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If I sound like I’m focusing on these two things I didn’t care for in the game, it’s only because everything else is working at such a high level that these two things really stuck out to me. But make no mistake, I enjoyed my time in Land of Shadow, and I loved being back in the world of Elden Ring. While this isn’t my personal favorite expansion FromSoftware made (that still belongs to The Old Hunters for Bloodborne) I can definitely say it’s their most ambitious and complete. It’s honestly hard to imagine where they go from here, but I can’t wait to find out.
Ultimately, for a first attempt, Lies of P is a solid Soulslike that should keep fans of the genre happy and frustrated for the entire runtime. It’s clear Neowiz and Round8 have an affection for their inspiration even if they don’t quite have the skill to match.
So what does Atomic Heart truly offer other than an occasionally fun, not at all original, game with too many ideas that aren’t fully fleshed out? Unfortunately, not much. It’s worth a rent or definitely checking out on a subscription service but it needs some more polish and refinement before the good things can surface the way they should.
Without a compelling story or likable protagonist, or a compelling world to explore, Forspoken only has its combat to rely on and while I always found that fun and engaging, it’s not enough to justify an open world for a decidedly linear game. It tries a lot of things and comes up short in most of them. There’s a really good game in Forspoken. It just needed to be refined, polished and edited.
Spiders did manage to offer a fresh take on a Soulslike and in doing so crafted a solid foundation for a potential franchise. With a bit more of a budget to allow for more enemy types and locations, Steelrising could be a contender.
All in all, Thymesia does a good job scratching that Soulslike itch but providing rewarding, robust combat and memorable boss fights. While it doesn’t nail everything, what it does right elevates it towards the top of the subgenre. And considering the game was made by a team of seven people, that is no small feat. I would love to see what Overborder can do with a larger support team and bigger budget. Thymesia is the real deal.
With Until Dawn Supermassive proved they know how to tell a good story with somewhat interesting characters and good pacing, which is all the more disappointing that their first proper follow up, The Quarry, comes up short on so many levels.
It’s ultimately more fun with friends, but only really if they’re also into Evil Dead as a franchise. And even then, references and nostalgia can only get you so far. Ultimately, Evil Dead the Game can be improved by patches and I’ll be happy to return to it when it is improved. As for now, I’ll stick with my film collection for my Evil Dead fix.
This wouldn’t be as much of an issue if combat didn’t make up about 75% or more of the gameplay. There are some puzzle elements that show up midway but they aren’t very deep and aren’t all that often. There’s no platforming to speak of so the vast majority of the game is running across the screen (or up and down depending on the camera angle), fighting mostly the same enemies with the same sluggish combat and some puzzles. After a few hours it just became unending and the only thing pulling me through was the visuals. There are collectables to find by going off the critical path but without a New Game+ option, I can’t see anyone but the most diehard trophy/achievement hunters going through it again to find them all.
I can’t say I didn’t enjoy all of my time with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, because I did enjoy quite a bit of it. And when they patch out the bugs I’m sure it will be a much better experience. Unfortunately, the things I butted heads with that are inherent to the design of the game sapped all of the joy out of it and by the time I finished the campaign, I just wanted to be done with it and move on to something else.