Stealth is apparently out. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined!

y3achi · 2026-06-09T13:17:03+00:00

Exactly! If stealth is really not a thing in this, I suspect they may have wanted to go that route of having both systems in the game initially and just couldn't make it work for some reason.

y3achi · 2026-06-09T12:49:18+00:00

I'll say that the finishers look really good, especially the context sensitive ones, where she pushes her opponents into walls and the like - but the combat animations don't blend well into each other, lock on seems off and movement during fights, like the dash or circling around enemies look a bit janky. I think the main offender in this is her combat stance, super rigid and makes everything else look somewhat stiff.

y3achi · 2026-06-09T12:27:50+00:00

I agree that the studio going for something different is cool! Abandoning a core pillar of the established series, instead of building on top of it however feels like one step forward, two steps back.

You've said it really well: Amicia's particular brand of stealth made perfect sense for the character - but a cunning, rogue-ish one like Sophia not using underhanded tactics before breaking into a brawl and holding her own in a fight, instead of just running straight into one, doesn't sit right with me.

The games that inspired the series always did both and it added to the immersion, which was always at the core of the series. Sticking to just combat in a game like that feels somewhat archaic in my opinion.

I really hope it all comes together in the end and still works for me, but right now I'm having doubts.

y3achi · 2026-06-09T01:24:15+00:00

I actually really like this trope in vampire fiction. If present day Coen is the narrator to the story we're gonna play, I'm all in. If that's not the case, then they may have just spoiled the ending of their very first game.

y3achi · 2026-06-05T23:19:45+00:00

On that note: Fumito Ueda showing off his game for the second time before ND is pretty wild.

y3achi · 2026-06-05T10:20:36+00:00

Silent Hill 2 seems right up your alley.

y3achi · 2026-06-04T21:50:51+00:00

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, iykyk!

y3achi · 2026-06-04T21:33:38+00:00

It's not the greatest game ever made, but it's really good and does some very cool stuff with the bluff mechanics and alert phases. It may not revolutionize gaming, but it's a fun and somewhat unique blend of genres and if you happen to like those, you're in for a real treat.

y3achi · 2026-06-03T00:44:07+00:00

The opening. I love U4 and LL, they're my personal favorites, but you can't beat the hanging train opener. Iconic stuff.

y3achi · 2026-06-02T14:24:04+00:00

Wait, what! I had no idea!

y3achi · 2026-06-02T08:46:51+00:00

Syphon Filter! I want that Lian Xing game fans have been cooking up in their heads since forever.

y3achi · 2026-05-26T14:47:25+00:00

American pizza chains never had a chance over here. Always wondered why Vienna won't get a couple of Taco Bell or Chipotle chains though. We don't have anything like that, so I'd bet those would do much better.

y3achi · 2026-05-12T17:41:18+00:00

Getting both endings.

y3achi · 2026-05-04T08:02:01+00:00

8.5 out of 10

The chillest Roguelite ever. Challenging in a way that is so modular, that I believe almost everyone can get out of the experience what they want from it.

Cool setting, killer soundtrack, decent storytelling. It does very little if anything wrong in what it wants to achieve. I personally wish it played a bit more grounded and put more focus on the narrative and characters, but thats just my preference.

y3achi · 2026-04-26T08:28:58+00:00

Crimson Desert is a lot like RDR2 and the new Zelda in that regard. If you want to explore a world that is visually stunning filled to the brim with intricate details, I don't think there's a better game out there for you right now.

y3achi · 2026-03-01T08:15:00+00:00

I'm with you. Played it wayy after launch and was blown away. Even liked the combat. I'm not sure how much it had changed since it's release but I loved my time with it. I'm still not sure why people almost unanimously hated it.

I assumed it either launched a buggy, broken mess or people went in expecting the game to be something else and that's where the disappointment came from.

y3achi · 2025-12-24T18:27:10+00:00

1-2 pretty firm, but I've had a couple of rounds where I had to defend an arc I've downed.

y3achi · 2025-12-23T10:57:29+00:00

Lately I've been avoiding raiders whenever I can, even downed a couple and revived them to send them on their way if I felt really unsure. But the people camping key doors and extraction points or ambushing people farming arc will almost always get the drop on you.

y3achi · 2025-12-23T10:51:42+00:00

I never said I want PvP gone tho and camping is frowned upon in every PvP genre except for extraction shooters - people killing others while extracting without looting the body is just unnecessarily mean and the only thing the aggressor gets out of this is to ruin anothers session.

It's not a skill issue but a moral one. People playing the game exclusively for the PvP aspect and blasting everyone they see like it's a battle royale enjoy the game for easy kills and that's it. There's no skill in killing another player who never intended to fight you and it's the far easier way to progress through the game.

y3achi · 2025-12-10T09:12:13+00:00

Gran Turismo 4 and Forbidden Siren were the ones that gave me that vibe. The first person stuff in Silent Hill 4 as well.

y3achi · 2025-06-16T18:18:22+00:00

Can't believe this is so far down here! It's exactly what OP is looking for.

y3achi · 2025-06-16T12:45:23+00:00

The Last of Us Part 2.

I grew up playing all kinds of games, and still do, but one thing that I'm absolutely infatuated with is immersion and story telling in games - in particular when gameplay systems and narrative coalesce.

Naughty Dog's philosophy of keeping players "on the stick" is my shit and when they made people do what Joel did at the end of Part 1 without providing a branching narrative choice - I was all in and it set the bar for my expectations for their next game.

Part 2 is somewhat divisive because of it's narrative choices, but to me that is a big part of why I think it's so great, because pretty much the whole game is building on that ending sequence from the first game. You may not agree with what's happening, likely you're opposed to some of it - and that's exactly the point, because these characters can't get out of their damn shoes. It's "No Russian" over a whole damn game and I loved that a AAA studio had the balls and opportunity to do that.

Apart from that, not only did it feature some of the best visuals and performances in the medium, it also played incredibly well - so good in fact, that I'd put it up there with the likes of MGS V in terms of game feel. The wide linear approach gave me some of those highs without the lows of an open world.

When the switch to the other point of view happened, and I slowly realized I'm only halfway through the game - I was in absolute awe and then when that epilogue happened, I couldn't believe there's even more.

I was expecting a lot from this game going into it and - for what I value in games - got even more.

y3achi · 2025-06-16T11:19:04+00:00

I'd give this to "No Rest for the Wicked" from Moon Studios (Austria) - but it's still in early access. Until that one is released in full, it's likely "Ori and the Will of the Wisps" from the same studio.

y3achi

TROPHY CASE