Contra is the blueprint for side-scrolling action games. They need to be tough as nails, have insane bosses, and usually have a lot of gore or some sort of inspiration from biomechanical art. Moreover, the Earth is under the control of a vast and formidable alien race. Iron Meat nails all of these and is a blast to play. The game can also nail all of these aspects and still fail in level design and gameplay. That’s thankfully not the case here.
As a stalwart soldier, your mission is to save Earth from an alien race that has taken over the Moon. There are nine unique levels in this game, each with varying lengths, enemies, and obstacles to overcome. The game is very pick-up-and-play friendly, as you just run forward and blast everything in sight; however, Iron Meat has a couple of things it does a bit differently. You can find ammo pickups inside objects. Occasionally, friendlies may drop them, or you may find them lying around. They are not commonly found, and if you die, you forfeit your weapon. The standard weapon is a rapid-firing machine gun that works well enough. Other weapons include different firing rates and patterns. There are also pickups to increase your score by 1,000.
In Iron Meat, you can shoot in eight directions. Another great feature is that you can hold down a trigger button to maintain your position while shooting in any direction. The game constantly presents you with enemies at a rapid pace. Some enemies, such as boxes with jaws, bugs, melee enemies, weird snakes, bats, and various other insane abominations, may be incorporated into the level itself. The enemy design is fantastic, and you get to know what each enemy does and how to kill them. Occasionally, following a specific order can also prove to be an effective strategy. You can also avoid enemy fire by lying down prone and shooting. Some levels will also test your platforming skills, featuring obstacles such as collapsing ceilings, death pits, and suspended platforms.
The bosses are really great. They have various attack patterns, and you get used to knowing when to attack. Some will chase you, while others will fly around you. Some are small, while others are massive, possessing multiple forms and phases. They all look grotesque and nightmarish, though. The game’s pacing effectively breaks up the action. There is a vertical level, followed by a level that emphasizes platforming, and then another level that presents a large number of enemies at once. You can unlock characters and swap body parts to create your own unique soldier. Once you complete the game, you can go through it again in mirror mode.
Although the game may appear to have less content compared to modern games, it truly pays homage to the classic 16-bit run-and-gun shooters. Most of those games featured a mere half dozen levels and lacked additional modes. Iron Meat does have a two-player co-op mode, which is a nice addition, but I feel there’s a lot of content here for the asking price. Going through and learning all of the attack patterns and enemies is fun, and then getting more points on higher difficulties can be a fun challenge. You can complete the game in less than two hours, but those two hours are filled with enjoyment.
Overall, Iron Meat nails pretty much everything you would want in a 16-bit run-and-gun shooter. Iron Mean boasts massive bosses, captivating soundtracks, copious amounts of gore, diverse levels, and exceptional controls. There’s not much Iron Meat does wrong outside of the occasional straightforwardness of some levels. This is one of my favorite games in the genre, and you shouldn’t miss out.
Some of the best storytelling comes from the least expected places. Nobody anticipated that DONTNOD would become a masterclass in storytelling. Square Enix’s publishing of DONTNOD was a risk, and no one anticipated such a feat from a publisher arm of such stature. I played the original back in 2014 and fell in love with its characters, atmosphere, setting, and story. The game is a supernatural tale grounded in modern times in a quiet fictional town of Arcadia Bay in the Pacific Northwest. At the time I lived in Southern California, just 60 miles north of Los Angeles. I had no idea that the place I fell in love with would become my home ten years later.
The story of Max Caulfield and Chloe Price is one of the best told in gaming. The writing is fantastic and portrays feelings and love for these two friends like no other game can. The combination of settings, sound, ambience, and choice-based storytelling creates a perfect setup that is difficult to match or surpass. Life is Strange has some of the deepest decision-making in gaming. These choices have profound repercussions in the game and feel as heavy as real-life choices you would make for yourself. Choosing between siding with an angry stepfather or joining in on the lashing could determine whether you get help when your life is in danger or not later on. The excellent thing about the choices here: You can’t tell what the outcome will be. Max makes a comment after each choice, and if you rewind and choose the other option, you’re just as clueless and worried as to whether you made the correct choice.
Max possesses supernatural powers that enable her to jump through time by focusing on photos and also rewind time. If you make a choice, you can rewind and choose again, but the outcome won’t play out here. You have to go based on pure instinct and forethought. Relationships with game characters and their feelings will bias you. Some characters may feel like you want the worst to happen to them, but is that the best choice for everyone? The game’s time-bending storytelling captivates you as you enter chapter three. Max starts visiting alternate realities, and her irresponsibility with this power comes to fruition… or does it? The cycle of rewinding makes Max’s nose bleed, and she passes out, not remembering what happens. Her irresponsible and rebellious friend, Cloe, is the polar opposite of Max’s own personality, but do you sacrifice their friendship for the better of everyone or selfishly keep your friends?
Given that the original game is already 10 years old, I will disclose some spoilers here. If you don’t want to read about them, then skip ahead. I want to delve deeper into the minor details of Life is Strange’s story and conduct a somewhat psychoanalytic analysis of it. The game’s release sparked controversy because it exposed the vulnerable side of minors. As teenagers, we all experienced awkward moments involving sexuality. There are a few scenes toward the end that show Max and the others kidnapped and tied up. Many people accused DONTNOD of being pedophiles or “creeps,” despite the lack of any explicit sexual content. Of course, we see these teenagers making out and kissing, but there’s nothing inherently sexual about it. DONTNOD’s portrayal of these teenagers, stripped down to their core and shattered with fear like animals, can truly unnerve people. I also find that the lack of explanation as to where Max got these powers is baffling. Where did they come from? Is this all imaginary? Is this part of the entire encompassing process of teenagers pretending or over-exaggerating a lot of what happens in their life? Is Max dreaming all of this? There’s a lot of interpretation left to the player, and to this day no one can explain it much.
Although the writing is engaging, it contains a significant amount of outdated slang. Slang from the 1980s and 90s is no longer relevant today, let alone in 2014. Max will employ phrases such as “Shaka Brah,” and refer to Cloe as “Totally Punk Rock,” a term that is both cringeworthy and outdated. While the voice acting is mostly good, it varies in quality, with some performances being truly bad and some exhibiting strange tones for the portrayed expressions. However, it doesn’t take away the overall theme of childhood nostalgia. And that’s what really sells me on Life is Strange. I never had the opportunity to attend private high school, live in dorms, and experience the adventures these teens have in this game. I always yearned for this experience and romanticized it. I still feel nostalgic and warm from the scenes. Just teens being real teens. Hiding in a junkyard and playing with things they aren’t supposed to. Engaging with unconventional individuals, skipping school, and so on are common practices. It seems weird, but we all had those moments or yearned for them as teens. DONTNOD brings that out in all of us.
The soundtrack is one of the best ever written for a game. Jonathan Morelli’s original music reaches deep into your heart, evoking emotions you may not have known existed. The licensed soundtrack rings with tones of nostalgia, the Dog Days of Summer, and days gone by. The soundtrack evokes memories of a simpler, more innocent era that you long to revisit. Life is Strange’s art style resonates deeply with its use of watercolor and smudges, depicting a past that is often out of focus, much like our own. We can recall the specific details, yet the distance and finer details are consistently blurred.
This is primarily a walking simulator with minimal puzzle elements. There are some rewind puzzles that allow you to get optional photos for achievements or to get better dialogue options to help you along in the story. There isn’t much gameplay here, but you aren’t coming into this for that. The remastered version of this game is quite disappointing, with only minor changes such as increased brightness and slightly improved lighting. This game was very dated when it released and is even more dated today. The lip-syncing remains unimproved, and the facial animations exhibit extreme stiffness. Additionally, the game occasionally introduces bugs, crashes, and glitches, and there is currently no update available for the PS5. The high-resolution mode runs at 30 FPS, and while that’s fine for this type of game, it’s not necessary for the hardware in the PS5.
Overall, Life is Strange Remastered may not entice returning fans, but it’s an excellent option for those who are new to the game. The game is one of the best stories ever told, with some fantastically written characters, an amazing atmosphere and setting, and some of the best music ever composed.
Who hasn’t played Half-Life 2 yet? I still have a free coupon from 2007 in my Steam account, but I can’t give it away because everyone I know or have spoken to owns HL2. The game industry and people’s minds haven’t forgotten Half-Life, but it’s been on the back burner for a while now. Every time a new false rumor for a Half-Life 3 emerges, people perk up, and the game becomes popular for a bit and fizzles out. There have been many community updates, such as the famous Half-Life 2: Update that improved visuals and fixed bugs. However, Valve has finally released their definitive version of the game 20 years later.
The Anniversary Update incorporates several significant improvements, including enhanced resolution light cubes, the correction of G-Man’s green eyes during the intro, the ability to choose between original and improved blood and flame effects, a more contemporary user interface and menu, an additional 3.5 hours of commentary, the incorporation of both episodes, and additional features. These quality of life improvements make a huge difference and make the game more palatable to play by today’s standards. Half-Life 2, in general, is a fantastic game with a flow unlike any other game I have played.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary, I am going to do a full review of Half-Life 2 through modern-day eyes. Although I didn’t have the best experience when I first played the game on a business desktop in 2005, it was well-optimized for the time and ran smoothly on potato computers. This was the game that prompted me to finally download Steam. People tend to forget how awful it was back in the day, when it constantly crashed and updates would break both the software and the games that required it. While today’s gamers adore Steam, the gaming community didn’t hold the software in high esteem 20 years ago.
As for the game itself, the modern UI is a welcome change, especially on Steam Deck. The game now supports controllers properly with no need to remap anything. You can choose from a grid or carousel-style weapon menu too, which is a nice change. The visuals are sharp and crisp at higher resolutions, and the game overall looks very clean. It has aged incredibly well, and this is thanks to Valve’s Source Engine and the way everything scales up for higher resolutions. As for playing the game, it feels better than ever. The game takes place shortly after the first game, where Gordan wakes up mysteriously on a train bound for City 17, and features a now-famous intro by G-Man himself. The game is a master class on in-game storytelling. Instead of taking away the players’ controls and inserting pre-rendered cutscenes, the game tells everything through subtle details in the surrounding world.
The beginning of the game is the best example of this. Valve also teaches players how to play the game through natural in-game dialogue and simple puzzles at first. The Metro cop, who instructs you to pick up the can at the start of the game, teaches you how to use physics. The inclusion of this now infamous line ensured that players understood their capabilities. This may seem dated today, but in 2004, physics were very CPU heavy, and most high-end processors struggled with them. People had to learn how to pick up objects using real physics back then. Barney explains the first stacking puzzle, instructing you to stack boxes in order to escape a window.
The game’s natural progression is stellar. The game’s long segments ensure that you always feel like you are moving in the world and making progress in real time. Each area is an hour or two long, and you progressively make your way toward the Citadel and Dr. Kleiner’s lab. The hoverboat area is quite lengthy, giving you the impression that you’re actually traveling to your destination in real time. However, these lengthy segments are not monotonous. Valve puts little tidbits in the game that the player can do or ignore. You have the option to escape and obtain ammo or supplies from a passing house, but doing so could potentially lead to a firefight. There are hidden Lambda caches all over the game, and these really help and come in handy.
The transition from a vehicle to on-foot and back again significantly breaks up the pace. There aren’t many puzzles in the game, but there are some areas that require navigation of pipes and ladders and need a bit of thinking to find your way out. Every game introduces something new, whether it’s a weapon or the ability to command squads. While this is very simple and archaic by today’s standards, I found they mostly get in the way and rarely help outside of offering medkits and distracting enemies. Every game introduces new enemies, and just when you believe you’ve defeated them all, a new type emerges. The enemies range from Metro cops to zombies, and from Elite Combines to Striders. Weapons feel excellent and have a unique and distinct feel to weapons, such as the pistol, are not suitable for use in specific situations. It’s mostly useless after you get around half the guns in the game, and I rarely ran out of ammo. The more powerful weapons have limited ammo, so it’s crucial to use skill to ensure you hit everything, kill enemies, and avoid wasting ammo.
There are ammo crates, boxes, and medkits everywhere. While medkits are not a thing anymore in FPS games, they work well here. Gordon has the ability to recharge his HEV suit for armor purposes. Most of the game feels dated in terms of navigation. The entire game, including linear buildings, vents, doors that need to be opened, and tunnels, guides you along a linear path. Although the game may appear expansive and open at times, it actually follows a linear structure, which was the standard for first-person shooter games during that era. While other games such as Halo 2 set the standard, Half-Life 2 stands out for its organic progression structure and illusion of real-time progress in the world. The inclusion of physics such as needing to use the iconic Gravity Gun to pull a wooden beam from in front a door through a window to progress is something that FPS never really did.
Half-Life 2 has a distinct and unique sound and appearance. There are a lot of browns and beiges, but the game still has color in places. The coastline boasts a plethora of blue water, while Ravenholm is characterized by its dark hues of gray, dark metal, and aged wood. The sound design is iconic, from the HEV suit charging to the Metro cop and Combine radio chatter to the bleeps and bloops of the turrets, which were later used in Portal. The entire game exudes a distinct vibe, ranging from Gordan’s slick momentum to the physics and the firing of the weapons. Enemies respond well to weapon fire and ragdoll when dead or blown up. While there isn’t too much gore in the game there is a lot of blood. Enemies won’t gib at grenades, but you might see the occasional severed head.
The overall oppressiveness of the world of Half-Life and the Combine is palpable in this game. Every time you encounter a group of rebels, even if it’s just for a brief conversation, it’s a refreshing change from feeling alone and feeling like your assistance is fleeting. Ever since I was 15, this game has felt so lonely and melancholy. It’s one of the reasons I haven’t played through this game too many times over the years. Valve masterfully captures the sense of being a superhero, with everyone relying on you, and effectively conveys the dire consequences of making a mistake. The player bears the entire game’s burden.
The Anniversary Update may not seem like much to some. It’s not a remaster or remake, but rather a set of quality-of-life improvements that are not in any way detrimental. HL2 doesn’t need a remake as it works perfectly fine today. A remake would primarily serve as a cosmetic enhancement, but thanks to Steam Workshop’s implementation, we have access to mods that accomplish this for us.
The quality of minimalist games varies greatly. Games like Gris, Planet Lana, Inside, Little Nightmares, etc. are sidescrolling titles that have a focus on one or two things. Visuals alone typically tell the story, which can be challenging to master. Neva seems to nail the story, which is rare for these types of games. The only voice acting in the game is Alba, your character, who grunts and calls out Neva’s name. Neva, a dog or wolf god, is fighting back against a blight that has swept the land. Everything has been overtaken by black goo disguised in strange white masks, and your mission is to uncover the cause of this calamity before it destroys all life on the planet.
The story requires a lot of player interpretation, but it’s quite obvious what is going on. We don’t have names, lore, history, or anything like that, but it’s an obvious good vs. evil story, and Alba obviously has a strong bond and love for this God, Neva. There are ups and downs, close calls, and tragedies in the story as you fight your way through everything. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the story is very touching. The gorgeous animations and art mixed with the astounding soundtrack by Berlinist will wrench a couple of tears from you; it nearly did for me. Most of the game focuses on skilled platforming with triple jumps and some puzzles here and there. There are also some extras you can collect, but they require a bit of thinking, and some of the most advanced platforming in the game requiring surgical precision on distance and height.
The game uses white to indicate what you can do. Bright white lines adorn climbable platforms and walls. At times, you must solve puzzles by striking white gongs, which can move platforms in various ways. As the game progresses, these challenges escalate in complexity, yet they remain surmountable. The game consistently introduces new elements to the player, leaving me astonished each time. Just when I thought I saw everything the game had to offer, something new came along. At times, you can ride Neva and use her for combat; new enemies will emerge, surprising you with their unique fighting styles. Even some puzzles will be enemies themselves. One of my primary concerns with brief games such as these is that they reveal all their features within the initial hour, leaving you trapped in an endless loop of gameplay that quickly loses its allure. Neva consistently introduces new elements or modifies familiar elements to keep you engaged. I love this so much.
Combat is simple as it contains only a three-hit combo, but the enemies are the real challenge. You must learn their patterns and attack animations, and then dodge, jump, and attack accordingly. As previously mentioned, the game introduces new enemies in unique ways. You can roll through enemies and some of their projectiles, but some might be in the air, some might throw things, and some might be huge, including bosses. In some fights, you can use Neva to stun enemies, which can be advantageous. However, in other fights, Neva may not be available, resulting in reduced damage and a reliance on pure skill. Some fights were so tough I restarted over a dozen times because my timing was off. Multiple enemies pose a real challenge, and the game lulls you into a false sense of security early on—that the combat is simple and easy and something you don’t need to focus on.
The game never becomes dull or boring because everything, including the scenery, is constantly changing. The game is absolutely stunning to look at with so much color and vibrant displays of black. Playing with an OLED screen is a must, as the colors pop and come to life. The game’s short duration of about 4–5 hours may turn most people away, but the sheer variety of what’s changed up with so few enemies and a simple gameplay loop is superbly done. I couldn’t put the game down, as I wanted to see these two succeed and find out what caused this blight in the world of Neva. The game and its characters are truly captivating, and I eagerly anticipate more.
Disney has a long and dark history with video game studios and the entire industry in general. Many developers and studios want more creative freedom with the property, and Disney constantly holds their hand and shoots down great ideas. Warren Specter, the creator of Deus Ex and the infamous flop Tabula Rasa, aimed to explore a new genre of games and create a dark Disney fantasy game. However, the Wii version he produced was a disjointed mess. The game’s ambition exceeded the capabilities of the console it was designed for, yet its release came too late for the company. Disney wasn’t pleased with the poor sales of the game and weak reception. The biggest issue that Epic Mickey faced was the terrible camera, and this game needs constant camera work to play correctly.
Epic Mickey is a strange game still. It takes some time to fully understand the game. It doesn’t play like a typical platformer and aims to be something else. I wanted to immediately explore, collect, and paint, but the game doesn’t let you do much of this early on. The game takes place in the Fantasia universe of Mickey, where he serves as The Apprentice to the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer created a world, and Mickey got curious one night and dumped a bunch of thinner inside and went and hid. As time passed, the consequences eventually caught up with him, and now Mickey finds himself inside this world, armed with the magic paintbrush. There’s a light and dark theme that has you using Paint or Thin enemies and bosses to get a different ending. When you defeat each boss, this will also determine which side receives more tank upgrades.
Once you get past the prologue, the game opens up a tiny bit. There is a main hub town that requires Sparks to open new portals to one of the five worlds. Players can find Sparks in the world or through the completion of both side and main quests. This is where the game gets a little frustrating, as side quests are missable. Each world features a primary hub area, but once you complete that world, you can no longer access the subsequent areas. I found it annoying not knowing that part of a quest was here, and once I finished, I was told the quest can no longer be completed. Most quests are tedious fetch quests, and obtaining a Platinum trophy doesn’t necessitate collecting every item. I found this very odd as well, as it feels there’s no point to 100% the game. You only need to finish maybe 70% of the side content to get every achievement or trophy.
Navigating through the cramped levels feels strange. Areas with outlines require painting, and areas with brighter and vivid colors can be thinned. To create platforms, locate hidden chests containing pins, and navigate the area, you must undertake this task. Certain side quests require painting specific objects, a fun but underutilized mechanic. Early on in the game, I didn’t use the brush all that much. Many things appeared to require painting, yet there was no justification for it. I noticed numerous buildings and objects with missing parts, but where was the enjoyable “Paint everything for a special item” quest? Maybe for a cool outfit?
Due to its sparseness and the ability to avoid most enemies, combat is incredibly easy in this game. Depending on the ending you want, you can paint enemies to make them fight for you or thin enemies to make them disappear. If you paint enough, you can send sprites out to “possess” enemies to fight for you, but I never used this feature. The game solely presents challenges in the form of boss fights and animatronics, which necessitate thinning before a physical attack. You can save caged Gremlins to simplify certain aspects of the game, like stopping enemy generators, but the game’s simplicity makes this unnecessary. I found most of the enemies to be annoying and a hindrance to platforming, especially since many would respawn later.
Another puzzling gameplay element were the E-Tickets. These were completely useless. Every so often someone will offer to make something easier to allow you to purchase a spark or something similar for e-tickets. You can purchase items from shops like hearts, tanks, and permanent upgrades, but the availability of these items is limited. Most of the E-Tickets are for concept art, and I always had more E-Tickets than I could ever want. They are scattered throughout the game and have the ability to reappear. At the start of the game, I devoted a significant amount of time to collecting every single one in sight, only to discover that they would reappear upon my return or even upon my death. I would have liked to spend more tickets on outfits or customization options like paint color or brush type.
For the most part, Mickey’s momentum and physics feel good. He’s a bit floaty, especially in the 2D levels, but it works. Mickey can do a jump and slam move, a spin move, and a triple jump. The more advanced platforming sections present the biggest challenge in the game, but they also offer the most enjoyment. You can complete the 2D levels, which are transition levels, in around 30 seconds. Each level features concept art and two film reels. You use these to unlock items at the cinema, with approximately 64 available throughout the entire game. However, you only need half of these for the achievement, and permanent upgrades aren’t really necessary. Halfway through the game, you receive various items such as a TV to distract enemies, a clock to slow down time, and an anvil to crush enemies, among others. I never used these except on rare occasions, as combat is mostly avoidable. With the exception of a few puzzles and boss fights, I rarely used these.
The visuals are fantastic, with some of the darkest for a Disney title to date. There are numerous melancholic landscapes in black and white, blending dark hues with sporadic bursts of brightness. Everything appears perilous and gloomy, yet it maintains a striking beauty. Unfortunately, most of the game’s content is forgotten much like its characters. Platforming takes precedence over combat, painting, and a cohesive level design. Only boss fights and a few puzzles provide occasional challenges. Navigating levels is a bit of a nightmare due to their haphazard design and layout. Purple Lamp did a great job fixing what they had to work with from the original game, but it needs more, and I doubt we will ever get it. The story isn’t even enough to bring the game up a notch or two, as it’s elementary and childish, which is in stark contrast to the tone of the entire game. It feels like a Saturday morning cartoon story that would put a toddler to sleep, which is a crying shame. Overall, it’s well worth a playthrough for platformer and Disney fans. If you hated the original, this might just be enough to change your mind.
“They actually did it!”, I exclaimed. As soon as I saw the opening scene and played the first 20 minutes of the game, my jaw dropped. I don’t know what happened, but Bloober Team, against all odds, managed to make one of the greatest remakes of all time and put Silent Hill back on the road to recovery. Following the disappointing releases of Downpour and Book of Memories, along with the subpar HD ports of Silent Hill 2 and 3, many people dismissed the series. The previews for Silent Hill 2 were quite unimpressive, giving the impression that Bloober was concealing a potentially terrible game. However, it’s also possible that they were concealing the game’s true quality to surprise everyone. It’s hard to say, but the game is far from lazy.
If you played the original game on either PC, Xbox, or PS2, then you are in for a treat. For those who haven’t: Welcome to Silent Hill. This is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying games I’ve played in recent years, and the utilization of Unreal Engine 5 brought me immense relief. The effects that Bloober used here would not have been possible with UE4. The ray-tracing, lighting effects, fog, and insanely detailed texture work are gorgeous, and I drank in every second of this game. Thank goodness this didn’t come to previous-generation consoles, which would have required UE4. This is truly a next-gen title. A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to play the fan-made Enhanced Edition for PC, and I can confidently say that Bloober did not opt for a copycat remake. Instead, they infused the game with their unique style, incorporating new areas to enhance gameplay without causing it to feel bloated and monotonous. Bloober has extended some dialogue and cut scenes, resulting in a more organized game overall. I had a blast finding memos, photos, and the new Glimpses to unlock trophies. There is also a New Game+ feature, which is awesome. Although your items don’t carry over, you receive a new chainsaw as a melee weapon and can unlock more endings, including two new ones specifically designed for this game that don’t have trophies attached to them.
The combat and camera are the two biggest deals of the remake. Taking a cue from Resident Evil, they positioned the camera behind James, adding a more cinematic flair that was both much-needed and welcomed. Melee and shooting combat is brand new here, with fantastic enemy designs to kill and squash. The melee combat is punchy, and James delivers his grunts and shouts with a tremendous deal of passion and fervor, resulting in a satisfying experience. The camera will sway and bounce slightly with each swing, and James will hesitate for a split second on the third hit of the combo, committing his entire body to the final swing, creating an impactful crunchy effect. The DualSense controller is essential for this, as it enhances the entire experience, not just during combat. When your radio goes off and an enemy approaches, you can hear it through the controller speaker, and the DualSense vibrates with every crunch, shout, and scream.
The ranged combat is satisfying as well. This game features the same three weapons, and you must use ammo sparingly and wisely. Use melee whenever you can to conserve ammo. You can deal with one or two enemies, but some rooms will throw three or four at you, necessitating shooting. The revolver, rifle, and shotgun all return; ammo for the shotgun and rifle is very rare. Only save them for bosses. You also receive a 2×4 equipped with nails and a lead pipe, which is the only melee weapon available aside from the chainsaw in NG+. My only complaint about the game is that Bloober didn’t incorporate enough weapons in more areas. I would have preferred to see a few more guns, or at the very least, more melee weapons. There’s no upgrade system, but that’s fine, as it’s not needed. Some people may question this. Thankfully, the game provides great feedback when you shoot enemies. For example, hitting a limb will cause them to fall to the ground, and shooting them in the head will cause them to stop in mid-walk. It’s very satisfying, and I have no complaints about the combat system at all.
The game could have potentially deteriorated during the exploration phase. Bloober needed to update how to navigate the game for a modern audience. Silent Hill is known for being cryptic, especially in the puzzle department. There are numerous granular options available for customization. You can customize the combat and puzzle difficulty as well as adjust the HUD as much as you want. The game’s main areas feature a larger central puzzle that players uncover, necessitating the discovery of specific items within that level. Bloober does a competent job guiding the player with lights, blood trails, debris, etc. Additionally, it’s essential to explore each door, as it bears markings identical to the original. This map system has always garnered high esteem and performs exceptionally well here. You won’t get lost easily, and Bloober did a commendable job making every hallway and room stand out. One of the biggest issues with the original game was the abundance of bland-looking rooms and hallways that seemed to always look the same. Bloober added a lot of detail and made every location feel dreadful and haunting. The atmosphere is stunning and truly frightening. I didn’t care for the newly added pushable carts. These never solved any puzzles and felt like pointless filler. When the carts are pushed 6 feet away and into place the handles drop down and lock the cart telling you it’s in the right spot. Climbable areas are marked with white cloth which is a nice touch.
I cannot emphasize enough how significantly Bloober enhanced the atmosphere and feeling of Silent Hill 2. The game features a remastered soundtrack and eerie ambient effects. Upon entering the town for the first time, the majority of players will find it unforgettable. The fog, which is choking and claustrophobic, is accompanied by strange alien sounds that play when enemies are near, random rusty bangs, the scraping of Pyramid Head’s sword on the ground, and fantastic animations of monsters that seem almost human. The distant, dark hallway barely illuminates the contorted bubblehead nurse, who twitches in response to your approach. The flashlight serves as your sole source of hope and comfort. After so long, just stepping back into the foggy town is a sweet reprieve from the cramped and delirious buildings. The Otherworld areas are equally as nightmarish and fear-inducing. You will be on edge during the entire game.
The new voice acting is also phenomenal. While the original voice acting was inconsistent, I was astonished by the exceptional quality of the new rendition. The actors effectively convey every emotion, demonstrating genuine care and commitment to their roles. James sounds sad, lost, and human. Eddie’s actor masterfully portrays his psychosis on the verge of madness. The characters in Silent Hill 2 were few, and their appearances were brief. Some may find this distasteful, as it appears to be a departure from the current practice of creating games with numerous hours of voice acting. The game heavily relies on the players’ interpretation and reading of the memos. The game does not explicitly reveal what is happening to James, what these monsters are, or why Silent Hill is set up the way it is. The town is a character in the game. Silent Hill is known for dabbling in the human psyche and mental psychosis of people.
Silent Hill 2 is a surprising love letter to the series, and I fully endorse Bloober doing more remakes and even a new Silent Hill game. They haven’t had the greatest track record in terms of gameplay. Despite the unfavorable reception of Layers of Fear and Blair Witch, they successfully created a captivating experience here. The new camera and combat are punchy and responsive, the visuals are stunning, the added areas are fun, and I honestly didn’t want the game to end. At the end of the game, I felt empty and immediately started a New Game+, something I never do. As a longtime fan of Silent Hill from my childhood, that first game scared me so much that my mom had to return it to the rental store. I greatly appreciate it and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
I finally made it around to the last of the trilogy. This latest entry is a huge step up for the series, but if you zoom out and look at the game in comparison to others at the beginning of this generation, it still feels and plays dated. Right off the bat, the game is a massive boost in visual fidelity. The game boasts improved textures, models, and lighting, all of which contribute to its impressive visual appeal, particularly considering its modest budget. The game also has a more cohesive timeline to play through rather than a few random set pieces. There are eight acts in this game, so it’s about as long as the two previous games combined. There is a large hug area you can run around in, and then you can branch off to the different acts as the story progresses.
Right off the bat, while this all seems nice, it’s superfluous. The main town, where you wander around, offers only a few hidden urban legends to photograph and two side quests. A chapter unlocks each of the game’s five locations. Linda looks much better, but she has no personality. This was a great opportunity that the developers could have used to make Linda a memorable female horror protagonist, but they didn’t really give her a voice or any character. In fact, everybody in this game feels like a generic JRPG NPC. The ghosts and monsters have more character than they do. This also leads to the same stupid story that makes zero sense. While you can view a “Previously on DreadOut” video, the game doesn’t do anything with this story. I was hoping for an explanation of Linda’s past and the curse that haunts her, but the explanation fell flat, leaving me with a shrug at the game’s conclusion. I can’t delve deeper into it without revealing the limited plot, so don’t expect too much.
Combat comes in two forms. In the original form, which uses the Irisphone 2.0, you aim at a ghost, and when a “glitch” appears, you can snap a photo to inflict damage. There’s a new feature that lets you hold the shutter button longer to do extra damage. The second form is only available in the “alternate” realms, where Linda can use her phone’s flash to stun enemies and wield a melee weapon. These realms do not allow you to take photos, and there is a greater emphasis on solving simple puzzles. I honestly found the Irisphone combat in the “real” world to be atrocious and frustrating. The ghost’s face has to be perfectly centered in the phone for the glitch to appear, and it only happens for a split second. This time, the game features a greater number of bosses, each with their own unique gameplay style. However, a significant number of these bosses can be so frustrating that many players may abandon the game and never return. Some of the problems include knockback animations that are annoying and there’s still no health meter. The screen slowly turns black and white, and you can hear a heartbeat, but that’s about it. There’s a particular boss in Act Two that had me screaming. Some of these ghosts take 20-30 shots to take down, and Linda has no dodge, parry, or block button.
While combat in the “alternate” realms is better because you can sling your axe everywhere, it’s still clunky and obtuse. Here, the game will throw a lot of enemies at you, and you still have no block, dodge, or parry button. Some enemies have the ability to run faster than Linda, lurching forward in a continuous loop that prevents you from moving far enough to breathe or escaping into a corner. Your health will recover if you run away long enough, but this was mostly noticeable during boss fights. While the game is clunky and cumbersome, it throws things at you, making these fights way more frustrating than they need to be. One particular boss isn’t just a single ghost; more little ghosts spawn and constantly come back. Why did these ghosts spawn? With this Irisphone, I can’t dodge or block, and swinging the axe or getting the shot just right is hard enough. These elements don’t add challenge, but frustration. They only show how flawed the combat system is.
Unfortunately, this time around, most of the game is combat. I did get lost in some larger levels with labyrinthine hallways that all seemed to look the same, which was a problem with the first game, but this wasn’t an issue on every level. Most of the time, I knew where to go because the area was either very linear or had only one path forward. I did explore the area, collected all the urban legends, and filled my Ghostpedia, but the game seemed to lack any meaningful activities. Although the expansion of Indonesian lore and the improved appearance of the monsters are commendable, I believe this series has the potential to achieve more. It wants to be the next big horror title, like Silent Hill, but it has to break through the tropes that the survival horror genre suffers most of the time. If there is a DreadOut 3, it needs better combat, better level design, and a story that makes sense, as well as making Linda a likable character and not just a voiceless generic avatar.
DreadOut 2 is really only for fans of survival horror from the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as those who enjoyed the original games. The game’s visuals have improved more than the gameplay. Combat is horrendously cumbersome, obtuse, and difficult. Some of the boss fights are victims of this mess, which can cause players to throw the game in the trash. The story lacks depth, and the characters resemble generic robotic avatars instead of evolving with an ever-growing series. The game expands upon the Indonesian lore of monsters, urban legends, and ghosts, enhancing their visual appeal, yet the open hub remains empty and bare. The game needs more attention to detail before I will bother with a fourth outing.
Despite being released two years after the original game, you can’t really expect much from Keepers of the Dark. This isn’t so much a sequel as an expansion, but played much differently. Instead of a linear path going forward, you have access to eight “realms,” which are just small sections of the first game recycled. Each realm consists of two ghosts that you must banish, with one serving as the main ghost that must be counted towards the final total to unlock the main large gate in the main hub. This was actually a neat idea, and I liked this game better than the first. While the combat is the main focus of the game, it still works, as you can consider this a boss rush game and only have to deal with one ghost at a time.
Each realm has a variety of items to pick up to make defeating ghosts in other realms easier. For example, you need to find 14 needles to make fighting a ghost in a specific realm much easier. In total, there are four notes to pick up in order to fight an optional ghost in another realm. These items aren’t too difficult to find on your own, as the “realms” are just small linear areas with little space to explore. I still find the stiff animations, the “limbo” death ritual, the sprinting stamina, and the long knockdown animations quite annoying, as they remain unchanged from the previous game. I also found the lack of any type of health meter irritating, as some bosses took up to two dozen shots to kill. Sometimes I couldn’t tell if the game had glitched or I was doing something wrong.
I did, however, run into a glitch in which one of the Nerd notes was not where it was supposed to be. This locked me out of an otherwise 100% first run, which is maddening. There are still graphical glitches, pop-ins, and clipping that shouldn’t be there. This shouldn’t be happening in a game in 2016. The lack of a cohesive story still irritates me, and the majority of “cutscenes” rely on in-game engine stills for narration. There are eight main bosses in total (one in each realm) and maybe 3-4 cut scenes. Overall, I feel like this game worked with the limitations of the first a little better.
If you were dissatisfied with the first game, you will likely dislike this one, but if you found the first game enjoyable, you may find this one to play more smoothly. Although it is a direct continuation of the first game, those seeking a compelling murder mystery or a compelling story in general may find it lacking. While the bosses draw inspiration from Indonesian urban legends and folktales, their lack of exploration and explanation renders them incomprehensible to those beyond Indonesia. Hopefully with a sequel the game can improve on the camera-obscura gameplay and dive deeper into the lore, but as it stands these two games are lacking too much to recommend to anyone who isn’t a die-hard survival horror fan.
I turn to indie horror games for my fix because AAA horror titles just aren’t much of a thing anymore. Back in the day when we got regular Silent Hill releases and games like The Suffering, Obscure, Haunting Ground, and Resident Evil, there were more than you could count. Today, the majority of indie horror titles range from bad to subpar, with only the rare ones being truly good. DreadOut falls into the badto subpar category, but it doesn’t come with the majority of problems that most indie horror titles have.
The story itself relies heavily on Indonesian folklore, and unless you are adverse to this subject, you won’t have any idea of what’s going on. In essence, the story unfolds as you embark on a school field trip, encounter an unexpected bridge, and ultimately find yourself inside a haunted school. The explanation for the appearance of this bridge, the existence of a haunted school in this town, and the other events in the game are mostly left to the player’s imagination. There are hints in the notes, but I never figured it out. I mainly came for the scares, and DreadOut does provide some.
The combat system is similar to Fatal Frame in that it uses a camera obscura to battle ghosts and poltergeists. In this game, you can only see them in the camera frame (or phone screen). You do get a DSLR later on, but I found this a bit pointless as it doesn’t increase your “attack power,” and you only get a light if you press the flashlight button by creating a large flash around you. The phone actually uses the camera light as a flashlight, and it works well in most dark areas. The game employs a vignette around the screen to indicate the presence of a hint or object nearby (blue) or an enemy (red). If the vignette is red, it requires you to pull out the camera and search for anything moving. Unfortunately, most of the time, the ghost was nearly impossible to see, either because it was too close to the walls which required me to press the shutter button at random. The phone screen will “glitch” when a deadly shot is ready. When this happens, gold particles fly out of the ghost, and you know it took damage.
Thankfully, unlike most horror games, combat isn’t the main focus. They’re rare and you never fight more than one ghost. There are a few boss fights in the game, and these are the most captivating of the ghost designs. They aren’t difficult, and dying doesn’t reset any progress. Your punishment is a further walk from limbo to “the light.” You can acquire an item to nullify this walking distance or change it in the settings. I was unaware of the purpose of these items, as the game provided no explanation and was extremely ambiguous. When you enter the light, you simply pick up right where you left off. You can usually take 3-5 hits from a ghost before “dying.” It’s not very punishing at all.
Exploration would be the best part of the game, but it is incredibly ugly and dated (even for its time), with low-res textures, stiff animations, low-res models, and very little detail in anything. This looks almost like a first-gen PS2 game. The game’s release was just before the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One, making the graphics engine, which was already a decade old, unjustifiable. Most of the game is very linear and straight forward, but the first area in the school was a confusing mess of hallways and doors, but other than that, it wasn’t difficult to navigate around.
You can finish the game in 2-3 hours, but honestly, there are many other games, like DreadOut, that not only look better but also play better. The voice acting is mostly passable, and there isn’t much dialogue to begin with, including a lackluster story. Why would you bother with this game? Well, if you really love horror like I do and enjoy the atmosphere of these games, which DreadOut does well, then this game is definitely worth your time. The music is also surprisingly excellent and really sells the haunting and uneasy atmosphere. The game has a few decent jump scares, and I felt uneasy through most of the game, so it at least accomplishes that.
I’m not a huge Indiana Jones fan. The only one I remember is the fourth movie, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. When I was a child, I watched bits and pieces of the original trilogy when my parents would put it on, usually when it showed up on a cable network, but that was it. This is my first ever Indiana Jones game, and I have to say that I came away quite surprised with people giving it such high praise and holding it as the best Indiana Jones game to date. The story is cheesy and corny; the dialogue is terrible, and the characters lack depth. Indy himself has no backstory or context. You clearly must already be a fan of the movies, and the developers anticipated this. The storyline suggests that Indy finds himself in the midst of a task for a client and encounters obstacles. Then, the Chinese government hired him to find the dragon’s heart. He eventually encounters Nazis who are also in pursuit of the same object. It’s pretty pointless, and there are so few cut scenes that it really doesn’t matter.
The first half of the game is actually the worst. Stiff animations, clunky combat, and terrible platforming plague the entire game. The puzzles themselves would be neat in a Tomb Raider game, but here they showcase the poor level design. Indy either climbs things, pushes levers, does hand-to-hand combat, or shoots guns. That’s all there is to the entire game. Levels in the first half mostly consist of hand-to-hand combat, as ammo is very scarce. You can replenish your health by using medkits or drinking from your canteen, which refills at water fountains, a resource that becomes increasingly scarce as the game progresses. The canteen upgrades only work for the level you’re on and don’t carry over. There are also artifacts that need to be found in order to unlock concept art, which, to be honest, is a lame idea.
The stiff animations contribute to the clunkiness of platforming. Indy is really jerky or just doesn’t respond instantly to button presses. Because of this, I ended up falling off cliffs or missing jumps more times than I can count. You can also whip-swing, but the stiff animations feel sped up during the swing compared to the rest of the jumping. Having to cold jump to a ledge right above you is a chore. Indy must be precisely aligned to secure a grip. There are ledges you can shimmy across with a dedicated wall hug button, but the combat is even worse. Idy auto-aims and works most of the time, making shooting the best part of the game, but ammo is scarce in the first half. Melee combat just drags on forever. Enemies are fist sponges, and even with a melee weapon such as a sword or bat, opponents would take 20-30 hits to die. You can use your whip to knock weapons out of their hands, which is mandatory if they have a gun and you don’t. When more than two enemies gang up on you and back you into a corner, it becomes a chore to fight them off.
The level design is generic; even for 2003, it’s pretty bad. The game is bland and void of character, with a lot of rectangular empty rooms and hallways. The game occasionally shows something more when you are outdoors, but this doesn’t happen until mid-game. The game accelerates by letting you play one of the two on-rails sections, which it needed more of. The Nazi base is less puzzle-solving and more platforming and combat, which is what I prefer. The temple level proved to be the most challenging, primarily due to its underwater nature and poor swimming mechanics. Indy can only swim fast underwater, and there are sharks that can kill you. Boss fights are also a rare occurrence, but they were one of the few more intriguing elements of the game, as each boss fight needed something in the environment to weaken them before you could take them down. They were almost a mini-puzzle themselves.
Overall, the game is a mostly frustrating and overly long affair. The game can take up to 8 hours to finish if you don’t die frequently, but the devs could have completely eliminated the first half of the game. It’s the weaker half anyway. The unfair checkpoints also don’t help; you have to restart entire long sections every time you die. There are a few fun moments, such as the boss fights and on-rails sections, and the platforming is more enjoyable than the puzzle-solving, but the generic visuals, paper-thin plot, and cumbersome controls and animations hold this game up quite a bit.
thebinarymessiah.com 
Yeah, it's pretty damn awful. Notoriously one of the worst games on the PSP. A 4 was actually being generous.…