Recent reviews by antiklaus

PROs
· amazing graphics
· big, intricate semi-open world hub levels
· good voice acting (not only troy)...
· ...as well as motion capture
· great writing, so it actually feels like an old Indy-movie
· exploration is worth your time, with...
· ...meaningful (side-) quests
· simple but effective stamina based combat system, focused on melee (with improvised weapons) and useful upgrades/ skills to unlock
· good stealth (which may need a bit getting used to, since there is no elaborate marker)
· gameplay-wise it is a mix of "Dishonored", "Hitman" and "Tomb Raider"
· bonus-points for getting XP by taking pictures of cats (and other, less important things)

CONs:
· no manual save. you have a good autosave-system but need a rather unnecessarily complicated "roll back"-feature to get to a previous auto-save point
· some graphical pop-ins in the game world
· a few of the interactions with NPCs for quests can be real finicky, requiring you to stand in a way too specific place and look at them in a way too specific angle
· menus are a bit messy, because it is indy"s notebook you use for those
· the lack of a lean-function hurts the stealth
· the pricing is just beyond ridiculous


tl;dr:
IT FEELS LIKE AN INDIANA JONES ADVENTURE

visuals and audio are great. combat feels good as well.
but if the level-design with its cheap tricks is an indication for what the full game will be, then I don"t want any part of it.

PROs
- gorgeous visuals: the cyberpunk mixed with old noir art-deco style works quite well
- trying to do something new...
- ...and wants to ask important questions

CONs
- the story is trying too hard to be deep and clever for its own good, making it overly convoluted
- I did not care about the characters. the intentionally "puzzling" story did not help connecting with them
- gameplay is limited to walking about in beautiful but pretty restricted areas, doing mini-games and some dialogue choices
- quite short for the asking price

tl;dr:
I do not regret getting the game, it was a nice experience. but it is lacking in substance and mostly survives by it"s amazing visuals. 6-8 hours seem to be the average playtime - decide for yourself if the price for around 7 hours of solid gameplay consisting of mostly "interactive movie" is for you.

PROs:
· stunning visuals - even compared to the first game
· obviously great optimisation
· real good photomode
· hugo is way more bearable in this game (a low bar, I know)
· a lot of added gameplay-mechanics...


CONs:
· ... maybe even too many mechanics for my liking
· taking control of my keyboard rpg-lights without asking permission is a no-go for any game
· way too over the top
· too long for its own good. it kept dragging on in the end, trying to up itself over and over again.. which eventuall was just tedious and kinda boring.

tl;dr:
if you liked the first plague tale, then this is probably a must. I personally prefere the first game. even though that eventually went too far near the end, the sequel just keeps going from there and amping up everything untill it is just too much. it is still a very good game: the gameplay is mostly fun and solid, the story is ok but at some point it was too "out there" for me.
I realise that I enjoy watching these games more than playing them.

one of the best pieces of media out there!

After the initial desaster of No Man"s Sky I was sceptical of what Hello Games would deliver with this but it looked too intriguing to pass up. I am glad I gave it a chance because this game offers such a lovely experience that I own it on multiple platforms now and is now one of my all time favourite games of all time.

Selfloss is a gorgeous game I want to love, because it can be heartwarming and enjoyable - but it can be frustrating just as much.

the visuals, sound and overall atmosphere is everything I wanted. the artstyle is great and the minimalistic sound and use of music is on point. the story has been great so far and I like the themes they tackle and the way it goes about it.
it sadly is just disappointing in the gameplay. most sessions I quit being frustrated. I feel like some more external testing might have given them feedback to mend some aspect, because they are so close to an amazing game. instead everything feels just slightly "off" enough to annoy me. the controls do not seem utterly broken, but rather too slow to respond in addition to the choice of having a slow character. the subpar camera does not help the cause: gets in the way in some places and in others reveals increadible vistas. all these small annoyances combined add up.
slightly floaty movement, slow to respond movement, sub-par player feedback and a camera that can straight up obscure the most important things on the screen. it all just sadly turns into something that, at least on paper, should have been exactly what I wanted, into a game that was too irritating to continue to play.
one moment it was this eery and rather relaxed game with phantastic vibes and the next I wanted to scream in frustration and quit the game, ruining the experience.
I hope the devs make another game and improve on what they made so far. they have great potential and I am willing to give them another chance. but I can just not recommend Selfloss.

it was already amazing before the full release:
- it ran well while still holding up visually (not a given for most VR games)
- the controls were not a hot mess, like most VR games
- it is an amazing playground / sandbox

if they did not royally screw it up with full release it can only have gotten better:
time to reinstall.

So far, so good!
The vibes are as they should be, difficulty certainly is and visually it is impressive. Audio is great as well AND it still runs pretty well, without me having to dial down the settings too much. I am pretty sure there will be more stress-testing for the game but as of yet I am very, very pleased and feel young(er) again :D
The only thing I did not like that much was the tutorial and way too heavily scripted intro. I guess there will be more story sections that are like this, but normal gameplay seems oldschool as it should be.
If anything changes over my course of playing, then I might edit the review - but if you like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. then this will make your brain be happy.

Why is it, that with every indie early access game, that the community is crying and whining that the game is buggy and unfinished, but when the big companies sell unfinished bull-crap with not even 1% of the passion and inspiration behind them, that Gamers™ lap it up and want seconds of the ♥♥♥♥-sandwich?

this game is fine, and for the asking price even more so.
is it perfect? nope!
but it is working, charming and the devs were honest enough to have this sold as early access and not aksing 100 bucks for a supposed finished AAA-game that is still not working 2 years after release.
if you liked the trailer and wanna jump in mid-development, realising that that means bugs and unfinished features: go ahead.
if you want a finished, polished game? you are out of luck - this is 2024.

I am still torn on the 1st person Resident Evil games.
they are fun and all but the oldschool fixed camera just had so much more flair.
and this game is such a mixed bag of what it is or wants to be...
if it were not for big mummy it would not have had SUCH a vast amount of hype. and for that the big vampire lady was not in the game for enough time.