Recent reviews by LAIKbl

• 2017 last time played (PoE 1)
  
• 200 hours in PoE 2
  
• level 90 witchhunter
  
• quitting the game now

Is it worth the ~30 bucks? Absolutely. (+ I trust GGG will address many of the frustrating issues in the endgame...)

CAMPAIGN
The campaign alone justifies the early access price.

1. Great storytelling
   
2. Outstanding voice acting
   
3. Incredible boss fights
   
4. Amazing gameplay pacing (I really loved the level up -> check vendors for potential upgrades cycle)
   
5. Pressing buttons feels veeery good

ENDGAME
The endgame is not only very undercooked but also very frustrating in multiple ways: leveling up, progressing, upgrading gear, and simply playing your character (not always, but most of the time)

1. Level up -> check vendors for potential upgrades = "GONE". Not really but pretty much useless in endgame.
   
2. You HAVE to use GGGs TRADE SITE for upgrading your gear or your screwed (unless you're a veteran who knows what to pick up, when to craft, and how).
   
3. You SHOULD also use third-party tools like Sidekick or Exiled Exchange 2 or something else or you endgame experience will suffer greatly.
   
4. If you still decide to craft without deeper knowledge -> Crafting = RNG, have fun :) (I personally don't like it at all).
   
5. Ascendancy progression is locked behind 2 types of trials, both heavily RNG-based and requiring very little skill. Set 1 and Set 2 are easy, good luck, have fun with Set 3 and 4.
   
6. Waystones mechanic (MAPS in PoE 1) is extremely punishing (1 death = Map gone; 10% XP gone; Boss gone; Breach gone; Every other Icon + Modifier gone). This might be acceptable IF...
   
7. ...VISUAL CLARITY wasn’t the absolute worst in gaming history. So many one-shot and on-death mechanics... EVERYONE on the internet seems to hate this in particular, and for good reason.

(Video) Visual clarity is bad, REALLY BAD. This is what will frustrate every single one of you :) (+ obviously all the on-death effects):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8KHK1igUu8&list=PL8InGed9Mc4m_AlhBw5UMSwrsl2H6iW8h&index=2&pp=gAQBiAQB

(Video) Proof of how RNG-based the Trial of the Sekhemas truly is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC7Tp97Aibw&list=PL8InGed9Mc4m_AlhBw5UMSwrsl2H6iW8h&index=1&pp=gAQBiAQB

Not a horror genre enjoyer at all.
Played Resident Evil 1 and 3 centuries ago, and that's about it (if that even counts, lol).

Bought this game for 2 main reasons:
1. Art style looked very well made
2. Story premise sounded interesting

Clearly a

Maaaan... this game was something else.
Even though I (obviously) don’t consider myself a horror genre enthusiast or a "horror guy" who knows the ins and outs of the genre, I was completely blown away.

This experience is one I’m lucky I didn’t miss.
Gameplay, voiceover (japanese), artstyle, animations, pacing, OST and most importantly the storytelling were absolutely AMAZING.

FOR ME, it's a PERFECT GAME in its genre.

After beating this game + A LOT of other similar games on the hardest difficulty (Winblown, Dead Cells, Ember Knights, Trinity Fusion, BlazBlue Entropy Effect, Deadlink etc.) I can definitely say that

It's my new personal number 1 co-op roguelike.

While not as fast-paced as Windblown, Hades or Dead Cells (it doesn't need to), the pacing is simply perfect.
Also giga smooth, flowy and fluid - feels very good pressing buttons.


Ember Knights was my personal best co-op roguelike before, closely followed by Risk of Rain 2.
However, Ravenswatch's balancing, pacing and difficulty scaling is BY FAR the best imo.

Damn... every character has MULTIPLE memoirs extensive voice acting, which is a pleasure to listen to.
The OST itself is also very fitting.

Very well-balanced, fair + QUITE challenging on hardest difficulty setting.

EDIT: Mini HARDEST DIFFICULTY ONLY complain...

... after finally beating the game with all characters on the hardest difficulty (YouTube playlist below), I gotta say:

1st map/early game is like 90% of the run and tbh it's not THAT fun because I know that many other games do a better job - it's way to snowbally early.

1. You didn't get to lvl 5 until 1st boss? RESTART
2. You didn't do the quest/failed the quest (straw one...)? RESTART
3. You didn't find the key (random spawn) for the skull boss? RESTART
4. You didn't get at least a little lucky with camp clearing talents or item rerolls? RESTART
THE TIMER IS BREATHING DOWN YOUR NECK like crazy lol

You HAVE TO RUSH and clear super fast camp after camp without stopping/fighting in between!

Ember Knights, Risk of Rain 2, Deadcells, Windblown etc etc do a MUCH better job. (hardest difficulty only)

First full run (victory) on the hardest difficulty for anyone who's interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtMzoopEKkQ&list=PL8InGed9Mc4m_AlhBw5UMSwrsl2H6iW8h&index=2

After beating KILL KNIGHT + A LOT of other similar games on the hardest difficulty (Windblown, Dead Cells, Trinity Fusion, BlazBlue Entropy Effect, Deadlink etc.)
I can definitely say that this is a clear

Giga smooth, flowy and fluid—feels very good pressing buttons.

The difficulty scaling is THE BEST I've seen in any game in this genre so far, it's super fair and very very challenging.

Good!

Full run(s) on the hardest difficulty for anyone who's interested (playlist): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58RLf5H8YII&list=PL8InGed9Mc4m_AlhBw5UMSwrsl2H6iW8h&index=2

After beating this game + A LOT of other similar games on the hardest difficulty (Dead Cells, Kill Knight, Trinity Fusion, BlazBlue Entropy Effect, Deadlink etc.) I can definitely say that this is a clear

If you like the genre or any of the mentioned games above, it's a MUST PLAY.

Giga smooth, flowy and fluid—feels very good pressing buttons.

I simply love it.

No issues whatsoever, can create/join games in different regions.

For a 10/10 I would like to see

1. Option to somehow upgrade your low-level weapons later on.
It doesn't feel good if I HAVE TO switch to a different weapon later on the run, just because I didn't get a better version of my chosen one, and the new weapons are THAT much stronger.

2. Achievements for beating the game on higher difficulties.

3. Make the game way more challenging, compared to the games I mentioned above, Windblown is kinda easy... right now at least.

Full run on the hardest difficulty for anyone who's interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyC7fsIEWDI&list=PL8InGed9Mc4m_AlhBw5UMSwrsl2H6iW8h&index=9

90% F-Zero GX DNA.

100% must play for every F-Zero fan.

I had to buy it instantly when it got released and support the developers.
Only thing missing, for me at least: Online multiplayer

"Explicit Violence, Sexual Violence"
Oh boy, 100% yes xD

Beat it on the hardest difficulty (12-14hrs) and it wasn't challenging at all to be honest BUT it doesn't aim to be a difficult game so it's fine.

For someone like me who likes this kind of Rick and Morty'ish humor, this is definitely a solid

A lot to look at, to listen too and especially to laugh at - this game has A TON of voice lines, ranging from extremely smart to extremely dumb ones xD

After 68 hours and finishing the game on lethal (hardest difficulty) + doing almost everything, like liberating all zones, doing all missions (+ side quests)...

...for me, this is clearly THE BEST single-player game ever made—no contest!

I've waited 4 years for the PC release.
I even watched a complete playthrough back then when it was release because I was so hyped but didn't want to buy a console just for literally one game.
And 4+ years later, I am still in love with it.

MASTERCLASS level! You feel the running, the walking, the climbing, everything, you just feel the impact of almost everything.

Based on LETHAL difficulty:
Early-game feels very difficult.
Mid-game feels challenging here and there, and
End-game feels WAY TOO EASY because of one broken technique where you can literally 3 shot enemy bosses... and nope, they don't react or adapt to it, sadly—yes it bothered me a little, but it's fine.

MASTERCLASS level as well! It is set during the first Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274, specifically on Tsushima Island.
It almost feels unfair comparing this games storytelling with any other game, seriously...

Played with ENG voice acting and I plan on using JPN voice acting on my 2nd playthrough:
PLEASE give the people responsible for the ENG voice acting all the awards in the world - this is unbelievably well made—no, it's insane how good everything sounds!

You will think about some specific in-game moments in real life after you finish the game guaranteed - everyone will, 100% sure.

MASTERCLASS level aaagain - the beginning, the duels, all the "default" fights, the shrines, the hot springs, the boss fights, everything simply on point—the people behind it are extremely skilled & talented.

Once again: This is truly my personal #1 single-player game of all time. I've never felt and experienced things like I did in this game (well, there is actually one other game that comes close: Sea of Stars).

After beating the game without having played HADES 1 yet:
One of the best rogue-likes ever made so far and the game is still in early access + there are still A LOT of things to do in-game!

Smooth, responsive and intuitive game mechanics. It feels good pressing buttons.
Even the dash into sprint feels awesome, I really don't understand why some/very few people feel like it's "laggy" or "delayed".

Most likely the best in this genre. Very well written and told + SOOO MUCH good voice acting, it's insane!

Incredibly well made, nothing else to say. My favourite by far: Scylla/Sirens - Coral Crown!

Personally I love how Dead Cells handles progression the best: You HAVE to play every single difficulty and you don't need to cherry-pick through a HEAT- or, in this game, FEAR-System.
It's just a personal thing because it gets confusing if you want to compare yourself with others and such: "Oh, you did it on the same FEAR-level but didn't increase enemy health? Well, I did, and it's way more difficult that way..." lol


AXE/Zorephet enthusiast btw. If you interested in a full run with it (SPOILER ALERT obviously), check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrvYKliMkA8

After finishing the game on Neuromancy (hardest difficulty) + having played through countless other rogue-lites on max difficulty settings, I can definitely say that
If I remember correctly I've never gave a rogue-lite a clean 10/10... maybe Dead Cells and/or Returnal.

SUPER fast paced first-person shooter that massively rewards good precision + movement!

It just feels perfectly balanced on all 3 difficulties.

Very interesting + a lot of charm + amazing voice acting + everything makes sense in the universe they've built.

One banger after another!


If you want to take a look, here is my run on Neuromancy with Juggernaut (SPOILER ALERT obviously):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iKwpdwaiIY