins to the previous game/franchise: 9/10
Story: 7.5/10
Weapon customization: 7/10

I would reccommend buying this game, especially if youre into Darksiders.
If youre not into Darksiders, it might be hard to follow whats going on, but the gameplay is still solid and the story will suck you into wanting to play the first 2 games to get in on the story.

=== A Darksiders game, to be sure ===

After playhing 1352 hours of Dark Souls 3 and several hundred combined hours of Dark souls 1 and 2, I can say with certainty that Darskiders 3 is basically NOTHING like any souls game. Most reviews focus on why its exactly like Dark Souls (sigh), so heres one that points out some items that show how its actually way more similar to other Darksiders games.

Humerous dialog / Character Banter
Distinct Combos for each weapon
Wrath meter
Chaos form
quicker and further dodge with less frames
Puzzles
exploration elements
rewards for beating optional enemies
Hidden / rare items and power ups
Clear objective and purpose
Mini bosses and real bosses
Weapon customization
Stats are nothing new (STR, Arcane, HP)
Identical Enemy tropes from previous games (attacks, patterns, weaknesses, strengths)
Main character development
Distinct endings
Darskiders universe
(more to come, I only have 3 hours complete)

=== Difficulty ===

It isnt any more difficult than the previous games. I have been playing the "Normal" mode, 1 mode less than the 2nd hardest. You just have less health and less recovery options. Enemies still have slow, relatively weak attacks just like the previous games. Enemies also have a distinct "glow" when they are about to perform a charged attack, making it pretty easy to see it coming, dodge and counter. Not to mention audible queues that accompany just about every attack.

Less recovery items adds greater danger around each corner. That doesnt mean youll die instantly all the time, but that you cant get through the game spamming the same combo + hp recovery and expecting to 1 hit kill everything. I think its refreshing to see this sort of thing in newer games because older games like God of War (the less recent ones), Darksiders 1 & 2, Dantes Inferno, etc. became super easy about 50% through because you can focus upgrading one weapon or ability and put no effort into beating enemies down if you spam it. This game, clearly, requires more patience and precision to get through but rewards you for it.

=== Forming an opinion ===

How many reviews have less than 1 hour of gamplay? Those people clearly went into the game thinking it was exactly like Dark Souls and nothing at all like Darksiders, played enough to validate their thoughts just to complain about it and get a refund. Sounds like a cheeky jab, but the point is if youre interested in getting this game, read real reviews and ignore anyone claiming its like dark souls. Some mechanics may be similar, but most reviews I've read have been a truly shallow assessment of this game.

=== Summary so far === (Updated after beating the game)

Pros:
+ good exploration, finding rare items in the far corners of areas is rewarding
+ optional mini bosses - can skip if you get bored but get good rewards for beating them
+ satisfying combos
+ satisfying dodge + counter mechanic
+ simple currency / leveling system
+ simple upgrade system
+ skippable cutscenes
+ excellent steam controller support
+ general mobility is effortless
+ seeing the benefit to upgrading weapons, even while progressing into the late game
+ replay value - you get to make some decisions to do or not do things. It will be interesting to replay this game to see what dialogs, cutscenes, etc the other options prompt. Also, now that I have some skill playing, it will go much faster in the beginning. There are also a ton of areas i forgot to or just didnt explore.

+ m̶a̶p̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶e̶a̶r̶,̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶t̶r̶a̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶r̶t̶c̶u̶t̶s̶
-- Maps are NOT linear at all, as there are many winding paths that loop around and provide ample shortcuts. Backtracking is still there and each logical "area" may be linear in nature, but overall the game provides a massive interconnected world that expands as you obtain new equipment. This is similar to Metroid Prime more than anything, and it works really well. Just about every new armorment adds some mobility feature that allows you to further explore the environment, access new areas and unlock shortcuts. This is more prevelant as you progress, as more areas become available for you to see how they interconnect. In the first few hours of gameplay, its definitely not visible because you only have unlocked a few areas past Haven.

Cons:

+ Doesnt appear to have side quests
-- Has 1 "side quest" to rescue humans as you find them to get rewards, but no side quests like the previous games. This isnt necessarily a bad thing since it would be extremely mundane in this sort of game.

+ Fewer weapon choices/customizations than Darksiders 2
--Still not quite as many weapon choices, but it covers all the bases as the previous games. There is a weapon customization system. You get weapons that each have a socket. There are many different types of runes to put into that socket. The rune has an Angelic and Demonic upgrade path, allowing you to choose what status you want to specialize in

Indifferent:
+ combat mobility is lesser than Darksiders 2 (can only dash/dodge 1 time instead of 3 in a row)
+ (auto)save frequency
+ must interact with NPC to level up and upgrade

If you came for an outstanding story and amazing characters, go play a different game.

If you came to play a casual, short and entertaining shooter, look no further.

Cons:
Very short game, less than 2 hours to beat on normal difficulty
Not a ton of replay value except to listen to the dialog, maybe beat it on other difficulties?

Pros:
No long drawn out cutscenes - you are always playing and right in the action
Dying is not a huge deal in that your last checkpoint is reloaded in about 1 second, putting you right back into the action.
Which means no 10 minute long loading screens. Everything is instant
Both stealth and "guns blazing" gameplay supported.
Pretty hilarious 1 liners, mostly bashing communists. The main character's tough guy "idgaf" attitude is priceless and is complimented by the good voice acting.
Good FPS mechanics. Solid animations. Aiming, shooting, interacting, etc. felt very easy
Good weapon design. Some weapons are good, bad, etc. You can, but you wont want to use the same weapon the entire level because they give you decent variety. Grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, shotguns, SMGs, different assault rifles, a sniper, etc.

Note: I got this game on sale for $1.24 USD

Its a fun overall, but there are a quite a few things that are so annoying it makes me want to quit. I used to have a lot of fun playing this game for 2-4 hours straight, but now I can't go more than 30 minutes without getting pissed off at the most ridiculous "mechanics" I've seen in a while. Also, please excuse my spelling. I was too lazy to do spell check. I'm sure youll figure out what I meant in the case of a typo.

1.) matchmaking

There is no intelligent matchmaking. I'm ranked Expert now and I still get matched up with Rookies as well as Rocketeers. It doesn't sound like that big of deal reading a review like this, but so many games are just so terribley mismatched its not even fun. I have been in games that are complete blow outs: 10 - 0 or worse. I mean, its not that it should never happen, but it happens way more often than not. Rarely do I find a game where teams are somewhat evenly matched. This goes for both Ranked and Unranked and it doesn't make any sense.

2.) Lobby joining process

This game has got to have the worst process for connecting to other players. I usually check the 3v3 box in unranked, there are usually 10,000 - 15,000 players in that playlist at a time. What happens is the following:

You join a game. The score is 5-0. Theres no point in playing because theres 2 minutes left, so you leave to find another game.
Start > Leave Game > Yes
Search for another game. Back in the same game. Why? I just told the game I wanted to join a different one, why would it put me in the same match again? Its lazy design that leads to a poor user experience. 15,000 other players online and I'm only allowed to join one game? Doesn't make any sense as an end user.

3.) The AI

The AI in Rocket League is the most pitiful excuse for AI I've ever seen. Absolutely terrible. They get stuck on corners, they can't go up walls to hit balls, they get in the way and they are not agressive at all. With that being said, there is almost always AI in the game because the matchmaking is so slow. I've joined a match from the start with players missing and it takes anywhere between 1 and 3 minutes to find one more player. There are 10-15k other players online right now and you can't find 1 of them to to join this game? Absolutely ridiculous. Playing with AI is such a huge disadvantage and everyone knows it. I am choosing to play online and I expect to play with other players, not AI. If we can't find enough players, I'd be perfrectly fine with waiting just a bit longer rather than starting up a game that most players tend to bail on anyway.

4.) Team Stacking

If there is any real matchmaking done in this game, its completely ignored if you are in a party. I've been pitted against a party of Legends and Masters vs my team of random Rookies and Semi-Pros. Nothing wrong with playing with friends, but the lack of matchmaking makes it so difficult to enjoy, especially if you are just starting out.

5.) Ranked

Ranked matches are based on some matchmaking, yes, but it is the laziest and most basic matchmaking I have ever seen. Rank is determined by wins and wins alone. You could average 3 goals per game, but a loss is a loss and you move down a tier because the team you were with lost. So what exactly is wrong with this? it sounds reasonable, right? At the end of your game, you see all these stats: goals scored, saves, arials, car bumps, long shots, etc. These are not tracked AT ALL. Completely arbitrary information displayed for bragging rights at the end of a game. With all this info available, why doesn't the game track this and use that to determine a rank? It seems so obvious that you would do that but its not the case. More lazy design than anything. You know the development process intentionally didn't account for these stats, right? They aren't going to add this any time soon because nobody really cares. For the players that want a more sophisticated matchmaking and stat mamangement system, go find another game, end of story.

As a result of poor Rank definition, its very easy to dig yourself a hole in Ranked matchmaking. You lose two or three games straight and you end up going down a rank, where you play with less skilled players who also have lost too many games. Getting back up a rank is nearly impossible because you can't win as much. This game desperately needs a sophisticated Rank system. Hell, CoD BlackOps did a better job of ranking players and tracking stats. This is definitely the biggest and most prevelant flaw in this games' overall design.


The plus side to this is that the game looks, works and feels great. Its very easy to play and easy to get addicted to. Long term, its days are numbered. If you don't have this game and want to get it, do yourself a favor and wait til it goes on sale. Overall, I wouldn't reccommend it when you consider so many other games have all the basic mechanics that this game doesn't. Its not worht the 20$ price tag.