Recent reviews by Zelroy

Most of the hate this remaster gets is undeserved. Yes, it's early and yes, the changes aren't that huge but come on. Most of the target audience already owned the original so the upgrade price is insignificant. For anyone who has played both of the first two Horizon games the reasons for this remaster should be obvious. I get why some players, especially ones with mediocre displays, say they like the original's visuals better. In my opinion though, the upgraded cutscenes alone are reason enough for the early remaster. Zero Dawn deserves to look right up there with Horizon Forbidden West.

Star Trek written for adults is back!

Yes, the graphics and the rest of the game engine is clunky, but in this genre it's the story and the script that count. It doesn't surprise me one bit that it's the former Telltale crew that put the Star Trek back into Star Trek. Neither from the latest brainless Hollywood action movies nor from the tv shows that want to shove certain political and social views down our throats. The writing is truly in the thought-provoking style of The Next Generation era that aims to show, not tell. I applaud the team's efforts and will eagerly wait for more!

Horribly buggy, the AI basically ignores all limiting parts of the text in Events. Shame on you, Playdek - you're not getting my money again.

The System Shock remake is finally here and for someone who fell in love with original, it's well worth the wait. GOTY material for sure.

The project was restarted several times from scratch. At some point, it was even supposed to be a reboot instead of a remake, a modern reimagining of the original. That didn't work because of feature creep. The engine was swapped at some point. The final published version is a faithful remake (albeit with modern controls) and I believe it was the right choice. At least for old school gamers like me, younger ones seem to be less impressed.

For anyone who loves the original System Shock (or the enhanced version), this remake is the best way to play System Shock. Everything good is there and the Ultima Underworld mouse controls are replaced with the WSAD everyone knows and expects. Once momentum builds after a couple of hours of progress, you just can't stop playing - just like back in the 90's. System Shock is a wonderful trip back in the memory lane combined with the staying power of pure, modern fun.

Disco Elysium puts "Role-Playing" back into RPG video games.

There are some problems like crashes and excessive handholding, but the feeling of accomplishment and the level of satisfaction at a successfull completion win the day.

Horizon Zero Dawn is easy to recommend for two rather simple reasons.

1. The unique setting, story, environments, characters and quests have more roleplaying vibes in them than most games out there marketed as roleplaying games.

2. The action, combat and exploration are always fun and rarely feel forced or like repetitive grinding. (In fact, the only grinding occurs at the very earliest parts and story quests, before your character learns at least some of the most useful skills suited to your preferred playstyle.) Go stealth or kick in the door, so to speak - or better yet, why not both?

There's always something to do. No time for a lengthy story quest? Find some collectables. Big unknown area on your map? Find a Tallneck to climb and override it to reveal all kinds of interesting places to go.

If you're into escapism at all, Horizon Zero Dawn has so much to offer. Highly recommended.

Footnote:

I have nothing to add to the discussion of the problematic PC port, because I have experienced a glitch only three times at the time of this writing (55 hours played). A number of patches have come out and the devs are obviously taking their work and their responsibilities seriously.

The third and final episode of Tell Me Why changed a "No" score into "Yes" for me. In the end, it's another moving DontNod story that I will recommend, but it requires patience to see it through.

As a player and a customer, I purchased Tell Me Why simply because I liked or loved the other games made by the developer. Unlike for many others, themes like transgender characters or native peoples did not affect my decision one way or another. That's why I naturally compared the game to its predecessors, but in the end I found myself thinking maybe it deserves to be considered just on its own (flaws and) merits.

I think I would have been easily annoyed if the aforementioned themes would have been used in a heavy handed or dismissive fashion. But they were done just right. Things or opinions or views or agendas are neither rubbed in your face nor placed there just for show. Characters simply feel like real people and alive and it's up to you to find out what makes them tick and where they are coming from. Most of the time, the writers have taken the age old guideline "Show, don't tell" to heart.

In all honesty, Tell Me Why is more like "a narrative experience" than a game. Actual gameplay is mediocre at best or simply MIA. What few puzzles there are feel more boring than fun. More unforgivable is the fact that most choices in this "choices matter" narrative are almost meaningless. They do affect the general feel somewhat, but the story will still be railroaded where it's written to go.

The first two episodes felt emotionally lukewarm to me, until finally during the latter half of the third and last episode, things came together. When it was all over, I was happy I stayed until the end. I can't point to any plot twist or character development or such as a reason; it was more like all the conflicting emotions experienced before finally had a reason and a source. The epilogue deserves a special mention. Rarely have I felt as warm or satisfied or complete afterwards. Ingenious writing right there. Show, don't tell.

Every DontNod fan probably will have their favorite and less than favorite games. I recommend Tell Me Why to anyone who feels like even the latter ones are well worth their time. Play slowly and just think about the characters and the details you will find. Be curious. Even if it feels like you're not really going places, emotionally or otherwise. I think your patience will rewarded at the end.

The description "Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York is a narrative experience..." applies perfectly here. It's not really a video game or a visual novel or a role-playing game, but contains some elements of each. But yes, it's definitely a narrative experience, and most importantly, it's Vampire.

It would be easy to concentrate on the shortcomings. The lack of gameplay, the low importance of player choice, or the missing RPG character development. However, the narrative experience trumps all that, because the writing works, because the story stays together and because it feels like Vampire.

In the 5th edition Vampire: The Masquerade RPG product, the everyday (or night, rather) hunger and feeding mechanisms for vampires were changed and became an ever so important part of play. Coteries captures this wonderfully; when events made my character hungry and denied him opportunities to feed, I felt his anguish and constantly kept thinking about finding sustenance while stories and events moved on. To me, this speaks volumes of excellence and subtlety in writing.

It's easy to recommend Coteries for hardcore Vampire fans and tabletop roleplaying gamers, but other players who like the more traditional story driven games or action-oriented roleplaying games might not be satisified with just and only the story. Coteries is a niche product for sure, but I know I was happy to return the wonderful world and mindset of Vampire.

Repetition taken all the way to insanity. It gets old real fast. Shame, the girls are hot. The built-in cheat system paired with the summer sale discount are just enough for me not to refund the game.