QC Done

Author: A.K.H.

  • Doom: The Dark Ages – Review

    This was supposed to be a 5-minute, gameplay impressions video, because I haven’t spent a lot of time with DOOM games in the past, and was only mildly interested in trying out The Dark Ages. 

    I played the previous two games in the modern trilogy for a combined total of maybe two hours, because I was quite busy with Destiny at the time and didn’t really have time for another FPS franchise.

    So I booted up DOOM: The Dark Ages thinking I would play for a couple of hours to get enough footage for a short video, and move on. However, before starting the game, I came across this setting: “Damage to Demons”, and saw that the slider went all the way till one thousand percent. 

    Regular fans of the franchise would probably laugh at the very idea of using something like this, because they never play at anything below the highest difficulty setting. But as someone who believes there’s nothing wrong in making use of the options that the developer gives you directly, I immediately jumped into the game with damage to player set to 50% and damage to demons set to 1000%, and that resulted in me completing the game in a little under 9 hours, and this video turned into a review.

  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Review

    You don’t need this video to tell you that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a good game. The market has already proclaimed it to be one of the best games of the year so far. Critic scores are excellent, user reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and it has sold millions of copies since its launch in late April.

    And that’s your summary right there. This is an excellent game that is definitely worth a try if you haven’t been able to play it yet. It’s available on PC and Xbox game pass, and this is one of those games that is definitely worth buying full price. 

  • To a T: Gameplay Impressions

    To a T is a narrative adventure game in which you play as a teenager whose arms are stuck to their side, leaving them in a permanent T-Pose. Admittedly this is one of those games that would appeal more to children, but it’s also one of those games where adults can enjoy it just fine, assuming they play it at the right time.

    For me, the right time was when I found myself at the end of my third consecutive action game for the month, and I wanted to try something a bit more lighthearted. That’s when this game showed up on my feed, and I played it for around an hour. It is a bit too simple for adults to enjoy it for a long time, but as many of the steam reviews mention, it is also quite charming, so it could be worth a try.

  • Star Wars Outlaws: A Pirate’s Fortune – Gameplay Impressions

    A Pirate’s Fortune is the second DLC for Star Wars Outlaws, the game from Ubisoft that the internet loved to hate. Behind the scenes however, the developers have been hard at work improving the game. And the initial reception on Steam at least, hasn’t been great.

    If I paid full price for this DLC, I would be pretty disappointed too, because the main story feels quite short, at around 2 hours, even less if you have a fully upgraded ship, more on that later. There is some optional content to pursue, but I didn’t really see a reason to engage with it. 

    However, I played this through a Ubisoft+ subscription, which I bought just in time to try the new Division 2 DLC, so I wasn’t too disappointed. 

  • Revenge of the Savage Planet: Gameplay Impressions

    Revenge of the Savage Planet is many things, but first and foremost it is a comedy game. And in the videogame market, there’s not a lot of those available. That’s because comedy is subjective, and it can be difficult for a game developer to make something seem funny to a wide audience. 

    That’s why most games may have some humour as part of their story to help with the pacing, but very few developers will take the risk to try and make an entire game seem funny to the players.

    With that in mind, let me say that Revenge of the Savage Planet is best enjoyed if you play it when you’re having a good or even a normal day. If you play it on a bad day, or with a bad mood in general, you might glaze over all the jokes and not be too impressed with the barebones gameplay.

    The game tries to be funny whenever and wherever it can. Starting from the walking and running animations of the main character, to the way it delivers its story, the game just wants you to have a smile on your face at all times. 

    That’s not to say that comedy is all that this game has to offer. It is also an action-adventure game, a kind of survival game, and an exploration game, with beautiful environments and a co-op feature that lets you enjoy the game with a friend.

  • Towerborne: Gameplay Preview

    We have a lot of established franchises in the looter shooter genre, like Destiny, Warframe, Borderlands, and so on. But there haven’t been that many games in the looter brawler genre, which swaps out guns for melee weapons. In fact, I think apart from the rare battle royale focused games like Naraka Bladepoint, there haven’t really been any popular looter brawler games yet. 

    And you can guess why that’s the case. Melee focused combat is much slower compared to fast paced shooter gameplay. Still, there is a niche market that likes to put some more thought into combat instead of blindly shooting at enemies. And that’s the market that Towerborne tries to capture. 

  • Plentiful: Gameplay Preview

    Plentiful is an upcoming god game from developer GabberGames, and it is a relaxing title that lets you play god by experimenting with nature and shaping the world around you. This is a short preview of the gameplay based on the demo build available in late April 2024. You can try the demo yourself at any time on Steam, with the full game set to launch later this year.

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Review

    At the end of my gameplay impressions video, I had this to say about Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Like most modern AC titles, it is probably not going to become an industry darling, but for fans of the franchise, it delivers exactly what we were waiting for – the standard AC formula, set in Japan, with a huge map waiting to be explored. 

    After spending nearly 40 hours playing the full game, I stand by what I said. At the time of writing this review, the game has been out for a little over a month, and has seen more than 3 million players already, which is a huge number by games in general, but at the same time, is also not such a huge number for AAA games, which are generally expected to sell much more. Player reception has been either mixed or positive depending on the platform, but it’s safe to say that the game hasn’t been a complete disaster like some outlets were expecting it to be before launch. 

    For those who won’t watch the entire video, here’s a summary. If you’re a longtime fan of the franchise who’s still hoping that the newer games will live up to the standards set by Assassin’s Creed II, you will once again walk away disappointed after playing Shadows. However, if you’re someone who has accepted the fact that the franchise is now a collection of well-produced historical fiction simulations, then there’s a lot to love in this game, which takes you on a memorable tour of 16th century Japan. 

    The dual protagonist experiment, which was last tried ten years ago in AC Syndicate, doesn’t really work here, as the game is unfairly balanced towards the stealth-focused Naoe, but the aggressive style of Yasuke does have its moments.

    The combat is quite simple, and the RPG experience has been drastically toned down compared to previous entries. The entire game is basically a crash course for ancient Japanese culture, and if you treat it that way, it’s an enjoyable ride all the way till the end. 

  • Detective Dotson: Review

    Detective Dotson is a cozy adventure game about a reluctant Detective, who must put aside his dream of being a movie star and take on the role of a detective to solve the mystery behind his dad’s death. 

    I received a review code to play this game early, and after more than a year of following this game’s development journey, I’m pleased to say that the team at Masala Games have delivered an impressive experience that I’m happy to recommend to anyone who likes playing narrative adventure games. However, there is a catch – you need to watch a 60-minute movie before playing the game in order to truly enjoy it. We’ll explore more of this unusual condition in the review.

    But first, a summary for those who won’t watch the entire video. Detective Dotson is a fun game that is full of interesting ideas, charming characters, and succeeds at delivering a cozy adventure that you can play at your own pace, while exploring a richly detailed world along the way. 

    The game splits its levels into cases, each of which offer a different puzzle to solve in the streets of the city. At launch,  the number of cases might feel less, but these cases get more complex as you keep making progress. Depending on how much time you decide to spend on the mini-games, your initial playthrough can take up to five hours. The developer has promised to introduce more content later this year as a free update.

    There is a tie-in movie, which comes included with your purchase of the game. The story of the movie essentially sets up the game, and is a highly recommended watch, as it offers a far more thorough introduction to the game’s world, and it is a fun experience on its own with lots of humour and action. 

    You can of course skip it entirely and dive straight into the game, but the movie is such a crucial part of the experience that you may end up being confused if you play the game directly. 

  • Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 2: Review

    Tape 2 for Lost Records: Bloom and Rage continues the story of Swann Holloway and her three friends who have a memorable summer in the year 1995, but then something mysterious happens that causes them to grow apart and not speak to each other for decades. Part of the mystery was revealed at the end of part one, when we find out that one of those friends, Kat, is suffering from cancer, and that chapter ended on a cliffhanger.

    Before going into the full review, here’s a quick summary. If you thought Tape 1 was slow, you may not be happy to know that Tape 2 is also quite slow. On top of that, it is also quite short, at least compared to Tape 1. The good news however, is that the story does wrap up quite well, although to no one’s surprise, there are multiple endings based on your own choices. This does give some replayability, to see if you can get a better ending after your first playthrough. 

    The rest of the game is pretty similar to Tape 1, so I will keep this review short by skipping two sections – Visuals & Performance, Sound & Music – these are the same as Tape 1, although I will highlight that there are a few bugs in the launch window, one of which caused me to restart a scene and lose some progress. The texture pop-in issue also continues here, similar to the first part. Hopefully these will be patched soon, but these issues are quite minor.