Recent reviews by Lvlin Up

It's surprisingly addictive for those who aren't math tards. The music, style, setting, and minimalism fit so well together, you know the dev was into the scene. You'll never look at an underground rave the same again...

Can't rec in 2024. Poorly optimized to the extent that the resolution drops to something like 480x760 for "artistic" or "stylistic" cut scenes. It's frankly annoying. It's like playing an older, less polished GTA5 with just the gunplay.

For the price of a cup of latte at your coffeeshop, sure. But keep in mind you will not have fun on most laptop GPUs (it's unplayable on a 3060). Compared to BF5, which I can still get 40-60 fps on the same system on Low. That said, if you have a rather solid desktop with GPU scoring at least 18000 and a solid internet connection, you may have a fun time. FPSes like these optimally need to run at 90 fps+ for it to be enjoyable. I'm guessing the expansion to 128 players is twice as taxing on any system as previous BFs. After playing it, I do like it a little more than BF5, which has way too many vehicles and snipers. Spawn killing has also been addressed with a gadget. Although I just scratched the surface and maybe it's the same experience once you get through it all.

Caveat. If you own any of the Far Cry series, be prepared for very similar base clearing mechanics and low effort perk trees that should've been base mechanics plus a cringey storyline. It's best described as Far Cry with zombie horde mechanics. If you are into that, maybe you'll like it. As for me, after 35 hrs I kinda lost interest in even finishing the story. Never @ full price.

If you have a Fanatec wheel or similar, this is a must-own. I can't believe how good the physics and driving mechanics are for an arcade style racer. It's basically plug and play and no time-consuming dive into settings to get driving with a shifter and a handbrake as well. The tuning options look simple, but seriously, one notch can mean the difference between podium and all the rest if you know how to set up a car to your driving style. Set the view to cockpit and it's basically the best demolition derby game for sim racers.

First time encountering a WNBA zombie at night in a thunderstorm got me sweating bullets. Even the plots are well written and close to real-life survival: everyone's a ♥♥♥♥, trust no one. Logical and somewhat deep crafting system with a practical perks tree. Two-player barricade would be a blast and extend shelf-life if I had gaming friends. Very well thought out isometric twin-stick survival game with some minor bugs and annoyances. Highly rec and humorous for a couple of bucks.

Like Ark but much easier to play. Environment is beautiful and characters have that cute style for a relaxosaurus time! Bonus: works well with controllers and a sofa.

It was fun, when it works! Still crashing hard sometimes. No crafting system, battlepass model. Less variety of weps than v1.
UPDATE 8/23: When hosting it's pretty solid now. Appreciate the constant updates and new weps and whatnot that isn't pay to win if you grind. Balancing is still not great but at least there's new content. Everyone is still waiting on the Illuminate. Oh, and be prepared for toxic, try-hard, bro-mentality (and not the Christian bro) type players. I've actually gotten ganged up on as well as a death threat for getting on the exfil craft early LMAO. You don't need to be Usain Bolt to run 100M to the ship in 20s. Oh and then there are clans now who'll shoot you in the back for no reason. So ridiculous some Americans are, and they still can't stop/won't stop Putin. Nukes are heading there soon IRL. This game reflects that. Technically it's a great coop game, but I'd rec private games with friends and be prepared for bugs.

Bought this strictly for VR, and the controls need a lot of work. The positioning of the buttons and menus is a serious issue. However, if you are just playing it on a screen it's a good game, with some issues finding key crafting materials for basic items. This makes it hard to progress in the game. Graphics look good, but still a little cartoony for my taste, in 2023 I'd expect mind-blowing realism for this type of game. But as it is, recommended for non-VR, not rec for VR.

I am an 81 y.o. grandma...just kidding.
"And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him."
Art thou engine crippled in old age? Or doest partiality and slotheness of heart lead ye in the present coldness?
Doeth ye refuse in ye hard-heartedness to optimize for new machines?
Oh Bethesda, why art thou mines copy pasted? Do ye think even the blind wilst not notice?

It's true, the "optimization" in this title is just straight up lame and would take an act of God to improve...
ooor was it intentional (looking at the AMD bundles and Xbox exclusivity)?
The engine still thinks it's 2015, and CPUs are necessary for processing graphics, and they're still demanding a king's ransom.
The visuals are about the same level as Fallout 4(arguably groundbreaking for its time) and not competitve with Cyberpunk 2077
without ray-tracing. There's no reason I should get 2-3x faster framerates in CP2077 at higher settings.
And don't get me started on the loading screens; it's much more noticeable here than in Fallout4 and Skyrim.
Sure the gaming industry has not really been innovative due to the assets-based model, but man,
I can't imagine you've improved your proprietary engine at all, even though it's your IP.

TLDR: Gripes aside, I do think this game is worth a playthrough at a discount. Is it groundbreaking? Not at all.
Is it basically Fallout 4 in space? Yes, but it's different enough to be worthwhile. Side quests, crafting, outpost building, spaceship customizing, perk trees; are all interesting enough to keep one entertained for over 100 hrs. The production side makes it a proper AAA experience, with the orchestral scores, great writing and voice acting typical of B.
It's an adult game with adult topics and conversations that 99% of games don't bother with. And those shouldn't be limited to RPGs.
The first time I lifted off, my entire apt was shaking from the subwoofer.
So sit down in front of your TV with a controller on a Friday night and don't forget to power on your 7.1 surround sound.