Recent reviews by Rolfe

It's rough around the edges and requires a lot of polish to catch up on ground covered by comparable titles in the genre, pair that with the baggage of a toxic community, power hungry admins and cliques that'll down vote your player reputation if you tell them not to use their favorite racial slurs over the VOIP when you're playing with friends. Might surprise me later. Pick up on sale or something.

Revision: I put another 7 hours in. I've tried to look past some of the aforementioned problems. Ghosting is epidemic. Negative attitudes are ubiquitous and this game is very rarely (if ever) relaxing and good fun without friends. There needs to be more of a system implemented to stop dog piling in votes and vote kicks. I don't see this game going anywhere but into the appreciations of an eclectic few.

Consider me surprised. This souls-lite Viking Island survival sim has had me and a group of five other friends totally enthralled. Showing a great deal of promise in Early Access. I can emphatically endorse a pickup of this game if you like Viking theme things, and have a few friends to burn some play sessions away with. Everything from the sailing, to the building, to the combat has been a good time for me and my friends.

"Capitalism Drives innovation" Better patent what marginal innovation one makes then eh WB? Greedy corpo doesn't deserve good ratings. A game that's already borrowing heavily from it's predecessors, previously existing systems and ideas has decided; "We can borrow your ideas, but you can't borrow ours." To those not already in the know, WB Games has been fighting since 2015 to get a patent on their Nemesis system. Not entirely dissimilar from Surrey Nanosystems and Anish Kapoor trying to copy-right a colour (Vantablack). Already revisionist in it's story-telling. Derisive in it's presentation. Seems that WB sees fit to get greedy with the nuanced game play principle they think elevates this drivel. Turn back die-hard lore fans. Nothing to see here but exceptional corporate greedy rivalling Smaug, and cruelty and malice levelled at developers rivalling Sauron's hate.

It's Nova. Real Preem. Absolutely Shimra.

Story wise it's fantastic, writing love letters to Film-Noir at large, Cyberpunk media like Blade Runner, Johnny Mnemonic, Akira, Judge Dredd, Ghost in the Shell, all my favorites made the cut in some way and I'm tremendously endeared. Didn't see credits roll until the 80 hour mark and that was just one ending. It's captivating, Immersive. Taking my time with my side quests going onward.

Gameplay wise it's good action. I went with a non-lethal first play through using fists, baseball bats and less-than-lethal firearms. A bit rough around the edges at launch but people forget how to manage their expectations. I've only encountered one or two glitches and while one soft-locked a quest for me I'm pretty certain CD Projekt Red is working hard on getting the fixes out they need. As a hobbyist group we tend to forget that there is a team of very real people working on a passion project they've been keen on for the better part of a few years. With this in mind I have all the confidence I can muster for Cyberpunk 2077's continued support. Most importantly for me the game seemed to be initiating a dialogue, a philosophical inquiry into whether the soul can be coded and commodified.

I get along with my Inner Johnny Silverhand just fine you'know Choom. Maybe it's time you did the same. Don't get Gonked.

It's Dennaton's second hit release and a worthy successor to Hotline Miami 1. Dripping with heavy cynicism and meta-cognitive reflections of what it is to enjoy Ultra-violent games like this, Hotline Miami 2 delivers a parcel of hyper vicious joy. Fans of the first game will find this familiar and those new to Hotline Miami will find reflexes challenged. You'll find yourself pressing R to restart quite often but the sense of elation that comes from lining things up just right is par excellence. The soundtrack once again hits hard and feel so very appropriate. Devolver Digital and Dennaton did something right here. I still listen to the game's music.

Valve is currently writing the rule book here for how to keep a game running strong. Free content drops. Paid cosmetic customization. Stellar game play loop. High Skill ceiling. Low skill fun threshold. Vibrant and healthy community. The Bot waves have been a bit of an issue but that's more a facet of the game being Free to play. I've spent the majority of my time enjoying this game with friends and family and I don't see myself ever uninstalling. It's got high pick up and play value for certain. Not all games aspiring for a "10 year shelf life" can say the same.

This game right here? Buy it. Treat yourself to Dennaton and Devolver Digital's top down Mess'Em'Up. Everything from game play to soundtrack hit's all the right notes for me. With consideration to this being a pet project from a two person team I'm thoroughly impressed. Buckle up and get ready for a bit of ultra-violence, oh and "Press R to Restart"

Greater than Fallout 3 but lesser than Fallout: New Vegas. Dialogue hits different than it's predecessors and Vanilla Nate (Male PC's voice) is somewhere between milquetoast and clownish. Bethesda was ostensibly taking notes from Minecraft and I wish it showed a bit more. The world halts to a standstill unless the player character is there to develop the narrative and that pulls me right out. Suspension of disbelief and roleplay are much harder this time around and if you're a player like me that's a deal breaker. If you had to twist my arm to speak to it's benefit I'd say something about how Survival Difficulty was a step in the right direction but it's still two steps behind Fallout: New Vegas.

Bit of a treat here. Taking Parkour related notes from Mirror's Edge and writing a fan letter to zombie media the world over, Dying Light is quite a pleasant game. My first clear of the main game and it's DLC was on PS4 but I can't help but feel like it's more enjoyable on PC. My experiences are not universal, it's mostly been solo play. Not for a lack of people to play with mind you. If you had to twist my arm to find fault I'd say that it's PVP is a bit dodgy and not executed to my standards.

Also George Romero has a mural honoring his life and his contribution to Zombie fiction. There's something wholesome in that. Pick up for yourself and a few friends and you'll be running for your life come night-fall. Keeping an eye out for it's sequel for sure.

Oh I really enjoy this. Scary stuff! As befitting a name carrying the weight of a fear of ghosts, the game wastes little time in making you feel nervous the moment you set foot in a haunted house. Sound design is tip top. I hear that this game is pretty neat in VR. So far playing mostly solo with some episodic triple and duo stack sessions, I can say that you'll have a good time. In as much as if you like getting scared you'll have a good time.