I'm disappointed with this one. I loved their first game "In other waters". I was expecting a similar level of impact with Citizen Sleeper but it just didn't work for me.

The artstyle is lovely and the UI design is clean. Absolutely adore the character designs. The music is decent but In Other Water's soundtrack is more memorable in my opinion.

The writing is all over the place. There are a few compelling stories here but a lot of it is just bland. You are supposed to be this outcast android struggling to survive but everyone treats you like a savior character right from the start. The writing is nowhere close to being strong enough to compete with the likes of Disco Elysium and it's not good enough to carry a game like this, where game mechanics take a step back.

Dread X Collection is an anthology series of indie horror games put together in a neat package. The 7 games here can be played in any order with the backdrop of an overarching narrative set in an isolated research station in the arctics. Here are all the games and my thoughts on them:

uktena 64:
This was made by the same dev who created Lost in Vivo. This isn't the most interesting game in the collection, but it is at the top in terms of quality. The basic premise is that you're a hunter tasked with hunting a bunch of infected animals and the plot gets crazier from there. The N64 aesthetic is great, and the gameplay is simple but fun. 4/5

axis mundi:
A Fatal Frame-esque horror game. You are a ghost hunter tasked with cleansing an under-construction shopping mall. The visuals here are too clean in my opinion and the ghosts look very goofy. The voice acting is strong, and the story isn't too bad. 3/5

black relic:
You play a monk who needs to retrieve a holy relic stolen by a cult of pagans with the help of a trusty crossbow. I reaaallly dig the gameplay in this one. The slow reloads of the crossbow add a lot of tension but unfortunately the enemies are too slow to put you in any type of danger. The pixel/low-res 3D visuals look awesome. 3/5

rose of meat:
Now THIS. This... I don't know what the fuck this is. You could probably write an entire thesis analyzing the meaning behind this super surrealistic piece of art but I'm too dumb to do that. Either way, this was amazing. 5/5

seraphixial:
You receive a letter from your estranged daughter who is in grave danger after joining a cult of sorts. This one starts off strong but quickly turns into the worst game in this collection. Everything from the visuals to the gameplay to the story are extremely unpolished. Every element of this game seems out of place. It just didn't work for me. Awful. 1/5

the fruit:
This is easily the best game out of this collection. After receiving a distressing letter from your lover, you travel to an isolated town to uncover the mystery as to what happened to him. It's an open world survival game with metroidvania elements. The whole atmosphere reminds me a lot of RE4. This game has sooo many cool ideas like the manual gun reload, spell book, the open-ended world, lovecraftian elements, etc. I just wish this was a full-blown game. It is that good. You could buy this collection just for this game and it would be worth it (at a discount of course). 5/5

the house of unrest:
I didn't finish this one. The premise is badass. You play a priest who has been summoned to exorcise demons in a mansion. You dual wield a glock and a cross. This should have been a homerun but it kinda sucks. Not the worst but definitely a very weak entry. 2/5

Finally, the story of the Arc station. This is fantastic as well. It reminds me a lot of "The Thing" which is definitely a strong inspiration here. Great atmosphere. Overall, a great collection. Definitely recommend it, especially on sale.
3.5/5

A very short but extremely well told story. The voice actors are truly exceptional. This game wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable without their awesome performance. The animations are janky but they are unsettling and add to the atmosphere imo and the ending was superbly executed.

Even though this game is just about 2 hours long, it has a bunch of technical issues. I annoyingly had to restart some chapters several times. Completely unacceptable for a game of this size.

Overall, highly recommended. 3.5/5

I went through 3 phases of emotions playing through this game. At first, I was really impressed. I couldn't believe that this came out 6 years ago. The initial chapters were super engaging. Everything from the plot to the gorgeous visuals and set pieces were fun and exciting.

The second phase was slight boredom. Even though the game pushes you from location to location very frequently, it is extremely repetitive. The cycle goes like this: travel -> fight -> shitty climbing/puzzle -> travel. You do this for dozens of hours and it gets tedious very quickly. None of the gameplay elements are complex enough to justify this level of repetition. Even though I loved segments of this game, I couldn't play it for more than an hour per session.

The final phase was frustration. I wanted the game to end but it kept on going. I would've been satisfied and probably given this a very high score if they cut out all the boring bits and the game ended after 10 chapters. In reality, it just never stops. They keep repeating the same gameplay cycle for 22 CHAPTERS! Are you kidding me?!

A good little metroidvania with a satisfying gameplay loop of mining ores and improving your gear. In the endgame, you will be going through the levels at lightning speeds with all the movement abilities that you collect. To beat the final boss, you have to use all the abilities you have acquired thus far. It's crazy that other metroidvania games don't do this often.

The story was surprisingly engaging. All the 3 steamworld games seem to be connected storywise so that might be something to consider before buying. The only thing disappointing was the metroidvania design itself. Once you unlock an ability, the path where you have to use it is usually right in front of you.

It's a decent little metroidvania. Nothing much to it. The combat is simple but satisfying. The exploration is kinda weak but that is to be expected from such a small game. I wish there were more movement options to unlock to really enhance the exploration aspect. The map is very similar to gato roboto where you have a mostly linear path with branching side areas which makes sense for a game of this size but I vastly prefer gato roboto. The final boss was very disappointing. I expected the true ending to improve the final boss but it just added another phase that was actually easier than the other phases.

Baby's first metroidvania.

2.5/5

I've played around 20 hours of overwatch 2 and I like it. First of all, I loved the original overwatch. It was my go-to FPS for a long time, and I put about 250 hours into it. I watched all the cinematics on YouTube multiple times, I was fascinated with the gameplay. It was one of the only multiplayer games that I actually enjoyed. Obviously, I was very disappointed for the past few years due to the lack of new heroes and maps, and I stopped playing.

I decided to get back into overwatch with the imminent release of the sequel and played it for 2 weeks. It was still a decent game. I see a lot of people saying that OW2 is the same game as 1. While this is true in some respects, I think the switch to 5v5 completely changes how fights happen. The lack of shields and stuns also makes it much more enjoyable to play certain heroes.

You no longer hold chokepoints for extended periods of time, fights end quite quickly, and the game feels much much faster. I've also heard chatter about tanks feeling completely useless now but it's quite the opposite. Tanks are basically a more powerful third dps now. You can absolutely dominate the game as a tank and if you're playing it right, you should be the last person to be killed.

The most difficult role now by far is support. Due to the lack of a second tank the dps have access to more heals and thus are more durable, making it difficult for support players to survive flanks. You now have to actively participate in team fights to have any chance at winning.

The thing I dislike about ow2 is the new UI. A lot of it feels unnecessary. It's change for the sake of change. The new heroes don't even have a POTG animation yet. It feels extremely sloppy and unpolished. It is very hard to navigate and access specific information. The battlepass/monetisation system is also horrendous, but I never cared about skins or cosmetics, so it doesn't bother me.

So, in conclusion, did we really need a sequel for overwatch? No. But I can see why they did it. Interest in Overwatch was dying. Half the people complaining about it now are those who didn't even acknowledge it's existence for the past 3 years. Blizzard needed a boost in engagement and wanted to make more money so they fortnite-yfied it.

Still a 4/5

I love this game. It's one of those RPGs that I can see myself coming back to, time and time again only to never get to the end.

This game has not aged particularly well. The combat is janky as all hell, the animations are awful, the visuals render a cool atmosphere but are technically not impressive even for its time but man this game has that oomf factor. Even though the world is not very interactive, the atmosphere more than makes up for it.

The main reason why you should play this game is for the writing. It puts you right at the center of a civil unrest between multiple vampire clans seeking control of LA. Nothing is black and white. It might look like it's obvious who the bad guys are, but around halfway into the game you realize that nothing nobody says is entirely true. Everyone has a motive and shape their conversations around it to sound genuine. The more you think about it, the deeper the rabbit hole goes.

The music isn't dynamic like a lot of modern games so it might sound a bit out of place at times but there are genuine bangers here, my favorite being the Hollywood theme. Reading the story behind how that track was created and what the composer was going through at the time, you can see why it's so somber and dark.

The game was rushed and released unfinished. It's pretty much unplayable without installing fan patches. The last 5 hours of the game, it starts to lose polish. You go through lots of linear levels with a bunch of gun wielding enemies and it's just not fun. All that being said, I would recommend this game to anyone who's looking for an awesome RPG.

4/5