Kojot
2021
The base game was fine, but this was a nightmare in the second half.
The characters, music, and the ending were great, though.
The characters, music, and the ending were great, though.
2024
Fun game. I generally enjoyed it.
What I did not like:
- The normal route - We all came to play horror and spooky ARG. I also found some reviews saying the start is very slow. But honestly, to me, the normal route was way too short. When you hear the in-game dev logs, they talk about how many things they work on. And yet, we only get a handful of locations, a few tasks, and the intended game can be finished in about 30 minutes with no speedrunning. I know this part of the game is not that important, it's just an illusion that there was some game intended for shelves, but it took out the immersion. I wish they told in the story there were more quests, characters, etc. but some softlock disabled discovering it or something. Anything to show that there is more than 30 minutes of the real game.
- Some puzzles - Many puzzles were okay. Though, I think there were too many based on finding 4-digit codes and the beaverscratch. A few puzzles felt too difficult. Combining it with the dread of an approaching danger made it almost impossible to decipher. I had to check the answers online on these few instances. And I'm glad I did because I would never figure it out.
- Jumpscares - Once I entered the Plaza, I felt fear I have never experienced in any video game. That's a good thing, that's what horror is supposed to be. But I hated when this fear had its climax on a jumpscare. First 2 jumpscares got me and after all the atmosphere was gone because I got used. I wish it was maintained longer. Jumpscares are great when used right in the right moment. Not in this game though.
What I enjoyed:
- The story - Mysterious, spooky, full of weird events begging the player to find the answers. I loved it. I still don't know everything and will have to check the theories online, but I got the general idea of what was going on.
- Clue hunting - To find answers to puzzles and the story, you can't rely only on the game you downloaded. There are many other mediums thrown at you, and I think it was quite original. After all, it's an ARG, and you have to look in many places to progress.
- Fear - I felt so scared to progress. I just did not know what to expect. Dark open locations, lack of music, only Bucky and his steps can be heard. The unknown was horrifying, and I constantly felt like I was being watched. Awful. Loved it. And then the jumpscares came, sadly.
- Art style - I never had the N64 console when I as young, but even without it the game gave the impression of being made quite some time ago, in the 90s, just like the story is telling you. Simple and nostalgic style. Very immersive.
- Music and sound design - Amazing tunes in the normal playthrough, great fitting scary sounds on further layers. Even such a simple thing like lack of music created moments of overwhelming dread. I rarely pay attention to audio in video games, but here everything is very memorable. Even after finishing the game, I can hum the tunes.
Final grade: 3.5/5
What I did not like:
- The normal route - We all came to play horror and spooky ARG. I also found some reviews saying the start is very slow. But honestly, to me, the normal route was way too short. When you hear the in-game dev logs, they talk about how many things they work on. And yet, we only get a handful of locations, a few tasks, and the intended game can be finished in about 30 minutes with no speedrunning. I know this part of the game is not that important, it's just an illusion that there was some game intended for shelves, but it took out the immersion. I wish they told in the story there were more quests, characters, etc. but some softlock disabled discovering it or something. Anything to show that there is more than 30 minutes of the real game.
- Some puzzles - Many puzzles were okay. Though, I think there were too many based on finding 4-digit codes and the beaverscratch. A few puzzles felt too difficult. Combining it with the dread of an approaching danger made it almost impossible to decipher. I had to check the answers online on these few instances. And I'm glad I did because I would never figure it out.
- Jumpscares - Once I entered the Plaza, I felt fear I have never experienced in any video game. That's a good thing, that's what horror is supposed to be. But I hated when this fear had its climax on a jumpscare. First 2 jumpscares got me and after all the atmosphere was gone because I got used. I wish it was maintained longer. Jumpscares are great when used right in the right moment. Not in this game though.
What I enjoyed:
- The story - Mysterious, spooky, full of weird events begging the player to find the answers. I loved it. I still don't know everything and will have to check the theories online, but I got the general idea of what was going on.
- Clue hunting - To find answers to puzzles and the story, you can't rely only on the game you downloaded. There are many other mediums thrown at you, and I think it was quite original. After all, it's an ARG, and you have to look in many places to progress.
- Fear - I felt so scared to progress. I just did not know what to expect. Dark open locations, lack of music, only Bucky and his steps can be heard. The unknown was horrifying, and I constantly felt like I was being watched. Awful. Loved it. And then the jumpscares came, sadly.
- Art style - I never had the N64 console when I as young, but even without it the game gave the impression of being made quite some time ago, in the 90s, just like the story is telling you. Simple and nostalgic style. Very immersive.
- Music and sound design - Amazing tunes in the normal playthrough, great fitting scary sounds on further layers. Even such a simple thing like lack of music created moments of overwhelming dread. I rarely pay attention to audio in video games, but here everything is very memorable. Even after finishing the game, I can hum the tunes.
Final grade: 3.5/5
2016
I took me 156 hours, but eventually I have it - 100%, all achievements. And there is a lot I can say about this game now that I completed everything.
Let's start with the bad things:
- Unfair fights - Probably the worst thing about Yakuza Kiwami is how frustrating the gameplay can get at times. It is especially present while playing the Legend difficulty. Obviously, the game is supposed to be hard at the highest difficulty, but the developers focused on the wrong adjustments. You may have practiced fighting for hours, you may know how to and when properly dodge, block, and attack. But the enemy will always find the gap and get you in the most annoying way possible - a gunshot, a knife stab, a kick that will knock you against the wall that will knock you against another kick that will knock you against the wall again... And you can't do anything, only watch the same animation over and over because once you get up, you get hit by the same thing again. Kiryu's "OUGHEEEUGH" scream after each stun is engraved in my brain forever.
- The car chase - a shooting sequence in a fighting game done poorly - the crosshair moving slow, dynamic camera movement affecting your crosshair, short time to react, high enemy damage vs your low damage, and the cherry on top, on Legend difficulty when you lose, you have to start over the whole chapter because there is no savepoint! I finally gave up struggling with it on my Steam Deck and switched to mouse and keyboard on PC
- The "anime" moments in the main story - I love the main plot of this game. It was interesting and full of great characters. But sometimes I couldn't help but cringe. A dying character always has their 5 minutes before death to explain everything. People point guns at each other and talk even though they want to kill each other. Just shoot them already. What's stopping you if you want to shoot anyway after the conversation? What's the point of the conversation if you want to kill the person you are talking to? I know why - the anime energy and the power of talking over common sense. And the classic "if you are here, you know what happened". Yeah, I know because the story led me to this point, but if it was not so linear, I would be in that place by pure accident and wonder what happened, and then hit with a message "if you are here, you know what happened". Such a goofy thing. People may say that this is the essence of Yakuza games. That it is basically anime just with a realistic art style. But I would love the goofy, anime, unrealistic events to take part in substories because there it actually fits. The main story always feels serious, and these small things I mentioned make it look less serious.
Now that good stuff:
- The story - As I mentioned, the story is interesting, with many great characters. Certain chapters get emotional when you get to know the characters better and realize why they act the way they do. I cared for many characters and was engaged in their stories.
- Majima Everywhere - It was such a great mechanic. Its introduction was justified by the main story events, it was fun seeing Majima in many weird places and roles and I never felt annoyed when he appeared out of nowhere, even when I urgently needed to go somewhere. Even though Majima does not play that important role in the main story, he is crucial for the Dragon Style training, the most OP fighting style in the end game. The training is done well, even if it all goes to fighting Majima. Different settings, Majima changing his outfits and fighting styles, and losing does not kill you or make you stagger after.
- Music - A great selection of songs. Fighting music kept mu pumped up, sad music made me feel more compassion toward characters in their serious moments. Every time I came back to karaoke I had a great time even after playing the same song several times. I am definitely going to listen to some tracks in my free time.
- Fighting - It felt great. Rush Style is probably my favorite, but I was using all of them all the time and before maxing out the Dragon Style, none felt less impactful than the others. Yeah, the maxed out Dragon Style takes the spot, but it takes a while before you get to that point. And before that, you need to rely on these 3 styles.
- Side content - For casual playing, side content is amazing. Many substories, minigames, collectables, and they are often connected in some way so it's not always boring. For the completion list, it gets annoying at some point (looking at you, acquiring weapons). But I enjoyed the grind nonetheless.
Also Mahjong > Gambling Hall
Let's start with the bad things:
- Unfair fights - Probably the worst thing about Yakuza Kiwami is how frustrating the gameplay can get at times. It is especially present while playing the Legend difficulty. Obviously, the game is supposed to be hard at the highest difficulty, but the developers focused on the wrong adjustments. You may have practiced fighting for hours, you may know how to and when properly dodge, block, and attack. But the enemy will always find the gap and get you in the most annoying way possible - a gunshot, a knife stab, a kick that will knock you against the wall that will knock you against another kick that will knock you against the wall again... And you can't do anything, only watch the same animation over and over because once you get up, you get hit by the same thing again. Kiryu's "OUGHEEEUGH" scream after each stun is engraved in my brain forever.
- The car chase - a shooting sequence in a fighting game done poorly - the crosshair moving slow, dynamic camera movement affecting your crosshair, short time to react, high enemy damage vs your low damage, and the cherry on top, on Legend difficulty when you lose, you have to start over the whole chapter because there is no savepoint! I finally gave up struggling with it on my Steam Deck and switched to mouse and keyboard on PC
- The "anime" moments in the main story - I love the main plot of this game. It was interesting and full of great characters. But sometimes I couldn't help but cringe. A dying character always has their 5 minutes before death to explain everything. People point guns at each other and talk even though they want to kill each other. Just shoot them already. What's stopping you if you want to shoot anyway after the conversation? What's the point of the conversation if you want to kill the person you are talking to? I know why - the anime energy and the power of talking over common sense. And the classic "if you are here, you know what happened". Yeah, I know because the story led me to this point, but if it was not so linear, I would be in that place by pure accident and wonder what happened, and then hit with a message "if you are here, you know what happened". Such a goofy thing. People may say that this is the essence of Yakuza games. That it is basically anime just with a realistic art style. But I would love the goofy, anime, unrealistic events to take part in substories because there it actually fits. The main story always feels serious, and these small things I mentioned make it look less serious.
Now that good stuff:
- The story - As I mentioned, the story is interesting, with many great characters. Certain chapters get emotional when you get to know the characters better and realize why they act the way they do. I cared for many characters and was engaged in their stories.
- Majima Everywhere - It was such a great mechanic. Its introduction was justified by the main story events, it was fun seeing Majima in many weird places and roles and I never felt annoyed when he appeared out of nowhere, even when I urgently needed to go somewhere. Even though Majima does not play that important role in the main story, he is crucial for the Dragon Style training, the most OP fighting style in the end game. The training is done well, even if it all goes to fighting Majima. Different settings, Majima changing his outfits and fighting styles, and losing does not kill you or make you stagger after.
- Music - A great selection of songs. Fighting music kept mu pumped up, sad music made me feel more compassion toward characters in their serious moments. Every time I came back to karaoke I had a great time even after playing the same song several times. I am definitely going to listen to some tracks in my free time.
- Fighting - It felt great. Rush Style is probably my favorite, but I was using all of them all the time and before maxing out the Dragon Style, none felt less impactful than the others. Yeah, the maxed out Dragon Style takes the spot, but it takes a while before you get to that point. And before that, you need to rely on these 3 styles.
- Side content - For casual playing, side content is amazing. Many substories, minigames, collectables, and they are often connected in some way so it's not always boring. For the completion list, it gets annoying at some point (looking at you, acquiring weapons). But I enjoyed the grind nonetheless.
Also Mahjong > Gambling Hall
2019
This review contains spoilers
I don't know about this one. My opinion is right in the middle. There are as many good things about this game as the bad ones.
Maybe the bad things first. Here comes my little rant.
- The gameplay is weak. You side-scroll through all the levels, click things to get some narration, and make choices that in the end don't make much difference. I think there was only one puzzle that required going around and gathering some information to progress, in the zoo when looking for the key. And that's it. It was boring enough to make me take a break for almost 3 months before I eventually finished it.
- It's short. I played the game twice (normal playthrough + to get all achievements) and it took me less than 7 hours, so roughly 3.5 hours to finish the entire game. I believe if there were more things to do and more places to show, the overall experience would be better.
- This particular "taste of humor". I lost my count how many vomit puddles there were throughout this 3.5 long story. Or an adult cow shitting on a cub's face? Why?
- The antagonist. I liked his manipulative skills, his way of talking, the choice of the voice actor. He is the big bad one that wants to trick a child. And yet he is disturbed when Misfortune is swearing? Or he is asking the player to give Misfortune a fun time at the spooky festival? And finally the ending - if his goal was to play with Misfortune and get her to trust him, why in the end when she rejected him, he showed her his true form anyway? They had a deal and she broke it. Does that mean that if she played to the very end, he wouldn't show himself? What was the point of this whole thing, to find the eternal happiness? It looks like, regardless of Misfortune's actions, the outcome would be the same. Or maybe his goal was only to play with her and the outcome really doesn't matter. But then why was he nice to her? Where is the toying part? I may completely misunderstand his character, but to me, Morgo's intentions are unclear. Oh, and coming back to his voice - a great tone when it comes to deceiving victims but when he is a big scary monster, it would be cooler if he sounded a bit more menacing because in the end he still sounded like a gentleman. A little filter would make a change.
- Weird fetishes? A full-screen drawing of Misfortune's nude gurgling belly, completely pointless and uncomfortable (especially that there were very few drawings of this kind put this close to the screen like it was some crucial aspect for the story). Another thing - Misfortune stuck in the window's frame with a panty shot and farting several times. I don't know, maybe it's just a silly joke I should not pay attention to for my own sake, but it made me very uncomfortable.
So maybe now some good parts to balance it out.
- Story. Despite being so short, it was good. I liked this little adventure, subtle hints for Misfortune's past and putting everything together. Who is this fox? Who is Mr. Voice? For quite some time, I questioned who is good and who is bad.
- Voice acting. I mentioned Morgo's voice. He is great and fitting before revealing his form in the ending. But Misfortune's voice is wonderful. So fitting, so nice to listen to, though I suspect some may find it annoying. But I think this is her thing, to be a little annoying but also sweet.
- Art style. Backgrounds are just beautiful. I liked every location, regardless of where the story was taking place at the time. Characters look a bit goofy, but it adds to the uniqueness and makes it hard to mistake the game's style with any other.
- The fate. Misfortune is dead from the very beginning. We learn that she may die (or, straightforwardly, we are said that she WILL die). So as the players, we try to avoid this fate, but we can't because she died before we even started. And there are small, subtle hints throughout the game that show it. The black birds following us everywhere. The grim reaper in a boat waiting to take us if we pay a single coin. People ignoring us when we talk to them (the cashier doesn't count, but maybe because he was influenced by Morgo somehow or wasn't real in the first place? I'm not sure). The unrealistic situations that wouldn't happen in real life, like the hamsters club, a duck with a boombox, the zoo janitor actually having a bird head (unless humanoid animals are the acknowledged part of the world building).
- Humor. I smiled and laughed a few times. If we ignore all the uncomfortable jokes (which aren't that many compared to the rest, but still...), the sense of humor is fine.
It was good enough to make me play twice to get the achievements. Some aspects of this game disappointed me, but it wasn't an entirely bad game because after all I had some fun with it. So I'll leave it in the middle with 5/10.
Maybe the bad things first. Here comes my little rant.
- The gameplay is weak. You side-scroll through all the levels, click things to get some narration, and make choices that in the end don't make much difference. I think there was only one puzzle that required going around and gathering some information to progress, in the zoo when looking for the key. And that's it. It was boring enough to make me take a break for almost 3 months before I eventually finished it.
- It's short. I played the game twice (normal playthrough + to get all achievements) and it took me less than 7 hours, so roughly 3.5 hours to finish the entire game. I believe if there were more things to do and more places to show, the overall experience would be better.
- This particular "taste of humor". I lost my count how many vomit puddles there were throughout this 3.5 long story. Or an adult cow shitting on a cub's face? Why?
- The antagonist. I liked his manipulative skills, his way of talking, the choice of the voice actor. He is the big bad one that wants to trick a child. And yet he is disturbed when Misfortune is swearing? Or he is asking the player to give Misfortune a fun time at the spooky festival? And finally the ending - if his goal was to play with Misfortune and get her to trust him, why in the end when she rejected him, he showed her his true form anyway? They had a deal and she broke it. Does that mean that if she played to the very end, he wouldn't show himself? What was the point of this whole thing, to find the eternal happiness? It looks like, regardless of Misfortune's actions, the outcome would be the same. Or maybe his goal was only to play with her and the outcome really doesn't matter. But then why was he nice to her? Where is the toying part? I may completely misunderstand his character, but to me, Morgo's intentions are unclear. Oh, and coming back to his voice - a great tone when it comes to deceiving victims but when he is a big scary monster, it would be cooler if he sounded a bit more menacing because in the end he still sounded like a gentleman. A little filter would make a change.
- Weird fetishes? A full-screen drawing of Misfortune's nude gurgling belly, completely pointless and uncomfortable (especially that there were very few drawings of this kind put this close to the screen like it was some crucial aspect for the story). Another thing - Misfortune stuck in the window's frame with a panty shot and farting several times. I don't know, maybe it's just a silly joke I should not pay attention to for my own sake, but it made me very uncomfortable.
So maybe now some good parts to balance it out.
- Story. Despite being so short, it was good. I liked this little adventure, subtle hints for Misfortune's past and putting everything together. Who is this fox? Who is Mr. Voice? For quite some time, I questioned who is good and who is bad.
- Voice acting. I mentioned Morgo's voice. He is great and fitting before revealing his form in the ending. But Misfortune's voice is wonderful. So fitting, so nice to listen to, though I suspect some may find it annoying. But I think this is her thing, to be a little annoying but also sweet.
- Art style. Backgrounds are just beautiful. I liked every location, regardless of where the story was taking place at the time. Characters look a bit goofy, but it adds to the uniqueness and makes it hard to mistake the game's style with any other.
- The fate. Misfortune is dead from the very beginning. We learn that she may die (or, straightforwardly, we are said that she WILL die). So as the players, we try to avoid this fate, but we can't because she died before we even started. And there are small, subtle hints throughout the game that show it. The black birds following us everywhere. The grim reaper in a boat waiting to take us if we pay a single coin. People ignoring us when we talk to them (the cashier doesn't count, but maybe because he was influenced by Morgo somehow or wasn't real in the first place? I'm not sure). The unrealistic situations that wouldn't happen in real life, like the hamsters club, a duck with a boombox, the zoo janitor actually having a bird head (unless humanoid animals are the acknowledged part of the world building).
- Humor. I smiled and laughed a few times. If we ignore all the uncomfortable jokes (which aren't that many compared to the rest, but still...), the sense of humor is fine.
It was good enough to make me play twice to get the achievements. Some aspects of this game disappointed me, but it wasn't an entirely bad game because after all I had some fun with it. So I'll leave it in the middle with 5/10.
2019
I might be too dumb for this game. Overall I understood the story but putting all these small pieces together to get the whole essence is challenging. Too much scientific stuff for my brain. Which sadly led to a few frustrating moments when I wanted to progress but couldn't because I didn't know what to do next. I hated checking spoiler-free hints on the Internet because many people seemed to understand and love the story and puzzles, while I, reading all that, felt like a moron for not getting anything.
However, I understand why many people love this game. The story is clever and emotional. Every detail is important, and I don't think there are any (or at least not too many) pointless fillers. You don't need to fill the ship log to finish the game. It all revolves around your knowledge. And it is annoying that I can't appreciate the game to the fullest like most of the gamers, simply because my brain can't handle all this freedom the game provides. But the problem is on me, not on the game.
It is one of these games that I want to get 100% achievements on. So I'm taking a break for a few weeks or months, then get the DLC, and master it.
Also, F### Brittle Hollow.
However, I understand why many people love this game. The story is clever and emotional. Every detail is important, and I don't think there are any (or at least not too many) pointless fillers. You don't need to fill the ship log to finish the game. It all revolves around your knowledge. And it is annoying that I can't appreciate the game to the fullest like most of the gamers, simply because my brain can't handle all this freedom the game provides. But the problem is on me, not on the game.
It is one of these games that I want to get 100% achievements on. So I'm taking a break for a few weeks or months, then get the DLC, and master it.
Also, F### Brittle Hollow.
2012
The rage was exhausting but it also fueled me a lot. Got all the achievements. Was it worth it? For an "achievement wh*re" - of course.
2021
A wholesome game to chill. A bit silly, a bit funny, kind of beautiful but nothing too special. I loved the art style, the music, the characters, and that the plot isn't linear.
You have to find your purpose in life. Start your journey, visit places, and see how other people live. I like that we aren't forced to find Sable's path. We take our time and decide when we are ready. Something different in comparison to our world where we often have to force ourselves into some paths to even see if we even like it. Sable is basically looking for a job with an empty curriculum vitae. And it's not stressful. It's kind of peaceful, even.
You have to find your purpose in life. Start your journey, visit places, and see how other people live. I like that we aren't forced to find Sable's path. We take our time and decide when we are ready. Something different in comparison to our world where we often have to force ourselves into some paths to even see if we even like it. Sable is basically looking for a job with an empty curriculum vitae. And it's not stressful. It's kind of peaceful, even.
2017
I never enjoyed chess that much. Not for my mind. But I got the game for free so hey, why not try it and see how it feels a few years after my last attempt? Maybe a good 3D game with classical music is all I need to get hooked.
Nope.
But I appreciate Ave Maria blasting my headphones. It woke me up after a bit of boredom.
Nope.
But I appreciate Ave Maria blasting my headphones. It woke me up after a bit of boredom.
There were only 3 good things about this game - sound (especially the music and great job of the voice actors), cutscenes (animations, facial expressions - it felt like watching a real movie), and running your own paths around the city.
I disliked or even hated some parts of the game, especially time challenges. They had too strict requirements for getting 3/3 stars per run. I understand that hard work and knowing how and when to use certain mechanics should be rewarded. But these runs were more about punishing you for small stumbles or not knowing where to cut corners rather than rewarding you for being actually well. And let's not forget about Faith often running or jumping into places that you certainly did not direct her to. It was so frustrating.
The story was meh. It had some cool parts but I didn't feel engaged in the events that much. The characters were okay but I didn't find a single character I could tell I liked. Even Faith as the protagonist. She was only okay.
However, I still spent 41 hours to get all the achievements regardless of how much disappointment and anger it brought. Why? I don't know. Stockholm syndrome perhaps. Or maybe because I enjoyed free-running in-between missions. Especially when I searched for collectibles. Yup, gathering them all was boring and had no meaning other than getting the achievements but I was not restricted by any time limits or from where I should approach the target. It was somewhat relaxing after all these time challenges.
The game has a unique atmosphere. The first steps of cyberpunk but with still many elements from our current age.
I wanted to love this game and I think I do a little (Stockholm syndrome!) but most of my time spent there was not great. 2/5 and I can't recommend it.
I disliked or even hated some parts of the game, especially time challenges. They had too strict requirements for getting 3/3 stars per run. I understand that hard work and knowing how and when to use certain mechanics should be rewarded. But these runs were more about punishing you for small stumbles or not knowing where to cut corners rather than rewarding you for being actually well. And let's not forget about Faith often running or jumping into places that you certainly did not direct her to. It was so frustrating.
The story was meh. It had some cool parts but I didn't feel engaged in the events that much. The characters were okay but I didn't find a single character I could tell I liked. Even Faith as the protagonist. She was only okay.
However, I still spent 41 hours to get all the achievements regardless of how much disappointment and anger it brought. Why? I don't know. Stockholm syndrome perhaps. Or maybe because I enjoyed free-running in-between missions. Especially when I searched for collectibles. Yup, gathering them all was boring and had no meaning other than getting the achievements but I was not restricted by any time limits or from where I should approach the target. It was somewhat relaxing after all these time challenges.
The game has a unique atmosphere. The first steps of cyberpunk but with still many elements from our current age.
I wanted to love this game and I think I do a little (Stockholm syndrome!) but most of my time spent there was not great. 2/5 and I can't recommend it.
2022
It did its job to introduce me to how to use the Steam Deck. Besides that, great graphics and a few cool jokes, it's just that.
Generally a great experience, though, some puzzles were annoying
2009
People meme it too much saying it's the worst game ever. It has major flaws but generally, it is a fun game. I come back to it every few months.
2015
Mahjong > Casino
I finished everything that I could in the vanilla experience.