Recent reviews by excelatrate

Dark modes for software have historically been released as free updates for pre-existing users of the software. Personally I don't mind paying for an optional feature--especially when it's something non vital to the software's functionality however charging 10$ is outrageous, the program itself is only 4$ which means the developer is selling a skin as DLC for the program at 250% the cost of the software itself!

The entire point of the software is to fullscreen videogames anyways, it's barely on screen long enough to appreciate having dark mode...

But I honestly wouldn't normally care enough to leave a review, I just wouldn't buy the DLC and move on with my life, that is, until I saw the devs response to criticism. They have acted extremely immature and victimized for people's reasonable criticism of how they are choosing to monetize their software. We are customers paying for your product, we don't owe YOU anything, it's your job to make us want to buy your product and the way you have responded to the criticism is very telling.

If you need this program I would recommend looking into alternatives and choose not to support the dev's ego.

UPDATE: Dev posted an announcement about "Dolus" then didnt explain what it is or what it does and the program's homepage doesn't explain itself well either. I stated this on the announcement, my comment was deleted and the thread was locked. Many other posts were deleted, some of them (like mine) being constructive and not combative.

"Dolus is a Latin word that means "deceit" or "fraud". It is used in Roman, civil, and Scots law to describe actions that are contrary to good conscience, or the use of trickery to deceive someone. It can also refer to evil or criminal intent, or intentional aggression against someone's property or personality."

Dev has a nasty ego and I refuse to support them moving forward.

This isn't to disparage the hard work of the devs on Bannerlord but it's important to note that the direction of Bannerlord has been awful , not only did they release it in Early Access they have spent YEARS developing it and still it's not up to the same level of mechanics as Warband, a game that's over a decade old.

No feasts, events, claimants, usurpers, manhunters, naval combat, right to rule system, books, trainers, duels, deserters or camping to name a few, all features offered in previous Mount & Blade titles. The economy and diplomacy systems are a cruel joke.

Bannerlord is more restrictive to mod compared to Warband and because Bannerlord developers insist on releasing extremely minor patches (that break mods) CONSTANTLY throughout it's development cycle many modders gave up on the game, further contributing to the state of negativity the community has for the game.

Taleworlds, you have a chance! You can pull a No Man's Sky and win back your community but it's going to require serious effort from your end to pay back the ball fumbling you've been doing for years on this game's development. Until I see a YouTube video titled "Bannerlord just got a HUGE amazing content update!" or "Bannerlord is actually good now in 20XX" I won't be revisiting the game or purchasing any future Taleworlds products.

EDIT: It's the second half of 2024 and this game still stinks. They release micro patches (that still break mods) and in my opinion (reality) its so the game stays on top of the algorithm on STEAM, PS Store, XBOX, EPIC etc. so they can keep making money on sales.

EDIT 2: Its 2025 and this game is releasing a paid expansion with naval combat, something people actually have wanted for years! Unfortunately the coming features that will be presumably free don't address any of the above missing ones and are very small in scale and scope.

There really is no excuse for a game like this to stagnate with a dev team infinitely larger than Warband's.

Go play Warband instead with mods. Or without, vanilla Warband is actually more feature complete than this game.

Observer puts you in the place of a police investigator in a not-so-distant future where the poor are put into decrepit housing districts and often seclude themselves in Virtual Reality as a means of escape from their bleak existence.

Your primary gameplay is investigating and solving various crimes, there is no shooting or fast placed action gameplay here. Observer is a deliberate, slow-paced detective story with a Cyberpunk bend to branch the narrative into something unique.

I don't find myself often playing games with minimal "gameplay" however Observer, with it's unique environment, unique characters and fantastic storytelling was compelling enough to have me hooked until I finished the game. You feel compelled to solve every mystery you come across.

With the System Redux version you get three additional cases to solve, adding some very enjoyable content on top of the original game which was already quite enjoyable by itself. New cases, new neural interrogations and some new secrets justify the new release IMO, other reviewers often fail to mention the new content added and only seem to highlight bugs.

If I had to give negatives to the game it would be that some of the "horror" aspects, mostly in the dream sequences could be a little stereotypical and played out. I'm happy to say the game is more creepy atmosphere than jumpscare central however I felt like when there WERE jumpscares or the screen "shook" around uncontrollably it did not add to the experience but detracted from it. Observer is a master of a horrific environment and thankfully the experience is mostly that.

The game has bugs, some will crash your game and some will halt progress however the save system is generous and you can usually rollback 0-10 minutes of progress and continue going. During my playthrough I had no gamebreaking bugs just a few crashes that took minimal time to recoup my progress.

At the end of the day I would absolutely recommend this title to anyone interested in a Cyberpunk detective-style game, it's a wonderful final performance from Rutger Hauer that I believe only serves to add to his legacy.

I love Crusader Kings!

They're such fun, exciting, open-ended games that let you define your own story.

If we look at the new subscription model we can compare it to other popular models in the industry.

For 5$ you get 30-day access to all the game's DLC. So, access to the DLC of a single game.

EA Play is 1$ your first month then 5$ after or 30$ a year. You receive access to dozens of games, many of those including some if not all DLC, early access for some games, exclusive rewards and a discount on digital purchases while your subscription is active. The games available rotate.

https://www.ea.com/ea-play/games-steam

XBOX Gamepass starts at 1$ then 10-15$ a month after and provides access to ~100 games and offers exclusive discounts/deals. The games available rotate.

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-game-pass/games#PCgames

Ubisoft+ is 15$ a month and gives you access to ~100 games, many including full DLC/expansions as well as day-one access to many new releases. The games available rotate.

https://store.ubi.com/us/ubisoftplus/games/?access=ubisoft

Humble Bundle gives you access to ~10-12 games a month for ~100$ a year. This service gives you permanent access to any game provided to you during the subscription period. By design, since you get a permanent bundle of games each month they will always offer new titles every month.

https://i.redd.it/v3uulf7hwxf51.png

(This isn't conclusive but gives you an idea of some of the games Humble Bundle provides permanently when you subscribe to them)

While I love CKII the precedent that could be set by the DLC Subscription service is potentially dangerous. More adoption by other games, pricehikes of currently available services, what if this becomes the ONLY way to play DLC for games? No discount for loyal players that have bought DLC over the years when they could afford to etc.

I usually post legit reviews but Paradox has really gotten under my skin.

Game gets a thumbs up because its good, deep and updated much since launch and the devs shouldn't suffer for the terrible publishers anti-consumer choices.

Two choice cuts from the EULA that actively impact users;

"i) Create and make publicly available so called “Let´s Play Videos” containing the images and sounds of the Game through the social media channels such as Twitch.tv and Youtube.com, whether monetized or not. Soundtracks may only be made publicly available in the context of a Let´s Play Video. In relation to any Let´s Play Video, the following copyright notice must be displayed prominently:
“Game © Paradox Interactive AB www.paradoxplaza.com.” If soundtracks from the Game are used, the artist and/or composer of each soundtrack must be credited as well."

Yeah, nobody is going to display your stupid copyright or credit artists who have already been credited and can be found online if so inclined.

"By publishing a mod based on a Paradox game, you hereby grant to Paradox and its affiliates a nonexclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and perpetual right to use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from "

So if anyone mods one of your games you can USE/Modify that mod to make your own game and sell it however users cannot sell their own mods for your games.

The topping of the cake is Paradox forcing you to have an account so they can email you relentless spam about their next 500 DLC releases to goad you into buying them.

And the launcher sucks!

UPDATE: Paradox is now virtue signaling (badly) and using BLM as an excuse for delaying content. Imagine using a legitimate social issue to further your own goals without contributing to the cause at all.

Scumbags.

This is one of the worst stuff packs available, a lot of the clothes have ugly "DIESEL" branding on them and can't be customized.

Literally the only reason I own this is because The whole set of DLC went on sale.

Don't ever get this DLC unless you A) have lots of money to spend or B) are a crazy DLC collectionist like me.

There are no reviews on here with video so I deemed it necessary to upload gameplay because this game has to truly be seen to be believed.

http://youtu.be/Rv4jDtvv5sg

One Day For Ched is quite possibly the worst game on Steam right now. It's up there with A New Reckoning in terms of broken-ness and unplayability. I really suggest you watch the video because it physically and emotionally hurt me to play this crime against humanity.

Pros:
You die quickly so you have a reason to quit out of it.

Cons:
This thing exists and it's 15 USD.

This is the worst videogame I've ever had the displeasure of playing.

http://youtu.be/xrQpSs97p5A

I suggest you watch the first impression I did of this game because it truly has to be seen to be believed--However, I will put in some information on here as well.

TL;DR- Typical bad game with typical bad developer. Only thing that makes this case astonishing is the fact that the game is broken beyond repair and the dev is literally deleting forums because he doesn't like negative feedback.

My involvement with A New Reckoning came about when I saw Jim Sterling cover it in a Squirty Play. It looked godawful and I had to check the Steam page for more information. After experiencing firsthand how ready the dev is to censor his critics and prevent as much criticism as possible I had enough. He had banned me from the forums for simply saying I was going to review the game. This is my hoorah, my big step against this developer. This game is so bad typical critique conventions don't even come into play. There is no game to critique, it has awful controls, no rebinding, TWO graphics options and literally broken combat(magic currently doesn't work) The FPS is incredibly low for something that looks like its from a bargain 2001 PC game and it crashes constantly(10-15 times during my recording of footage). This game is beyond trash and the fact that it exists on Steam is pure heresy. The developer has shown not only incompetence but also his sad attempts at censoring criticism this awful game gets.

This is a very good game. The reviews on it made me anticipate pure trash but I ended up enjoying it just as much as the original. I think you should go into this and treat the game as it's own, not a Guerrilla sequel because it's far more linear.

Pros: Inventive Weapons, Cool upgrades, Enemy variety, Geomod Engine, Decent mission variety, Better salvage system than in Guerrilla(IMO), Badass missions with Spider Walkers and Mechs.

Cons: Occasionally braindead AI, Awful upgrade station placement (Seriously, one was placed at 44% Story progression when the new tier of upgrades came at 45%...Seriously Volition?), Crappy enemies(aliens jump around everywhere and they deal low damage so they're typically just annoying pests), Linear