Recent reviews by Shanks

Kingdom Come Deliverance (KCD) is an action RPG made in a hyper-realistic way. But don't let that or its steep learning curve for combat deter you. Beneath the mechanics lies a strong narrative and a game made with passion, heart, and soul.

Story & Gameplay
KCD puts you in the role of Henry, the son of a blacksmith in the small village of Scalitz. The game is set around the medieval era in old European Bohemia. There are no dragons, orcs, or other mythical creatures. It's not that type of RPG. Instead, you're thrust into an conflict between King Wenceslas the Idle and his half brother Sigismund as they battle for control of the realm.

Your character, Henry, begins the game as little more than a peasant. As was common in the time, not many can read, and this is true of Henry. You start as a weak peasant with little fighting skill and you can't read. As you grow as a character in this game, you'll feel that growth as you go from an illiterate peasant to a strong knight, a stealthy thief, or maybe you instead decide to focus your efforts in a more diplomatic area by boosting your speech skills. You'll make use of all of that at some point in the game, so it's wise to not let one area go completely unfocused. But a sharp tongue can be just as useful as a sharp blade in some cases as you can talk your way right out of combat, jail, or other sticky situations if you so choose. That or it's the mace to the head.

In the realm of tradeskills you'll only be able to dabble in alchemy, which is quite a useful skill to work on as it will provide you with many potion options that can offer a number of buffs capable of boosting armor stats, and more as well as allowing you to see better in the dark. You'll also be able to craft Saviour Schnapps, which is the only way to save outside of certain auto-save moments or sleeping areas such as Inns, tents, or the Rattay Mill. Additionally, you can also craft poisons that can be applied to your blade or used to spike enemy food. Or you can make a Lullaby potion to dose them for a non-lethal approach.

Combat
Combat in KDC has a bit of a learning curve as it makes use of directional attacks. Don't let it discourage you. The game will not hold your hand out the gate with this. So if the quest tells you to run, you should probably run. But rest assured, when there is a point in the story that you should know/learn how to fight, someone will be there narratively to teach you as part of the story. From there you'll be able to visit that trainer to practice. It's a good idea to visit this trainer often to get your skills with weapons up as they can come in handy later in heavy combat or tournaments.

As you learn the ropes in combat you can learn more advanced tactics such as combo attacks for certain weapons, advantages for that weapon if you're proficient in it, and advanced blocking or counter attacks. The perfect Counter is very handy.

Weapons and armor don't have magical properties, their benefits come in the protection or attack that they offer through their craftsmanship. You can find a sword or mace anywhere, but finding a well-made one will provide you with better attack damage or protection. A heavy warhammer for example, can crack the most protective helmet faster than a simple bludgeon.

When it comes to armor you can go for the heavy protective stuff or a lighter more nimble set. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Less heavy armor will allow you more options for stealthy gameplay while clanking around in plate in the dark is likely to get you noticed, especially if there's a light source shining off that bright plate of yours. But in a fight, thicker plate can mean more protection. You may not be good at dodging in plate but you can take a hit much easier.

Other things to note are charisma on clothing, as this can help influence your speech. However, wearing thick plate over your high charisma clothing can cost you those charisma benefits. NPCs will also react differently to you based on the cloths you wear. Approaching an NPC in a monk cloak will prompt a different response than looking like a knight in shining armor.

Speaking of shining armor, be sure to visit the bathhouses located in a number of towns every so often as it's the only way to get your armor cleaned and, if you so choose, get your sword polished by one of the bathhouse wenches for a charisma buff. After about a day or so, your armor and hygiene will start getting more and more filthy. The NPCs will notice this and it can end up costing you charisma when it comes to important dialogue. I had mine drop from 20 to 2 once. You should also make it a habit to either buy repair kits for your gear or visit an armorsmith and tailor after battles for repairs. Your gear can and will break if you neglect it and you'll need to visit a specialist to repair it (weaponsmith for weapons, armorsmith for armor, tailors for softer armors, and a cobbler for shoes).

As for traversing this vast land, you can walk, get a horse, or use quick travel if you've unlocked a point for a city. While quick travel is a quicker option, there's also the risk of hitting random events along the road that you may or may not be able to avoid. These can range from simple beggars looking for coin to brigands and cumens looking to rob you of all your Grochen (the in-game currency).

Unfortunately, there are a few bugs that pop up from time to time. There have been a few quests that have some bugginess. But the main annoyance I hit at times was trying to dismount my horse between a gate or in certain areas where objects may be on both sides. This caused my character to just get stuck and unable to do anything, leading to me having to reload a previous save. It's an annoying bug, especially if you've made a lot of progress, forgot to save, and have run out of Saviour Schnapps.

Quests
There's no shortage of quests in KCD, many of which have a narrative point. Few are pointless and ask you to collect X and bring it to X without providing some kind of fun story relating to it. Don't get me wrong, there are a few like that as well as a few that seemed a bit rushed. But overall, it's a fun narrative experience with most, even while not on the main story.

KCD has one thing you need to watch out for though. Some quests are time sensitive and the game while not giving you a timer counting down does actually give you an in-game indicator by way of quest text, so it's important to read your quest journal. If the quest says someone needs help or might die, you should probably help them. Because if you don't, after a while they will die.

NPCs have daily routines with shops open during the day, having a beer at the Inn, talking to each other on streets, and at night they head home for some rest. They'll react to you based on your reputation as well. A merchant you have developed a good repport with will offer you better prices than one that you've been causing trouble with. Merchants have limited money, so selling them items more often allows them to make a profit from those items, and have more the next time you visit as the economy is dynamic. You sell them items, they sell those items and make more money. Then they'll have a bigger coin purse next time you visit.

KCD is one of the best RPGs I've ever played despite having a few bugs along the way. It has deep story, fun combat, and is an RPG that will swallow your life if you let it. Warhorse showed that they have the chops for this sort of game and they have made me a fan with this one. If you're looking for a more realistic themed RPG, I can't recommend this one enough.
Hopefully the sequel, if they make it, will carry over decisions ala Mass Effect.

PS: Buy From the Ashes if you pick this up. It adds a new town that can grow as you play. I may update this with DLC reviews on my next playthrough. As for now, I've only played From the Ashes, but I'll have them all for the next playthrough. Enjoy!

To preface this, I own the original State of Decay and all expansions on Steam and Xbox 360. I also own the State of Decay Year One Edition on Xbox One just so you know where I'm coming from and why this game isn't in my Steam library. That said, let's talk State of Decay.

This game is insanely addictive if you're a fan of zombie survival and base building type defense games. It was developed by a new studio at the time, Undead Labs, founded by Jeff Strain of Guild Wars fame and a number of other developers passionate about zombie games. That's one of two things you need to know. The other is that this was originally released as an Xbox 360 Arcade game and was limited to the 2GB download on that platform at the time. And given the job these guys did with it, I would love to see what they could do without some of the restrictions and a bit of a bigger budget.

There are 3 modes for this game that are included by way of the base game and Breakdown and Lifeline DLCs. In the original story mode you start right in the thick of things as the outbreak is happening on the Trumbull County map. It's a pretty good size and comes with a number of optional base locations. You start in the church, which is ok, but later you'll want to expand to one of the bigger locations, which will be opened up during the storyline and also come with a few prerequisites.

The characters all have voice actors, but as you might expect being a budget game they reuse some of them. As you build onto your base you'll eventually have the chance to help out other survivors in enclaves. Earn their trust and they just might join you if you want them. But you might want to be a bit picky as each member has some useful skills, some useless skills, and other personality traits and flaws. Some might be great motivators to keep your community’s spirits high, while others are complete pricks and cause problems.

As for the zombies, you have your garden variety shamble, runners, and your specialty zombies. A shamble or two alone isn’t much of a problem, but runners are fast and if you’re not careful they can grab a hold of you, allowing the others to catch up. In small numbers they’re not too dangerous, but if you get the attention of a horde, you better have explosives, plenty of ammo, or the ability to run long distances without getting winded too quickly. Otherwise, you my friend, are about to become a Manwich.

Specialty zombies come in a few flavors. I don’t want to deprive you of experiencing them first hand, so let’s just say some are big, some are mean, some are loud, but most can make sure you make a gruesome décor in whatever area you’re standing in.

As for the DLC, Breakdown is a repeating play of the Trumbull County map. You start the map at a little outpost and have to establish a base and build your community. After a while you’ll locate an RV or get a call telling you where it is. Repair that and you can move to the next map with a few choice survivors from your community to tag along. The next map is the same but the difficulty continues to ramp up with each move over to the next. Certain challenges are also available each new map that if completed will unlock one of the hero survivors for you to recruit to your community. These are characters from the original story and the Lifeline DLC. Some of which have special traits that can be very handy like calling in an artillery strike, a surveillance drone, etc.

The Lifeline DLC takes it up a notch and introduces an entirely new map and story. This DLC focuses on a military outpost as the outbreak is happening. You start with all the resources you could need, so make use of them quick because as the story goes on and the zombies encroach on other areas, you will lose specific perks. Luckily, you can recapture them by way of establishing outposts.

Lifeline also has a 3-stage hazard challenge. You start at Stage 1, then stage 2 hits, which is your warning to haul ass back to base. When Stage 3 hits, zombies will assault your base. You will want to be there when that happens; otherwise the base will be a bit of a mess. That and you will probably lose some people you might rather keep alive.

The base has a set of defenses that can be manually set back up after each attack. So make sure you do that. After a successful defense, you’ll be able to resume your activities of scavenging for goods and saving survivors. By the end of this one, you’ll have a choice to make. And that choice can have a bit off an impact.

Overall I can’t recommend this game enough if you like zombie games and base building/defense. As of writing this it’s on sale through Steam and if you’ve been on the fence, I recommend you buy it. State of Decay 2 is coming up next year, so if you haven’t tried this yet, now is a great time to do it.

If you like zombie survival games, you want this one. State of Decay is one of those rare gems that started out on the Xbox Arcade and was developed under that whole 2GB limit. I honestly would love to have seen what Undead Labs would have been able to do with this if they were not working under such restraints.

The base game itself can play out in a number of ways. You have several bases to choose from, various weapons, vehicles that have their own set of stats (fast and flimsy or slow and durable). The main game has a storyline that can take a while to complete, an advancement system that lets you choose a set of skills to specialize for each person as you level them up (easy to miss if you're new, second tab in the character screen), and a colorful set of characters.

The Breakdown DLC is the survival mode you want to play. This does have some drawbacks though; luckily it's not that expensive. Breakdown removes the story mode and puts you in the Trumbull map. After a while you'll find an RV, repair it, and move on to the next map. The next map is the same map but with harder zombies, more spawns, and a higher chance of being torn to pieces.

Where my grievances come in with this DLC is the character parts were done a bit lazy. Most don't have their regular voices from the original game. Pastor Will has Ed's voice in mine and was once telling me how he got laid behind a park bench or something. So while minor, it's noticeable.

(Edit: Adding in some new info now that I've had a chance to play Lifeline and the updates to fix things are likely finished) There are still some lingering glitches even after several updates, one of the most notable being that some zombies can at times run through the house and get stuck in the floor, Big'un zombies can sometimes glitch through doors and lead to mission failures or the death of a playable character if you're really unlucky.

The Lifeline DLC is it's own map and introduces several new characters, weapons, and vehicles. While it's a fun little game with its own unique story to the SoD world, it offers less freedom than the original. In Lifeline you will have access to many new techs to help fight off the zombie hoards while you evacuate survivors. But as time goes on, you'll lose some of these advantages. Luckily you can get them back later, but the tradeoff is you'll have to sacrifice your outposts to certain areas to maintain them. You also work on a bit of a timer throughout the game. Hoards will periodically atack your base and you'll need to be back there to help fight them off or bad things will happen.

All in all, Lifeline is a pretty decent story on its own, but I think the original game still stands as the better of the two.

Overall, I can't recommend this one enough for fans of zombie survival and building games. With any luck Undead Labs will have a chance to expand on this one in the future and make something truly unique.

If you're a fan of horror and story games and you haven't played Alan Wake and it's smaller follow-up Alan Wake: American Nightmare, you should do so now. Both are worth it and should be played in Order.

Alan Wake blends a nice mix of creepy storytelling in the vein of the Twilight Zone and other horror influence to tell a fun tale of a man drawn into a dark story in the town of Bright Falls. Within the game world the light is your ally, and straying into the darkness of the night can be dangerous. But doing so can also be rewarding at times.

One of the best parts about Alan Wake is the way it foreshadows some events. All I'm going to say about that is that there are in-game manuscript page collectibles. In most games you would be compelled to collect this sort of thing and move right on. But take my advice, you should read each one of these as soon as you get them.

Gameplay wise, you'll often make use of a flashlight as light is one of you're key tools in surviving the world of Alan Wake. But fear not, there are guns, flares, and an assortment of other things at your disposal as well. The light, quite literally, is your friend here.

The story is pretty good but is a bit deep so you'll not really understand all of what's going on until later. And even then, it can be a bit of a mind-bender.

One last thing to keep an eye out for as you make your way through the game are television sets placed in various spots. Clicking on them can sometimes reveal some story elements, but more often than not you can watch an episode of the fictional television show, "Night Springs", which is a bit of a Twilight Zone show for this world. They're short and filmed as live action shows, so they can be a bit amusing and a bit creepy. A nice little bit of side fun if you want it. ;p

I'll wrap up by saying this. If you have yet to play Alan Wake and you're a fan of both horror and story, buy this. It's got great story, good fun, and is a must-have for horror game fans. It's a classic that has most certainly stood the test of time and at it's current price it is more than worth it.