Recent reviews by The Squirrel King

A unique spin on a metroidvania by giving it the mechanic of the Trials games and also a gun. The handling of the bike and the shooting feels very solid, and it's very satisfying to pull off some of the maneuvers that you're able to when facing down large groups of enemies, blocking shots by angling your bike correctly, parrying shots to send enemies' bullets right back at them, while also firing off a few rounds yourself.

All of this while given a beautiful art style and accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack that adds to the melancholic feeling of the rather grim world that you inhabit, fighting against a genocidal regime to protect your people and your daughter. Riding through the wastes and hopping over gaps while shooting birds to the soothing yet sorrowful acoustic guitar and vocals is quite nice.

The story is quite good, but it is brought down by some issues, most notably the third act and the ending feeling rushed,.No spoilers but the final boss is quite a letdown and very anti-climactic, on top of being easily the least challenging boss in the game. However, the journey to get there is good, albeit a little bit melodramatic at times. And with some dialogue feeling a bit unnatural (though again, this is most notable during the final act).

Overall, I'd say it's a game worth your time. I got about 20 hours trying to get every weapon/bag unlock and 100% it and I feel like most of it was well spent. The demo is pretty robust, letting you fight the first 2 bosses, so you can get a pretty good idea of whether or not you'll enjoy the gameplay loop or if the story grabs you. So give it a try if you're at all concerned before buying.

What I thought of this game before playing it: "Stupid gay cat bumbles around town for a week."

What I thought after finishing it the first time: "Our time is fleeting, no moments are guaranteed. Every single second we have with our loved ones to make memories is a precious thing that we should never take for granted no matter how small and insignificant it feels in the moment."

What I thought after finishing it the fifth time: "Stupid bisexual cat bumbles around town for a week and plays guitar hero."

I'm not a car guy at all. But something about this game was just so fun when it comes to the maintaining of your car, swapping out and repairing the parts while adding paint and decorations to give it your own little touches. On top of that, the driving feels fantastic, responsive with plenty of sense of weight. Something just feels so right about driving around in the rain while listening to the lovely soundtrack. While the music you listen to on the radio is licensed, the original soundtrack that plays at other points just feels so atmospheric and great.

And the story is very, very good. The lore is plenty fun to read, but the voice acting of the main cast and the chemistry they have with one another feels so natural, with plenty of moments of comic relief and some proper drama that doesn't feel forced at all. While I wanted to explore more of the zone and get more equipment for me and my car, I always wanted to progress the story and see what was going to happen to the trio of characters I quickly became attached to.

And for only $30? Fantastic deal. I would easily recommend this.

Titanfall died for this.

A great survival game with super unique mechanics that fully lean into its vampire aesthetic like blood harvesting, disguising yourself as a mortal, transforming into a wolf or bat, creating thralls out of mortals, and all of it feels amazing.

The combat is insanely fun with different builds as you mix and match powers and weapons to create a playstyle that fits you. Whether you're weilding a greatsword and leeching blood from your foes or filling them with crossbow bolts while you raise an army of skeletons, it's a grand ol' time. And in between the fighting you're raising your own dark castle fitting of a Vampire Lord of your stature.

Top it off with the fact that it's not at all pricey and the devs are still adding in new content leading up to the planned release next year (And they plan to add more content further onward) and you've got a game that's more than worth the price tag.

Absolutely amazing game. One of the most finely crafted RPGs ever made. If you at all are a fan of D&D or any sort of TTRPG, chances are you'll have a great time. Superb writing for all of the companions with finely crafted stories and appropriate reactions to different events that happen in game. The game looks phenomenal, as well. Graphics are amazing and every conversation you have with a character, important or one-off, is given an up-close dialogue scene. The classes all feel unique, fleshed out, and fun to play. With your choice of class, race, and background even factoring in to dialogue decisions you can make. Larian has learned from their previous two games, Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2, which were both great on their own. But this game is an absolute masterpiece and I would not hesitate to call it one of the best games ever made.

That said, it isn't perfect, though not due to a lack of care on Larian's part. I won't bother talking about minor bugs since Larian has been proactive with patching them and they're mostly few and far between (at least in my experience). My biggest complaint comes from Act 3 and the ending. While neither are BAD, Act 3 feels a little disjointed and short compared to the first two acts, and the ending feels a bit underwhelming. There apparently are files that have been found within the game that point to cut areas and cutscenes during Act 3. It's heavily speculated that with the amount of variables in the game with character relationships that they couldn't get those areas working correctly in time for launch. And since the files are there in the game, I think it's safe to say that they will be added at a later date, as Larian has made free "Definitive Edition" upgrades to their previous games that add in new content.

That said, the ending isn't nearly enough to fully detract from the rest of the game. Just remember to take your time in the first two Acts. Enjoy it, take it slow. Hell, even what is in Act 3 is very good and has a lot to explore and see. If the first Acts are a 10/10, Act 3 is a 7-8/10, and the ending is maybe a 6.5-7/10. All-in-all, it's still more than worth your time and money to play this game.

Also you can ♥♥♥♥ all of your companions so that's pretty cool if you ask me.

Despite being in early access, there's enough content in this game to make it feel like a full release, and there's plenty more on the way with the Mistlands update on the horizon as of writing this.

While not realistic in its graphics, it's stylized in such a gorgeous way that's a joy to look at whether you're trekking through the woods, hiking through mountains, or sailing across the seas, the game always looks great.

If you like survival games and/or Norse aesthetics, you'll love this game. The combat isn't the most in depth thing I've seen, but it's still fun. It's always fun getting new crafting recipes, whether they be weapons and armor, new tools to harvest with, or new pieces to build with, it's always nice finding new recipes. While the building system does take a bit of getting used to considering you need to take into account structural integrity, it really encourages creative thinking when it comes to your builds and you can still make some absolutely stellar creations.

So this is sort of a recommendation with an asterisk. I absolutely recommend folks pick up this game, but with the knowledge that, as of right now, it's not in the greatest state in terms of actually getting into it.

I'll keep it (somewhat) brief.

To get the important stuff out of the way; The game has awful queue times. As of right now the single server fills up extremely quickly, leaving thousands of people waiting in queue for people to leave. And unfortunately, the AFK timer is not implemented so there is nothing stopping people from sitting in the game all night and taking up spots. However, the devs have been working hard on it. It is in a better state than it was at launch, and are working on more fixes, but just be mindful of that. The good thing is they have not started any subscription timers yet.

Now, how is the game when you DO get into it?

Very fun. The game is beautiful both in terms of world design and graphical power. It's a pleasure to look at and to ride around in, which you'll need to appreciate because it is HUGE. It takes no less than an hour and a half to get from one side of the continent to the other, during which you can be attacked by anybody; Monsters, bandits, or other player.

As yes, the game is a full-loot Sandbox PVP MMORPG. It is not for everybody, but it can be very fun. Combat with other players is very intense as you know that, if you die, you could lose everything you're carrying. You have to put time and investment into the things you do. However, if you die it's not the end of the world. As long as you have a bit of money stored away in the bank (which is easily done) you can get yourself some basic armor and weapons and go back out there.

Since the game is a single server (though they will be temporarily opening up multiple servers soon to alleviate the queues) everybody's decisions matter. Your name may carry weight as a hero, or a bandit, or a great weaponsmith or horse tamer. This goes for guilds, as well. Guilds will become known by the actions of their members. Rivalries can form, people are wary of one another, or willing to fight together.

The game is great, it just has some kinks that need ironing out. Maybe don't buy it right NOW, but give it another week or so, things will likely be better.

Well the devs are controversial but this damn community is really what's making me leave this. You could somewhat argue the devs wanted to avoid anything related to sexuality to avoid controversial arguments (even though I don't think that's the case). But the community? Christ, half the new reviews are people being openly transphobic. Christ's sake, guys. I thought y'all left that vile ♥♥♥♥ back in 2014,

tl;dr: game fun, game pretty, slight problems, store bad, battle pass mixed

Infinite's multiplayer combines the best parts of the Bungie and 343 Halo games. The movement of Halo 4 and parts of 5, with the equipment system of Halo 3, and a nice mingling of the gunplay of both of them. And it's not a bad looker, either. While I never actually despised the art style of 4 and 5, I thought it was far too great a departure from the original and Infinite's style sees somewhat of a return to it. It's not a complete return to Bungie's style, but an evolution of it with 343's own spin, which I do like.

The core experience is just as stellar as many of the other Halo games. Fighting over power weapons is fun and tense as people run for them at the start of matches. And the new equipment they've given us to play with adds so much to the thrill of it. Not much compares to grapple-hooking an enemy Spartan and flying towards him so you can slice them with an energy sword. Or popping their shields before splattering them against a wall with the repulsor. Or blocking the incoming grenade of an enemy with a drop wall. Or jumping back from an enemy with a gravity hammer using the thrusters. Or the... threat sensor. Alright that's a bit lackluster but the rest are very fun to use, even though the grapple hook obviously steals the show.

But not everything is perfect. The lack of player collision in regular game modes feels odd, to say the least, and something I wish would return. Similarly, the removal of friendly fire from casual games, while understandable, does feel a little bit odd. It means that players don't have to think as much when they're engaging with enemies since there's no worry about hitting teammates. Some might enjoy this, others may hate it. Me? I'm on the fence.

And it's no secret that the progression system is in need of work, though as of now they have announced they are working on adjusting that, which is very good for the future of the game. Similarly, while I'm not a fan of battle passes, 343's approach to them in that they never expire and can be bought and worked towards at any point is a very good design choice. It eliminates much of the FOMO aspects that other games have.

But the cost of certain armor pieces and colors in the store is rather ridiculous, to say the least. Not only that, but the new armor coating system is rather annoying. It wants to be similar to Destiny's shader system, but it has all of the baggage of that system with little of the perks, at least right now. I would much rather the coating system be used for different patterns and camos on armor and allow the colors to be customized freely. I would also rather there not be so many pieces of armor locked in the store.

The armor core system, while not a bad idea on paper, is also somewhat frustrating. Because if I like a chest piece from, say, the Mark VII core, but the helmet of a Mark V core, I can't wear them together. Additionally, the coating system suffers here, as well, since coatings only apply to certain armor cores. While these issues do not hurt the moment-to-moment gameplay experience, they do hurt the overall experience.

Despite these flaws, I would definitely recommend this game if you're at all interested in FPS games. I'd advise against buying into any of the cash shop items until the issues of pricing and customization are addressed.