Recent reviews by Sciophyte

'Hunt: Showdown' for the Twitch set. Very pretty, superbly optimized, and the rain is a treat. Other raiders make this into a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get (I guess that crappy Russell Stover stuff inspired this line). When you gotta have that tense, clench-your-butthole kinda gameplay, you can't go wrong with this one. It's faster-paced than the aforementioned 'Hunt,' but connoisseurs of classic guns are bound to be disappointed. The price is right, though, which is a nice touch these days. All in all, definitely recommended, unless win-some-lose-some is an intolerable proposition for you.

I got tired of server resets in V Rising, so I gave Dune: Awakening a shot. And guess what? I'm staying out of the sun, draining people's blood so I can keep "hydrating," and chopping up rocks to build the castle—er, base—of my dreams. Best new vampire game ever!

An absolute gem of a game and worth every penny. Build the Vampire castle of your dreams (or nightmares) in a lovingly designed fantasy landscape. The biggest plus here is the ability to customize gameplay exactly to your preferences. Whether you crave the thrill of a cut-throat PvP experience, play PvE with your friends, or just focus on perfecting your Vampire stronghold in a solo game, all these options are available. You can even adjust a slew of gameplay parameters to your liking, from resource costs, the rate at which resources are used, to the respective length of days vs. nights, and tons more. The only caveat here is to pay close attention to these options as you set up your game, since most of these settings cannot be altered once you start. And maybe resist the temptation to make things too easy on your Vamp—unless you really just want to build your castle without bothering about combat challenges at all, V Rising loses some of its thrill if you don't have to be scared of anyone or anything besides daybreak.

The campaign, while gorgeous to look at and replete with Easter eggs bound to delight the initiated, is fairly uninspired and the final boss fight is an awful, mind-numbing slog, at least to my tastes. But it's a small part of the game, and the real fun begins, of course, once you start playing the various online modes. There's not much variety here yet, but of course the game is likely to grow, and what you get out of the box is pretty good fun. Just bear in mind that these Space Marines, while by no means indestructible, are lumbering suits of armor, and there's little subtlety in the combat. If you crave fast-paced, demented frenzy, Darktide is more likely to scratch your itch.

I just can't stop playing this game. Where CIV-type games have the 'just one more turn' effect, Hellish Quarter has the 'just one more duel' addiction going. Sure, it's still very much in development, and many features are yet to be implemented properly or at all. But the absolutely most realistic sword fighting I've ever experienced in any game is already all there! Not to mention HQ looks gorgeous.

Just one warning: The realism of Hellish Quarter is not for everyone. That's okay, there's no shame in preferring the flashier, cinematic fights of other titles; after all, show fencing is as old as the theatre itself. But if you do get hooked by HQ, you may forever be ruined for the more simplified fantasy swordplay in other games. Enter at your own risk—and high reward.

It's like an all-you-can-eat buffet—hungry and ready to throw up are the only two options. You get your money's worth, all right, but it's just too damn much!

Love it. Looks great, runs great. Occasional DCs or crashes still happen, but are nowhere near as frustratingly frequent as in that other squad-based PvE shooter I like (guess even the 'Emprah' can't protect us from that). The gameplay is extremely fun with lots of variety due to team composition, abilities ( = stratagems), and weaponry. A tremendous bonus for me personally is that the game is in 3rd person view. Yes, there is a 'cash store,' but you can actually acquire some premium currency by playing. It's never a lot, but save up and that special look can be yours for free. A resounding thumbs-up from me.

UPDATE (02/20/24): It's a rough ride at this time, due to frequent difficulty logging into the game. I'm going to take a leap of faith here and assume that the devs will fix these issues, and let this positive review stand—because the game itself absolutely rocks.

Believe it or not: I never read any of the HP books, watched none of the movies—though, not being a resident of some faraway planet, I was aware of the phenomenon they are—and bought the game mostly on account of the charming visuals on display in the many favorable reviews. So while I don't get to experience the ooohing and awwwing of an HP devotee who gets to experience locales they've come to know and love in the books, I do get the experience of a student utterly new to the sprawling school of magic and its environs.

And I love it! There are marvels galore to discover! From the enchanted paintings and moving statues to the brooding woods and the cozy hamlets surrrounding Hogwarts, the landscape is full of amazing stuff to see and do. As a veteran of grim fantasy settings in the likes of Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate, and Diablo, the lighter, more whimsical tone and look of HL is a pleasant change and, to me at least, fairly novel. From what I know of the HP books, I'm not sure there's quite so much combat and dispatching of enemies, but being largely ignorant of the franchise, it doesn't seem jarring to me.

I've no idea how and if the game appeals to HP afficionados, but it may just make me a new fan of JKR's wizarding world, so... thumbs up on every count!

Ever wish that Diablo and Vermintide had a baby and it was set in a Destiny-esque sci-fantasy multiverse? Then Remnant II may be the game for you! Loads of loot, cool and very well-defined classes, and tons of customization options round off the deal. I can't get off this one!

From what I hear, Trigon may come across as lacking if you ever played FTL. Never having done so (not a fan of the pixel look), I found Trigon quite fun for those occasions when you want to play something for an hour or so, though I often got pulled in for quite a bit longer. Still, I have to agree that there's not enough depth here to justify spending $19.99 on Trigon (and the writing is just weird, like it's been translated using Google from who knows what language). I picked it up at a hearty discount, and for what I paid, I have no regrets.