Mini Reviews

[Joose]

Aaaaaaaaaaand its been taken off sale till they can fix it. Im not sure how I feel about that decision. On the one hand, its great that they are doing something about it being broken for so many people. On the other hand, it's not broken for *everybody*. If I hadn't bought the game yet I would be a bit pissed that I was no longer allowed to, regardless of whether I considered my computer powerful enough for it to be worth the risk. Especially seeing as, with Steam Refunds now in place, there really isn't any risk.

Thinking about it, I think Steam Refunds are why they have taken it off sale. I suspect they are worried that if people buy it now, find it broken and return it they are less likely to buy it again once the game is patched. By stopping its sale and only bringing it back out again once it is fixed, they think they will get more sales overall.

I think the lesson for devs here is "don't let slightly shonky external teams convert your console games for PC unless you want a shonky console conversion." It's like they have never heard of the term false economy.

[FatherJack]

Without the effects it ran fine for me, admittedly my pc is only a few weeks old, built with loving care and the finest components a gentleman can procure.

[buzzmong]

Maybe I'm just cynical but due to the fact no PC preview code went out (console mags apparently got review copies) I think they knew it was fucked, but released anyway for the Day 1 and 2 sales and thought they might be able to PR it until fixes rolled out. I think they've only taken it off sale as it's been so widely reported as being terrible.

[Dog Pants]

That and the losses from Steam refunds (although I'm not sure how Valve keep their cut if 100% of the charge is refunded).

[Joose]

Maybe I'm just cynical but due to the fact no PC preview code went out (console mags apparently got review copies) I think they knew it was fucked, but released anyway for the Day 1 and 2 sales and thought they might be able to PR it until fixes rolled out. I think they've only taken it off sale as it's been so widely reported as being terrible.

Not necessarily. IIRC, Shadows of Mordor also had no PC preview code for review, even though it was a decent game with no technical issues at launch. Not saying that it definitely wasnt the case here, but it clearly isnt *always* the case.

[FatherJack]

Just noticed the FREE in the corner here, is that new, a sort of apology?



I was looking to see if I could buy the option to play as Harley Quinn, as I confess I rather like looking at Harley Quinn. I think she was a bonus for preordering from certain stores, though.

[Joose]

It does say free, but I think that's just because it has been taken off sale. The price in Steam is currently n/a, which I suspect the game doesn't know how to parse.

[FatherJack]

It does say free, but I think that's just because it has been taken off sale. The price in Steam is currently n/a, which I suspect the game doesn't know how to parse.

Figures, think it was £15-20-ish before the pull.

Edit: seems to be £32.99 now

[Dog Pants]

We played two games on free trial this weekend, Killing Floor 2 and Evolve. Might as well record our consensus on them:

Killing Floor 2
A fairly entertaining blast, more horde mode than Left4Dead, but feels like it could get old pretty quickly. Not sure it would catch on for more than an occasional weekend.

Evolve
Again, fairly limited in scope but had a few different modes and lots of character variation. Went down quite well. But most of those characters are DLC, so the group conclusion was that it wasn't going to be worth the cash treadmill for the entertainment value.

[deject]

KF1 had some ridiculous longevity because of the community. There were a ton of user made levels that were quite impressive. I fear that Tripwire may have launched their KF2 early access a bit too early because it is a bit thin with maps and only starting with 4 perks was a mistake as well.

[Dog Pants]

I think you're right there. The maps that are in the game right now are pretty good, but six just isn't enough when there's only one mode.

[Mr. Johnson]

I expect that this'll be a decent seller in the steam sales a year or two from now, like the first game. You should probably pick it up then.

[Dog Pants]

Mushroom 11:
Platformy puzzler in a similar vein to World of Goo. Guide your amorphous blob through a ruined world by erasing bits of it so those bits reappear on the other side of it. It's more smooth and intuitive than it sounds. The puzzles are fun, the bosses are great, and it has an Oddworld style grimness to it. However, it's also balls hard. So it's great, but not for anyone without a lot of patience.

[Joose]

Agreed on the good, agreed on the balls hard. I keep ragequitting, then coming back to it.

[Joose]

Oxenfree

Yesterday evening I bought, downloaded, played and completed Oxenfree. It could be argued that this means it is very short, but a) I didnt go around collecting all the hard to find extra collectable stuff and b) so what? I think it was exactly the right length, making it any longer would have required needless padding and I think it would have been worse off for it. I might not have got a lot of time out of it, but I certainly feel like I got my moneys worth of enjoyment.

Because it is good! Its an adventure game of the old point and click style (although without pointing or clicking). From a game mechanics point of view the big thing is that it involves a lot more walking and talking moments, in contrast to this sort of games more normal walk, then talk, then walk again. Seems like a small change but it really makes the whole thing feel a lot more natural. It was a tiny bit clunky in places, it seems like the kind of mechanic that will become the norm for these games once people have smoothed the rough edges off it a little.

Brief, spoiler free story into: You are a young girl called Alex, going to a beach party on an island with some mates. Weird shit happens. I wont go into details on the wierd shit, as I think it is one of those games that are better if you go in with as little knowledge as possible. I will say the weird shit is more creepy and unsettling than it is the normal horror game style BLOOD GUTS OOOH JUMP SCARE. I highly recommend playing it late at night, with headphones and controller, with the lights off, by yourself. Unless you are a wuss, in which case do none of those things.

Well written, reasonable voiceacting, simple but pretty art style. There are puzzles, but they are so piss easy I hesitate to call them actual puzzles. It's good, get it. Be warned, not for people who like to have all the answers at the end of a story.

[Dog Pants]

Unless you are a dad, in which case do none of those things.

Fix'd. I like the sound of it though. Wishlist ahoy!

[Mr. Johnson]

I also like the sound of it. Wishlisted also.

[buzzmong]

Firewatch

I've really enjoyed this. Looks lovely, plays well, dialogue and character interaction between Henry and Delilah is top notch. It's rather engaging, one part in particular really swept me up in it as a gaming experience.

It's short though. RPS said it took six hours, I did it in about 4 and I didn't rush although I admittedly didn't explore everywhere or completely retread stuff later to to take other paths.

That said, might not be a bad thing as Campo Santos has said there's lots of exclusive dialogue, where seemingly innoculous responses completely change the dialogue you'll get through the game so it takes multiple play throughs to even experience the majority of it.

Mild scene setting spoiler:

Spoiler:

introduction is Up-esque in its darkness and makes you feel bad for Henry as he's certainly been given a shit hand

Definitely recommend it though.
4/5

[fabyak]

Firewatch

I've really enjoyed this. Looks lovely, plays well, dialogue and character interaction between Henry and Delilah is top notch. It's rather engaging, one part in particular really swept me up in it as a gaming experience.

It's short though. RPS said it took six hours, I did it in about 4 and I didn't rush although I admittedly didn't explore everywhere or completely retread stuff later to to take other paths.

That said, might not be a bad thing as Campo Santos has said there's lots of exclusive dialogue, where seemingly innoculous responses completely change the dialogue you'll get through the game so it takes multiple play throughs to even experience the majority of it.

Mild scene setting spoiler:

Spoiler:

introduction is Up-esque in its darkness and makes you feel bad for Henry as he's certainly been given a shit hand

Definitely recommend it though.
4/5

The interaction is some of the best I've ever experienced in anything, game or otherwise. They talk like real people and it works so beautifully between them. I'd seen that a number of people had bitched about the ending but I thought it was a fine way to do it. All in a great story and it looks stunning

[FatherJack]

Firewatch

I just played this and enjoyed it a lot, there were a couple of reactions over the radio where my dialogue created kind of 'off' reactions that I felt were a little unwarranted given the options I had, but generally it was a believable dialogue. Not super-long, five hours for me.

The ending..well you kind of have to think about it after, I got very sucked in and perhaps was expecting some supernatural, sci-fi or psychiatric shenanigans, but it's at heart a normal story about normal people - feeling freaked out when things get weird is perfectly natural - as is finding out later that it all has a rational explanation.

The dialogue is peppered with the 'choices' you make in the prologue, but aside from that doesn't seem to affect the resolution very much - it isn't a Delilah dating sim, it's about your character realising that he has to deal with his own life.

The game also raises awareness of a not-talked-about-much disease: dementia. This is something that affects people I know personally in both my work and home life and I think it's good that games like this shine a light on this misunderstood affliction. If you don't know much about it, I'd encourage you to read up on it.