Bio
Hello world

I've been posting game reviews on Glitchwave, but the community features there are lacking so I've decided to give Backloggd a try.

I run a website, Bring Your Own Pixels, dedicated to covering obscure and underappreciated games. I might transfer those reviews here at some point but it hasn't happened yet.

I also write music reviews. See: https://rateyourmusic.com/~toadhjo
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Being part of the Backloggd community for 1 year

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Favorite Games

Thimbleweed Park
Thimbleweed Park
Prey
Prey
Katana Zero
Katana Zero
428: Shibuya Scramble
428: Shibuya Scramble
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

071

Total Games Played

000

Played in 2024

000

Games Backloggd


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Although it's a prequel to the game that's often held up as the quintessential immersive sim, Human Revolution is in fact an entirely different beast. Sure, it looks like a Deus Ex game, but when I peer deeply into its mechanics, I see two major influences, neither of which was produced by Ion Storm.

Those influences are none other than Metal Gear Solid and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

The radar, the tranquilizer rifle, the shifts between first- and third-person POV ... maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like these devs wanted to emulate Kojima. And it's not just Metal Gear -- they were clearly fans of Japanese games in general. These are guys who grew up playing Final Fantasy VII and they aren't shy about it.

The quest design, on the other hand, follows more of a Western approach. Quests are doled out just as they would be in a Bethesda game, with clear goals recorded in a journal and juicy rewards upon completion. While the side quests take a back seat later in the game, the early areas of Detroit and Hengsha play as like miniature open-world RPGs.

MGS gameplay plus Western RPG elements, then? It's a perfect combination, and for the most part Human Revolution makes good use of it. Outside of the boss battles, which are universally lame, the game plays smoothly and maintaining stealth is fun. I think I had more fun with the stealth here than I did in any of Arkane's games, if I'm being honest.

What drags the game down, then, is the big-picture stuff. The story makes sense, but there are too many characters who each get too little screentime, and because of this nothing resonates like it should. You can tell the developers wanted to make this game absolutely epic -- a globe-trotting Oblivion, if you will -- but ultimately they ran out of time. The end product is still great but it feels oddly incomplete. Hengsha really suffers in this regard -- it's essentially a copy/paste dystopia of ma-and-pop convenience stores and butcher stalls with a few key locations added for good measure.

Before I sign off, I just want to say that I do really admire the game's visual design. Like I said in my review of Bulletstorm, games from this era feel huge in a way that modern games often don't. It turns out massive dams and endlessly sprawling cities are more impressive when you can only gaze at them from afar -- once you can visit and explore them, the spell is broken.

The most amazing thing about this game is that it came out only two years after Arkham Asylum. Back before gaming devolved into a competition to see who could offer bigger open worlds and more live service content (not to mention more-realistic horse testicles), developers could make awesome, fun, full-featured games in a quarter of the time – games like this one.

Arkham City isn't a perfect game by any means. My opinion of it is a bit lower than the general consensus. Some indoor areas, like the ice lake, are a hassle to navigate, the bosses are just OK, and the balance between Batman and the secondary protagonist feels uneven. The story also plays more like a series loosely connected events than a cohesive tale.

But the great combat from Arkham Asylum has returned intact, and grappling and gliding around the city is fun and fluid. Plus there's plenty of side missions and bonus content for people who want more after the credits roll.

Look, I understand that it's not realistic for developers to churn out games like this every two years. Burnout is a real risk, and after one or two sequels, sequelitis undoubtedly rears its ugly head. But there has to be a happy medium between the nimble development of eras bygone and the ridiculously long modern dev cycles that often result in games that are simultaneously over- and under-cooked. I hope more developers find the sweet spot soon.

The first Remnant was a sleeper hit for me, so when this one came to Game Pass I was eager to check it out. Having finished it, though, I'm left disappointed. Playing Remnant II is like returning to a treasured memory, only to find reality doesn't live up to your expectations.

I will say that the game looks good and feels great to play. Unreal Engine 5 delivers the graphical goods (even on my Series S), shooting feels weighty, and dodge rolling never gets old. Another area the sequel improves is the bosses. Whereas the first game's bosses usually relied on unleashing hordes of minions to keep you occupied, the bosses in this one have more creative tricks up their sleeves.

Where the game falls short is in vibe. While the original Remnant wasn't consistently brilliant in this regard, it had a lot of imagery that stuck with me: The oppressive, rain-drenched tutorial, the decrepit ruins of Earth, the endless dunes of Rhom, and so on.

Remnant II, on the other hand, feels more forgettable. Losomn is a tribute to Resident Evil 4 that's so on the nose it feels like a borderline parody. Yaesha is back but it was never one of my favorite areas to begin with. And N'Erud is superficially similar to Rhom, but with a dense layer of fog that smothers the Dune vibes.

It doesn't help that the story continues from the first game's DLC, which I never played. The original Remnant didn't have a strong story either, but at least the protagonist had a sense of purpose. Remnant II, by contrast, feels like a series of fetch quests. The game explains why I'm exploring all these worlds, but the motivation is vague at best.

There are also all sorts of new class and equipment systems that are a mixed bag. While I appreciate all the build flexibility, I don't like that there are few permanent benefits from leveling up each class. After reaching level 10 in my primary class and the secondary class I acquired early in the game, I wanted to try a new secondary class. But switching from a Level 10 class to a Level 1 class was a huge downgrade, and I was near the end of the game with little incentive to grind. I suppose if you're looking for that Diablo-like grind you might not mind this, but for me it didn't hit right.

Is Remnant II worth your time, then? The long and the short of it is that if you enjoyed the first Remnant, you'll probably find some entertainment in this one as well. Just be sure to come in with measured expectations and you won't end up feeling disappointed like I did.