Recent reviews by Ian Corvid

I feel like there could be an interesting case study done for how long it takes "Oh no! I killed someone!" to become "What happens if I kill everyone?"

When i bought this I read a review along the lines of "If you've ever petted the dashboard of your car, this is the game for you." and now that I've finished it, I agree.

The characters are charming, their voice acting perfect for each. A silent protag adventure where I found myself enjoying just listening to the conversations around me.

A calm, no-strife farming game with fun, vanity-customizable mechas. Hand-crafted map and respawning resources. Helps, but not necessary, to have a P2 to share duties with. One farming and building, the other exploring and gathering.

Neos VR used to be a good platform for VR socialization, content creators or teaching, with a bright future in becoming even better and doubtlessly rivaling the "Big name" VR games.

Not anymore. Now, thanks to the CEO doubling down on using it for Crypto despite two years worth of resistance from the game's creator and lead dev, the staff and mods, and the game's own user base.

At this point the game's creator Frooxius and his team have quit to work on a new platform under their control, and most of us long-running users have abandoned ship as well.

Whatever Neos becomes from this point forward, it won't be what it was meant to.

I honestly can't remember the last time a game gave me such a -genuine- feeling of adventure and discovery.
But the best part is that TUNIC respects the player's intelligence. There's no "Yeah I get it" moments here. Just wide eyes searching every corner and my mind cranking away at the next puzzle. The game giving you JUST enough information that you feel like you're advancing on your own.
No linear gameplay or quest lists, you advance at your own pace without the game or some NPC constantly checking in and hand holding you.

It's such a genuine experience, and one firmly in the pile of "Best games you can't talk about."

Simply put, it's yet another addition to the "Best games you can't talk about" list.

If you're curious, the demo will give you enough of a taste test without spoiling anything. If it leaves you wanting for more about what's going on in there, then you've already got the answer of whether or not to buy the full game.

If you were looking for more Outer Wilds content, that's precisely what you'll get with this.

This addition follows the original's gigabrain format where the only thing truly limiting your progress is your own understanding of the world around you, how it works, and how you can interact with it.

Exploration and experimentation are rewarded with new understanding, knowledge which becomes the keys to this universe.

An absolutely delightful feel-good game.

No overly complicated controls.
No penalty for deaths beyond a SMALL hop back to your most recent solid ground.
A number of accessibility control options, as well as an Arachnophobia mode that turns all spiders in to cute fluffy spheres.
Plenty of purely optional collectibles.
Buttery smooth physics.

Unquestioningly worth it.

Spoiler Free Review.

Outer Wilds is one of those games you can't really describe or talk about, as one of the key joys of the game comes from experiencing it and learning for yourself what it is about.

The only limitation to your progression is your own understanding of the game's universe and how things work within it,. Exploration is the prime directive and is consistently rewarded with new experiences and knowledge, which directly translates to your own progression. You'll find no doors that stay locked until you accomplish X or find it's key, your knowledge is the key. Outer Wilds can be completed in just over 10 minutes, but it will take you hours, days even to figure out how.

It's also one of few games to truly "Get" space travel. The wonder of exploration, the terror of space itself and the unknown, and how it plays by an entirely different set of rules than what we're accustomed to on Earth.

So the real question, Should you buy and play it? I would say yes if:
If you enjoy mysteries scattered about in bread crumb trails of information you must discover and piece together.
If you enjoyed how Subnautica's story played out, and wouldn't mind a similar experience sans the combat, survival hunting, crafting, base building and "Need this tool to advance" mechanics.
You enjoy stories that have more than one "So THAT's how they did X" moments.
You enjoy games who's stories offer one hell of an experience that you can only talk about with those who also had it.

Likewise you might not enjoy this game if:
You're morbidly afraid of the horrors of deep space.
You prefer action/combat/survival/sandbox games over pure story driven ones.
You do not enjoy when the answer to a particular area in the game is not always in that same immediate area.
You do not enjoy games who's stories offer little replay value once complete. (Even though it's one damn good experience)

It's been a few hours since I finished it all the way through, and I'm still in afterglow of it. I have nothing to compare this game to, and not just the game but the story it lays out for you to find your way through.

It's been a long, long time since a game made me feel this good. I let myself get fully immersed in it's story and the only bittersweet regret is that it had to end, but did so on the best of notes.

It's a game like games should be. It wasn't one where I was constantly told that I needed to go forward, I was left wanting to go forward myself. The characters lovable, The humor grand, and the gameplay itself a reminiscent of beloved games of old, with twists that make it like nothing I've seen done before.

Stay Determined!