Recent reviews by Mephistox

Truly a hidden gem, one that you can't wait to continue playing.

Core gameplay is basic, but this is what people say when personality matters. From the art style, to the silly humor, the music and sound design was all a joy to experience.

Out of many games you will experience, this will have a lasting impression, both in your mind and heart.

The entry price is a bit high, so unless you have some nostalgia working to your (dis)advantage, wait for a sale.

A heck of a lot easier than the original release on the default difficulty, which makes this release more accessible as long as you can tolerate the old-school gameplay.

If you are still intrigued by this game and do not know much about The Thing film(s) or the novella the lore is based from, you can jump right into this game and understand what is going on. Part of the mystery and "unknown" factor is very much part of the charm of the storytelling within this universe. However, if you wish to explore some backstory, they are highly recommended watches or reads to experience the sources of inspiration to get the absolute most out of the references in this game (more-so the 1982 film).

If you are already a fan and cost isn't an issue, it is worth your time and money to play through this to unwind on a nice and relaxing weekend.

Psychological and suspenseful horror that expands on a classic. If you enjoyed the original and know it like the back of your hand, expect some brain-tingling changes, additions or revisions that makes it feel like déjà vu... but is it?

Inspired by and often imitating the older Zelda games, this is an example of how not reinventing the wheel is not always necessary. If you have that itch for some top-view, classic Zelda gameplay then look no further and give this a shot.

A cute, short and casual romp that does not overstay its welcome. It does exactly what it supposed to and lets you relax and enjoy the silly ride and meet colorful characters.

Although not completely unique nor memorable in the long run (and a bit on the pricey side), the art direction is what really stood out to remind me of those cartoons you would watch when either getting ready for school, coming back home from school or when you got to stay home on a school day.

If you grew up dealing with broken games that you or your parent's hard-earned money paid for and were not able to return so you were stuck with it... this will bring back that sense of enjoyment of having to deal with and finding some fun in those janky games.

At first glance, this game looks colorful, casual and super silly, so these attributes give players the impression of being fun to play. Well, maybe yes, but mostly no.

It is ridiculously janky that most casual players will just give up long before dealing with the technical bugs and some very odd game design choices (questionable environment design, confusing puzzles). The game does a passable job at explaining most mechanics, but you will need to find out how to use mechanics properly on your own or by accident - the wonder of self-discovery!

Bugs are plenty, which will be where most of the frustration comes from. Whether it is a bug in the waypoint placement, the combat hit boxes, the quest submission, item interactions or the game soft-locking requiring a restart, there are lots of bugs to discover!

However, all the complaining about bugs aside, the story voiceovers are pretty good and the story itself is very silly which is what keeps me going rather than giving up - I have considered giving up fighting through the bugs plenty of times during my ongoing playthrough, yet somehow I am still playing.

Overall, I do not recommended spending lots of money on this if you are still inclined to try it, but be aware that most people will not see what I have found fun while dealing with the technical issues. Thus far, I have not found a bug I could not overcome, which is where some of the fun I have found in this game has come from (stockholm syndrome? masochistic tendencies?).

Leave your thalassophobia at the door and prepare for relaxing cuteness.

A mysterious story that you uncover as you explore this focused open-world all while encountering adorable sea creatures. Both charming and relaxing, it was very rewarding to fulfill all objectives given to you by the game, but before completing the final objective, explore the achievements list to extend your gameplay time with some more easy tasks before saying goodbye to your proud handiwork.

A great, but short, sci-fi adventure that does not linger past its purpose.

Design and gameplay screams old school 90's shooter with a bit of early 00's indie-jank. This very basic (in the sense of linearity and purpose, not due to the lack of interesting concepts) story is told via text via relatively brief "cutscenes" and by picking up logs when exploring the world. The gunplay is solid with some very, very basic metroidvania-esque progression.

Exploring the world is immersive and greatly detailed, almost as good as GTA. Unfortunately, the game mechanics fight you throughout the game especially during key moments in the campaign missions.

The repetitiveness is apparent the more time you put into unlocking everything, which is a staple of most modern Ubisoft game formulas.

You may find some enjoyment in this if you like the world, but expect some frustration if you don't sink some time into unlocking skills and weapons.

That said, if you manage to get into this game and like it enough, don't skip out on the Bad Blood DLC main missions. That was the best part of Watch_Dogs.

No neutral option, so this will focus on the types of people that could be looking to play this:

If you are a turn-based strategy connoisseur, you will probably not like this one. At the start it may be different and refreshing, but it is all a facade for very bland and generic game design. Mission structure to unlock the next main mission is incredibly repetitive and not very strategic the deeper you progress into the game. Overall, it relies more on learning to exploit the map design, dumb AI and simple game mechanics to your advantage along with those random BS moments that could ruin your entire mission, especially in the early game when your squad is not very strong and lack resources to replace dead units or upgrade their skills. Once you learn how to exploit, you become a bulldozer which may also not be fun or challenging.

If you are an achievement hunter, completionist or combing through your backlog of games, definitely give this one a try. At first it may be hard or frustrating, which will tell you at that point whether you should move on to another game, but if you stick with it to build an overpowered squad, then it becomes pretty fun being able to exploit the game mechanics to focus on unlocking achievements. This was where the real strategy came in, which sadly is more of an emergent gameplay experience rather than intended design choice.

If you are a casual gamer who tends to try new games without finishing them, give this a shot. It will give you at least an hour or two of fun before becoming boring or it may become your next addiction.