Part 2 on the most recent title from Diablo franchise, and frankly found more often on the indie games, the dubious controller support and lack of documentations thereof. As strange as it sounds, there are aspects of a video game where a spec is necessary. Not just “minimum requirements” and “recommended” specs of your hardwares, but specs of what a game includes. You could, in theory, play an 8 bit retro game on a surround sound system, but that would be an overkill.
Tagged PS5
Astro Bot Spiel
If current generation consoles didn’t have that kicker exclusive, now we have one; and it’s called Astro Bot, and it’s on PS5. The game takes advantage of all the features introduced with the new controller and the console, most notably haptic feedback and seamless loading. It’s quite literally so good it should be illegal to be a first party game.
How to Astro Bot: Splashing Sprint
While Astro Bot is truly a GOTY contender for 2024, there are several quirks the game didn’t iron out. I think “Splashing Sprint” level is the epitome of such issues. Here is how I managed to get past the level, perhaps the hardest level I have seen so far in the game.
Romancelvania Spiel
Ever thought of serious Dracula dating sim? I have read some fan fictions, but I certainly did not think of putting dating sim and Metroidvania together. It immediately peaked my interest as Romancelvania encompasses most of Halloween favorites and then some. What I didn’t realize was that this is a crowdfunded game, and just like many other crowdfunding projects, it overpromises and underdelivers.
Silent Hill: The Short Message Spiel
Silent Hill is finally back with a new game after a fumbled P.T.. With Silent Hill 2 Remake on the horizon, The Short Message is a good starter for any players to get back to the series, what it meant to play a Silent Hill game and what that town held for characters. The Short Message does not ask for all prior knowledge of the series as this is free and too short to be a full-priced game to begin with, but fans of the series can find trivia of the town Silent Hill and the game franchise in the…
Still Wakes the Deep Spiel
A lengthy name must be a thing for a horror game this year. Still Wakes the Deep, released only few days prior to the Elden Ring DLC, is set on an oil rig in the North Sea, on the Christmas of 1975. Stars were quite aligned for this moment. Starring Scottish characters in Lovecraftian horror, the game could not be released at better time for gamers in South Korea.
Pacific Drive Spiel
If driving through tense situation is up your alley, Pacific Drive may have been on your radar. Contrary to what many reviews warned, the brutal RNG of rogue-like setting, the touch of survival car maintenance, with the flavor of sci-fi horror, the game slugs through them like a checklist. None of them truly mean anything aside from it exists.
Detroit: Become Human Spiel
Sci-fi has a weird tick. Sci-fis I’ve read, watched, and played usually begin with a genius —a genius who makes the breakthrough. It is a breakthrough none has ever witnessed, and it is a breakthrough that will be a new founding of a future society. And the story arc of the world builder often correlates with the quality of the said sci-fi universe.
Death Stranding Spiel on FMV Games
Death Stranding is, without a doubt, “interactive entertainment”, to quote Bill Gates. Good Bill didn’t say those exact words, but that’s how he viewed a certain FMV game. And I believe his approach to understanding what a video game is in the 90’s had run its course. Being realistic is not a virtue of any games. I came to that conclusion that bad games are often hidden behind the well known Hollywood faces after playing Callisto Protocol. Popular celebrities and hyperrealistic graphics don’t rectify a disaster. It just makes it more expensive disaster, just like Hollywood.
God of War: Ragnarok Spiel on Huldra Brothers
Have you finished latest GOTY contender God of War: Ragnarok? Because if you didn’t this might be a good time to pause for a moment and come back with visions of freshly destroyed family feuds. God of War franchise, in its Norse sequels, is shifting the focus from pure hack-and-slash fun to family drama. Huldra brothers, or just Brok and Sindri, probably the only family they have to each other, are the latest soap opera material we have.
Haven Review
“Haven is not a difficult game” says the game’s intro. It’s a bold statement coming from a game published in 2020. Difficulty is now accepted as an integral part of the experience, and the people’s expectation differs greatly from the eras of —per se— Gameboy Tetris. More contemporary “easy” games are usually scolded as walking simulators. It is truly a fine line between a game with wide berth or a visual novel in disguise.