It feels weird to write a review for a game you can't get anymore but I liked it enough that I feel like it warrants it.
Steam's tracker says I played a total of 17.5 hours but I could swear it was much more than that based on how long this game remained in my brain long after playing it.
I originally got it way back when it came out for the TF2 items but was pleasantly surprised with the game itself. As someone who had never played poker before this, it was a great introduction to Texas Hold'Em.
The gameplay itself is fairly simple, it's texas hold em poker, you can't really go too complex with it at least not when playing against AI. The characters have "tells" of sorts but save for the few where they loudly and visibly go "goddamn my cards suck" I at least wasn't able to notice them, especially when the camera swaps between a wide shot of the entire table to a close-up shot of whoever is deciding their next move.
The AI gets really funky if you decide to just go All In every round, they either fold or try to call your bluff with the weirdest cards on earth.
You get cosmetic changes to the room/cards/table after X amount of wins and while these are nice, them being tied to wins rather than points/money/games makes it so that you're not going to see a new unlock very often.
The banter between characters is one of the best parts of the game, the first time you hear it. I only have surface level knowledge on the characters that aren't Heavy Weapons Guy but the conversations made me want to learn more/made me like them enough to remember the conversation.
Tycho is the elephant in the room. Him being here is weird, his character is very unlikable and what little of him there is to like is on the "god this guy is a sad Loser" end of the spectrum.
I think the best part of the whole game is the atmosphere it immerses you in. The music (which is A+, top shelf stuff) coupled with the group banter and the slow-paced game of cards gets you in a really cozy space where 3 hours can go by and you didn't notice (and you maybe even think "I can do one more game" which turns into 3).
If you have this game but never tried it, do so! It is very fun. Twenty hours should be more than enough to get most of the achievements if you are into that, I jumped back in the game to get some of those out of the way (save for the "get a straight flush" one because I am not going through that)
If you don't have this game I would at least suggest you look up the conversations between the characters and the music because Jared Emerson-Johnson made wonderful tracks.
TLDR: Game is fun for a couple of hours, music is GREAT, Tycho sucks.
Steam's tracker says I played a total of 17.5 hours but I could swear it was much more than that based on how long this game remained in my brain long after playing it.
I originally got it way back when it came out for the TF2 items but was pleasantly surprised with the game itself. As someone who had never played poker before this, it was a great introduction to Texas Hold'Em.
The gameplay itself is fairly simple, it's texas hold em poker, you can't really go too complex with it at least not when playing against AI. The characters have "tells" of sorts but save for the few where they loudly and visibly go "goddamn my cards suck" I at least wasn't able to notice them, especially when the camera swaps between a wide shot of the entire table to a close-up shot of whoever is deciding their next move.
The AI gets really funky if you decide to just go All In every round, they either fold or try to call your bluff with the weirdest cards on earth.
You get cosmetic changes to the room/cards/table after X amount of wins and while these are nice, them being tied to wins rather than points/money/games makes it so that you're not going to see a new unlock very often.
The banter between characters is one of the best parts of the game, the first time you hear it. I only have surface level knowledge on the characters that aren't Heavy Weapons Guy but the conversations made me want to learn more/made me like them enough to remember the conversation.
Tycho is the elephant in the room. Him being here is weird, his character is very unlikable and what little of him there is to like is on the "god this guy is a sad Loser" end of the spectrum.
I think the best part of the whole game is the atmosphere it immerses you in. The music (which is A+, top shelf stuff) coupled with the group banter and the slow-paced game of cards gets you in a really cozy space where 3 hours can go by and you didn't notice (and you maybe even think "I can do one more game" which turns into 3).
If you have this game but never tried it, do so! It is very fun. Twenty hours should be more than enough to get most of the achievements if you are into that, I jumped back in the game to get some of those out of the way (save for the "get a straight flush" one because I am not going through that)
If you don't have this game I would at least suggest you look up the conversations between the characters and the music because Jared Emerson-Johnson made wonderful tracks.
TLDR: Game is fun for a couple of hours, music is GREAT, Tycho sucks.