Category: PC Gaming

Об играх

Arkham Knight

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 26, 2023

Completed Arkham Knight.
There’s an interesting episode inside Joker’s head, which starts as a TPS, then becomes FPS. A welcome change of pace.
I was about to compliment the game for letting me finish it without the need to farm boring sidemissions… but no. You need to complete enough sidemissions to get to the true ending. At first I was almost ready to do it, although it would be quite boring. But then it turned out that the sidemissions aren’t highlighted on the map.
There are some bonus missions where you get to fight Killer Croc, Mad Hatter and some others. But those aren’t counted to the Knightfall Protocol progression 🤷‍♂️

Tags Arkham Knight, Batman

PC Gaming

Arkham Knight

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 25, 2023

The boss fight with Arkham Knight is… a set of races. Not kidding. You need to race and excavator through tunnel obstacles three times. Luckily, it isn’t very hard, otherwise I’d be mad.

Oh, and that’s after you beat him in… a sneak tank battle. Yes, you need to sneak on his megatank multiple times 🤷‍♂️

There is literally a teary episode where Batmobile is torn by an excavator. Which is not issue, we get a spare half an hour later, just in different color.

Then there’s a second phase, where Knight tries to snipe you, while you sneak up to him. Four times, no less.

Tags Arkham Knight, Batman

PC Gaming

Arkham Knight

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 24, 2023

There are tons of minigames, most of them annoying. I already mentioned tank battles. There’s a variation where you need to hold off waves of enemy tanks. There are also car chases, where you need to shoot or ram jeeps and APCs. There are circuit races, where you need to ride on the walls and you can switch obstacles.
In this version, Jason Todd, the less successful Robin, is shot by Joker, not beaten to death. Doesn’t make much difference, really. And Joker is unreliable narrator anyway.
Speaking of unreliable narrators, one of the main themes is that Batman is constantly lying to everyone. When Barbara / Oracle gets kidnapped, he lies to Robin, who’s her boyfriend, about that. Then when Scarecrow forces her to commit suicide, he hides this from Robin as well. Finally, after all the Joker-pretenders get killed by Old-Man-pretender, he tricks Robin into a cell.

Slightly annoying that often there’s no indication what you need in order to start a mission. Some of the Riddler’s missions are available before you can bring the Batmobile to the island, for example.d

The game still crashes frequently, 7 years after the release. The only solution is to disable nVidia GameWorks completely.

Tags Arkham Knight, Batman

PC Gaming

Arkham Knight

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 20, 2023

I couldn’t understand why I have a feeling of dejavu from playing Arkham Knight. Did I already play it once? Then I remembered there was the Arkham Origins that I actually played, which was simply too boring.
The batmobile is a total car porn. Interesting that they added guidelines, like in many racing games nowadays. Jumping from roof to roof in a car is not my cup of tea, though.
“I need more tanks in my Batman game!” said no one ever. But still, here we are, with endless “tank” battles.

At first I thought it’s called “Arkham Knight” because Batman gets a new, armor-like suit. But turns out there’s also a villain that calls himself Arkham Knight. To add to the confusion, he also looks like a futuristic version of Batman.

Joker is back.

But not exactly. Although he died in the previous game, now he lives rent-free in Batman’s head. Something to do with Jokers blood turning others into Jokers, and Batman infected. And I’m not joking about that.

One interesting bit is that they recreate Joker shooting Oracle from “Killing Joke” comics.

Tags Arkham Knight, Batman

PC Gaming

Redneck Rampage

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 18, 2023

Another Build Engine shooter that I never actually played.
There’s an opensource called Raze that allows to play it nicely on modern PCs.
I found Redneck Rampage to be less sleek than Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior or Blood.
For example, there are some weird decisions on the first level.
You need to blow a wall with explosives to progress. This isn’t a secret or anything. I guess if you run out of explosives, you just need to restart.
Then, there are two locked doors, but they aren’t color-coded, as far as I could tell, so after getting a key, you just need to check which door it opens. And the whole purpose of the first locked room is to store the key for the second one.
Then, you find your brother, but the level doesn’t end. The only way to complete it is to hit your brother with a crowbar. Not to shoot him, that’s a Game Over. Had to check the manual for that one. The end the second level, you don’t need to hit him, though. But you do need to hit him on the 3rd.
Combat is extremely random. Sometimes it would take a single shot from a shotgun to down an enemy. Sometimes it would take two.
One thing I didn’t see in other Build games: moveable crates. Sometimes you expect to push them to make a platform and progress further.

Tags Redneck Rampage

PC Gaming

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 15, 2023

After success with Mortal Shell decided to give Sekiro a try. This is certainly not “Dark Souls in Japan”. Maybe “Bloodborne in Japan”, but also no. Combat system is heavy on parries, a technique I never bothered with in Souls. There’s no stamina, and not “bloodstains”. However, there are “estus flasks”.

There is a surprising amount of vertical movement. Jumps, double jumps and even a grappling hook. A small surprise there, though, is that Wolf doesn’t catch on ledges automatically. This isn’t Assassin’s Creed or Uncharted.
What bums me, though, is how the game punishes you for dying in so many ways: lost experience, lost money, and key NPC’s getting sick. Not sure I have the patience for this.

Tags Sekiro

PC Gaming

Inmost

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 7, 2023

Completed Inmost.
It’s a relatively short and purposefully easy game. Even if you get killed, you usually respawn nearby. There isn’t much backtracking, and puzzles don’t have many options.
Something between metroidvania and limboid. Cold dark palette. Heavily story-driven, switching between at least 3 different characters that play differently. With the middle-aged man it’s about solving enviromental puzzles, or luring enemies into traps.

With a knight, it’s more about hitting everything with a sword and rolling, but he can’t jump – only use grappling hook in specific areas.

With the girl, it’s also about puzzle solving, but there are no enemies.

Some of the cool action sequences are just that: scenes. Not even QTE.

PC Gaming

Mortal Shell

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 4, 2023

Completed Mortal Shell.
The game is relatively short compared to Dark Souls: about one third of number of areas, bosses and overall length. Completed it in about 10 hours.
Seat of Infinity is the most tiring temple of the three. Even with the skill that gives you another respawn once you kill enough enemies, it’s a trial of endurance. I ended up running past most of the enemies to get to the boss.
The boss turned out to be the easiest out of the three for me. Maybe because my shell had a long reach and could shrug off some of the damage. Or I was well prepared, and not greedy. Or maybe I just got lucky. But I beat the “siamese twins” on my first attempt, and never looked back. Literally, I just ran all the way out of this cursed temple, not engaging a single enemy.

Final boss proved to be a real challenge for me. Mostly because he summons a lot of quick minions – true bane for my greatsword.

Managed to beat it on my last breath:

Tags Mortal Shell

PC Gaming

Mortal Shell

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 3, 2023

There are some interesting ideas in this game after all. As I mentioned, the amount of healing items is pretty limited. But one of the characters is able to heal from poison. He also has the lowest health of all of them, though.
Also, there’s no magic outright. But you can find two unlocks for each of the weapons, which are powered by your “rage meter”. Some of those abilities are ranged attacks, while others allow you to imbue the current weapon with one of the elements. Two-handed Martyr’s Blade is especially useful in that regard. It’s cold imbue allows to freeze even some minibosses. At least it worked on Enslaved Grisha.

Tags Mortal Shell

PC Gaming

Mortal Shell

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 26, 2022

Almost direct Dark Souls clone. Visual style, stamina based combat, “leaving a bloodstain” and all that.

There are no classes, though. Instead, we have “shells”, dead bodies of different heroes that we inhabit and reanimate.
There are no direct stats or levels: instead we pick perks.
Seems there are no shields: instead we have “hardening”, which can block some attacks completely, but has a cooldown instead of being dependent on stamina.

A bit annoying that there’s no fast travel. Either give me a fast travel or a map, but I’m not going to remember how to get from place to place.
One element I liked in Dark Souls, is that your estus flasks replenish after you die. Here you have a consumable system instead. And those also don’t heal you immediately, which make them pretty useless.
Managed to beat the first boss, ogre funnily called Grisha. Guides say he’s easy. He isn’t. Managed to beat him only with counters, Bloodborne-style.

Tags Mortal Shell

PC Gaming

Beast Inside

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 25, 2022

Completed Beast Inside.
For a game I didn’t have any expectations from, I enjoyed it way too much. More than Soma or Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

It’s rough around the edges for sure. Sometimes your character gets stuck in geometry (not permanently, but you still feel it). And physics is a bit wonky. But it gets a lot things right, like giving you clues for puzzles if you struggle with them for more than a few minutes, or always guiding your eyes with light / color for the next objective. Candles, white boards or rusted sheets of iron are like signposts. Not as subtle as some other games, but still I rarely felt stuck for more than a couple of minutes.
The game is full of references. I already mentioned the chapter names are all nods to Lovecraft’s novels and the portraits. At one point we learn that Hyde changed his family name to Stevenson.

But not only horror: there’s a some of “Red Sparrow” being thrown around too. And I think to the Firewatch game as well.

PC Gaming

Panzer General

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 25, 2022

Contrary to Master of Magic Classic, which I enjoyed as a kid, but found hard to play nowadays, I considered Panzer General impossible as a kid.
Now, after completing a few Advance Wars games, I completed the first mission ahead of time.
It’s more of a puzzle than a strategy, though, since you can learn where all the enemy units are after a couple of attempts.
I didn’t know the game had a global campaign. Not only if you complete your objective ahead of the deadline you’ll receive more credits in the next mission, but all your untis from the first mission are transferred to the second one as well.
Interesting, if rather weird mechanic. Artillery is not very efficient against infantry, and not efficient at all against tanks (there’s a special anti-tank artillery for that). But it can counterattack unlimited number of times when any of the adjacent units are attacked. Making it very powerful when put behind a unit defending a city.

Tags Panzer General

Nintendo PC Gaming Switch

Completed

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 24, 2022

PC:
– Blacksad: Under the Skin
– Darksiders 3
– Dusk
– Prodeus
– Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
– Rise of the Tomb Raider

Switch:
– Return of Obra Dinn

PC Gaming

Beast Inside

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 24, 2022

The gameplay is surprisingly varied. There’s a boss fight that reminds me of Alan Wake. There’s chasing of a spy.

Although the game is all-over the place. There are ghosts, which scare you, but otherwise harmless, and there are zombies, which can kill you, but can be blocked by doors. Most of the zombies are invincible. Sometimes you need to outrun them, sometimes to sneak past, sometimes beat them in QTE.

Name of Chapter 8, “In the Mouth of Darkness” would make any Lovecraft fan smile, not just me. Other chapters are also references, but this was one of the most direct ones.

Tags Beast Inside

PC Gaming

Beast Inside

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 24, 2022

Another Amnesia?
Controls a little weird: to open a door, you need to “drag” it with your mouse. And the developers really went “all in” on that idea. Sometimes you need to drag open multiple drawers to find an item you’re looking for.

Love how they have photos of Alan Poe and Lovecraft hanging around the house.

Tags Beast Inside

PC Gaming

Master of Magic Classic

Funny enough, I did manage to enjoy the original Master of Magic. But only after playing Master of Magic 2022, as it explains a lot of mechanics.
There is “continue move” in the original, just somewhat hidden. And there’s also auto-build, called “Grand Visier”. But you cannot turn it for a specific city. Everything or nothing.
Slightly annoying that heroes sometimes lose artifacts when they die. Although I guess this has to do with the artifact being owned by “neutral” faction. Save often.
Completed my first game with elves, and they are awesome, just as I expected. Decimated everything with my longbowmen. Also randomly found a Ring of Invulnerability, which is quite literally makes a hero invulnerable to most types of attacks 😬 That sure helped a lot.

There are some issues with the generated maps being mostly islands. AI is quite good at managing naval raids. But for me, it was very cumbersome to put my heroes on ships.
I also slightly understand some players razing most of the cities. CPU is very good at finding underdefended towns, and recapturing them. No town – no problem.

Tags Master of Magic

PC Gaming

Master of Magic

One design choice that I find questionable is that the dungeon drops are not prerolled. That means every time you load a save file, you can get completely different set of outcomes from the same dungeon.

All units in the game have to-hit. But the weird thing is that the default to-hit is 30%. Which means that units miss a lot.
The is surprising amount of attention to counter magic. In addition to both combat and global map dispells, there is also an entire mechanic to fail enemy spells before they are being cast.

It is somewhat of a problem how slow the game is. It takes a lot of turns to get started and hire at least one hero. Then it took me about 200 turns to best 3 of my opponents. And I didn’t even get to research yhr Spell of Mastery, which is the alternative way to end the game. Not even mentioning casting it, which probably would have taken even longer.

Part of the fun, I guess, is also to create things that are intentionally broken. You can summon heroes like Torin, essentially an avatar, already extremely powerful, then craft artifacts that grant him invincibility against most types of harm. All you need is enough time.

Tags Master of Magic

PC Gaming

Master of Magic

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 20, 2022

Master of Magic was one of the favorite games of my childhood. Since apparently there’s now a remake, the original one was rename to Master of Magic Classic.

I don’t understand how did I manage to play it as a kid, without any manual and not understanding much English. Because as an adult 25 years later, I got wiped out on my first turns, and couldn’t figure out how to build more soldiers.

The remake feels like an improvement in all areas. There are now battle outcome predictions. And build queues for cities. And you can also let AI manage city development. And you have “continue move”, so you don’t need to remember where your army was heading.

The game mechanics are a bit weird. It’s mostly based around special scout units, spirits. Only they can capture mana nodes for some reasons. Mana nodes are the main sources of mana. And since the game is called Master of Magic, mana is very important. With enough mana, you can summon phantom units during battle. Meaning that it’s enough to have just a single flying spirit and enough mana to wreak havoc and capture some villages.

Tags Master of Magic

PC Gaming

Ultimate ADOM Caverns of Chaos

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 18, 2022
1 Comment on Ultimate ADOM Caverns of Chaos

Played the ASCII version of the original ADOM some 25 years ago. Never managed to get into it, though.
As far as I understand, this is a sequel to the original game. There’s also a remake of the original game with 2D graphics.
This version has a rather friendly UI. But the dungeons it generates aren’t particularly interesting. You get secret walls that don’t lead anywhere, chests that don’t contain anything useful.

While the original had a staring village, here you start right in the dungeon.
There’s a tutorial, which is nice. But the tutorial suggests to butcher an orc, then to graft his arm into yours, without ever explaining why 🤦‍♂️

Managed to create a troll warrior and get to the 4th level of the dungeon. But didn’t enjoy the process much, to be honest.

Tags ADOM

PC Gaming

Dusk

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date December 16, 2022

Completed Dusk.
Riveter is great against bosses. It’s like a combination of a rocket launcher and a machine gun, and simply shreds most of them to pieces in seconds.

But my favorite weapon is the Hunting Rifle. Works just like a railgun. There’s also the Crossbow that even pierces walls, but it was harder to find until Episode 3, and it has that weird recoil that bounces you back.
The Sword is available since Episode 1, albeit it’s usually found in secrets. But it’s still strange they don’t explain how to use it properly until Episode 3. You can charge attack with it, but only with full health. And you can block attacks for chip damage, but only until you have two thirds health left.

Tornado destroying a church is super impressive.

Changing gravity in “Homecoming” is interesting, but was a bit too much, so I tried to finish this level as quickly as possible. Prefinal arena throws everything at you, including some former bosses. Then the final level has two bosses, which is great. One is basically a player, with the same move speed and arsenal of weapons. And the second one is a huge Ancient One.

Tags Dusk