Recent reviews by Heretiko

INCREDIBLE gorgeous metroidvania with beautiful sceneries and insanely stunning pixel art. I was screenshotting non-stop as every area seems like a painting. Music is both soothing and epic when it needs to be.

This game is almost perfect, i really can't find anything wrong or which bothered me.

It has the right lenght, enough collectibles and secret areas which needs to be unlocked after solving some multi-area puzzles and gathering enough power ups.

Enemies are mostly all diverse and require different approaches.

No need for grind to level up or power up gear, as the amount of currency drop is plenty if you don't skip enemies.

All weapons, tools, spells and gadgets have a different feeling and there's a sense of reward into looking for the best ones.

There is build diversity depending if you want your first playthrough to lean more towards melee spam or spell usage with firearms in the mix.

There's different character skins to unlock by different means.

There's alternative game modes unlocked after beating the game (boss rush and survival/defense) and a parallel "dungeon mode" added with the recent FREE dlc which adds even more unlockable CHARACTERS, weapons and collectibles.

All the bosses are unique, with a different moveset each, each one more epic than the previous one.

Map navigation and skill respec are forgiving and it's not super hard to find all tiny secret areas if you explore thorough.

New Game + with stronger enemies which as far as i know goes up infinitely the more times you beat the game.

The Last Faith is a true gem and every Metroidvania enjoyer in existence should play it.

1000/1000 recommended.

An eternally divisive entry in the franchise, Dark Souls 2 is a very cool soulslike, one of the most intriguing in the trilogy. I always liked it and came back to it from time to time.

Recently, modders community elevated it to new heights with the Lighting Engine Mod and i recommend trying the Seeker of Fire 2.0 mod which changes lots of enemy placement, opens up new progression paths and adds more items; for who played it already and feels some nostalgia but wants to have a renewed pleasure of discovery.

Clunky, with questionable mechanics, sometimes weird and unfair hitboxes, Dark Souls 2 ticks all the boxes of an old-school action rpg full of exploration and a very wide range of maps and enemies, it is one of my favorite Souls of all time.

After seeing all the mixed reviews and the negative ones being especially bitter on this, i've tried the game for a couple hours during this current free weekend period.

The game is solid, has its own pace and although can seem a bit clunky and slow, i didn't notice any of the issues discussed by some people here, being hit registration of melee and bugs.

I've been playing a couple "Survivors" matches and a couple "Operations" one.

Despite the names and what it seems, the objective is literally the opposite: "Survivors" spawns you with other people in a small area with some group objectives to attend to, such as defending a position until the timer runs out. Much like L4D2.

"Operations" instead allows you to freely roam a huge open world map with lots of buildings to access and loot to your heart's desire.

If you don't specifically queue up for a private match, it seems like between 6 to 8 people can join the current match and loot with you. There's objectives to do and once all of them have been done, extraction can be called.

I still didn't understand if everyone has to extract at the same time, like L4D2 or if you can extract also alone. Which is not recommended though, as time passes more zombies and special zombies will spawn.

That's something i didn't like: zombies are RELENTLESS. You think you've cleared an area, loot the next room, go back and it's instantly filled with new zombies to the brim. It gets a bit annoying.

The fact that you can get infected and turn into a zombie is very interesting, adding more dangers to take into consideration, along with flashligh batteries and limited carry weight and space.

I don't like that every match totally resets your inventory, turning a looting process for the longterm into basically a preparation for the extraction event. It seems like all the loot you've taken with you was designed to fend off the final wave of zombies at the extraction point, and then be discarded.

Long term progression consists into ranking up your account and unlocking skills and starting equipment, which can be bought with currency earned for each succesful extraction. And as all extraction games, if you die in the match, your character is lost forever. If you extract, it gets XP points and unlocks new passive perks, which is nice.

I wish loot was taken out from the match and added to the stash, much like games such as Escape from Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown.

Currently, this game feels like a mixed blend of L4D2 and Dying Light, with an extraction component which is literally just only the very extraction from the map and permadeath, nothing else.

I wish it got some more long-term goal to aim for.

Overall i think it's a nice game and doesn't deserve all the hate. Get it while on sale.

- NOT A REVIEW OF THE VANILLA GAME -

I'm writing a review on "Call of Pripyat" only because it's the game which gets associated by Steam when playing STALKER G.A.M.M.A. which stands for Grokitach's Automated Modular Modpack for Anomaly.

Anomaly is a total conversion of the conjunction of the 3 original STALKER games: Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat. It serves as a highly configurable game engine with the backbones of Stalker assets. It works much like nowadays anyone who plays Skyrim. Playing unmodded vanilla Skyrim in 2026 is comparable to have lived under a rock for 15 years.

Stalker GAMMA is yet another total overhaul of Anomaly itself.

It is a huge and expanded compilation of game changing, quality of life, content and technical improvement mods to an already expanded total overhaul of the game.

Some say you should first play the original games, then Anomaly and then GAMMA but honestly i don't see why you shouldn't aim for the best experience already.

Stalker GAMMA gifts players with the ultimate dream: being able to finesse and tinker an already beautiful game into something really unique and personalized.

Hunt for bounties, search for loot, explore the zone, kill the opposite factions and rescue your pals, track down mutants, contribute to the economy, build your own hideout, craft your gear, manage your different type of ammo for different type of enemies, eat, drink, smoke, sleep, keep your eyes peeled for anomaly hazards, beware of radioactive zones, heal your body parts with the proper medical tool, manage your stashes.

Each play is different.

First play as a no-name lone stalker, doing errands and tasks for anyone. Then maybe play as a Monolith faction's soldier, spreading your religious propaganda to everyone else and shooting before asking questions. Play as a zombie. Tired of normal sandbox mode? Replay as Warfare mode, where factions actively search and destroy others. Enable Soulslike mode and lose your gear when dying, which you then need to retrieve manually. Want some rogue-lite gameplay? Enable Azazel mode: respawn into another random npc with their gear and skills and reputations if you die. Want to barricade into your base and fortify it from invading enemies? Enable Survival mode.

Did i mention that you can also install more mods and graphical improvements over it, if you're still not happy?

The Mod Configuration Menu also allows you to tweak and balance every single thing in the game, from the lenght of the grass bushes to the price of the trader's wares.

I forgot to say everything of this is TOTALLY FREE and, if you've got some patience to follow the modlist's instructions on how to properly set it up, it's easily the best hardcore survival game there is that humanity can offer.

Last but not least, the combination of graphical mods and Reshades really makes this game look like it's from the recent years.

Do you like Escape from Tarkov / Fallout / Horror survivals? You must play this, even if it requires some initial efforts to set it up.

Game is raw, very raw. Both technically speaking and gameplay wise.

I'm choosing not to leave a negative review because i see the potential of it and i have hopes in the developer, however i suggest you to play it with mods tinkering in mind.

The reason is the game is sometimes buggy and punishes you for the wrong reasons, have concepts which goes against my standards and overall is difficult where it doesn't need to be.

Some examples:

I've heard footsteps in the next room as mine and i was aiming my gun point blank at the bandit's chest. Mag dumped him to make sure he'd die before realizing what happened.
The result? Bullets didn't register, i've emptied my weapon and in return i've got one-tapped. Proceeded to respawn and losing all my gear, which wasn't much anyway since i've just started, but it was annoying nonetheless since it wasn't my fault for dying.

Another detail i don't really like is how fast thirst/hunger/mental sanity drop rates are, for which i've searched for a mod which gives you the chance to improve them with earned XP points. Something i think it should have been in the game from the beginning.

Permadeath mode: you pass the most entirety of the game unlocking and decorating your personal hideout, with a death system which respawns you into it, naked. And THEN, in the endgame, in Vostok, permadeath enables, meaning you lose ALL your character progress.

What is the point of it? Either you go always permadeath or none at all. Which is toggleable at the beginning of the game anyway (the always permadeath mode).
Weird. Very weird gameplay choice. Anyway, another area which benefits from mods (i've already discovered one which removes permadeath).

Also not a fan of npcs spotting you from 1km away while you barely see their silhouette, maybe a npc awareness area is needed?

Anyway, rants aside, i think this is a game which really needs to cook but when it will, i'm sure it will be a great one. A couple fixes here and there, a couple mods to each own's taste and here we have a very welcomed single player extraction shooter which, in my opinion, are never enough in the market.

The feature about placing furniture and gear inside your hideout to late retrieve it is very cute, adds something to it instead of the same old "one click dump all inventory in slots space".

Gunplay is nice (when bullets register), movement is grounded but not obnoxious, bolt action/shotgun reload is "interesting", trader economy and bartering is cool and original and the atmosphere is inspiring and a change of pace from all the usual "total apocalypse/radioactive anomalies/zombie outbreak".

Can't wait to see it developed more.

I waited years and years before buying this game because i was skeptical about the pace of the updates.

Some EA games just never see the light at the end of the tunnel, but Stoneshard is not one of them: it seems like the updates have started to catch up more rapidly and each one is adding more depth to the game.

It's still missing some core features but they're being worked on as you can see some greyed out sections in the game menus.

To the actual review:

Imagine if you were playing some sort of extraction shooter, but turn based rpg instead.

This game exactly provides the same feeling as titles like Hunt Showdown although extremely different and opposed in gameplay: you can expect anything to happen while roaming the world and no one is truly your friend.

Hunger, thirst, equipment degradation, mental sanity, morale, limb damage, maladies, this game has it all to truly feel like a survival extraction game while disguising itself as an rpg.

It would have been PERFECT if it wasn't turn based but i have to admit it's not intrusive and on the opposite it leaves more depth to strategy. Every single action, even moving one square, is a turn and the world still moves around you. Basically everyone is playing their turn at the same time so i guess it's some sort of clever mix between real time and turn based.

I really like the crafting system, especially the cooking part where you actually need the physical items to hold your food such as plates and carry water and pour it into the cauldron to actually boil stuff.

I see many complaints about the save system being tied to a resting place, meaning you lose all your progress between one sleeping session and another if you happen to die in the while. To me it's not a downside, on the opposite it's absolute bliss to prevent save-scumming and to add strategy and sense of progression.

There's also a permadeath option and i'm sure i'll try it later when i'll be more expert of the game.

No hand holding, gritty and grounded setting, gorgeous pixel art and hardcore blends of mechanics: i absolutely recommend this gem and i can't wait for it to exit from Early Access.

Barotrauma goes into the "memorable games" list, it is truly one of a kind which really isn't for everyone but when it clicks, oh man, it's something else. It fascinates and strikes in its uniqueness in the same way as games like Stardew Valley and Terraria did.

So far i'm barely scratching the surfance and getting the hang of it, given the gameplay is not so easy: even the movement can kill you if you don't pay attention to how to properly navigate ladders and doors.

It's one of those games where the tutorial is mandatory and even then, it's not really 100% sufficent and have to rely on Google.

That's why it doesn't click for anyone but again, when it does, you can capture the very feeling of preparing for a suicidal exploration mission.

I love the lore and the world setting, i really like the dark humor of the characters and the art style which makes me feel playing inside a Max Payne cutscene.

At your first mission you'll die over and over again. One time because an alien breaches your hull and you have no idea how to fend it off. He is not even that dangerous, it's the starting area after all, but water fills up quickly and you don't even time to drown: you just explode from the water pressure. How do i fix the hull? ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, why the submarine is sinking?

OH F U C K OH S H I T now the hull is broken even from the crash with an iceberg! Things catch on fire. Water electrocutes people because of contact with tools. AHHHHHHHH!!

Then, death after death, you learn how to steer properly and have clear sight of enemies before your manned gatling gun turret. You've assigned the correct people to tend to their respective jobs. You micromanaged your medical items properly. You know where the diving suit and mining drill are stored. You learned how to properly exit the submarine without dying from pressure.

You learned how to reach the next outpost after having slain your first alien swarm, after having exited the submarine and brought hand-mined minerals back in and all of this while carrying your cargo intact.

It's beautiful and addicting.

Can't wait to s h i t my pants again to the next angry aquatic alien.

I have mixed feelings towards this game but they tend towards the negative side.

It hurts to leave a negative review because the art direction and the lore is so much beautiful.

However, I find this game pretty punishing and unforgiving.

There are challenging games and then there's straight unfair unbalanced games, such as Forever Winter.

Every new update seems to invalidate all the previous adopted tactics from players to just survive, I'll give you an example:

Previously, all the areas of the game could be accessed at any time. Then tunnels were introduced, therefore forcing you to navigate them to reach mentioned areas, adding difficulty and dangers.

This led players to farm tunnels instead and then proceed to the overground areas when they felt ready. Well, now the tunnels are nerfed and you can't find anything valuable there, only serving as an added challenge and traversal chore.

Sure you can opt to fast travel but that is only a valid choice for people who have stocked up on resources before the updates.

Not to mention the enemies are really, REALLY though, really dangerous and could defeat you easily, meant to be challenged only after gearing up properly.

The thing is, the process to gear up accordingly is so daunting and excruciatingly tiresome that overall progress feels like a job.

I do not feel the joy of exploring new areas because I know that I'll definitely lose my gear to some buffed up enemy.

Just for the sake of trying it all I've used some cheats to turn myself invincible, "for science" and see what could have been possible.

Turns out after some kills, nearly invincible foes spawn in your game and hunt you down. Some of them also have scripted, unavoidable grapple who kills you instantly. Yes, even with god mode cheats!
And it is not a "anti-cheat" mechanic (although in this case it could clearly be) but a known consequence of becoming "too powerful" to keep you down.

The water problem: it seems like that, even though it was patched and made less severe, the "Water death" is still present.

It consists of forcing you to farm Water to even play. 1 water means 1 day of functional innards (your operations base). If for any reason you're not playing, the water factor scales by 1 each day. Yes, even real time days.

Reaching the 0 mark water thieves will raid your base and you'll have to kill them to prevent them wiping out completely your possessions and upgrades: the equivalent of almost a save reset.

I honestly cannot recommend a game which is purposedly built on predating on players. Its mechanics and gimmicks are far too punishing to be an enjoyable experience.

Adding to the mix the fact that all guns sound the same and are weird to aim with, enemies are bullet sponges, every corner could be deadly and the game is filled with clunky movement/input bugs; I'd stay away from this until the devs will finally acknowledge a game should be a mix of challenging and fun, not a mix of punishing and predatory.

Oh my god, where to start?

I guess i owe this game an apology, a big one. 10 years have passed and i slept on this so much. Atleast i'm glad i could grab it at 3 euros with the recent Ubisoft sales.

Speaking of which, i've had my fair share of experience with Ubi's game and not one single time i was amused or entertained after the golden age of the 2000s: Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon, Far Cry. All embarassingly easy and as wide as an ocean and as deep as a puddle to me. Each and every game of above mentioned franchises are a cow's milk squeeze, rinse and repeat of the same boring stuff over and over again.

It offuscated my vision back then: when multitude of looter shooter games came out, somehow The Division ...divided gamers.

I've read many people hold from playing it because it reminded them of Covid a bit too much, while others (myself included) just disregarded as a "We've got 3rd person Borderlands at home!".

I was wrong, especially after trying Ghost Recon Wildlands (boy oh boy how boring is that game).

I bought The Division 1 (and 2 actually) on sale this Saturday's morning out of boredom and guess what, it's Sunday evening and i've got 12 hours registered already. I guess i'm having fun.

I see why it's so addicting to enter a dystopian, almost cyberpunk-esque Manhattan scattered and littered with collectibles, explorable buildings, quests, unlockable secret areas, achievements, challenges and base upgrades.

The environments and attention to detail regarding the set dressing is impressive even if, honestly, it's the last thing to complain about Ubisoft really.

Not a huge fan of the gear level but i don't hate it either: it's a blend of tps and rpg after all. I guess i'm too biased on pretending a realistic setting to function with realistic mechanics too, but now and then i remember it's just a videogame and in this particular case i think it works very well.

Now, i've also discovered that Arc Raiders was hugely inspired by The Division's pvp zones and i nod while thinking about my first statement of this review: yep, yep, i'm sorry The Division, you deserved more.

Both Ori games are needlessly praised and reviewed as their preciousness tells itself: as its predecessor, Will of the Wisp is a gem which i think everyone should play in their gaming life.

From the gorgeous art style to the touching moments of the story, the setting and theme narrated is mature enough to be grasped by kids and enjoyed by adults nonetheless.

Difficulty wise, i've found it pretty low and unpunishing, very close to easy actually, mixing a little bit of metroidvania with precise platforming while never giving you a "Path of pain" feeling (for those who played Hollow Knight).

Some bosses are old school Castlevania style button mashing, some others are a speedrun through falling debris and hazards.

Collectibles are scattered nicely and all hidden behind some first impossible to reach areas which needs character's upgrade, a staple in the genre.

Sidequests were fun enough although pretty much all of them fetch jobs, which didn't annoy me because the travel system (as pretty much everything as i've already said) is very forgiving and chill.

Play it once, i don't see myself playing with the most difficult handicaps for the achievements as it transforms a relaxed game into a ferocious self-inflicted agony (finish the game without ever being hit, or without purchasing any power up, etc etc).