Recent reviews by nesnesitelnej

Last year I played Nioh 2 and commended it to be one of the best non-From souls games, albeit very long and repetitive.

Now I tried Nioh 1 and realized Nioh "2" is in fact Nioh 1.1. The "second installment" features character customization and slightly polished graphics but everything else is the same. Same game mechanics, same enemies, same loot, same levelling, same confusing story, same level design (heck, I think even some of the levels are exactly the same).

If you fervently love the franchise, sure, buy both games and you will enjoy them. But I've already had enough fun with Nioh "2" and this game is just the same.

As good as everybody says. Casual and challenging at the same time, full of brilliant ideas.

What you do is build a colony using a limited (but growing) pool of buildings, trying to leverage all the random resources on the map and survive the odds. Every "run" takes around 60 minutes, then you get a reward and repeat. If you're like me and love the initial phase of every builder game the most, you will love Against the Storm.

Unique late-medieval detective adventure, nearly solely focused on conversations and dialogue choices. I adore its aesthetics, historical realism and a well-thought plot (and I very much like the overall outcome). You have the freedom to do the sleuth work as you please and as you choose to roleplay your character and there is no such thing as “one good solution” to the problem. You visit the same place (a monastery and the surrounding village) three times during a 25-year period so you may well observe the impacts of your previous decisions, which is unparalleled.

Be aware that to fully appreciate Pentiment, you should know some basics about the classical and medieval history, philosophy and religion, otherwise you might feel overwhelmed.

On the minus side, there are so many characters and families that I sometimes found it difficult to remember who is who (especially as they grow and change during the events of the story). Also, some parts in the third chapter feel quite lengthy. But these are very minor complaints; Pentiment is great and on par with modern classics like Disco Elysium or The Forgotten City. (It’s an insta-buy if you like the niche genre of “monastery mysteries” like The Name of the Rose book/movie.)

What a pleasant surprise! I bought this reluctantly out of thirst for an arcade shooter to wind down after work when I don’t have the nerve to play serious stuff like Hunt Showdown, and I wanted an arcade shooter without infantile aesthetics for kids and idiots (so hard to find such games nowadays). I am quite a big fan of Call of Duty series but I am the first one to admit all of the franchise’s problems and I completely burned myself out on MW2019, so I’ve overlooked Black Ops: Cold War until its recent release here on Steam.

After 15 hours of multiplayer I can compliment this game for being still populated, having tons and tons of modes and maps (still discovering new ones!), great old school boots-on-the-ground combat without crazy sprints or wallruns, good balance and fantastic atmosphere of the cold war. It’s just swift, casual shooting and it’s fun. Guns do pew pew and I’m happy. I’m prone to say it’s even the best CoD in many years. (EDIT: Only minus side are all those console autoaimers with sniper rifles but that's expected in this kind of game, unfortunately.)

The single player is actually pretty great as well. Short, sure, but with enough variability and some enlivening like dialogue choices and interesting sleuth parts. Cold war setting with all the nukes, agents, MK Ultras and whatnot works great and I was even interested in the story and characters. Big thumbs up.

Nioh 2 is pretty much a souls game (difficulty, bonfires, souls to level up, stamina management, bosses etc.) with a looter twist. It’s the best non-From souls game I’ve played so far but not without flaws.

The game is set in Japanese history (Sengoku Jidai period) and is heavily influenced by mythology and fantasy (basically everyone is a demon or has a connection to the demon world). The story is less cryptic than in souls and is told via cutscenes. Instead of open world there are individual missions.

Combat is the main focus of the game with a little more variability than in souls games: there are stances and combos similar to fighting games and you receive tons of randomized loot; you can also use magic, ninja skills and demons skills – however the game is pretty accessible and I was quite successful with only R1 spamming, dodging, blocking and some basic support skills.

Now for some pluses and minuses:
+ The game is as difficult as you want it to be. It’s pretty fast and demanding, but you can easily summon other players and/or NPC phantoms (anyone can place up to 3 “summon signs” that stay in the level permanently and others can summon your character as NPC). Also summoning is quicker and more seamless than in souls.
+ As usual in Japanese games, there is a heavy focus on replayability (and grind, optionally). There are many side missions and special missions, you can of course help other players, you can even play NG+ alongside NG (no need to start over like in souls games).
+ I like the level design with all the shortcuts, ladders to kick down etc. Nioh 2 doesn’t offer the superb environmental storytelling of souls but the missions are neat and the game keeps you on your toes all the time.
+ Character creation and customization is great.

- The story is super confusing. I even started skipping cutscenes (perhaps for the first time ever in a game) because I lost track of all the events and characters and didn’t care anymore.
- Maybe too many stats, mechanics and menus. Just imagine combining souls unclear stat system with Diablo-esqe loot (so items have many stats too and just like in Diablo, you must have good gear to succeed), plus crafting and upgrading. Nioh 2 definitely wants to be your main game and requires your full attention, but even if you accept this, you can be overwhelmed.
- The game is very long and hardly has enough variety of locations and enemies to compensate.
- Some types of enemies may feel annoying or unfair (and some of the more dangerous attacks are badly telegraphed or have terrible hitboxes).

I enjoyed what I’ve seen so far (main storyline) and will definitely play some more, but I doubt I will ever replay this from the beginning or explore all mechanics offered. Also the atmosphere and overall feel here is “nice videogame”, not “awe and brilliance” like in souls series. Worth a buy on sale.

Many games brag about branching narratives but this may be the most branched videogame story I've ever experienced. It starts straight but it develops and all of my three playthroughs led to drastically different conclusions, with many other paths still locked. Despite being based on dialogue choices, perception and QTEs, it feels more gamey than many titles with wider gameplay possibilities. I also need to commend superb graphics, music and voice acting (including the awesome Sgt. Zim from Starship Troopers) plus the tension and general unpredictability of the outcomes, like in real life.

Just be aware the game can be very demanding on your PC and it's not so hard to fail horribly regardless of your good intentions.

It's Mordhau with Chivalry 1 class system. Otherwise, there is zero originality here: no graphical improvement over Mordhau (M. even takes more space on your hard drive), same setting (same blue and red knighties maiming each other with wonky melee), same weapons, same modes, similar maps, same feel. Even sounds and fonts seem very similar. Terrible disappointment, instant refund.

Brilliant little adventure game with live actors in which you play as the news editor and help shape the view of the public by switching 4 cameras, censoring (or not censoring) words and using some other tools. The story revolves around politics, general stupidity of TV "entertainment", questionable media practices and the onset on dystopia – but it doesn't take itself too seriously as there is a lot of room for satire and goofiness. Very original concept and the actors are actually great.

Nominated for Steam Awards 2022 in Most innovative gameplay category.

How this game got its praise is completely beyond me.

On the plus side, graphics are good, it runs well, the main character is well voiced and from what I can say of my 8-hour experience, the lore is quite appealing.

The list of negatives follows:
- I just can’t stand this type of game design. You got this humungous open world that looks nice but is filled with boredom and tedium. I don’t want to be bothered with collectibles, gathering resources for crafting or fighting the same machines over and over again. The map is littered with markers so there is actually zero exploration; and when you find a cave or a “dungeon”, it’s completely linear with exactly zero exploration, too.
- I expected fighting robodinosaurs to be cool, but it’s not. Somehow the bow doesn’t seem to do any meaningful damage so I ended up stabbing the enemies from stealth and when discovered, spamming heavy melee. Not fun.
- The game basically plays itself. Main character got to go to a Proving to show her worth. I would like to show my worth as a player, too, but all I had to do was to kill one machine and then hold W. The MC ran like hell and won the race. My feeling of accomplishment? There was none. Same goes for jumping on the tall robots that reveal the map (like towers in Assassins Creed). The MC does it herself, she doesn’t need you, the player. In fact, aside from travelling the world and poor combat, you don’t seem to DO anything in this game (and I don’t consider holding E to play an animation to be doing anything.)
- And don’t let me start about the sidequests. So far I was asked to find a lost prayer beads, lost spear, lost ring; and also to bring 5 meat and then 4 hides. How can anyone take this game seriously? “What did you do in your quest design job today, honey?” “Well, I came up with this hunter, who gets scared during a hunt, his ring loosens from his finger and falls off, and he then meets the main character in charge of saving the world and asks her to sweep through the grass and find the ring for him.” “Ah you are so brilliant honey, let me give a blowjob to the employee of the month.” I was also asked to clear two areas full of enemies alone so that an army hiding behind a wall would open the gate for me. ♥♥♥♥ off, game.
- This game is well plotted and its world holds a secret, I was told. Well let it keep it. Maybe they should have created Horizon: The Movie instead of this pile of mediocrity. Gameplay-wise, this is the most casual and uninspired game I’ve played in years.

Lovely little narrative game with excellent writing and great design. Easily recommended for anyone who likes philosophy and religons of the Antiquity, mysterious atmosphere and meaningful choices. The less you know about it beforehand, the more you can explore for yourself – as there are plenty of surprises and plot twists to discover.