Game reviews – Page 29 – Savior Gaming

Ixion Playstation 5 Review

It isn’t often that I get excited for a space builder on consoles, but when Bulwark Studios sent me a copy of Ixion I won’t deny I couldn’t wait to check this bad boy out. The story alone had me interested. The Earth is on the brink of extinction due to ecological collapse. A company (DOLAS) steps up with new technology to possibly save humanity in the form of a new engine that can take humanity to new heights in space travel, finding a new home. The dreamer in me loves this.

My realistic part loves where it goes from here, and I won’t go into detail. But I will say I would watch an entire TV series based on it. All of this, however, means very little if the gameplay is lacking or the controls don’t function well.

I am happy to say the game controls fantastically on PS5. At no point was I left wishing I had a mouse or that things were more precise, with one small exception. Some of the larger buildings must be built in certain spots, such as anything that leads outside. For example, probe stations. This isn’t a control issue so much as a design issue. It bothers me, and it probably shouldn’t. Aside from that, the controls are great.

The gameplay is also top-notch. The game flows nicely, from the prologue through each chapter I never felt like I was being forced to do new things I hadn’t had the chance to prepare for, and while graphically the game isn’t steller it is one of the better-looking games of its type out there.

If you enjoy this type of game, you really need to pick this 9/10 game up. This game will be in my catalog for a long time to come. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Last of Us Part II

Joel and Ellie have settled down after escaping the Fireflies but all is not well after Ellie learned the truth Joel hid from her. They have a home. Ellie is beginning to thrive, even finding love, until the unthinkable happens when Joel is viscously murdered in front of her. Traumatized and enraged, Ellie ventures off to find the young woman named Abby and her crew responsible, journeying deeper into terror and bloodshed for revenge. But why was Abby out to kill Joel in the first place? Who are the Wolves and the Scars at war? How far are the two willing to go to settle their disturbing blood feud?

So controversies aside, I can understand some of the hate for the game. The Last of Us was a storytelling masterpiece. Last of Us 2 is a sequel that takes a lot of risks and goes to some truly depraved places as a revenge story. Personally, I loved most of what the game had to offer but I can understand why someone wouldn’t. The story, while way darker than the first (which really says something) balances it out with some pretty heartfelt and beautiful moments as did its predecessors. I was incredibly captivated by Ellie and Abby’s journeys. The beginning is much slower so you do have to stick around but once Ellie starts her revenge quest, the game not only opens up but you’re treated to some really tense gameplay. The infected take a back seat this time, though the new types combined with the vastly smarter enemy AI make some good horror- the Rat King towards the end genuinely scared the shit out of me and was one of my favorite horror bosses in a while. I love that the game adds some disturbingly realistic touches to the enemies so you feel dirty killing them. I appreciate the differences between Ellie’s and Abby’s weapons and passive abilities that add a bit in clinches. I do have have to say the game overall is way harder than the first and much less forgiving. I’ve gotten more frustrated on certain sections of this game than I have on a lot of Souls games and Alien: Isolation o give you an idea, so patience is a must. Also the slower pace does make the game feel much longer, even without the humongous death count, than I’m sure it really is. In the end, I love the game just as much as the first as a truly horrific revenge tale bordering into the waters of depravity as Blood Meridan but this game is absolutely not for everyone but well worth your time. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mafia 2

Vito Scarletta and his best friend Joe are out to make a name for themselves in 1940’s Empire City. Both grew up poor, witnessing the destitution of the Great Depression and the riches of the made men in there midsts. After Vito returns from WW2, he finds himself getting involved with a local mob head only to be sent to prison. After a shortened sentence him and Joe are back at with a new family, new opportunities and a bright future. But at what cost?

I have a weird relationship with this series that I mostly love. 2 is actually the final game of the trilogy I played, the 3rd and least loved game being my first foray into the series, then the 1st, and now 2, which many have told me is the series’s peak. In many ways, I can see why.

The game, like the other two, is great at making you feel like you’re in the time period from the clothes, to the cars, to the guns. I will warn you, there are some raunchy scenes and a fair bit of racism involved, understandable given the time period. I loved Vito’s story and I was invested in the other characters. The driving feels solid and I do appreciate being able to tune up and customize your cars as well as save them in your garages. The gunplay is solid and challenging at points, sometimes too challenging. Sometimes I’ve died out of nowhere and the checkpoints can be unmerciful as the later, more intense missions come out. The fighting damn right annoyed the hell out of me and I tried avoiding it whenever possible. The police can be a major pain in the ass, either forgetting you exist instantly or clinging to you like herpes over the dumbest crap- I had to outrun them once for 15 minutes straight just because I checked my guns on the sidewalk. In the end, Mafia 2 is a damn good game despite some annoyances and some harmless bugs but well worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Alan Wake remastered

Fear is an interesting thing. As subjective as fear can be, some fears are instilled in everyone as part of our make-up, none other than the fear of the dark…

Alan Wake is a bestselling crime author in a rut with the dreaded writer’s block. Alan and his wife go to the sleepy woodland town of Bright Falls for a vacation at the picturesque lakeside cabin. Everything seems fine until Alice disappears and Alan is thrust into the dark woods where the very shadows themselves have taken over the townsfolk and turned them murderous. Alan’s only weapon is the safe haven of light. Day by day as Alan’s reality crumbles and the Dark Presence grows stronger, its up to Alan and a few found friends to battle the darkness and save Alice.

For a game that’s roughly 15 years old, this game does a damn good job of setting up an intense atmosphere. The game uses darkness, light, and sound to keep you on edge all the way through to the end. The story is very intriguing and has a cool King vibe I really enjoyed. The gameplay is solid but the dodge mechanic is a bit funky at times so definitely keep that in mind. If you like the band Poets of the Fall like I do, you’ll get a treat as they have music in game which is pretty cool. The game gives you just enough ammo and supplies to get through but you do have to conserve and be creative which I appreciate. The game does show its age at times and there’s parts I hated, namely the damn “kidnapper” escort mission but the game keeps you invested. The only other bummer I got is that the ending is anti-climatic from a gameplay perspective but you will want more. I can’t wait to play Control, which overlaps, and play 2. I highly recommend checking it out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pets Hotel PS5 Review

Pets Hotel is the next game that Ultimate Games sent me to check out, and it might be the one I enjoyed the least. Don’t let that fool you into thinking it is a bad game; it isn’t. The animals in the game are damned adorable. Running a pet hotel is pretty simple; you just build a room, decorate it the way you like, add items to it for the pets you want, and wait for the phone to ring.

Once the phone rings, you type in ( yes, literally ) the name of the pet, click some options for any special treatment they want and you wait for them to check in. From there, you do things like give them baths, trim their nails, take them for walks, feed them, pet them, and otherwise care for them.

Honestly, my lack of enjoyment with this game is on me and me alone. if you have followed this blog for any real amount of time, you know I don’t really care for decorating stuff. With a big part of this game being building rooms and decorating them, it was bound to limit how much I liked it. I also don’t care for having to type in the name of each pet coming into the hotel. Neither of these things are major issues or even issues at all for most people. The game is still a solid 7/10 and worth playing for $22. It just isn’t for me, personally. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Police Shootout PS5 Review

Police Shootout was recently released on PS5 and Ultimate Games was kind enough to send me a review copy. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. As you will see in the coming days, they sent me several games. (all of which I enjoyed on some level for what they are)

Police Shootout puts you in the role of an officer who, for his own reasons, just transferred into the station. So, after a quick but extensive tutorial that will introduce you to the world of this turned-based first-person shooter, you are off on your first mission, a call to a grocery store parking lot.

Soon after getting here, you will discover the store is being robbed, and mom of the hear ditched her kid when the shooting started. Your job, is to be a cop. Talk to witnesses, call a medic for the guy that was shot and made it outside, or be like me and never find him so he dies and you get bitched at for it later. The choice is yours. Eventually, you can make your way inside and use your stealth training to arrest people. Or just shoot everyone, like I did. I am not a very good cop. I did save the little girl however, unlike the mother that abandoned her.

Every mission is full of choices like this. Call in each step of the way so dispatch knows what is going on, call in ambulances if need be, gather up evidence like guns and drugs, and use a stun gun instead of the lethal option. These are all choices you will have to make.

The game is far from perfect. It looks like an old PS4 game so don’t expect to see some high-quality graphics, and while the sound could be worse, it certainly could be better. The voice acting is nice; I will admit to that. For $20 there is plenty of fun to be had, 7/10. We have all spent more money on worse games. best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Vanguard Exiles Steam Review

Vanguard Exiles was sent to me by The Tea Division, which I always appreciate. Vanguard Exiles is a rather easy game to explain and learn to play. You pick an army, start a match, and set your troops down into a zone. Your opponent does the same thing. If your opponent doesn’t set a troop down in the same zone, you score points after a set amount of time. If they do, an auto battle will commence, and the winner will get the zone. After you conquer a zone, your troops will move to an adjacent zone. The process continues until all the zones are taken or until nobody can move to a new zone.

This is very simple to learn, and in between each round, you will get the opportunity to recruit new troops with your old troops being returned to you. At no point do you have to worry about having no troops. This is a game based on strategy, not raw power,

This game disappointed me a bit and took so long for me to review because I didn’t want to review it until I played with some real people, and I spent the first couple of hours playing bots. Thankfully, it is becoming easier to play with real people as more people have bought the game. This game should be far more popular than it is. Coming from the mind of Richard Garfield, yes, one of the minds behind Magic The Gathering, and being as simple to learn and hard to master as it is, the game is in the perfect position to be the next big thing. And at the low price of $15, this 8/10 is absolutely worth checking out. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League

So first and foremost, the absolute best part of this game to me was the legendary Kevin Conroy reprising his role as Batman unfortunately for one of the last times before his passing. R.I.P to our true Dark Knight Kevin Conroy.

Years after Batman: Arkham Knight, Metropolois is under siege from the tyrannical Brainiac. The Justice League has fallen except for Wonder Woman and Flash, who are left to fight now only a seemingly endless scourge from Brainiac but also her old friends. With no other options, Amanda Waller unleashes Task Force X to save the world, bringing together assassin Deadshot, lowlife rogue Captain Boomerang, villainous Harley Quinn, and King Shark…because why not bring out a talking shark god for the end of the world? Despite impossible odds, can these outcasts come together to destroy Brainiac, save the world, and kill the Justice League?

There’s a lot I should’ve said, but it’s a half-ass description for a half-ass game. This game made me sad, not only because this is one of the last times we’ll hear Conroy as Batman, but because there is so much potential that greed crushed. This game is plagued by every annoying live service trope I’ve come to hate in modern gaming. It’s a looter shooter with crap loot. The gameplay loop is painfully repetitive. The characters don’t have much to differentiate them. There are great voice performances but they are bogged down by cringe writing. There are cool set pieces but honestly, the only character I was really attached to was Batman, because the game doesn’t let you forget this is IN the Arkham verse, but even if you sink a ludicrous amount of hours and get the real ending beyond the pay wall, Batman is still wasted in the very end. In the end, this could’ve been a cool name that was obliterated by bad decisions and greed and unless you got it free as a PS+ game, it’s not worth your time. I replayed Batman: Arkham City for the 20th time to cleanse my palette- I recommend getting the Arkham Trilogy on whatever console instead but stay away from this thing. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

High on Life

So you’re on the verge of adulthood, sitting on your ass gaming while your sister gets baked when the aliens come. Next thing you know you find a talking gun, a crippled alien bounty hunter and before you know it you’re out in the cosmos blasting through an intergalactic cartel of aliens who what to ingest humans, the ultimate high.

Ok, so the timing of release bit this surprisingly fun sci-fi FPS platformer in the ass. It might have been announced during the height of Rick and Morty’s astronomical popularity, being written and voiced by the creators of the hit shit, but by the time it was released, Justin Rowland delivered the deathblow on a dwindling empire. Hell, considering he voices Kenny, your first gun and a main character of the game (exactly as he voiced Morty at that) maybe enough to turn you off. If Rowland’s involvement or Morty’s constant chatter is more you can handle, I get it.

Beside the unpleasantness of Rowland’s involvement and hearing Morty’s voice squawking at you nonstop, you’re going to want to scream at the insufferable humor in the early game. If you’re fan of season 4 of RnM and up, it might not bother you but I found the insistent swearing and crude humor annoying. You can cut weapon chatter in the settings thankfully and as the game goes on, it gets much more tolerable and actually funny and engaging.

The game is actually pretty fun once you get your hands on your second talking gun. Every gun is a living alien that has 2 firing modes that are fun and unique. The graphics are pretty eye-catching and the music has a nice, retro sci-fi kinda feel to it that I really enjoyed. Despite becoming a bounty hunter, the game remains tight without many side missions, instead opting for many collectibles. The boss battles are fun and quirky with good rewards. The game is a fairly quick play at roughly 8-10 hours which suits it just fine. In the end, it’s a pretty solid game once you get past the cringy humor that tries shoving itself down your throat the first hour or two. I think it’s worth a try. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Nif Nif (Steam Review)

Nif Nif is a cute rogue-like card battler sent to me by Springfox Games. The general idea is you play as a pig cleaning up the forest. As you make your way through the single-level you will use different cards to wipe mud and dirt off different forest creatures.

If this sounds simple, it is because it kind of is. My second run let me finish the whole thing. This unlocked the second character, a cat. The cat plays very differently but the game doesn’t really get any harder. You will however notice that enemies, including the final boss, do change and it will take a few runs before you see them all.

Leveling up each character unlocks new skins and hats, hats give you power-ups for the run

Leveling up unlocks new skins and cards, and finishing runs unlocks hats. Each hat offers a powerup for the entire run, and finishing the run while wearing a hat unlocks a new hat. There is also a full garden to unlock, which can be used to create food and cards.

They managed to do a lot with this game while also making it friendly for younger gamers. As a fan of these types of games I still enjoyed it, not every game needs to be super challenging, sometimes I just like to relax. This is a 7/10 game. I would like to see moe levels added to it, but aside from that I had a lot of fun with it. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.