I really LOVE Talos Principle 2, but it was one of the most tiring games I have ever played. 9/10 is good for this game, aside from the absurd playtime and a few weirdly specific puzzles, it is literally flawless and one of the best that this genre has to offer. Yes, I added the finishing sentence of a review to the beginning because the rest of the review isn’t specifically a review. I will ramble about a problem I actually had control over and talk about a valuable lesson I learned as a game designer. It will probably sound extremely stupid to you, so get ready.

I actually have lots to talk about this game, but 24 hours of puzzles completely destroyed my mind to a degree that even thinking about puzzles as a concept seems like an exhausting task. I wanted to talk about how I liked the narrative threads, how beautiful the game looks, how beautiful the soundtrack is and how well the puzzles are made, but sadly whenever I think about this game playtime is one of the main things that comes to my mind.

I adore this game, but 24 hours was WAY too much. It’s not that the game ever bores you, it’s the exact opposite actually. The game never runs out of new mechanics to give you, puzzles never get boring, and story threads and dialogues always keep you fresh. But man, if you want to see every bit of the story, you have to devote your life to this game and solve every puzzle this game has to offer. The main problem with this is that the maximum time I can play this game in a day is two hours because after that I completely run out of steam and even get to a degree where I start to have headaches. I wanted to see the ending of the game, also I wanted to move on to another game, so I played this game in really long sessions and in the end, I was extremely tired. Maybe a good solution would be to play another game with this one that is the opposite in nature, but I feared that I would have abandoned this game after a while. There might have been even more solutions that don’t come to my mind (thank you Talos Principle 2) but pushing through this game was probably the easiest one to do, so I did that. It was a mistake, but I did it anyway and I have no regrets as it taught me a valuable lesson.

This series is weird man. Not in terms of its story, or gameplay, but in terms of playtime. As a game designer, it gave me a valuable lesson in terms of playtime. The first game was also really good, but the puzzles got really, really hard and combined with the long playtime (15 hours) that game was also really tiring, even more than the second game. This game seemingly solved that problem, puzzles weren’t gradually getting harder, there were easier puzzles between harder ones and there were always new mechanics to keep the gameplay fresh (unlike the first game). When I was at the 12-hour mark, I thought to myself that this game solved the main problem of the first one and I probably won’t get tired at the end of this game like I did in the first one. As I progressed through the game, I gradually started to get tired again sadly. The reason is simple; Even if your game is endlessly fun, even if you have the content to support a long playtime, there is always a degree where your game can be too long.

Even though this series tired me, I’m really glad that I played it. I learned a really valuable lesson about playtime that I don’t think I could have had without experiencing and analyzing it by myself. If you are a game designer, definitely play this game. Even if you don’t learn the same lesson as me, I’m pretty sure you will learn about something equally significant.

Fantastic puzzle game that shoots itself in the foot by being too long. If this game was 5 hours shorter, it would have been one of the best games I have ever played, and I would have easily given it 10/10. But it isn't, it is a 14-hour game that runs out of new mechanics to give to you in the middle of the playthrough. Yes, the challenge increases and the narrative is really interesting but If I start to struggle and the game doesn't offer me anything, the whole experience will obviously start to sour pretty rapidly. I’m giving it 9/10, this game has fantastic presentation, incredible narrative, and insanely smart puzzles but it was just too long for me.

It's fine, it does exactly what it tries to do without any interesting twist. Some puzzle rooms are good, but some of them are total nonsense and badly designed. The art style is just too plain to be any interesting, although there are few rooms that look good. Two of the themes are really good and interesting (Egyptian and Victorian era) while the other two are really boring (Megacorp and Space).

Like I said, it's fine. I got bored halfway through the game, but I played the two least interesting themes last so that might be the reason. Also, I played alone, maybe it is better with more people but I doubt that there will be much difference. I’m giving it 6/10, it was a really mixed experience.

Enjoyable driving game with a unique twist on a common gameplay structure. The game keeps itself fresh with the “switch into any car in the traffic” mechanic and puts it to good use with its mission designs. Even though the missions are fun on their own, they are not varied enough to keep me interested in 8 hours of gameplay. I did side-missions during the first 4-5 hours, but I got bored eventually and focused on finishing the game.

The handling model is really solid for an arcade game, every car feels different from each other (which can be lacking in some arcade driving games), and every one of them feels fun to drive. Car variety is really good too, as there are lots of different types of cars, from dull traffic cars to hypercars, to rally monsters.

The presentation is okay, the art style isn’t particularly strong yet its strong coherence makes it enough for this type of game. The story isn’t that special, but it’s enjoyable enough for this type of game. Music is forgettable, I can’t remember any song from the game. Car sounds range from okay to good, yet they sound too flat and inorganic.

I think 7/10 is a good score for this game, I think this is a really good setup for a really good sequel, but that will never come true as Ubisoft is focused on remaking Skull & Bones for the 8th time. Also, it's been nearly thirteen years, and this game is forgotten. Sadly this game will only remain as an underrated driving game with no sequel for the rest of eternity.

Although nothing too special, it is a fun indie title that I have happily wasted a day to play it. The combat system is fun overall, and it works well most of the time, but there are times when the combat system stops working. For example, the game expects you to do too many things at once during some crowded enemy counters, and because there are a really good number of mechanics and enemy types, you can get overwhelmed pretty easily and it can get very hard to get out of the situation. I liked the difficulty balancing, even though there were two or three times where I noticed difficulty spikes, but that is passable for a game this size. The story is okay, dialogues can be fun at first, but they can get old after a certain time (keep in mind that I played the game in Turkish language). The presentation is nearly flawless for an indie game, even if it could have been more interesting. I did not encounter any bugs during my playthrough, that’s a plus too. It was a fun six and a half hours, and I’m giving it 7/10. I think this is a very solid first game for the studio and I am pretty sure they will build upon this game’s success, and I am eager to see it.

A sequel that I enjoyed while also being disappointed by its less ambitious scope. I really liked the exploration aspect of the first game, but for some reason (probably time constraints that were caused by the infamous publisher) this game is a much more linear experience and they removed a really fun side of the first game. I liked the story, but the lack of equally intriguing mystery as the first game made me enjoy it less. The gameplay is still good, but I was severely disappointed by its low number of new weapons. It’s the same formula that I enjoyed the first time, with a few adjustments that I do not like and a few additions that I didn’t find enough to be satisfied with. I think the maximum I can give is 8/10, it was fun, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy me.

Brilliantly immersive sci-fi horror, with a very satisfying gameplay loop and story. It is also the perfect remake, in the sense that it is a very faithful yet improved version of the original. It is also visually one of the best games I have ever played, the atmosphere is amazing, and I think it modernizes the original’s atmosphere very well.

The game has an amazing combat loop, and there are a lot of ways you can engage in the combat. Weapon variety and weapon mods are really good, and abilities are really useful. The only problem is that the combat loop fails to flow when there are lots of enemies in the room. The Game does not have a dodge button, and enemies can squeeze you easily when there are a lot of them, leaving you in a bad situation. Zero-G parts are confusing and do not flow well like the rest of the game. The idea is good, but the execution is not well.

The game does not have an incredibly good story, but with a good lore, it is more than enough for this kind of game. The fear factor is good too, even though I got used to horror games I sometimes got scared shitless. Also, Isaac speaks in this game unlike the original, and his lines are written pretty well and they feel natural to the rest of the game.

There are a few bugs here and there, I had to load up an old save 3-4 times during my playthrough because of glitches. Performance is very good; I had a solid 60 FPS on a middle-range PC without any hiccups. Also, when you launch the game, it takes literal seconds for the game to load up, and I was mesmerized by it every time I launched the game (I have not experienced this on another PC game). Other than that, incredible game. I’m giving it 8.7/10, I had a wonderful time playing it and can’t recommend it enough.

I wish they made this game with the intention of "more Hotline Miami" instead of trying to revolutionize the formula. This game shares the core gameplay of the first game, but the design choices that have been made in this game awfully hindered the enjoyment I had from this game.

What I liked about the original was that there were a lot of ways to play and the game never forced you to play in one way. Hotline Miami 2 demolished this principle of the first game and instead added a lot of gameplay sequences that force you to play as a specific character in a specific style. There were sequences that were just like the first game and those sequences were absolutely amazing, but because of the “forced” sequences my enjoyment never reached the levels I had in the first game. Also, I think difficulty balancing is generally bad. There are sequences that I completed in 4-5 minutes, but sometimes there are sequences that took me 30-45 minutes to complete. This became a major annoyance for me after a while and it made me want to stop playing altogether. Other than that, some new abilities are added but they are not polished and usually junky. Some enemy types here and there but I do not think they are creative or add anything to the gameplay.

Hotline Miami 2 is a generally disappointing sequel to me, the first game was already short and if they just did “more Hotline Miami” it would have been enough on its own. I’m giving it a 6.5/10, in terms of experience this game was one of the most frustrating ones in recent memory.

Absolutely amazing game that I have overlooked for the past decade. Such a shame, because in terms of setting and music, this game is literally made for me. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, probably the best in an indie game (maybe except Minecraft, which was an indie game before). Gameplay is addicting and very thoughtfully made, game always forces you to make plans and improvise on them during the gameplay. The gameplay's ability to capture the player and make them feel like they are in the situation themselves also creates a very immersive experience. Highly recommend it if you haven't played this gem of a game. 8.5/10