Recent reviews by Nat

I was hesitant on getting this game at first due to how difficult it looks, but I decided to grab it anyways due to numerous positive reviews.

Despite the fact that it is as difficult as I thought, it instantly became a game that I play quite a lot. The main replayability comes from achieving new personal best times, and finding new secrets by steering off the main path which there are plenty of.

For the gameplay itself, you'll do almost everything through both of your hands which can be controlled individually with your corresponding mouse buttons. They also have individual stamina bars, which you get better at managing the more you play. The inventory system may be minimalistic in terms of how it looks but it works quite well as it is based on amount of items carried before you're affected by encumbrance, which not only has you think of how many to carry but also which items you prefer to keep.

The horror aspect quite well with the overall theme that this game, especially when looking at ruined structures you'll need to navigate around or through while avoiding a medium sized roster of enemies which you cannot defeat a few of. They're quite difficult to deal with at first since you'll be sluggish, but become noticeably easier to deal with as you become more nimble.

There is also numerous of optional content, mostly in form of secrets (as mentioned before) and by playing either Challenge or Event maps. There is also an Endless Mode with a few variants including invidiual regions of areas found in the campaign. You can also enable Iron Knuckle and/or Hard Mode to bump the difficulty further up by a large margin.

This is a climbing game unlike any other. For those who wants a challenge in a climbing game, the amount of content found in here despite being in early access makes it easily worth full price.

It's a very nice, cozy adventure game where you walk or run around a town while taking photos at your own pace.

I highly recommend that you explore around the map, as there is a lot of content you'll miss by only finishing the main storyline. You also get to see your surroundings change slightly as you finish some quests which is a very nice touch!

There are plenty of jokes and references to find play through the game, which I always like finding as I appreciate developers who have fun making a game. I did get a few laughs while playing this demo!

While the artstyle reminds me of a few shows that I have yet to watch, it fits quite well with the game itself. It looks nice as well.

The demo is quite nice, I'm excited to see what comes out on the release of the full game!

As someone who rarely plays puzzle games, this is an amazing change of pace.

The gameplay itself has you place shapes around the area while meeting all of their conditions. While it sounds simple on paper, it gets difficult later on as you go through levels. Fortunately, there's no time limit so you can take all of the time you need, and you can take breaks if you want to! The gameplay loop remains the same outside of the minor changes on each level change, but I really don't mind that!

I find the artstyle to be both cute and unique, with every area having their own theme. I also love the story of this game, especially when it tells you about a journey about Nat (I personally think this person is really neat!). The cute expressions also doubles as visual indicators if each shape is happy when placed, love it! The music is also good, even if it might get repetitive later on for some of you!

For completionists, there is a bonus level on each act/chapter that can be unlocked by obtaining gold stars, can't say no to more gameplay content!

If you're looking into getting a puzzle game, I highly recommend this. It is easy to pick up on the controls, and you're never in a rush.

I really hope that this game gets a sequel, the story's amazing and I definitely want more of this kind of gameplay. I'm glad that I paid full price, thank you for making this game!

It looks nice, it plays pretty well, and it's straight to the point on what type of gameplay it offers.

It highly encourages exploration, which you'll find resources to help you travel around the map which is quite large despite being able to see at least half of the mountains at a given time. While climbing mountains seems simple on surface, there are changes to several trails but never to the point where it gets frustrating as you can always see what is ahead of you before you approach it. Some of the side quests you do in this game are also either silly or cute depending on how you view them.

While it can be a bit repetitive since you climb each mountain a few times in a row during a playthrough assuming that you're aiming for 100% completion, you are given gadgets as you play which allows varying methods on how you can climb each mountain trail. Some gadgets are quite powerful (such as either Jetpack, or Remote Explosives) since they can be used to lift yourself to the top of each mountain as quick as possible with ease, making them really great for speedrunning.

If you think you might be interested in a game about climbing, this game is a decent starting point. While I personally find the difficult to be alright, I'd imagine players who are less familiar with this type of game to struggle a bit when climbing more difficult mountains but satisfying when completing them.

The music is also great, there are some tracks I listen to quite often now. I personally recommend this to anyone who wants a platformer that has cozy vibes.

One of my favorite remakes of all time.

Basically, it includes every gameplay content from the game it's based of while reworking some aspects to better fit today's standards. It also adds new stuff including survivors, items, and artifacts. There's also quality of life addition such as being able to walk slowly while shooting which you'll see a lot, it is however a bit janky at times.
The soundtrack you know and love also returns, with a few new tracks which sounds amazing where they are played.

The only change that'll take me some time getting used to is the difficulty ramping up slightly quicker than in Risk of Rain 1, runs are naturally slightly more random due to having more items in the roster should you pick default game rules and play without Artifact of Command.
Some of the things I don't like about this game as of so far are the fact that you face numerous of airborne enemies during runs, which can be bothersome given how often they spawn and how some classes can struggle on dealing with them. There are Providence Trials which I enjoy for the most part! However, some are really unfair to get a gold crown score on and takes numerous of tries due to luck being involved.

For a remake of a game that I really enjoyed playing 10 years ago, having this remake is one of the best things that I could have. It may be slightly more difficult than what I remember, but I'm having as much fun with it as I did back then. Almost all of the past experience from the original game will transfer well to Returns.

If you enjoyed Risk of Rain 1 by any chance or is interested in finding out what a 2D Rougelike would be like, I'd recommend that you buy this game. You'll really enjoy it.

Found the game teased on a random post, and knew I had to get it.

While I rarely play any games that involves skating, this game is really lenient when it comes to doing tricks as there is no penalty for failing to land on your feet after doing tricks allowing you to be careless while looking fancy at the same time which is good since stunts are required in order to reload your weapons.

Each enemy type is also noticeably different, affecting which weapons you'll need to equip at a given time while at the same time making sure you have enough ammo to perform varying takedown methods depending on who you're facing at the time. All attacks can be dodged, which highly benefits you as there is a "Perfect Dodge" mechanic which can activate "Super Reflex", more on that on the next statement.

You get four weapons which consists of a pair of pistols, a shotgun capable of firing buckshot or piercing slugs, a grenade launcher, and a railgun. All of them minus the pistols are capable of dealing piercing damage, but you can include the pistols as well by doing Super Reflex. Super Reflex not only gives you infinite slow motion during the time it's active, it also allows your weapons to deal increased damage which noticeable enough to reach breakthrough points allowing you to save ammo for more fliud takedowns on subsequent enemies in short periods of time. You also gain ammo each time it triggers.

It can be difficult at times at least for the first few moments since there's a good chance that you're new to performing tricks on top of shooting frequently, but once you get the hang of shuffling between those two actions you'll surely be satisfied as you pull off long strings of combos even if you make a mistake or two during the match.

It's honestly really great. I highly recommend this game to anyone who prefers gunning at high speeds, all while avoiding attacks on their way to being a trickster.

This game is an amazing treasure found in a Steam Next Fest event for those who searched through variety of genres. The description and screenshots does give you some context, but it barely scratches the surface... the experience you get in-game is unmatched.

The overall feel of the game is nicely done with a few things such as sporting a cute theme while casting a diverse set of memorable characters in a vibrant sci-fi theme, putting little to no pressure on the player for stress-free casual gameplay, and unique mechanics (and yes, that includes the inventory system, which intregates flawlessly into core gameplay)! You'll also love the soundtrack composed by Aleix Ramon as most of the tracks gives off gentle vibes while still being in place, while fitting the scenery as needed.

While the game isn't perfect since I did get lost a few times, and couldn't figure out how to make quest waypoints reappear for reminder purposes, it doesn't stop the fact that this game is well crafted with fine details to be found as you play.

It makes me quite happy to see a game made by a small team with passion and love. For that reason, I would like to thank the people working at Rendlike for this gem, it's worth every penny.

I recommend this game to anyone who enjoys adventure games, especially without a discount. You'll love this game.

As a Minecraft themed hack and slash, you fight your way through hordes of enemies as you loot, attack, and achieve victory.

Pros:
+ A large roster of weapons, which consists of melee weapons, bows, and active items for a lack of a better description.
+ Side paths found in multiple levels which allows players to explore for even more loot, mini bosses, or more money (known as Emeralds in-game).

Cons:
- The base cooldown times for some items are pretty long for the function they provide even when upgraded to higher levels, making them dependent on the Cool Down enchantment.

I can't think of any other points as of now, I'll add those once those cross my mind!

Despite never having previously played any hack and slash games with rpg elements, Minecraft Dungeons is a lot of fun to play as long you don't mind replaying it while upgrading your gear to higher levels (including higher difficulties). I'll surely recommend this game, but only on Ultimate Edition as DLC content contains weapons/items that will surely interest you.

Basically: "What if Quake played more like Devil May Cry?"

Pros:
+ Weapons (Ranged): They're as powerful as they look. While you have only 4 weapons (A Revolver, Shotgun, Nailgun, and a Railgun) in total (5 if you count the Slab Revolver):

• They all have insane damage potential, only limited by your efficiency of the corresponding weapons and combo flexibility.
  
• They also have infinite ammo, letting you focus on avoiding attacks while hitting them back.
  
• Each weapon have different variants, changing their alt-fire properties based on which is selected.

+ Weapons (Melee): As if your ranged weaponry isn't enough, you can pick up to 2 different arms to punch your way through hell with:

• Feedbacker: If anyone says that a large amount of the game involves using this arm type, then you heard that it's amazing. While punching directly isn't ideal, the main (and most popular) usage of the Feedbacker is to parry projectiles (including your own!), increasing it's damage as well as causing them to explode in a moderate radius. You really can't go wrong with throwing stuff around.
  
• Knucklebuster: Alternative arm variant that doesn't swing as quickly as the Feedbacker, but does higher damage per punch. Holding the punch button causes the Knucklebuster to explode (that does not harm you), knocking back nearby enemies (assuming they're light enough to recieve knockback) into the air and allowing you to make airshots. I personally don't use this often as I'm heavily biased towards the Feedbacker.

+ Health System: I actually like this. Instead of the usual health system which involves usage of health items to heal yourself, you instead have an insanely powerful vampire like effect where you heal yourself by attacking enemies at close range to have blood splattered all over yourself. To prevent gritting indefinitely, your max health temporarily lowers under constant damage but can be recovered by avoiding attacks for longer than 3 seconds.
+ Movement: Imagine the speed of guns bundled with matching speed movement. Being able to walljump, slide, ground slam, and dash, moving around the stage feels great and it feels just as good dodging ranged attacks with relative ease.
+ Challenges and Secrets: Adds replayability to the game, as you find yourself restricted to certain objectives or looking around the level for secrets while making your way to finish the game with a 100% score. Secret levels may differ than the core gameplay, but they're well made nontheless!
+ Difficulty: There are currently only two difficulty levels, which has notible stat changes between each (mostly the damage dealt to the player). While it may be difficult (and maybe even dying often, especially during late game and the final boss of Act 1), it can be quite fun as you shuffle between attacking and healing yourself all while attempting to go for a perfect rank.

Cons:
- Can't think of any since at this point, I listed most of the stuff in the pros section instead. Well done!

I'm just going to say that I recommend Ultrakill at it's full price. If you're waiting for a sale on this game, then make sure it's an instant pick.

Note that I have not played any of Act 2 yet, so this review might be outdated.

Nominated for: "Game of the Year (2018)"
Gold Edition is brought at full price on release date for this review.

IO Interactive did an amazing job on the release of Hitman 2, as it expands upon Hitman 2016 in gameplay without losing the formula of the latter. I have genuinely enjoyed every part of the campaign I have played so far, with new mechanics and items allowing for new playstyles.

Pros:
+ Hitman (2016) Remastered: This is a really nice addition for those wanting to replay the HItman 2016 campaign with either items found in Hitman 2, or with minor level changes to make use of new Hitman 2 mechanics. I think there are also fixes which is a nice touch (such as Viktor giving Kurt akward stares when checking distractions instead of saying the corresponding lines). Anything you unlock in Hitman (2016) Remastered will be availble to use in Hitman 2 which is wonderful for those who wants to play the game in chronological order!
+ Soundtrack: Niels Bye Nielsen did amazing on this soundtrack, as I found some of my favorite tracks in an instant while playing this game. The whole set really gives off Hitman vibes throughout the entire playthrough so far, despite the different tone it has. I personally prefer this over Hitman 2016's soundtrack by a long shot.
+ Campaign Level Diversity + Replayability: My favorite part of the game, as there's always a different type of level for everyone whether it's a race tournament in Miami with understandly large people in multiple crowds (Miami is such a beautiful level, and has become an instant favorite for me. Give it a try!), or somewhere not as crowded such as Bagota (but still contains enough civilians to keep players checking over their shoulders prior to attacking targets). Every level is made in a way that encourages replaying the level several times as not everything can be earned in a single run.
+ New Game Modes: Ghost Mode and Sniper Assassin are the two new game modes added into Hitman 2.

• Ghost Mode's mode is amazing to play with (and that says a lot as I'm usually a type of player that priortizes co-op over versus), as you compete against one other player in parallel instances of a game to be the first to achieve a total of 5 points through unnoticed kills, and avoiding non-target kills. Replacing static placements of items, Ghost Crates are a nice addition as they affect the other player as you take disguises or items that the other player could have benefitted from, encouraging players to scout to be the first one to reach item drops. There are also Ghost Coins which acts similiarly to standard Coins but it affects both players, watch out for coins thrown from your opponent! This is by far my favorite 1 vs. 1 gamemode. (Special thanks to Arn for playing this gamemode with me!)
  
• Sniper Assassin is also quite a blast especially with a leveling system that upgrades your WA-2000 Sniper Rifle to perform better in later runs as you figure out new ways to shoot down your targets.

+ Obviously, the additions of new items that serves it's own purpose.
= That includes Briefcases, which I recommend in most if not all loadouts, due to it how useful it is in general. Examples include:

• Being able to hide any two handed ranged weapon without raising suspicion compared to having it on your back and visible to everyone. (Especially Sniper Rifles, which are now considered suspicious regardless of disguise used!)
  
• As a subtle off-hand melee/throwable that won't raise suspicion from anyone while it's being held unless you're caught attacking with it. Off-hand items are used when nothing is equipped in your main hand (as they take priority over off-hand items)
  
• However, it does have it's own disadvantages. Such as being automatically left behind on some climbing actions (especially ones involving shimmying on ledges). It also does not bypass frisks if there's an illegal item inside of it!

Cons:
- Elusive Targets unlock system: While straight forward, I still don't like seeing unique outfits or items (even more if a said item has unique stats of it's own) locked behind limited time events as it leaves those who brought the game later behind (by how much depends on how many items that aren't reskins are added).
- Online-only: While I get why this is required for some things (scoreboards and Elusive Targets are okayish examples), the game still relies too much on maintaining constant connection to both Valve and IO Servers at all times, which could be a problem if you're unable to play at all without your inventory should you lose connection at any given time.

If you previously owned Hitman (2016):
... and expected a brand new game, then it might not be for you.
... and expected a decent expansion pack that brings more to what you already have, then go for it!

If you currently don't have Hitman (2016):
I still recommend this game, even at full price which I had no problem with the expectation of high replay value.

After a few months, I might have easily missed some Elusive Targets and didn't take the time to unlock items (I still need to contact IO Interactive regarding the Measuring Tape that was supposed to unlock for me) but I still enjoy the time I had with what I already have!