Recent reviews by ~MRRF

Did they learn nothing from PAYDAY 2?
The potential is there for an amazing sequel and the gameplay, once you get into a game, is solid but it is absolutely ruined by the always-online requirement and completely nonsensical UI. Fun game, if you're lucky enough to get to play it. Good luck with that!

You'd think this would be Half Life in coop. It's that, but on drugs.
It's a chaotic mess of body blocking, map rushing, memes, quirky sounds, confusing maps and crowbar whacking. If you're okay with that, prepare for hours of dumb fun.

Furries with guns, sword-happy buns. Fun times it is, amazing it runs.

There are no other games quite like it.
Combining the thrill of investigating the paranormal with the underlying fear of getting hunted down and killed by whatever haunts the dark locales you're in, I'd say Phasmophobia deserves everybody's attention.
Although the VR mode still needs a lot of work, the desktop variant is a solid co-op horror experience with lots of potential for gags, messing with your friends and, of course, calling for Donna Brown to reveal herself for the 65th time only for her to mess with the door and breathe in your ears.

Might be the loneliest MMO out there, and storytelling is not its strong suite, but bring a couple of friends and you'll find a lot of satisfaction in this game.
Solid guns, solid movement, solid graphics.
Solid game.

Having gotten this for free during a "Try now, keep it forever" period, I can't comment on how much it's worth. It's obvious a lot of work has gone into this game and it's always appreciated when games are given away. These guys deserve praise and money for their work, regardless of my opinion.

I'm recommending this because I feel I haven't played it enough to give a fair review and I believe that most gamers could find something to enjoy in this game! However, as someone who enjoys very atmospheric and engaging games, I can certainly say that I don't agree with the excessive praise this game has gotten.

---

Yes, it has atmosphere. It's an eerie journey through an increasingly disturbing nightmare.
It contains some seriously impressive and cleverly designed events that make you go "Hey, that's cool!". The fact that you manually open doors and that you're able to inspect items by rotating them helps!

Yes, it has a story. Once again, disturbing but interesting. I found myself curious to learn more from the first couple of notes I'd read. It didn't seem to let go, and I'll admit the curiosity I had for learning more was what kept me going forward.

Yes, it has sound and music and its certainly not bad. Its sound design and music are suited to this style of horror game and really help the tension. But it is also just that. It fits a horror game. It's not breathtaking or special.
The game has some voiceover for certain items and notes. It's not bad.

---

Which leads me to the negative points and the reasons I can't recommend this game to a more demanding audience.
No, it doesn't scare you - unless you consider repeating jumpscares to be "scary". It's startling, not scary, and it seemed most of them missed their mark for me because of bad timing, predictability or just sheer abundance. Expect one in every other room and expect the same type of musical sting to accompany it with a slam or a swoosh. It's lazy and uninspired.

No, it doesn't keep you engaged. This game is similar to a walking simulator in that your interaction with the world is limited to inspecting items and solving very basic puzzles. That works very well for games that constantly keep you wanting to see what's around the next corner, not so well here, because you already know what's around the next corner.

No, not another locked door! This is a horror game trope I wish would just go away. I'm tired of opening doors and finding a key to unlock another locked door. That's what you'll be doing in this game. Opening doors. Over and over. I enjoy that it's linear enough so that you won't have to search every nook and cranny for a key but it's still such a chore.

---

I'll play more of this game and expect I'll play it til completion.
It's not a game for those expecting variation and engaging gameplay.
It is a game for those that enjoy jumpscares, eerie corridors and dark stories.
In this game it's not what you do that's interesting but rather what happens around you.