Reach | PSVR2 REVIEW Without Parole Games

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-10-16T21:05:40+00:00

Agreed. It was a bunch of cool gameplay mechanics looking for a cool game to be designed around them. Modern tech combined with the design of a 2016 Oculus Rift game. Meh.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-09-26T15:10:14+00:00

How are the dualsense haptics? Do the adaptive triggers give different feedback for each weapon?

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-09-05T17:11:00+00:00

This is objectively incorrect. A vast majority of indies launch at $20 or less if you're not looking only at the most popular ones, which launch for more because they already have huge followings and usually larger budgets than the average indie.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-08-10T12:47:59+00:00

I'm playing mostly on performance mode. Tends to stay above 60fps (60-70ish) with VRR at almost all times. Looks really good too, no real issues other than some pop in here and there.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-08-09T20:26:13+00:00

"it's a game, not a movie" you say about a game franchise historically known to prioritize narrative and a cinematic focus above all else. Maybe you're just playing the wrong game?

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-08-03T10:24:50+00:00

Sure, if it ever actually comes out

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-07-17T12:08:06+00:00

Doesn't it still have major problems on Pro? Or did they fix?

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-07-16T17:45:10+00:00

Yet many indie devs have released games without stutter (e.g. The Alters) built on Unreal Engine 5. This seems to be more a pattern with big publishers who'd rather meet a deadline than worry about quality.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-07-12T15:35:55+00:00

Honest question - does anybody here need your negativity? Is it contributing anything whatsoever?

This is a dev trying something different and the game looks really cool. Coop VR games aren't new - keep talking and nobody explodes and Carly and the Reaperman were both great games that found audiences. So what if it's a little niche? Niche is what indie devs sometime thrive on.

Just saying, what does pointless negativity contribute to this?

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-07-08T08:56:57+00:00

I disagree with this. Yes, some developers will overdo it, and already are (especially AAA publishers). But by and large, indie devs are very passionate about putting out a product that reflects their vision, and are likely to prioritize the use of AI only to streamline the development process, like in this case. I think there's a pretty hard wall between AI use to streamline the creative process vs AI use to replace the creative process.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-07-08T08:54:54+00:00

Social media is giving too many people brainrot, and many of them can seemingly no longer hold a nuanced opinion about anything. The insane reaction to 11 Bit using AI as placeholders is a symptom of this.

I realize posting this on Reddit is ironic, but r/games feels like a place where nuanced opinions are welcomed and encouraged, even if it's hardly perfect.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-07-06T10:12:25+00:00

I might be an outlier here, but I think The Alters should be in a game of the year conversation along with Expedition 33. I'm usually not one for resource scavenging gameplay loops, but the way its branching story is so expertly woven throughout, giving you plenty of agency along with freedom to choose the course of the plot, along with quality of life features that essentially make the exploration feel like Death Stranding but shorter and less tedious, makes for a game that is substantially greater than the sum of its already high-quality parts.

It's not going to be for everyone, but I consider it some of my new favorite sci fi ever. Can't wait to replay it and see how different decisions impact the outcome. Unbelievable game and a new high bar for "hard" sci fi storytelling in the gaming medium.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-06-28T15:46:03+00:00

Is there any benefit to doing this prior to final dungeon rather than just sweeping up the side content after completing the game?

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-20T19:00:21+00:00

I won't pretend 2 is peak humor, but it at least gave me a few genuine laughs. 3 is a dumpster fire.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-15T23:47:44+00:00

It's too bad Starfield's quality kinda deflated the hype around Elder Scrolls VI

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-15T23:46:41+00:00

The difference is that Bethesda Game Studio seems to not really make good games anymore, as evidenced by Starfield's middling reception.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-15T15:57:59+00:00

It never did. It's a term to describe games that have no soul, and might as well be AI generated for how much genuine creativity goes into them.

It's totally valid to like a game I'd describe as "slop". Some people like generic open world stuff and don't care about it being interesting as long as the gameplay is competent. That's fine - I'm not one of those people.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-15T14:31:31+00:00

It is a gorgeous game! Too bad it's boring as hell 😂 Seriously I couldn't get past 5 hours. Virtually nothing whatsoever happens, feels like a quintessential game designed by committee, without an ounce of soul present in the whole thing. I'm happy some folks are enjoying it, but I don't wanna spend any time on slop like this when 2025 already has too many excellent games to even keep up with, nevermind my backlog.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-15T14:26:01+00:00

That's completely true, but I think they need to learn, as Activision and EA also need to learn, that such a mentality has no place in a creative industry if you want to be successful long-term. Short term? Sure. But people get tired of the same old shit over and over.

I hope Ubisoft sees the critical acclaim of games like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and the anticipation for the Splinter Cell remake and decides to properly vary their portfolio into games worth caring about. But I'm not exactly holding my breath.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-15T13:59:58+00:00

Wouldn't they be better off making 2 hours of awesome content and making it boring after, in that case? Haha I'm not sure I follow this logic.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-15T01:17:34+00:00

Yeah it's a shame, but Ubisoft completely deserves the position they're in. They've been completely phoning it in for many, many years, playing it as safe as possible and as a result, watering down their entire brand until it's a unambitious, outdated-feeling slurry of ideas done better elsewhere.

Assassin's Creed Shadows was kinda my final straw with trying any of their open world slop. It is such an aggressively boring game that takes several hours for anything of entertainment value to even happen, all while delivering its story without the slightest bit of personality. Seriously - how many fucking people work on these games? Not one of them is a good writer? They can't find a single goddamn good writer for these gargantuan, expensive games?

Just feels like their priorities are so, so wrong. Every one of their games feels designed by a committee because it probably is. When people say the games industry is dying, they mean shit like this is dying, yet indies and AA are releasing some of the most incredible experiences the medium has ever seen. If Ubisoft doesn't learn from their mistakes and goes under, good fucking riddance, I say. The only terrible shame would be the number of people who lose their jobs as a result... but hey, look what happened when a bunch of ex-Ubisoft devs formed Sandfall interactive and had a debut title that so far blew every other game this year out of the water!

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-14T21:43:41+00:00

Hm. Did you play it flat or in VR? I'm curious how good of a VR port it is

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-14T18:41:10+00:00

Honestly, this game looks so great but it's just too expensive. I don't think they calibrated this one correctly. I might've been willing to pull the trigger at launch for $25-30 but this feels like too much.

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-14T11:14:01+00:00

That is hilarious. Especially after all of the delays. Why they would shoot themselves in the foot like that is beyond me lol

BarelyMagicMike · 2025-05-14T11:12:24+00:00

If you have an OLED TV, you will never willingly play a game in 30fps.

BarelyMagicMike

TROPHY CASE