gonna be real with ya i only got this years ago because it was made by mojang and they did minecraft too!!!

campaign wise it's a fairly subpar experience, despite having some tricks up its sleeve. this is mainly due to an identity conflict between it's different gimmicks, it isnt quite sure if it wants to be a slow paced platformer shooter, a bullet time action bonanza, or a 2d systemic stealth game. these different aims collide in the campaign and make it feel incredibly lacking in direction

regardless there is still some fun to be had in the campaign, and much more in the now dead multiplayer (the football gamemode is a highlight on that front) but this remains a slightly weird game that just happened to be published by mojang

This review of Don't Starve isn't going to be very conventional as far as my writing goes. I try to be as thorough as possible with these, especially with games that I've completed, but with Don't Starve, I simply cannot do either. Klei Entertainment has absolutely stuffed this game full of content that I simply cannot experience in its entirety within the time frame I was able to play this game.

That being said, Don't Starve is an enjoyable time. There's a wealth of different things to build, ways to survive, and things to do. There are straight-up areas of the game that I know exist that I did not get to. In any case, there's a lot to do in this game, and part of the fun is coming across all of the things you can find and wondering what they do. Not all of what they do is interesting, mind you, but there's so much that some of it is inevitably going to be fun. For example, cooking food on a fire eventually becomes a monotonous, automatic task, but is made more fun when you build a crock pot, which allows you to experiment with different recipes that have different levels of effectiveness. Despite that, I can't help but feel the game's procedural generation isn't as good as it could be. It mostly focuses on "setpieces", individual areas with unique events, rather than the map itself. While this is a unique approach, it does mean that every game of Don't Starve feels essentially the same to me. Maps always have the same broad areas for the most part and even if the layout is different, it doesn't feel that way. In the thirty or so hours I spent with the game, I couldn't say I was presented with the same uniqueness that other procgen games such as Spelunky and Brogue had recently shown me. Despite the wealth of content, I just sort of got bored near the final stretch, but still felt satisfaction in reaching the "end goal" for this exchange. The game is helped by its stellar presentation; a Tim Burton-inspired world with memorable character designs, tons of personality in the fluid and expressive animation, and a genuinely whimsical if overly short soundtrack. Some minor issues, such as an unnecessary 60 FPS lock, remain over a decade after release, but it's not a huge problem.

Would I recommend Don't Starve, then? I honestly don't know if I can. Not because the game is not quality, it is, but because I have not experienced enough of it yet. If you like survival games and somehow haven't played it yet, it's certainly worth a shot.

A true FPS classic that, despite a high learning curve, easily became one of my favorites in the genre. While the opening levels might be overly difficult and punishing, the gameplay and level design of Blood finally shines through after slamming your head against the wall repeatedly. The weapon arsenal is robust, satisfying, and for the most part, every weapon is handy. The level design is often inventive and creative and requires exploration and ingenuity in terms of discovering secret pathways without feeling overly labyrinthine like Hexen or Doom 2. Learning how to properly throw the dynamite at different lengths to properly counter the game's ferocious enemies is a difficult skill to master but feels near orgasmic when you do. Thankfully the levels are largely consistent too, and the game mostly avoids the 90s FPS curse of a weak third act. Making the cultists, the game's default enemy, one of the most dangerous was a brilliant subversion of typical shooter conventions. Blood may be punishingly difficult but once you learn how the game functions, it becomes one of the most fun FPS games I've ever played. I can't say I cared for any of the boss fights, they're fairly standard shooter fights. Shial especially strikes me as entirely superfluous and I kind of just ran out of ammo and repeatedly stabbed her to death with the pitchfork for ages. The final boss Tchernobog is a weakling, going down almost instantly with multiple napalm shots. They are a relatively minor part of the game, so it's not a huge deal, but it is noticeable when it happens.

The game's presentation is a gleeful combination of gothic and post-war Western aesthetics, blending them with surprising ease to create a grungy, dingy-looking atmosphere of cathedrals and stagecoaches. While Blood did look slightly outdated even in 1997, with games like Quake 2 and Hexen II easily kicking its ass on a technical level, I believe it to be the visual peak of pseudo-3D FPS visuals. The intractability of the environments and the smaller details such as Caleb's weapon sprites visibly becoming lighter and darker based on the lighting is impressive, and the enemies all have expressive and detailed sprites made from clay models. Environments look as detailed and lived-in as the Build engine can allow for, and levels such as the Overlooked Hotel are filled with smaller details and just exude charm. Caleb himself has an incredibly cool design, reminding me of a demonic version of Colonel Mortimer from For A Few Dollars More. Speaking of Caleb, he could have easily been the edgiest, most wince-inducing thing in the world, but he's the perfect blend of intentionally camp and genuine awesomeness that makes him infinitely endearing. If there's any weak spot, it's the soundtrack, which is fairly mediocre to my ears. My opinion on the OST can swing fairly moderately depending on whether you selected the MIDI or CD tracks, and I played most of the game on the former and was thoroughly unimpressed. A lot of the MIDI tracks simply have repetitive, boring, and unimaginative compositions that neither stand out nor build an effective atmosphere. The CD tracks, on the other hand, feel like what the composers always intended the music to sound like. The compositions are still nothing special, but the additional vocals and sound effects create a competently creepy and effective atmosphere that is far superior to anything the general MIDI tracks can offer.

Blood is easily one of my new favorite FPS games, with its creative level design, phenomenal weapon arsenal, and satisfying and innovative combat loop leaving me longing for more. Tackle on appealingly edgy art direction in the best possible way and some impressive use of at-the-time outdated technology and you get something truly special, and a true shooter classic. It's a shame the soundtrack isn't more memorable, but it hardly brings down the game. Highly recommended, and a must-play for anyone who loves FPS games.

In that primordial placeless origin, through the mist-veil of time, since man first airbrushed Merlin smoking a pipe on the side of a van, there, you can feel it in the noosphere, a moon-lit dream, The Dream, a call in the heart of the human soul. Some have seen some small part of this dream- The Legend of Zelda, The Elder Scrolls, Ultima, Dark Souls, Adventure, Dragon Quest, King's Field, Wizardry, among innumerable others, nameless here forevermore, all have failed to reach The Dream. Perhaps cruel circumstance chained them to Earthly bond, perhaps cowardice stayed their hand, perhaps they lacked the naivety and earnestness necessary to behold a waking dream. Whatever their individual situation, the results have always been, like Lion of Gripsholm Castle, a mutant, an aberration, at best a passing resemblance. Dragon's Dogma is The Dream, forged in the furnace of the heart, it is not visually plain- it is clean, it is not halfbaked- it is too goodly to exist totally in a world half-evil, it achieves the promise of videogames, and proves that creative endeavour above all else is the greatest goal humanity can strive for. it is the twinkle in the eye of Merlin smoking a pipe airbrushed on the side of a van.