Recent reviews by orcajjn

Killer Frequency is a game that seemed really interesting and something that I really wanted to like. I wouldn't say its entirely worth skipping, like if its on sale and the price looks cheap enough for you to just add to the cart, then maybe its worth considering to add to your library. It's just that Killer Frequency is just kinda....alright. It doesn't really offer anything amazing. It's labeled as a horror puzzle game set in the 80's, but its not really horror or even really offering you puzzles, and some calls that happen seem a little out of place for the 80's.

The parts of the game that some may consider to be puzzles are more looking at drawings or maps or notes, and it feels like you have an eternity of time on your side. It takes you a bit out of the moment when you're supposed to help save people with a serial killer on their tail. They're more like dialogue choices where the wrong choices can lead to the killer getting their victim. Occasionally, you'll have your heart rate increase to a staggering 61 bpm when you're given a quick timer for a choice, otherwise the timer runs out and it make it for you. Think like a QTE. I was caught off guard on some of these and had to quickly grab a hold of the mouse to make a decision. These actually seemed to make sense and I was surprised there weren't more of these put in place, as it really did help capture the feeling of trying to help someone with a serial killer in their vicinity.

One thing they definitely hammer in is that you're in this small town. However, there is a part of the game later on where you get to leave the building and it looks more like a much larger place. A medium sized city at least. Out of the entire game this seemed the most surprising to me when going into that alley and seeing the buildings and environment there. It just seemed a little off, kinda like this game.

Another oddity is that this game takes place in the 80's but you'll take a lot of calls where people seem to have cell phones. Without spoiling anything, should you decide to add this game to your Steam library, there are definitely some where there is just no way they'd have been able to move around the way they are and be connected to the radio station at the same time. It's definitely something you can overlook but if you remember its supposed to be in the 80s then it can be something to take you out of the action.

But see it's not all totally bad. It's definitely underwhelming, some parts were even a drag and felt like a chore. Especially if you have an idea what to do next but you're stuck on this rail waiting and waiting. Not even like a rail shooter, or even a linear route. But it's more like you have a very strong understanding of what you'd need to do but there's some filler material and now you cant really do that thing until finishing the required filler. There were a few times I was headed out of the room only to get the notice that there were still things to do before exiting and it was usually just hitting some dialogue choices that weren't that important.

The voice acting is pretty good though, but I wonder if the lines were done remotely and the dev just put them together? Some seem a little too long. No one there caught that Canadian pronunciation of 'processor'? Sounding a little bit older than what that age group was? There's just a lot of constant rambling. These are just some things that might be considered small things, but definitely adds up where its more like they're holes in a boat that appear over time and eventually just ruins the experience.

The game is very short, a little predictable, and the later parts just felt like a chore. There are parts where you get to fiddle around finding notes and clues, and its these moments the game feels very artificial. You can play songs or ads and its just pointless. There's no one really in the building to sell the feeling of a serial killer in the town that seems a lot bigger than a small town, no one reacts to the soundboard, everything is just conveniently scattered around, and its almost like you complete all the side quests but now the main quest is the worst part.

There's even an achievement to complete it under 4 hours as long as everyone you are on hook to save survives. I didn't make this achievement and I just really cant see myself being bothered enough to want to go through this again just to get it for a second play through. It just ends up feeling like a game really designed for streamers and that point, its just easier to look it up online to watch someone else play it as a social game.

It's TFC. We need more games like TFC again.

Not even Valve today could make anything as epic as TFC today. TF2, another great game and worthy sequel when Valve used to make games, but with TFC its about the maps, chaos, grenades, spam, friendly snipers launching you across parts of the map, enemy medic spreading viruses that are contagious, the announcers voice, to multiple paths in maps to figure out even though by now we all know them, are just parts of what makes this such a charming legend that TF2 didnt have.

The personality of these games like TFC or TF2 are still memorable and may be impossible to recreate with just a few servers left and how some unfortunately stick with 24/7 2fort, because it does a disservice to TFC, when the game had a mega pint of maps to choose from that just dont get enough love when buried in 24/7 2fort's. But TFC and even TF2 had their own personality, soul, and charm that rewarded players of all skill sets.

It just doesnt seem to be the same for a lot of today's online FPS games. Not just for TFC specifically, but the general era of these games. Today they seem to try to follow a standard template but its more cookie cutter. If, by chance, you're reading this and don't have TFC, just do yourself a favor a get it and join a non-24/7 2fort server. They still have people and they show off the charm of TFC way more even if its a fraction of what it was during its prime days.

Prodeus is kind of an interesting game to recommend.

Not in a bad way, but it just feels like it takes a long time to really get going and amped up.

But once that feeling hits, the momentum goes a good way through to the end, with some pacing issues sprinkled in. It's sort of like riding a roller coaster with an extremely long wind up making it to the top before you'd be ready to puke in excitement. When you think its about to drop it doesnt until a bit later and this can feel a bit disappointing.

Prodeus has a campaign, with quite a clunky overworld (think of Super Mario Bros/World overworlds except with lava and blood and an oddly satisfying sound once you finish a level) to bridge the maps as levels where you can replay to try and complete 100% for things like killing all enemies or finding secrets. Prodeus even has a little community map option to browse.

A large chunk of the first parts of the game feels a bit underwhelming and disappointing, considering the Doom inspirations, where it can be handled by just the pistol with ease and using anything other than the pistol or shotgun just feels like overkill. It isn't until much later when using the other weapons actually comes in handy, and this could be due to the map designs and enemies spawning perfectly when the adrenaline kicked in and the game decided you do indeed need to feel kinda like a bad ass.

One point of contention for me is the look and style of Prodeus. It feels like a nod to the style than, say something like Ion Fury, where maybe closer to a Quake 2 remaster would've been more ideal. They even advertise it on the store page as a "retro look, modern era" but my point is that it feels like its not really needed. I think this hurts a little on some of the enemy looks (like the Lunger). Some places I felt like it looked fitting but a lot just seemed a little like it wouldve looked better in a different style. Just a preference I guess and in no way a reason to avoid Prodeus, unless you just absolutely hate the pixelated/lo-fi homage, but the biggest gripe is that sometimes the particle effects just kinda blend in when you're trying to feel like this ultra bad ass mowing down enemies only to feel a little silly when a couple of entry-level melee enemy nobs made it close to you. But Prodeus more than makes up for this with the absolute gorgeous gibs and gore. Good gravy it's amazing.

The Doom inspiration is obvious and in an absolute great way, whether it's from Brutal Doom, Doom 2016, or a bit of both, or somewhere in the middle. It's just that it takes a little bit of time to get there and early on felt more like Doom 3 in some maps. And even then it still feels like some pacing of a stop and go with later levels.

Now the unfortunate reality is I had no idea typing this up would get this long, but even with the clunky campaign overworld, some of the issues I had with the particle effects, this really did leave me wanting more Prodeus after finishing the campaign and trying some community maps. There's just no damn way I'm going to work on getting the "Go Get Some Fresh Air" achievement though.