Reviews

I rarely get into the deep, dense games that require a lot of a time commitment these days. Having never played a Monster Hunter game before, this required a lot of my time to get into. I'd say I was probably 60 hours in once I really "got" it. And even before I really got it, I was hooked. If you're wondering if you could handle a game like this, I'd recommend just getting the very basics of the game down and keep playing. The game continues to open up and teach you more the farther you go.

There's something so satisfying about losing to a terrifying beast 4 times then finally overcoming it with everything you learn with each death. Whenever I approach a new monster, I'm legitimately scared. It's so intimidating that I spend a lot of time both mentally preparing and preparing my character with the right decorations and items. But once you're a few minutes into that first battle, you start identifying the monster's patterns. That monster which was once terrifying is now a dummy that you can manipulate and have a little fun with. Playing through World, Nergigante was the first very challenging monster for me. After overcoming him, I felt like he was my monster. Then it was Kushala-Daora. Then Barioth (that bitch). Point is, not every monster takes tons of practice, but every couple do. And those real challenging ones are very satisfying, and you feel a connection to them.

I only play solo. I'm a little older with a full-time job, so it's hard to find friends that can commit to a game like this. I know that the game must be so much more fun with a regular team you can hunt with. I'm 160 hours in and haven't even finished the Iceborne story yet. You can really play this game at your own pace which I enjoy. Now I'm getting more in-tune with the community, updates and events. So now I see tons of great gear that are only obtainable from quests that require a certain level that I haven't hit yet, so I am feeling some pressure to finish the story and rank up.

A game hasn't captivated me like this in a very long time. If you're a newcomer to the series and can get through the first few hours, it is well worth whatever price you paid for it.

It's all right. It seems to be trying to be Uncharted with Souls-like combat, but it executes neither aspect well. The only saving grace is that it's Star Wars. It's buggy as hell and the movement feels so muddy. The dodge/roll is so slow. The climbing and parkour remind me of the early Assassin's Creed games from 10+ years ago, where you're clearly reaching for a rope or the next hold and your character just jumps into the abyss. Some of the most annoying enemies are the goat-like things which can kill you in a hit or two, or hit you just right so that you slide off a cliff. Also, you'll slide off cliffs a lot. 

I lowered the difficulty and still had all of these issues. I ditched this game 5 hours in and picked up Uncharted 4, enjoying it so much more. The phrase is a bit of a cliche when it comes to video games these days, but this game did NOT make me feel like a Jedi at all. Coming from Respawn, I was expecting it to feel similar to Titanfall 2 which had very fluid movement and fun gameplay. This one is just a slog.

I didn't get into much of the story, but there were such long gaps between the story that I wasn't following. I played on PC and it is graphically impressive, although visually kind of drab. 

The customization is a joke. The most visible customization is the ponchos. They're ugly as hell. Why not give us robes, capes, tunics? The lightsaber customization is the best part, but you really only notice the color of the lightsaber, which there are only a few.

I cannot understand the praise all of this game gets. I understand plenty of people have enjoyed it, but they must admit it has many flaws. My favorite aspects of the game were the graphics, hearing bits of Star Wars lore that connects to other stories (hearing about the recent Clone Wars, for example), and maybe the choreography of lightsaber attacks. And not the attacks that you the player are performing, but when you hit your enemy with your last blow and then the game takes over and shows you a well-choreographed cinematic. They were pretty, but I also hate when games take control out of your hands just to do something pretty. 

Finished my first playthrough of strafe gold edition, I originally played the twitch version that was given for free. When the gold addition came out for steam I picked it up at launch for like 3 bucks. I thought I should complete it this time and I'm happy I did. this game is a lot of fun and its movement is TIGHT. While the movement in this game is great the shooting (at least with the 4 starter weapons) is not as TIGHT, the game offers a ton of weapons but most of them only come as level pickup Making the more enjoyable guns have the typical RPG problem where I was saving the super special gun for the final boss, and only used like 2 out of my 20 guns. The enemies become a little bit tedious and the later ones seem to be almost like bullet sponges, but they did add more in the gold edition than the original version which is appreciated. The game has a lot of replayability although honestly, I have like a million games I want to get to and I can't say I will be exploring all of it, BUT IF I DO I'll make sure to update this review with more of my feelings. If this game gets a sequel I'd like to see a linear storyline type game like half-life 1, I love the world and it's a sense of humor, something like that would be got material. there are a lot of secrets and a new game plus mode that definitely make this game worth 3 dollars, but at an un-discounted 15 dollars that may be too much, maximum amount is like 5 dollars personally. this is a gg

This review is coming from someone playing on a PS4, I doubt the criticism I have is entirely applicable to PC players, so take this as you will. To start off positively, I love its dreadful atmosphere and how it effects my approach to playing it. The world building is great and I want to figure out what's going on. I can feel it getting under my skin and the anxiety it gives me is the type of unease I seek out in horror. The thing that frustrates me is how buggy it is. Textures and objects will take a moment to load in, but at least there's some appeal to that. I was walking down a road and saw two kids ahead. As I got closer, a barricade abruptly loaded in and that made me jump. It made me question if it was truly a glitch at all, so that gets a pass. What I don't like is the amount of waiting involved for the game to catch up with you. I started playing it today and it already corrupted a save file after crashing twice. The amount of loading is unbearable, I'll walk 10 paces after one loading screen just to be hit with another, every time I open a door to get inside a building, ANOTHER loading screen. I've heard so much praise for this game and I've been excited to give it a shot, but I'm a little disappointed. I'm glad I got it on sale, but it still feels a little overpriced with the state it's in. I don't mind if a game's mechanics are frustrating or a slow pace, but when there's immersion breaking bugs to this degree, it really tests my patience. I hope it can be patched in updates because I want to be able to fully experience it, but I don't know if some of these issues can be fixed. I will try to press on, but I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to. 

UPDATE: I've pushed through a bit more and came to a conclusion that the buginess and unfinished translation is a part of the unbearable nature that the developers were trying to achieve. It's simultaneously great and shitty game design. It's immersion breaking, sure, but that disconnect really made me think of the game from a different perspective. I think the developers found a way to fit their shortcomings to suit the game's narrative, the lack of polish goes along with the themes. Frustration was intended. I still haven't finished, but I'm thinking about how I want to, among so much more. As a work of art, this game is phenomenal, so I've changed my rating from meh to exceptional. I don't think I would recommend this to just anybody, so that's why I wouldn't grade it as so. At the very least, some of the graphical issues could be fixed. Can't believe I'm gonna say this but the aggravating loading screens are fine. Though if they were to get fixed, either there needs to be less or they need to be shorter, time and health also shouldn't be affected.

"The number one killer is time."

The opening line of Quantum Break instantly grabbed my attention. The fantastic cast and attention to detail cemented it. I hope we see more experimental media like this in the future as the genre evolves.

Quantum Break is a TV show/game hybrid about the end of time. It not only features great actors like Shawn Ashmore, Dominic Monaghan, Lance Reddick, and Courtney Hope, but has them in a full fledged live-action series that follows the events of YOUR game. That is to say the events of the show change based on your decisions and actions while playing the game. Unfortunately, this means the game requires a steady internet connection to stream the show itself. If you can deal with streaming and the questionable performance of the PC port (I had to fiddle around with settings for longer than I usually do), then the game delivers on its promises.

I wasn't expecting much from Quantum Break's gameplay, but it actually turned out to be a pretty refined third-person shooter. Aided by fantastic sound design, Jack Joyce's time manipulating powers feel great to use and offer plenty of tools to overcome combat challenges and puzzles. The upgrade system involved scavenging for "Chronon Particles" hidden throughout the game. This detracted from the narrative experience. It felt strange to stop pursuing the urgent tasks the game presents me with to search rooms for upgrades. Admittedly, the upgrades don't really do that much to help, even on Hard. It would've been nice to have a less invasive upgrade system that more naturally integrated itself into the story-focused gameplay.

The story is extremely well written. It makes your choices feel impactful, it has compelling characters and performances, and it has well thought-out sci-fi time manipulation goodness. The world feels alive and evolves over the course of the game, and it has plenty of immersive notes and intel to gather and fill in supporting details. The end of the game sets up for a possible sequel, so expect a few unsolved questions.

I'd recommend Quantum Break to fans of Alan Wake, fans of sci-fi TV like Fringe, or fans of wonky time-travel. If the TV component doesn't interest you, the game will likely fall flat.