Aven
27 reviews liked by Aven
Starfield
2023
Sinceramente muuuuuuuuuy aburrido
Chants of Sennaar
2023
slipped under my radar last year somehow but glad i played it now. such a visually striking thing with a compelling world to explore, puzzles with some actual difficulty/complexity to them, nice music, and on.
absolutely loved working my way back through the scattered locations to establish links between the languages and seeing the changes that followed. wish more game worlds felt like they actually change/shift because of things you've done tbh.
one of the best puzzle games i've played from the past few years, for sure.
absolutely loved working my way back through the scattered locations to establish links between the languages and seeing the changes that followed. wish more game worlds felt like they actually change/shift because of things you've done tbh.
one of the best puzzle games i've played from the past few years, for sure.
Chants of Sennaar
2023
i sat and played the entire game in one, 12 hour sitting because i just could not bear to put it down. one of the most interesting and enticing puzzle games ive played perhaps ever. i hardly have more to say about it, an utterly fantastic game.
Chants of Sennaar
2023
Somehow simultaneously the most fun, neuron enticing game I've played in years and also a tender, human tale about the barriers that we construct. Historical in nature, contemporary in practice, this is a shining example of the type of experience only deliverable by the medium of games.
Hi-Fi Rush
2023
This is quite literally a perfect game, fuck microsoft for fucking this game over!
The Outlast Trials
2024
One of the most soulless products I have ever purchased. A spit in the face to previous fans of the franchise. Rather than delivering what made Outlast, well, Outlast, Trials instead is a live service monstrosity fit with the usual trappings. Leveling systems, skill trees, classes (???), gear, cosmetics, roadmaps and microtransactions. I had bought under the pretense it was a more story-focused affair with coop elements, but my heart sank as all the soulless slop live service bullshit slowly crawled on my screen.
I could not even enjoy this with friends, the easiest layup imaginable. The AI is dumb as bricks and the mission structure is lazy and repetitive. I only wish that Red Barrels had taken some inspiration from Hazelight's co-op ventures and delivered a strong co-op experience that was reminiscent of the previous title's core values. There are elements here that could work in a story-driven co-op experience, instead, they are squandered for inane tasks or aggravating mission objectives. Additionally, the flow of the game is bizarre as you have 2 separate loading periods, 1 simply flourishing for the mission. It's during these glimpses that Outlast Trials almost parodies its own franchise, with hallucinated enemies shoving their cock in your face or disemboweling themselves in front of you. It's frankly fucking embarrassing. It's as though a completely different company has created this game, there is zero nuance or reasoning for this to occur, and exists solely for the cheapest of shock values. It's just intermittent flashing scenes of violence that your player character is hallucinating before being thrust into another loading screen.
The state of this franchise is disappointing. This game isn't even scary, they couldn't even do that right. I hope Red Barrels got the money they wanted from this blatant cash-grab. If this is the direction of the franchise moving forward you can count me out.
Embarrassing.
I could not even enjoy this with friends, the easiest layup imaginable. The AI is dumb as bricks and the mission structure is lazy and repetitive. I only wish that Red Barrels had taken some inspiration from Hazelight's co-op ventures and delivered a strong co-op experience that was reminiscent of the previous title's core values. There are elements here that could work in a story-driven co-op experience, instead, they are squandered for inane tasks or aggravating mission objectives. Additionally, the flow of the game is bizarre as you have 2 separate loading periods, 1 simply flourishing for the mission. It's during these glimpses that Outlast Trials almost parodies its own franchise, with hallucinated enemies shoving their cock in your face or disemboweling themselves in front of you. It's frankly fucking embarrassing. It's as though a completely different company has created this game, there is zero nuance or reasoning for this to occur, and exists solely for the cheapest of shock values. It's just intermittent flashing scenes of violence that your player character is hallucinating before being thrust into another loading screen.
The state of this franchise is disappointing. This game isn't even scary, they couldn't even do that right. I hope Red Barrels got the money they wanted from this blatant cash-grab. If this is the direction of the franchise moving forward you can count me out.
Embarrassing.
Unpacking
2021
this is what i play when i just want to be a brain in a jar (compliment)
french snobs criticized my art for an hour and the only people who understood me were hipsters, what else is new
Kinect Star Wars
2012
Everyone craps on this game but honestly there was a lot of heart put into it and it was actually fun to play. Nobody seriously got a kick out of being a Rancor smashing it's way through town or the Han Solo song in the dance game? You lie to yourselves.
this is so cute i wish strawberries were real