Recent reviews by Meaty Jackson

A clever take on a bloated genre. The game has an absurd amount of potential to become something truly unique and worth the replay. With this said, it still has a good ways to go before it feels like it's there. There are only a handful of maps available, and the interactions themselves are rather small and limited in design. I wish there were more of a survival incentive for checking for clues and that the maps were more dynamic. However, the dev is addressing this with this newest patrol update and there is a framework in place for more chaotic approaches. There is a reward system in place as well, but it's nothing to write home about just yet. It has it's own jank, complementary to the genre, but as a whole I enjoyed the experience. The thing that's most promising about Doll Imposter is its consistent stream of updates. This game has already released multiple sizable upgrades within a short period of time, which gives me hope this won't be another unfinished cash grab. Worth playing for an hour or so with friends. For a few dollars, it's worth the time and investment for it's eventual growth.

Only Kojima could make me enjoy being a dystopian UPS man. This game is for masochists through and through. It's for fiendish loot-goblins. And while I wanted to punch multiple holes in the wall due to it's often incredibly clunky mobility - in a game all about walking from one place to another - I somehow loved it and kept on. I think the core idea here is worthy of the hype that originally surrounded this title. While other games have included single player with multiplayer overlaps to their main stories (Dark Souls being the most obvious with it's invasions and messages), Death Stranding is the first to really, and I mean really, lean into this idea of working together with strangers. It's methodically done, and really nails the idea of being together despite being physically alone. That's really the whole point honestly, but it's much more bizarre and unfortunately strung out as if the players are 1st graders. It's either that, or Kojima guessed that most people would play this game intermittently and forget why all of the many various absurd world events are taking place. Ultimately, Death Stranding is not going to be for everyone, despite being made for everyone. It's a chill until it's not sandbox of building back an apocalyptic warzone where the voids are filled with monsters and terrorists. You may trip over a rock next to a ledge with no prompt as to why. Simultaneously, you can surf down a mountain without even the slightest chance of falling off. Why and where some things work is the true mystery of the game. I loved it, even the parts that made me hate it. That in itself is worthy of praise.

The game now crashes every 3 minutes, and this is a well documented issue for many different players. As it stands, I cannot finish act 3 because of this alone. Path of Exile 2 has a LOT of problems, but this needs immediate addressing.

POE2 - as an early access title that's been in development for 5 years and has over ten years of previous meta-data from POE1 - has the backbone of a good game with a sizable chunk of questionable work remaining to make it worth it's desired time and attention. This is true of most early access titles, but there are decisions in place here which feel confusing and misdirecting from the original developer message: more methodical game-play. POE2 requires a lot of grind and attention, all the way through. I generally enjoy the loop that exists here, but this freedom of expression needs quite a bit more refinement across the board. Most maps are either too big or have too few reasons to fully clear. You can die during certain interactions (lever animation) which can lead to questionable deaths. There are difficult to see on-death mechanics which can also be punishing and may cause a few people to break a computer screen depending on when they occur (not even mentioning one-shots). Additionally, while some tool tips are incredibly forthcoming, other stat modifiers and improvements are impossible to discern. It feels like it requires an entire community to communicate and band together to test out different interactions for skills, items, and builds.

Ultimately, the developers have been actively de-buffing and redesigning builds left and right therefore making this early experimentation and exploration costly. This is a problem in some ways because the current machinations limit the ability to test out new ideas. I have multiple friends that have now stopped playing altogether because of the tedious crafting (gambling), unfinished late-game, and the often exorbitant cost to respec and rebuild after their classes were reworked. These progressions and updates to the game are necessary, but the penalties currently in place are just not going to be for most "casual" players and I think it severely limits the creativity and potential as a result. There's a miscommunication of misguided weight and friction resulting in tedium and inaccessibility instead of this methodical intent.

I have enjoyed POE for it's ability to - potentially - allow hundreds of functional ways to play through the game. It's the dungeon crawler version of Divinity Original Sin with it's options. Unfortunately, these current roadblocks - especially the inability to change ascensions after choosing one - seem incredibly dense given that the game is literally unfinished. Not only that, but some builds are just downright un-usable outside of being an added challenge. Armor and unique items need serious reworks or adjustments to feel worthwhile. I feel that the RNG required for some classes is going to burn out most people. Personally, I'd argue that the cost to respec your character should be free (or negligible), with a daily cooldown to prevent build hopping across varying content. This should also include the option to try out different ascensions; at least until some of the bugs and descriptions are fixed (looking at you Sanguimancy). I say this because the game has so much possibility oozing from its many empty holes. The voids you have to slowly crawl through to find anything useful in an otherwise empty map. I hope this game grows wonderfully, but I have some reservations given its current state. It's beautiful and genuinely fun to grow and become this monster of a hero. That is, if you can push through the crashes, power spikes, and its luck of the draw. POE2 is worth playing through the campaign, but it seems like everything after a certain point is just not worth the effort currently. Unless these things change soon, or you're an ARPG fan (if you are you wouldn't be reading this lol), I'd wait for the game to go free to play when it's officially released. The game needs a lot more work before I'd say it's worth your money or time.

Inside reminds me of those older games where they were far more esoteric in design and abstract with their storytelling. It's a mish-mash of games like Limbo, Oddworld, and Heart of Darkness in all of those survive, run, puzzle-flip, and hide ways but with a much more artistic overlay. There is no language. It is a game of visuals through and through and it does so with grace and attention to detail. The achievements are left to those truly looking for solution, which is a fitting wonderment and testament to the story itself. Ultimately, Inside left me wondering which of its symbols or themes were the most pertinent, as I could see it spiraling out a handful of ways. The themes vary from abstract to extreme across multiple landscapes and concepts; with gameplay as well as story advancing in doing so. Inside - may - be a story on rebirth and death inside of a prison planet, conformity, or simply seeing the world through innocent eyes and the lengths we go to to snuff out such curiosity. There are obviously more literal or physical interpretations which also give this game weight. Something about parasites and a world divided by conflict now forced to rehabilitate the sick through nefarious means. Abusing the flock of sheep for ones own internal gain. Ultimately, it's all of these mysterious concepts blended wonderfully, and with an incredible fluidity, which makes this short game a dark fantastic experience and one worth remembering.

God of War Ragnarok, or God of War Repentance, is a behemoth of a game with many masterclass moments in story telling, acting, and design. The scale of everything is absolutely enormous and equal parts incredible and intense. The game is still named after the OG progenitor donning the same title. However, it's really not Krato's story anymore. In may ways, it's a far more mature game by shelving its infamous ultra-violence for penitence, redemption, and wisdom in the face of greed backed by the persistence of time. This is where a majority of the game's gripes (not the Sony specific negative reviews) find holding. If you go in expecting the same game from over a decade ago, you will be greatly mistaken and possibly disappointed. That old God of War is still here with many new friends and tricks up his gauntlets, but he's more interested and motivated to squelch that fury and flame; with good reason this time around the sun.

Compared to God of War (2018), this game is much more on the rails and cinematic with its approaches. It does have Disney-esq moments, but they're far and few in-between and are justified within the story's guidelines. It is heavily contrasting, but that's the point. I must add, It took me close to 10 hours to unlock my first heavy attack, and there are far less dynamic options for special attacks placated by runic attacks. You really don't have a chance to get off the ride until about 30 hours in, wherein you may still not have a majority of the tools necessary to fully explore everything, and even then there is more to do after everything is said and done. Parts of this exploration can be tedious due to the pacing and placing of warp-gates as well as non-obvious blocks to progress. While the game is fundamentally a Metroidvania, the progress is really unlocked through the main story only.

There is a lot to talk about with this game, and even more that's left unsaid. I struggle to understand most of the gripes with the game itself, as it's just so damn incredible an experience for almost all of the roughly 60 hours of game time it offers. It's not perfect, but it's very obvious that the team heard all of the complaints and doubled down on making the experience much more interesting and dynamic across the board. This is obvious with the boss rush at the beginning of this game when compared to the common complaint of God of War (2018)'s lack of boss diversity. God of War Ragnarok is a true AAA title worthy of its many achievements and awards. Outside of a somewhat confusing finale - without saying too much - this game is a spectacle in direction, improvement, and character design. It wields classical Norse mythology into a new limelight, whilst conversing on the impact of destiny and fate through characters known to have altered and destroyed both, and it's fantastic.

Another horror game with good ideas initially, although it slowly devolves into a questionable low-stakes labyrinth with a total lack of content to justify its price tag or experience. I really want to recommend this title, as I enjoyed the "first" play-through. That was until the odd "killer wall in a corridor" moment was thrown at us and the ethos of the game immediately shifted. The baby's first parkour experience mixed with very generic (and borderline kindergarten level math puzzles) makes me seriously question who the target audience is for this and/or if it was just a cash grab from a simple concept. With this said, the game has some fun moments. There's just not enough of it and it never compounds into anything at all that is either coherent or reflective of the supposed choices made throughout the survival. The puzzles never really evolve and the few high pressure moments become laughable once you understand what needs to be done to escape. Tack on some weird religious cult and their half baked karma system where your options are kill an innocent lady or save her with no repercussions - at all - and it tops off this odd mess. There are unique locations and ideas I'd love to see expanded on. Unfortunately, this all leads to a laughable ending if you can even call it one.

The journey needed to be much more reflective: Oh you saved the dog? He just poisoned the water in the next area, making it much harder for you to navigate the flooded bathrooms. Oh you saved the woman? Now she's going to be chasing you down with a knife. I mean these ideas are so generic and baseline that it kills me that I have to even suggest such obvious caveats to this bare bones moral system which should have made this experience a must replay. It's essentially Saw for teenagers, but with no gray zone whatsoever. I might recommend if you have a friend to play this with and you don't mind the price tag. Still needs work.

I was hoping this game would be something more than a simple medieval Lethal Company clone, but in its current state it's just too bare bones to say otherwise. The main objective - and ultimately the main game play loop - just leaves me wanting so much more. Combined with a ton of bugs, it's hard to recommend this game. However, I'm willing to hold out in the hopes that this game grows and adds content which makes overall progression more interesting and unique. This would be ways to upgrade the cart, more things to do as you travel, more traveling paths to choose from a la any other rogue-like, ways to fight the monsters similar to Choo Choo Charles, and just general quality of life adjustments which should be staples to this genre. Given how easy it is to die, sometimes to things completely out of your control (which can be great and hilarious), the current revival system leaves far too much down time for people who are dead. The save function is very welcomed, and I think the ambiance is fantastic. It just needs more things beyond "survive and loot" especially on the way to each new location. Only consider getting it now if you have friends who enjoy these kinds of survival horror games to play with, otherwise steer clear until there are further updates.

A very promising detective walking sim ultimately held back by a lackluster environment, progressively serialized puzzle cycles, and a constant back and forth exploring which collectively stagnates the "who done it" soap opera story. The overall game is fun with friends, as the unraveling of the story through various odd means coalesces into a wild death spiraling murder mystery. That is, up until a very bizarre and borderline out of place ending. Really, Painscreek Killings is a game which if developed further with additional detail and specificity to the environment could have been a masterpiece in the puzzle genre. Instead, there are many reused assets. Going off of environmental cues isn't always obvious as a result. There are only a handful of droning ambient tunes which can turn into annoyance after a while. The town is also abandoned, so there aren't any "live" moments for the majority of the game in which you can interact with other NPCs. It really is one giant escape room, though with a ton of where does this go and why. Not all doors are obviously marked as un-lockable. Not all locks need to be opened. And for some reason, everyone in this town has 100 diaries spread throughout the city. It's okay if you can look past these numerous faults and just immerse yourself in its quaint little Twin Peaks inspired world. It really needed more of a detective UI though. A way to visually connect murder items, times of death, location of death, modus operandi, alibi's, and so on. You can take photos, but it's purely for note taking. Instead, the game feeds you all this information until it's inevitably spelled outright in a way which was disappointing. Finally, the game really isn't as scary as it could or should have been. There were so many times where a jump scare felt almost necessary, and instead there was nothing. It's more or less subtle ambiance which feels uneasy towards the beginning but quickly fails to develop into something more substantive. It's a shame, as the game ultimately includes some of this semblance towards its conclusion, although it's far too late.

I look forward to their future work. The idea here was wonderful and just needed better pacing, more unique puzzles, and a more engaging world and gameplay loop which wasn't so abstract with it's obstructions.

Really tries to explain the age-old question, "Why the long face?" Unfortunately, it's done with far too much tell rather than show. This would include some overly childish and just borderline cringey dialogue despite having a story which revolves around mental disorders and serialized death/murder. Still, it's a generally enjoyable and fun puzzle horror game deep fried in nostalgia. It doesn't do anything new or significantly interesting which I haven't seen in other works. The "resolution" if you can call it that leaves me wanting more, but I wouldn't say it's satisfying either. Far too much of the story is unanswered, and a good bit of the dialogue is just the main character asking - with various success - what is going on and why. Ultimately, this is another "death loop" horror game. Much like all of the other games in this genre, this game can easily boil down to heavily orchestrated "do this, go here at this time, repeat this, continue on ad nauseam" until you finally get it right. It's no where near as tedious or as difficult as something like House or Outer Wilds. It's also not as clever with it's odd solutions. The stalking horror ultimately doesn't lend itself well to this part of the revelation. Instead of the monster being this scary thing which catches you off guard, it's a nuisance to be avoided, ultimately turning this puzzle game into a janky Dead By Daylight-lite looping simulator. While the game does expect death resets, it's also not very unique with it's handling of "perfect" playthroughs; I was hoping for some hidden dialogue or a secret ending. It's a perfectly average and generally enjoyable puzzle game with the occasional horror elements tacked on. It has taken quite a bit from other games, although the remixes and odd combinations - most notably the Grubcore puzzles - were a pleasant change. Worth the play through on sale.

One of the best modern FPS single player games in recent history. The only thing lacking is the content and level design's budget. This game gets so much right in terms of gameplay and momentum. There are unique enemies to most levels, there are a handful of niche and fun weapons to mow them down with, and enough twists and turns to make this SCP addled F.E.A.R homage something refreshing to the genre. The biggest issue, if one at all for the price point, is the lack of detail to the environments and interactions to make this thing really shine. There are many reused assets. There are few to no secrets or Easter eggs which would fit wonderfully in this horrific world. Many of the high profile targets or unique enemies are easily disposed of. At times, it feels like it was designed to be a sandbox playground with its supernatural story added later. This is fine given how well they do the very fluid gun-play. Regardless, it just leaves me wanting more. More of the weird creatures. More to do around the base. More unlocks. Skills or crazy Psi abilities to add to the arsenal. Unique ways to complete missions, and in multiple different ways. More side missions that don't dissolve into horde one-offs. As an example of this deficiency, the stealth in this game is really under-utilized in my opinion and it's a shame. There are stealth options, but they quickly go out the window once spotted. I'd love to see it expanded upon, among the existing material. Co-op missions would also be very welcomed, but in all honesty this is one of the few FPS games that can stand on its own with its solo gameplay. Here's hoping they continue to add interesting material.