Raith
2023
This is a fusion of a deckbuilding game and poker, but the emphasis is placed almost 70 / 30 on how much you'll be engaging with the games poker vs. deckbuilding mechanics. There is so much more emphasis on getting high pairs or high suits in order to attack and defend, while the custom deck you build to go into each campaign feels like it acts as a supporting role. I got through half of the campaigns offered before I ever changed a card from the starting deck.
So as a deckbuilder it kind of fails to provide really challenging or interesting deck building challenges. Almost anything will work. Combine that with the rather slow progression of unlocking new abilities and cards, and by the end of the final campaign I really only had one viable strategy for the character I was using. There were clearly other strategies based on cards I unlocked, but I didn't get enough of them or the abilities unlocked that supported them. I wanted to explore the class I played with more, but I simply couldn't.
There is a great idea here, but it is a little too underbacked to really call it a "good" experience.
So as a deckbuilder it kind of fails to provide really challenging or interesting deck building challenges. Almost anything will work. Combine that with the rather slow progression of unlocking new abilities and cards, and by the end of the final campaign I really only had one viable strategy for the character I was using. There were clearly other strategies based on cards I unlocked, but I didn't get enough of them or the abilities unlocked that supported them. I wanted to explore the class I played with more, but I simply couldn't.
There is a great idea here, but it is a little too underbacked to really call it a "good" experience.
2010
How surprising, the only game Todd Howard didn't get his hands on turns out to be the best game from Bethesda I've yet to play.
In saying that, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Though the problem of gunplay feeling imprecise and random from Fallout 3 with the addition of ADS (as well as guns just having less RNG spread it seems, though that might just be my perception), it still lacks a punch. The combination of no real recoil plus some lackluster sound design makes most of the guns feel like peashooters. Even the explosions feel like they lack a punch, not helped by the fact you can hit someone square in the jaw with a 40mm grenade and they'll charge at you like nothing happened.
The story of this one is significantly better too. There are significant choices you can make throughout the story that will impact the ending, with multiple routes you can take. Important NPCs can be killed that will change what quests you'll have available and how things shake out. Really it was the only thing keeping me invested in seeing things through. I wanted to see how my choices would impact the world and pan out in the end.
The characters unfortunately remain forgettable. Caesar and Mr. House were the most interesting, but most of your interactions involved either them giving you quests or exposition dumping a bunch of lore if you choose to ask them some questions. You don't really get to just see their personality or interact with them outside of the stilted conversations you'll have with them, but that's common among all Bethesda RPG's so it's not a unique problem with this game.
FInally, the world of Fallout 3 felt way less fleshed out and interesting compared to The Elder Scrolls, and unfortunately that remains true here. There isn't very many interesting landmarks I can think of, interesting discoveries or just generally cool places to visit. The lore isn't as interesting and it really feels a lot less fleshed out than a game like Skyrim. Most of the cool lore is wrapped up in the vaults, so if that is something you like in RPG's you're going to want to seek them out. Otherwise the world building is fairly light and boils down to "this faction controls this area". Nellis is an interesting place to but you'll quickly learn everything about it and its inhabitants.
If you are going to play any Bethesda RPG from the 360/PS3 era make sure it's this one. By far the best out of the 4, and the most fun to complete. Though I still have a soft spot for TES, I can't deny this one is actually engaging from beginning to end.
In saying that, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Though the problem of gunplay feeling imprecise and random from Fallout 3 with the addition of ADS (as well as guns just having less RNG spread it seems, though that might just be my perception), it still lacks a punch. The combination of no real recoil plus some lackluster sound design makes most of the guns feel like peashooters. Even the explosions feel like they lack a punch, not helped by the fact you can hit someone square in the jaw with a 40mm grenade and they'll charge at you like nothing happened.
The story of this one is significantly better too. There are significant choices you can make throughout the story that will impact the ending, with multiple routes you can take. Important NPCs can be killed that will change what quests you'll have available and how things shake out. Really it was the only thing keeping me invested in seeing things through. I wanted to see how my choices would impact the world and pan out in the end.
The characters unfortunately remain forgettable. Caesar and Mr. House were the most interesting, but most of your interactions involved either them giving you quests or exposition dumping a bunch of lore if you choose to ask them some questions. You don't really get to just see their personality or interact with them outside of the stilted conversations you'll have with them, but that's common among all Bethesda RPG's so it's not a unique problem with this game.
FInally, the world of Fallout 3 felt way less fleshed out and interesting compared to The Elder Scrolls, and unfortunately that remains true here. There isn't very many interesting landmarks I can think of, interesting discoveries or just generally cool places to visit. The lore isn't as interesting and it really feels a lot less fleshed out than a game like Skyrim. Most of the cool lore is wrapped up in the vaults, so if that is something you like in RPG's you're going to want to seek them out. Otherwise the world building is fairly light and boils down to "this faction controls this area". Nellis is an interesting place to but you'll quickly learn everything about it and its inhabitants.
If you are going to play any Bethesda RPG from the 360/PS3 era make sure it's this one. By far the best out of the 4, and the most fun to complete. Though I still have a soft spot for TES, I can't deny this one is actually engaging from beginning to end.
2022
If you made an average 3D platformer and then went back to take all the fun out, you'd be left with something resembling this game.
There is a weird perception in the dev community that what people liked about Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie (games from the golden era of 3D platformer "collectathons") was that there were a lot of things to collect.
Collecting things is just a means to an end. A goal to give the player that allows for the real gameplay to take place, the platforming.
Good 3D platformers have fun movement that makes the simple act of running around collecting random stuff engaging. The classic scenario for someone booting up SM64 for the first time was that they spent the first 10 minutes just running and jumping around outside the castle before ever stepping foot into the first level.
Kao is not fun to play. The movement is slow and straightforward, with no interesting movement options. The jumping is imprecise, with Kao clipping through or sliding off platforms constantly. They didnt even bother trying to make combat somewhat unique. Just mash the punch button.
The only thing this game has going for it is the fact that the devs filled each if its levels with lots of things to collect. That's it.
Even the most die hard fans of games with collectables will have a hard time getting through this one. Not because of well placed secrets or clever level design though, but because you'll be battling trying to stay awake while playing it.
There is a weird perception in the dev community that what people liked about Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie (games from the golden era of 3D platformer "collectathons") was that there were a lot of things to collect.
Collecting things is just a means to an end. A goal to give the player that allows for the real gameplay to take place, the platforming.
Good 3D platformers have fun movement that makes the simple act of running around collecting random stuff engaging. The classic scenario for someone booting up SM64 for the first time was that they spent the first 10 minutes just running and jumping around outside the castle before ever stepping foot into the first level.
Kao is not fun to play. The movement is slow and straightforward, with no interesting movement options. The jumping is imprecise, with Kao clipping through or sliding off platforms constantly. They didnt even bother trying to make combat somewhat unique. Just mash the punch button.
The only thing this game has going for it is the fact that the devs filled each if its levels with lots of things to collect. That's it.
Even the most die hard fans of games with collectables will have a hard time getting through this one. Not because of well placed secrets or clever level design though, but because you'll be battling trying to stay awake while playing it.
After rolling the credits on this indie, I've been having a difficult time deciding if I would recommend it or not.
If you have no idea what this game is, it is essentially a 2D The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on about a 15 minute timer. You play a treasure hunter exploring an ancient lost island, slowly uncovering the islands secrets. The only problem is the sudden appearance of this island signals the beginning of the end, as not long after appearing the world is going to explode. Worry not though, because do to some unexplained reason some time bs happens and you'll be sent back to the beginning, only this time with a handy map showing where you have already explored.
The loop of this game is to explore an area, solve some puzzles, and then move onto an unexplored area of the map to repeat. You'll do the loop about 12-18 times (it took me 16 loops) before you have all the answers to the puzzles solved and are able to do the "perfect run" that brings you to the end of the game. You'll hit some checkpoints throughout your loops that permanently unlock passages that make this final run possible.
It's a fun gameplay loop that kept me hooked until that final run as every loop felt like I made progress towards the end.
Unfortunately, touchy controls really frustrate the experience. You character runs and parkours through the levels incredibly fast, which when you get into a flow state of running, jumping and rolling is incredibly satisfying. But there are plenty of areas that require precision platforming, and a simple tap in one direction will have you sprinting off to one side. Wall jumping and climbing didn't always respond normally as well, leading to some unfortunate falls and unnecessary frustrations. Music and visuals are alright, the backgrounds being the best part of the presentation with varied and interesting designs. The story is so forgettable that it would probably have been better to just not even bother with it and save the 30 or so minutes it takes to play through the story missions and cutscenes.
The fact it kept me coming back to finish it makes me lean towards it being worth trying. It's not groundbreaking, and the controls can be legitimately frustrating at times, but the loop of gradually working your way towards the perfect run through the island is satisfying.
If you have no idea what this game is, it is essentially a 2D The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on about a 15 minute timer. You play a treasure hunter exploring an ancient lost island, slowly uncovering the islands secrets. The only problem is the sudden appearance of this island signals the beginning of the end, as not long after appearing the world is going to explode. Worry not though, because do to some unexplained reason some time bs happens and you'll be sent back to the beginning, only this time with a handy map showing where you have already explored.
The loop of this game is to explore an area, solve some puzzles, and then move onto an unexplored area of the map to repeat. You'll do the loop about 12-18 times (it took me 16 loops) before you have all the answers to the puzzles solved and are able to do the "perfect run" that brings you to the end of the game. You'll hit some checkpoints throughout your loops that permanently unlock passages that make this final run possible.
It's a fun gameplay loop that kept me hooked until that final run as every loop felt like I made progress towards the end.
Unfortunately, touchy controls really frustrate the experience. You character runs and parkours through the levels incredibly fast, which when you get into a flow state of running, jumping and rolling is incredibly satisfying. But there are plenty of areas that require precision platforming, and a simple tap in one direction will have you sprinting off to one side. Wall jumping and climbing didn't always respond normally as well, leading to some unfortunate falls and unnecessary frustrations. Music and visuals are alright, the backgrounds being the best part of the presentation with varied and interesting designs. The story is so forgettable that it would probably have been better to just not even bother with it and save the 30 or so minutes it takes to play through the story missions and cutscenes.
The fact it kept me coming back to finish it makes me lean towards it being worth trying. It's not groundbreaking, and the controls can be legitimately frustrating at times, but the loop of gradually working your way towards the perfect run through the island is satisfying.
This isn't the first game to dupe me into buying it with it's beautiful visuals, and it won't be the last.
The unique visual style of this game had me interested immediately way back when Nintendo showed it off at one of their indie directs, and upon finally booting it up was impressed to be greeted by a fully animated opening. My hopes were high that a game with this much polish visually would deliver a fun and memorable experience.
Unfortunately, the visuals are about all there is to remember about this game. This is a rougelite, meaning you will go through the games levels until you either die or hit a roadblock forcing you to restart, at which point you'll go through the game again and again gradually building up your character and unlocking new things for future playthroughs. After just one playthrough of this games loop though, I was bored out of my mind and ready to move on. And it only took about an hour, two levels total, to reach that point.
Combat is in first person, but judging if you are close enough to hit or get hit is virtually impossible. Sometimes it feels random if your going to take a hit or not. Combat can basically be summed up as "press the attack button as much as possible and hopefully one of the melee swings will connect before you get hit". There is zero depth. Some characters have projecticles that need to be aimed, but an energy system that limits how often you can use a character makes sure you"re never having too much fun. You'll be spamming that attack button with the main character more often than not.
To top it off, enemies are super simple offering very little challenge. All together it makes for one very boring game.
This is a very beautiful looking bad game. Don't be fooled and waste your time on this one.
The unique visual style of this game had me interested immediately way back when Nintendo showed it off at one of their indie directs, and upon finally booting it up was impressed to be greeted by a fully animated opening. My hopes were high that a game with this much polish visually would deliver a fun and memorable experience.
Unfortunately, the visuals are about all there is to remember about this game. This is a rougelite, meaning you will go through the games levels until you either die or hit a roadblock forcing you to restart, at which point you'll go through the game again and again gradually building up your character and unlocking new things for future playthroughs. After just one playthrough of this games loop though, I was bored out of my mind and ready to move on. And it only took about an hour, two levels total, to reach that point.
Combat is in first person, but judging if you are close enough to hit or get hit is virtually impossible. Sometimes it feels random if your going to take a hit or not. Combat can basically be summed up as "press the attack button as much as possible and hopefully one of the melee swings will connect before you get hit". There is zero depth. Some characters have projecticles that need to be aimed, but an energy system that limits how often you can use a character makes sure you"re never having too much fun. You'll be spamming that attack button with the main character more often than not.
To top it off, enemies are super simple offering very little challenge. All together it makes for one very boring game.
This is a very beautiful looking bad game. Don't be fooled and waste your time on this one.
This is the 7th Fire Emblem title I have played, and still I want to play more. The formula of Fire Emblem is near perfect.
The tight strategy gameplay and host of characters to recruit keep things interesting throughout. The perma-death mechanic adds tension to every move and really makes you think about your turns a way other strategy games don't. You have to think multiple turns ahead to ensure you can reach your objectives and keep your party safe. One misstep and an enemy ambush could easily take out one or two important characters. It's a pretty standard Fire Emblem affair in that regard.
As for what this title does a bit differently, there are a series of unlockable hidden levels throughout the game one must complete in order to get the "true ending". I like this idea a lot actually, as it makes subsequent replays more interesting. I didn't realize until near the end of the game that you had to complete these chapters to reach the 3 final chapters, so if I ever decide to come back to this title there is more content I haven't seen waiting for me.
The difficulty is a bit spikey at times, but if you take your time and have some experience with strategy games its nothing a regular player cannot handle. There are some maps which are rather annoying to play such as one which takes place in a desert, limiting both visibility and movement. But with proper preparation and tight gameplay you can get through it.
The story of FE6 is rather basic, which is one of its weaker elements. Somehow it doesn't seem that much more fleshed out than the NES or SNES titles despite featuring support conversations to expand on characters and lore. The dialogue and plot is a rather standard fantasy affair though with armies marching on each other, minor politicking and the threat of world annihilation by an ancient powerful being. A lot of the characters are rather forgettable too, also leaning on some standard tropes as their main character traits. It's not bad or boring, but the writing does feel very "standard", and if in a few months I can't remember most of the details or cast I wouldn't be surprised.
Overall great game, well worth your time. Is it the best Fire Emblem? No. I don't think it's even the best Fire Emblem on GBA. But it's still one of the better RPG's you're going to find on the system and worth checking out.
The tight strategy gameplay and host of characters to recruit keep things interesting throughout. The perma-death mechanic adds tension to every move and really makes you think about your turns a way other strategy games don't. You have to think multiple turns ahead to ensure you can reach your objectives and keep your party safe. One misstep and an enemy ambush could easily take out one or two important characters. It's a pretty standard Fire Emblem affair in that regard.
As for what this title does a bit differently, there are a series of unlockable hidden levels throughout the game one must complete in order to get the "true ending". I like this idea a lot actually, as it makes subsequent replays more interesting. I didn't realize until near the end of the game that you had to complete these chapters to reach the 3 final chapters, so if I ever decide to come back to this title there is more content I haven't seen waiting for me.
The difficulty is a bit spikey at times, but if you take your time and have some experience with strategy games its nothing a regular player cannot handle. There are some maps which are rather annoying to play such as one which takes place in a desert, limiting both visibility and movement. But with proper preparation and tight gameplay you can get through it.
The story of FE6 is rather basic, which is one of its weaker elements. Somehow it doesn't seem that much more fleshed out than the NES or SNES titles despite featuring support conversations to expand on characters and lore. The dialogue and plot is a rather standard fantasy affair though with armies marching on each other, minor politicking and the threat of world annihilation by an ancient powerful being. A lot of the characters are rather forgettable too, also leaning on some standard tropes as their main character traits. It's not bad or boring, but the writing does feel very "standard", and if in a few months I can't remember most of the details or cast I wouldn't be surprised.
Overall great game, well worth your time. Is it the best Fire Emblem? No. I don't think it's even the best Fire Emblem on GBA. But it's still one of the better RPG's you're going to find on the system and worth checking out.
Although I have yet to finish Final Fantasy VII, I have played up to where the remake leaves off. So though I may not have the full context of this remakes changes over the original, I feel like I had enough to give this game an honest review.
From the story to the gameplay, the devs really put a lot of work into bringing the beloved classic to a new generation. The story is expanded incredibly well, giving a lot more time to flesh out characters and locations that were mostly breezed through in the original game. Particularly, the members of Avalanche not named Barret or Tifa are all given a lot more time to flesh out, and with the expanded locations you can get a much better idea of what life is like in the slums under the plates of Midgar.
In addition to just adding more into the first major act of the story, there are some subtle changes made throughout that culminate into a big reveal during the final chapter. This isn’t really a 1:1 retelling of the story, though it can feel really close most of the time. If you pay attention to certain changes made throughout, the larger changes to the story dropped in the final chapters of Remake piece together in a fun twist on the classic tale.
Gameplay on the other hand is not to subtle, as it has been completely revamped into an action-turnbased hybrid battle system. Like FFVII, the active time battle (ATB) system is the crux of combat. Instead of waiting for the bar to fill up in a turn based style battle though, the ATB gauge is filled by attacking and blocking. This leaves item and skill usage tied to the ATB gauge, with the rest of combat focused on using your basic attacks, defending and dodging.
I actually quite liked the new combat system, perhaps even more than FFVII original take on it. Waiting for the ATB gauges to fill isn’t that interesting, especially in low impact battles (such as with random enemy encounters). By allowing the player to attack and defend in the meantime it actually made every moment of battle engaging, and by the end of my 40+ hour playthrough I was still craving more. In fact, I was wishing there were more mini-boss and larger boss battles to really dive deep into its systems more.
This isn’t just a remake. In a lot of ways it a reimagining of a classic that provides a lot of fresh experiences for newcomers and veterans alike.
From the story to the gameplay, the devs really put a lot of work into bringing the beloved classic to a new generation. The story is expanded incredibly well, giving a lot more time to flesh out characters and locations that were mostly breezed through in the original game. Particularly, the members of Avalanche not named Barret or Tifa are all given a lot more time to flesh out, and with the expanded locations you can get a much better idea of what life is like in the slums under the plates of Midgar.
In addition to just adding more into the first major act of the story, there are some subtle changes made throughout that culminate into a big reveal during the final chapter. This isn’t really a 1:1 retelling of the story, though it can feel really close most of the time. If you pay attention to certain changes made throughout, the larger changes to the story dropped in the final chapters of Remake piece together in a fun twist on the classic tale.
Gameplay on the other hand is not to subtle, as it has been completely revamped into an action-turnbased hybrid battle system. Like FFVII, the active time battle (ATB) system is the crux of combat. Instead of waiting for the bar to fill up in a turn based style battle though, the ATB gauge is filled by attacking and blocking. This leaves item and skill usage tied to the ATB gauge, with the rest of combat focused on using your basic attacks, defending and dodging.
I actually quite liked the new combat system, perhaps even more than FFVII original take on it. Waiting for the ATB gauges to fill isn’t that interesting, especially in low impact battles (such as with random enemy encounters). By allowing the player to attack and defend in the meantime it actually made every moment of battle engaging, and by the end of my 40+ hour playthrough I was still craving more. In fact, I was wishing there were more mini-boss and larger boss battles to really dive deep into its systems more.
This isn’t just a remake. In a lot of ways it a reimagining of a classic that provides a lot of fresh experiences for newcomers and veterans alike.
2017
It baffles me how 3 guys from South Australia were able to make such an incredible game. Hollow Knight might be the biggest step in Metroidvania’s since Super Metroid or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It’s spectacular.
Hollow Knight takes all of the lessons from the best titles in the genre and builds upon them with a deep and engaging world to explore. You’ll not only be exploring unique environments that feature new enemies and aesthetics, you’ll be encountering a wide range of unique characters and bosses that build upon the lore of Hollownest. The jump from Metroid / Metroid II to Super Metroid was incredible, as Super Metroid brought with it a much tighter design that made exploration more natural. This feels like the next step in world design for metroidvania’s, taking things a step further by not only making the exploration and navigation more fluid but filling the world itself with history and lore to uncover through gameplay. By the end of Hollow Knight, I immediately wanted to go back to find all of the items I missed in order to learn more about Hollownest.
From a gameplay perspective Hollow Knight is virtually flawless. It’s always clear where you should be exploring, something I can’t say is always 100% clear in the majority of metroidvania’s. The boss battles are varied and interesting, each one feeling wholly unique in their attack patterns and strategy. The secrets are well hidden, but don’t fall into the trap of hiding them in areas that would require pure luck to come across. The controls are tight and responsive.
The bar for metroidvania’s has been raised since the release of Hollow Knight. Level design has to push players forward in their explanation without hitting a brick wall, combat and boss design needs to feel fluid and varied, and the world needs to be captivating to uncover.
The bar has been raised, will anyone attempt to reach for it?
Hollow Knight takes all of the lessons from the best titles in the genre and builds upon them with a deep and engaging world to explore. You’ll not only be exploring unique environments that feature new enemies and aesthetics, you’ll be encountering a wide range of unique characters and bosses that build upon the lore of Hollownest. The jump from Metroid / Metroid II to Super Metroid was incredible, as Super Metroid brought with it a much tighter design that made exploration more natural. This feels like the next step in world design for metroidvania’s, taking things a step further by not only making the exploration and navigation more fluid but filling the world itself with history and lore to uncover through gameplay. By the end of Hollow Knight, I immediately wanted to go back to find all of the items I missed in order to learn more about Hollownest.
From a gameplay perspective Hollow Knight is virtually flawless. It’s always clear where you should be exploring, something I can’t say is always 100% clear in the majority of metroidvania’s. The boss battles are varied and interesting, each one feeling wholly unique in their attack patterns and strategy. The secrets are well hidden, but don’t fall into the trap of hiding them in areas that would require pure luck to come across. The controls are tight and responsive.
The bar for metroidvania’s has been raised since the release of Hollow Knight. Level design has to push players forward in their explanation without hitting a brick wall, combat and boss design needs to feel fluid and varied, and the world needs to be captivating to uncover.
The bar has been raised, will anyone attempt to reach for it?
2013
The Last of Us is on the top of my list of “games I should play again to see if they are as good as I remember”. It came out in 2013, around the time I become more invested in games and anime as things more than simple entertainment to pass the time. The more games I played and anime I watched, the more it had to do to really impress. I think The Last of Us did a lot in shaping my tastes at that time and what I wanted out of my games.
The thing that I and so many others were blown away by was the dynamic between the two main characters Ellie and Joel. If you’ve been under a rock for a while and know nothing about this games story, it’s a post-apocalyptic adventure that basically centers around a nihilistic (kind of psychopathic) old man, Joel, and a young teenage girl who he is tasked with escorting to a special facility in the hopes of developing a cure for the infection that has taken out most of humanity. At first Joel only cares about getting the girl to where she needs to go, with his cold demeanor keeping him distant from his traveling companions. But as they spend more and more time together, and Joel starts to see more of his daughter he lost years ago in Ellie, the more he sees himself as her guardian. At the time, I and many others considered it some of the best character development and character driven storytelling in the medium.
Gameplay wise it’s a solid third-person shooter with most of the features you’d expect from similar games of that time. There’s stealth takedowns, the ability to hug cover and a variety of weapons to use throughout the campaign. Being set in a post-apocalypse, the addition of a crafting system was a good touch and the scarcity of bullets gave the combat an edge of tension. It’s not revolutionary on this front and I could see some disliking it for this fact, but it never took away from my enjoyment when I played through it in 2013.
This is probably the game with the biggest asterisk right now in my top 5. Is it really as good as my memory believes it to be or was it just a dark and “mature” game that hit at a time when I was being disillusioned by yearly Call of Duty releases. For now, I’m going off my memory as this being one of the best written stories in games. I’ll update this review if that ever changes.
The thing that I and so many others were blown away by was the dynamic between the two main characters Ellie and Joel. If you’ve been under a rock for a while and know nothing about this games story, it’s a post-apocalyptic adventure that basically centers around a nihilistic (kind of psychopathic) old man, Joel, and a young teenage girl who he is tasked with escorting to a special facility in the hopes of developing a cure for the infection that has taken out most of humanity. At first Joel only cares about getting the girl to where she needs to go, with his cold demeanor keeping him distant from his traveling companions. But as they spend more and more time together, and Joel starts to see more of his daughter he lost years ago in Ellie, the more he sees himself as her guardian. At the time, I and many others considered it some of the best character development and character driven storytelling in the medium.
Gameplay wise it’s a solid third-person shooter with most of the features you’d expect from similar games of that time. There’s stealth takedowns, the ability to hug cover and a variety of weapons to use throughout the campaign. Being set in a post-apocalypse, the addition of a crafting system was a good touch and the scarcity of bullets gave the combat an edge of tension. It’s not revolutionary on this front and I could see some disliking it for this fact, but it never took away from my enjoyment when I played through it in 2013.
This is probably the game with the biggest asterisk right now in my top 5. Is it really as good as my memory believes it to be or was it just a dark and “mature” game that hit at a time when I was being disillusioned by yearly Call of Duty releases. For now, I’m going off my memory as this being one of the best written stories in games. I’ll update this review if that ever changes.
When I was first putting together my backloggd profile and deciding how I would rate CS:GO, I thought at first I’d probably put Valorant above it. It combined two of my favorite competitive shooters, that being CS:GO and Overwatch, and blended my favorite aspects of each of them into a fresh new experience. Then I remembered I put 1,200 hours into CS:GO before I ever tried a fourth map.
If tactics and pure gameplay are what you are looking for, Counter Strike is the clear choice. No gimmicks, just teamwork, awareness and raw aim deciding each round. Can’t put all of the blame on someone not playing their role, if you need smokes you’re just as much in charge of them as the next guy. Map knowledge is key and knowing lineups can be the difference between a simple site execute and absolute chaos as you try and brute force your way through a choke.
I’m putting CS:GO at the top of my shooter list because it was the one I played the most during my time in university, but an argument could be made to put any of the popular CS installments here instead. Some of my first memories of playing a competitive shooter was with 1.6, and it’s surprising just how much that game got right early on. The fact that I can still go back to such an early shooter and have a blast is a testament to its quality. But CS:GO is the game that I put over 1000 hours into, and all of the improvements and changes it brought to the series are what I enjoy. The added utility that molotov’s bring to a round alone completely changes how certain maps can play out.
While newer shooters bring with them flashier graphics, fleshed out characters and lore, and new gameplay mechanics, it’s the simple and pure gameplay that CS has that keeps it at #1 for me.
If tactics and pure gameplay are what you are looking for, Counter Strike is the clear choice. No gimmicks, just teamwork, awareness and raw aim deciding each round. Can’t put all of the blame on someone not playing their role, if you need smokes you’re just as much in charge of them as the next guy. Map knowledge is key and knowing lineups can be the difference between a simple site execute and absolute chaos as you try and brute force your way through a choke.
I’m putting CS:GO at the top of my shooter list because it was the one I played the most during my time in university, but an argument could be made to put any of the popular CS installments here instead. Some of my first memories of playing a competitive shooter was with 1.6, and it’s surprising just how much that game got right early on. The fact that I can still go back to such an early shooter and have a blast is a testament to its quality. But CS:GO is the game that I put over 1000 hours into, and all of the improvements and changes it brought to the series are what I enjoy. The added utility that molotov’s bring to a round alone completely changes how certain maps can play out.
While newer shooters bring with them flashier graphics, fleshed out characters and lore, and new gameplay mechanics, it’s the simple and pure gameplay that CS has that keeps it at #1 for me.
2007
I feel like Bioshock is a product of a bygone era. An era where games were bigger, looked better and had all the features necessary to tell deep and interesting narratives compared to previous generations while maintaining a development cycle that allowed hits to roll out with ease. These days you might see a game like Bioshock every other year, if you’re lucky. In 2007 it felt like every year was packed full of haymakers and there was always a great, new experience waiting around the corner.
Where Bioshock shines is its storytelling. Mostly credited to Ken Levine, the story bears no shame on wearing its messaging and underlying philosophies on its sleeve. As you explore the nightmarish Rapture, a city that should have been a libertarian paradise, you’ll hear lectures from the cities founder Andrew Ryan as to why he created Rapture and his philosophy. You’ll also learn about the history of Rapture and some of its inhabitants.
One of Bioshock’s biggest strengths in its storytelling is its environmental storytelling. A lot of information is never outright told to you, meaning there is a lot to be learned through the simple act of exploring and taking in your surroundings. Though you’ll follow the story just fine if you only focus on going from point a to point b, you can learn a lot more about the world and the characters by exploring it. To help give some context to certain events or characters, audio logs are found randomly throughout the world that give Rapture a sense of history. At times you will feel like you are an investigator trying to unravel Rapture’s past.
Though I consider Bioshock’s narrative to be its strongest point, the gameplay and presentation are not far behind. Single player shooters need to do a lot to stand out from the crowd. The steampunk aesthetic and upgrade system certainly make Bioshock feel like a fresh experience. In addition to the usual weapons you’ll find in any other FPS, your character also can wield a variety of unique abilities you acquire through special “tonics” and “plasmids”. Though many of the powers you can find may seem rather dull, such as the ability to shock enemies or shoot fire, the juggle between using these powers and more traditional weapons was always fun and engaging. It gives the players more options in any given situation, giving the combat some extra legs it wouldn’t have had if you were stuck with using shotguns and rifles.
If you haven’t played Bioshock yet, you’re missing out on one of the 7th generation’s gems. Though this golden era of gaming has since passed, we can still enjoy all of its greatest triumphs today, and I strongly urge you to do so.
Where Bioshock shines is its storytelling. Mostly credited to Ken Levine, the story bears no shame on wearing its messaging and underlying philosophies on its sleeve. As you explore the nightmarish Rapture, a city that should have been a libertarian paradise, you’ll hear lectures from the cities founder Andrew Ryan as to why he created Rapture and his philosophy. You’ll also learn about the history of Rapture and some of its inhabitants.
One of Bioshock’s biggest strengths in its storytelling is its environmental storytelling. A lot of information is never outright told to you, meaning there is a lot to be learned through the simple act of exploring and taking in your surroundings. Though you’ll follow the story just fine if you only focus on going from point a to point b, you can learn a lot more about the world and the characters by exploring it. To help give some context to certain events or characters, audio logs are found randomly throughout the world that give Rapture a sense of history. At times you will feel like you are an investigator trying to unravel Rapture’s past.
Though I consider Bioshock’s narrative to be its strongest point, the gameplay and presentation are not far behind. Single player shooters need to do a lot to stand out from the crowd. The steampunk aesthetic and upgrade system certainly make Bioshock feel like a fresh experience. In addition to the usual weapons you’ll find in any other FPS, your character also can wield a variety of unique abilities you acquire through special “tonics” and “plasmids”. Though many of the powers you can find may seem rather dull, such as the ability to shock enemies or shoot fire, the juggle between using these powers and more traditional weapons was always fun and engaging. It gives the players more options in any given situation, giving the combat some extra legs it wouldn’t have had if you were stuck with using shotguns and rifles.
If you haven’t played Bioshock yet, you’re missing out on one of the 7th generation’s gems. Though this golden era of gaming has since passed, we can still enjoy all of its greatest triumphs today, and I strongly urge you to do so.
This was my first experience with Age of Empires II, and honestly I'm sad I missed out on it so many years ago. It is possibly the greatest strategy game I have ever played, and the only reason I have not given it a perfect score is because there is a certain RTS series I have yet to sink my teeth into that I feel could potential take that spot.
First let me just talk about the gameplay. It is incredibly deep and skill intensive, yet it is so easy to get into that I casually got a friend who only played FPS games to play with me only for both of us to be hooked for months.
You don't need to have crazy micromanagement skill or APM (actions per minute, or how fast you can do things) in order to have fun here. Amassing huge armies to smash into each other is fun no matter your skill level, and joining in large 4v4 wars will never be anything but utter, brilliant chaos. For me and my friend who was new to the genre, we would do 2v2v2v2 against AI slightly harder than he could manage by himself. This lead to many great games where we had to defend against onslaughts of enemies and claw our way to victory. Were we perfectly collecting resources and upgrading our units in the optimal order? Far from it. We could barely notice though as our armies clashed into each other, only for a third or even forth army to join the fray and completely change the outlook of a battle.
If you do decide to dive into the games strategy a bit more though, it is incredibly easy to get into and begin improving. Something as simple as looking online for tutorials on "build orders", or the general order in which you should take certain actions, will immediately click and improve your gameplay.
Though the original launched with 13 civilizations to play as (a later expansion later brought that number to 18), this HD edition brought this number up to 31 after releasing 3 of its own expansions. Honestly, the 13 civilizations of the base game would still have been enough for me to consider this game one of the all-time greats in the genre, but by more than doubling that number AOE II has made sure that players will never want for variety. There are thousands of variations you can play when factoring in enemy civilizations and maps.
In the end, AoE II provides an incredibly rich and exciting experience for players of all skill levels. Whether you're playing a 3 hour game where armies in the hundreds clash against one another or you are a competitive player who will try and rush your opponent down before they can get out of the bronze age, you'll have a blast playing. If you have even a passing interest in RTS games, this is a must play.
First let me just talk about the gameplay. It is incredibly deep and skill intensive, yet it is so easy to get into that I casually got a friend who only played FPS games to play with me only for both of us to be hooked for months.
You don't need to have crazy micromanagement skill or APM (actions per minute, or how fast you can do things) in order to have fun here. Amassing huge armies to smash into each other is fun no matter your skill level, and joining in large 4v4 wars will never be anything but utter, brilliant chaos. For me and my friend who was new to the genre, we would do 2v2v2v2 against AI slightly harder than he could manage by himself. This lead to many great games where we had to defend against onslaughts of enemies and claw our way to victory. Were we perfectly collecting resources and upgrading our units in the optimal order? Far from it. We could barely notice though as our armies clashed into each other, only for a third or even forth army to join the fray and completely change the outlook of a battle.
If you do decide to dive into the games strategy a bit more though, it is incredibly easy to get into and begin improving. Something as simple as looking online for tutorials on "build orders", or the general order in which you should take certain actions, will immediately click and improve your gameplay.
Though the original launched with 13 civilizations to play as (a later expansion later brought that number to 18), this HD edition brought this number up to 31 after releasing 3 of its own expansions. Honestly, the 13 civilizations of the base game would still have been enough for me to consider this game one of the all-time greats in the genre, but by more than doubling that number AOE II has made sure that players will never want for variety. There are thousands of variations you can play when factoring in enemy civilizations and maps.
In the end, AoE II provides an incredibly rich and exciting experience for players of all skill levels. Whether you're playing a 3 hour game where armies in the hundreds clash against one another or you are a competitive player who will try and rush your opponent down before they can get out of the bronze age, you'll have a blast playing. If you have even a passing interest in RTS games, this is a must play.
How do I talk about Breath of the Wild in a way that hasn't been done a hundred times before?
When I first stepped into the world of Hyrule in BotW, I remember being mesmerized by the openess of the world. The previews and impressions going into it promised an open world that felt truly open, unlike anything that came before it. And though other games have promised similar feats, only to let me down, Breath of the Wild kept that promise and then some.
Not only is this a world where you can travel without boundaries, it's a world full of mystery and intrigue that just begs to be explored. Never have I felt the pull to explore quite like when I first stepped into the light just outside the cave at the beginning of the game.
But you have probably already heard people talk about all of that. So I'll just talk about my favorite thing from BotW, that being how everything comes together to create an incredible adventure.
One of the biggest complaints you will hear from BotW is how the weapons break after repeated use. People complain that the cool weapon they found will be destroyed, so they end up keeping it in their inventory and never actually using it. What I would suggest to anyone going into BotW it to let these feelings of attachment go.
The fact that my weapons broke constantly was what drove me into starting encounters I would have normally avoided or stray from the path forward to explore new areas. Ruins were a great place to look for chests or old weapons from previous conflicts, and defeating enemy camps was a great was to stock up on some weapons when my inventory was running low. I was pushed more and more to continue exploring, continue adventuring in order to find better and better equipment that could help me conquer the next part of my journey.
If I had simply avoided all fights in an attempt to keep the weapons I had already found in new condition, there are so many places I would never have visited and encounters I would have never fought. It's like when people complain about a JRPG being too grindy or difficult, only to see their inventory full of powerful elixirs and single use items. Like how single use items in a JRPG are meant to help you through difficult encounters and stronger enemies without giving you unlimited access to these powerful effects, weapons breaking in BotW also serves a purpose. It pushes you to explore and engage with the world more.
And because I was forced to explore new areas in search for better weapons whenever my best equipment would shatter, I discovered more and more about the world of Hyrule in BotW. Much of the story and lore isn't told through cutscenes or dialogue between characters, but by exploring the world itself. Ruins of villages destroyed by the calamity, scenes from large battles that took place a hundred years prior, and the remains of an ancient civilization that predates Hyrule itself all can be found scattered around the map.
That exploration also lead me to finding a lot of the games hidden collectibles and areas that are required for upgrading links abilities. There are 900 Koroks to be found, and by the end of my long adventure I had found about a third of them without ever going out of my way to search for them. Similarly, the shrines Link has to complete in order to gain additional hearts were something I would often stumble across on during my exploration.
Hopefully I didn't tread too much familiar ground in this review. I just wanted to address one of the most cited criticisms of BotW and how I see it as one of its strengths.
Is BotW a perfect game? Probably not. There are some areas I could see where improvement could still be made.
But when I was deciding whether I should give BotW a perfect score, I thought about one thing. What would a 10/10 game have to do for me to consider giving it that score? And the answer I landed on is the following: After playing this game, did it fundamentally change something about you?
And I think the answer to that question is yes. There is a me before BotW and one after. The version of me now cannot see open world games the same way I had before, and games need to do a lot more to draw me into them than filling them with a checklist of things to do and see. Open world games seriously have a lot of catching up to do if they ever hope to see the same level of critical acclaim as BotW has seen since its launch.
When I first stepped into the world of Hyrule in BotW, I remember being mesmerized by the openess of the world. The previews and impressions going into it promised an open world that felt truly open, unlike anything that came before it. And though other games have promised similar feats, only to let me down, Breath of the Wild kept that promise and then some.
Not only is this a world where you can travel without boundaries, it's a world full of mystery and intrigue that just begs to be explored. Never have I felt the pull to explore quite like when I first stepped into the light just outside the cave at the beginning of the game.
But you have probably already heard people talk about all of that. So I'll just talk about my favorite thing from BotW, that being how everything comes together to create an incredible adventure.
One of the biggest complaints you will hear from BotW is how the weapons break after repeated use. People complain that the cool weapon they found will be destroyed, so they end up keeping it in their inventory and never actually using it. What I would suggest to anyone going into BotW it to let these feelings of attachment go.
The fact that my weapons broke constantly was what drove me into starting encounters I would have normally avoided or stray from the path forward to explore new areas. Ruins were a great place to look for chests or old weapons from previous conflicts, and defeating enemy camps was a great was to stock up on some weapons when my inventory was running low. I was pushed more and more to continue exploring, continue adventuring in order to find better and better equipment that could help me conquer the next part of my journey.
If I had simply avoided all fights in an attempt to keep the weapons I had already found in new condition, there are so many places I would never have visited and encounters I would have never fought. It's like when people complain about a JRPG being too grindy or difficult, only to see their inventory full of powerful elixirs and single use items. Like how single use items in a JRPG are meant to help you through difficult encounters and stronger enemies without giving you unlimited access to these powerful effects, weapons breaking in BotW also serves a purpose. It pushes you to explore and engage with the world more.
And because I was forced to explore new areas in search for better weapons whenever my best equipment would shatter, I discovered more and more about the world of Hyrule in BotW. Much of the story and lore isn't told through cutscenes or dialogue between characters, but by exploring the world itself. Ruins of villages destroyed by the calamity, scenes from large battles that took place a hundred years prior, and the remains of an ancient civilization that predates Hyrule itself all can be found scattered around the map.
That exploration also lead me to finding a lot of the games hidden collectibles and areas that are required for upgrading links abilities. There are 900 Koroks to be found, and by the end of my long adventure I had found about a third of them without ever going out of my way to search for them. Similarly, the shrines Link has to complete in order to gain additional hearts were something I would often stumble across on during my exploration.
Hopefully I didn't tread too much familiar ground in this review. I just wanted to address one of the most cited criticisms of BotW and how I see it as one of its strengths.
Is BotW a perfect game? Probably not. There are some areas I could see where improvement could still be made.
But when I was deciding whether I should give BotW a perfect score, I thought about one thing. What would a 10/10 game have to do for me to consider giving it that score? And the answer I landed on is the following: After playing this game, did it fundamentally change something about you?
And I think the answer to that question is yes. There is a me before BotW and one after. The version of me now cannot see open world games the same way I had before, and games need to do a lot more to draw me into them than filling them with a checklist of things to do and see. Open world games seriously have a lot of catching up to do if they ever hope to see the same level of critical acclaim as BotW has seen since its launch.
2019
I really wanted to like Dicey Dungeons more than I did. Rouguelikes are something I have a personal affinity for, and I love a game with a bit of personality. If one thing Dicey Dungeons has oodles of, its personality.
The art and music are both amazing, and together create an experience that really stands out. It was one of the things that drew me toward it rather than the hundreds of other rouguelikes that seem to be released every year these days.
Unfortunately the basic gameplay system is rather bare bones, so it quickly becomes monotonous after the initial charm wears off.
Your given a 3x2 square each run to hold equipment, with some equipment taking up only 1x1 and others being 2x1. This means you can have between 3-6 pieces of equipment per run.
The idea of carefully selecting which equipment to use should, in theory, add a lot of depth to each run. If you have 12 or 13 pieces of equipment, you could easily have 50+ combinations that you could go into combat with. Unfortunately, from my experience, you just dont run into that much equipment during a run, so the amount of decision points is rather minimal on this front. I often ended runs with between 5-8 pieces of equipment, with some of them being completely useless for that run. Sure you might see a few more pieces of equipment in shops as you progress, but often times it felt like there was a clear choice when you entered a shop, if you took anything at all. In the end, it never felt like I was ever forced to make a hard decision during a run. Lots of equipment work well enough together, but there aren't many synergies that require careful planning to assemble. You'll often just take the best equipment available, and every now and then you'll stumble into a nice piece of synergy.
It doesn't get much better during combat either. There was rarely a time when you aren't just using all of your dice and equipment in a turn. If there was, it was usually pretty obvious which equipment you weren't going to use. The dice manipulation the game allows you to do makes it so RNG rarely feels like it will.make or break a run, but the lack of decision points during a turn really simplifies the experience to a point that it gets dull. Some of the characters add unique twists on the combat, but even the most complex characters the game gives you become rather linear after you "figure them out". The first few runs will feel fresh and fun, but you'll soon realize that all the problems with the simpler characters are still present, it's just masked with a new gameplay mechanic. You'll still only see a limited number of equipment each run, and you'll still have few impactful decisions to make during each of your turns.
In the end, it feels like a very beginner friendly roguelike that just does not satisfy. The saving grace is that runs are quite short, only taking around 20-30 minutes (faster if you really try and make quick decisions). Its a fun title just to start up every once in a while, but the lack of depth really holds back its replayability. I couldn't even finish each of the characters 6 "levels" (each character has 5 special variations for their runs you can try after beating their standard run). I just got bored before I could finish.
I'll probably complete this one day, booting it up here and there in between more meaty experiences as a bit of a palate cleanser. But I can't recommend it to anyone looking for a new game to sink their teeth (and hard earned cash) into. If you usually find rouguelikes (especially those that are strategy/ turn based) too difficult Dicey Dungeons will be quite a treat. If you are looking for your next Slay the Spire you'll have to look elsewhere.
The art and music are both amazing, and together create an experience that really stands out. It was one of the things that drew me toward it rather than the hundreds of other rouguelikes that seem to be released every year these days.
Unfortunately the basic gameplay system is rather bare bones, so it quickly becomes monotonous after the initial charm wears off.
Your given a 3x2 square each run to hold equipment, with some equipment taking up only 1x1 and others being 2x1. This means you can have between 3-6 pieces of equipment per run.
The idea of carefully selecting which equipment to use should, in theory, add a lot of depth to each run. If you have 12 or 13 pieces of equipment, you could easily have 50+ combinations that you could go into combat with. Unfortunately, from my experience, you just dont run into that much equipment during a run, so the amount of decision points is rather minimal on this front. I often ended runs with between 5-8 pieces of equipment, with some of them being completely useless for that run. Sure you might see a few more pieces of equipment in shops as you progress, but often times it felt like there was a clear choice when you entered a shop, if you took anything at all. In the end, it never felt like I was ever forced to make a hard decision during a run. Lots of equipment work well enough together, but there aren't many synergies that require careful planning to assemble. You'll often just take the best equipment available, and every now and then you'll stumble into a nice piece of synergy.
It doesn't get much better during combat either. There was rarely a time when you aren't just using all of your dice and equipment in a turn. If there was, it was usually pretty obvious which equipment you weren't going to use. The dice manipulation the game allows you to do makes it so RNG rarely feels like it will.make or break a run, but the lack of decision points during a turn really simplifies the experience to a point that it gets dull. Some of the characters add unique twists on the combat, but even the most complex characters the game gives you become rather linear after you "figure them out". The first few runs will feel fresh and fun, but you'll soon realize that all the problems with the simpler characters are still present, it's just masked with a new gameplay mechanic. You'll still only see a limited number of equipment each run, and you'll still have few impactful decisions to make during each of your turns.
In the end, it feels like a very beginner friendly roguelike that just does not satisfy. The saving grace is that runs are quite short, only taking around 20-30 minutes (faster if you really try and make quick decisions). Its a fun title just to start up every once in a while, but the lack of depth really holds back its replayability. I couldn't even finish each of the characters 6 "levels" (each character has 5 special variations for their runs you can try after beating their standard run). I just got bored before I could finish.
I'll probably complete this one day, booting it up here and there in between more meaty experiences as a bit of a palate cleanser. But I can't recommend it to anyone looking for a new game to sink their teeth (and hard earned cash) into. If you usually find rouguelikes (especially those that are strategy/ turn based) too difficult Dicey Dungeons will be quite a treat. If you are looking for your next Slay the Spire you'll have to look elsewhere.
2021
If there is one thing I love, it's rougelikes and deckbuilding games, so when Loop Hero was first revealed I immediately put it on my watchlist. With its killer art style and a pretty good OST, everything seemed good going into it. I was expecting to love every minute of it.
At first I did. The looping mechanic was addictive, as you unlocked more new cards (and characters) to play with and make it a little further with each run. After a half dozen loops though, some of the major problems started to show.
First off is the repetitiveness. You see, almost every run will be playing out the same because of how enemy encounters work in this game. You make a deck of cards filled with tiles to place on an empty game board, each one with unique effects on the game. Some will boost the heroes stats, others might give him a small heal every once in a while. Most importantly though, some will spawn monsters for your hero to fight, which will drop new cards and equipment when defeated.
This means besides the random slimes that spawn at the beginning of the game, you get to decide what enemies you will fight and where. In theory, the deckbuilding aspect of the game would add variance here, so maybe you don't get the right cards early on and are forced to fight different enemies every run. In my experience though, it was pretty easy to build a fairly optimal deck, so you always fought the same enemies.
Compounding this was the fact that the combat is all automatic. In fact, the only things you have control over are placing down new tiles and equipping new gear. This means if you don't get the tiles you are looking for or some better gear to equip, you'll just be watching as the game plays itself and you wait. This can lead to large stretches of time where you are actively doing nothing but watch combat play out, especially in the mid to late game of a run. It's just not that fun watching a game play itself with nothing to do.
I think if the deckbuilding aspect was more strategic and in depth I could of put up with the game playing itself mostly as each run would at least feel a little different as you played new strategies. The fact that it only took me a few runs to build a fairly optimal deck that took me to the end of the game meant a solid 50% of my playtime was just going through the motions and waiting for something to do.
If you are the type of player who likes hunting for secrets, there are a lot of cool things to discover in the game. Certain tiles will interact in cool and unique ways depending on which tiles they are connected to, so you can explore the deckbuilding to find all the secret combinations for hours (which admittedly, does spice things up a bit as you discover new possibilities for strategies).
If you are looking for a game that rewards strategic deckbuilding and decision making though, the only thing you will be rewarded with here is a pretty game to watch as it plays itself. Once you figure out the game, everything just becomes a chore.
At first I did. The looping mechanic was addictive, as you unlocked more new cards (and characters) to play with and make it a little further with each run. After a half dozen loops though, some of the major problems started to show.
First off is the repetitiveness. You see, almost every run will be playing out the same because of how enemy encounters work in this game. You make a deck of cards filled with tiles to place on an empty game board, each one with unique effects on the game. Some will boost the heroes stats, others might give him a small heal every once in a while. Most importantly though, some will spawn monsters for your hero to fight, which will drop new cards and equipment when defeated.
This means besides the random slimes that spawn at the beginning of the game, you get to decide what enemies you will fight and where. In theory, the deckbuilding aspect of the game would add variance here, so maybe you don't get the right cards early on and are forced to fight different enemies every run. In my experience though, it was pretty easy to build a fairly optimal deck, so you always fought the same enemies.
Compounding this was the fact that the combat is all automatic. In fact, the only things you have control over are placing down new tiles and equipping new gear. This means if you don't get the tiles you are looking for or some better gear to equip, you'll just be watching as the game plays itself and you wait. This can lead to large stretches of time where you are actively doing nothing but watch combat play out, especially in the mid to late game of a run. It's just not that fun watching a game play itself with nothing to do.
I think if the deckbuilding aspect was more strategic and in depth I could of put up with the game playing itself mostly as each run would at least feel a little different as you played new strategies. The fact that it only took me a few runs to build a fairly optimal deck that took me to the end of the game meant a solid 50% of my playtime was just going through the motions and waiting for something to do.
If you are the type of player who likes hunting for secrets, there are a lot of cool things to discover in the game. Certain tiles will interact in cool and unique ways depending on which tiles they are connected to, so you can explore the deckbuilding to find all the secret combinations for hours (which admittedly, does spice things up a bit as you discover new possibilities for strategies).
If you are looking for a game that rewards strategic deckbuilding and decision making though, the only thing you will be rewarded with here is a pretty game to watch as it plays itself. Once you figure out the game, everything just becomes a chore.