Thank you to Smilegate for providing us with a review copy.
When CrossfireX’s campaign was officially revealed, I and many others were ecstatic. It was announced that Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind masterpieces such as “Alan Wake” and “Control”, signed on to help Smilegate develop the single player component of the title: so expectations were set accordingly. To know this brilliant, talented team was creating an FPS made me realize this was something I never even knew I wanted, but now coveted more than anything. However, signs causing concern began to swiftly show. After the initial reveal, the game essentially went dark. There were barely any public progress updates, and as the release drew nearer there was little to no marketing in sight. And when we here at TGP received our code mere hours before release, alongside other, more prominent review outlets: we knew something had gone terribly awry. But nothing could have prepared me for the absolutely pitiful disaster that is CrossfireX’s campaign; and it truly makes me question just how much Remedy was actually involved in the story’s development.
Photo Credit: Smilegate
The Narrative
The narrative of “CrossfireX” has all the complexity of a doorknob. It’s not just painfully boring and generic with nothing unique in the mixture, but predictable too. Ten minutes into the first campaign, “Operation Catalyst”, I instantly knew one of my allies would later betray me after only one line of dialogue. Surely enough, an hour later, he followed through. Speaking of dialogue, the writing is atrocious, and is on par with if not worse than a third grader’s book report. The characters are all typical soldier clichés that we’ve seen time and time again, with no standouts in terms of personality. Some of the voice actors try their best with the material given, but it’s in vain. Others, though, offer middle-shelf performances at best; and karaoke night acts at worst. Considering this combination of detriments, it comes as no surprise that none of the characters are memorable in the slightest. So, if you’re looking to play “CrossfireX” for a quality story, you’re better off finding one in “Pong”.
Photo Credit: Smilegate
The Gameplay and Visuals
If I had to sum up the gameplay of CrossfireX’s campaign, I would use the words “frighteningly basic”. There is not a single element in this game that cries originality. The gunplay is generic, and nothing we haven’t seen before. There is a special ability called a “Combat Breaker” that slows down time and allows for precise aiming, but that is far from anything new or imaginative. Even with this added buff, though, hit registration is still largely inconsistent; especially when firing at a ranged target. This isn’t really an issue, however, as the game is ridiculously easy. I played on the “Recommended” (normal) difficulty , and only died twice during each campaign. This was due to me rushing through dragged out areas without fighting back, not the cleverness of the enemy AI: which is nonexistent. Enemies will line up for you like a marching band, and hardly ever adapt to your attack strategy. It’s not just those aforementioned areas that feel dragged out, though; the entirety of both campaigns do. The feeling isn’t due to length, that reasoning isn’t valid considering “Operation Catalyst” took me an hour and forty one minutes to beat and “Operation Spectre” only required one hour and twenty two minutes of gameplay to complete. Even with a total completion time of three hours and three minutes (without skipping cutscenes), the campaign was so insufferable I wished it was shorter; and a wave of pure euphoria rushed over me when I realized I never had to play this title again for the rest of my life. Other gameplay/visual elements capable of providing even the most miniscule modicum of excitement failed as well. Set pieces are cliché and lazily integrated, and at times are straight up rip-offs of those in several “Call of Duty” titles, “Battlefield 4”, and even the “Crysis” series. Level environments are bland and uninspired, with the title’s graphical quality ranging from last-gen at best to 360/PS3 era at worst. These levels are littered with an abundance of collectibles as well, which are meaningless to gather since they provide hardly any worthwhile world exposition and offer no reward: that’s right, no achievements. As a matter of fact, the campaign has zero achievements to earn, with all of them being relegated to the multiplayer mode. The gameplay and visuals of CrossfireX’s campaign are so dull and monotonous that they couldn’t even impress an Amish farmer being introduced to modern technology for the first time.
Photo Credit: Smilegate
The Verdict
Growing up, my mother burned the adage “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it.” into me. And I have abided by that for the majority of my life. But apart from my obligations as a reviewer, I wouldn’t be able to stay quiet about the abhorrent quality of “CrossfireX”. Even at ten dollars a piece, both operations aren’t worth the smallest amount of any sane individual’s time. The story is forgettable and insufferable, and seemed to have no effort or passion put into it whatsoever. The gameplay/visuals were undistinguished and pedestrian, a true blight to the brain. I know this review may come across as harsh and a bit cruel, but “CrossfireX” is an absolute embarrassment of an Xbox exclusive, and should be forgotten until the day it is nothing but dust and echoes.
Like an angel falling from the heavens or a god exiled from their kingdom, Godfall’s quality plummets into the Earth with air-shattering velocity within the first half hour of playtime. I usually don’t immediately start my reviews this up-front, with how I blatantly feel about the current title under critique, but in this instance an exception must be made. Godfall is by far one of the blandest games I have ever played, if not the most creatively bankrupt experience I’ve slogged through in recent memory. But before I delve too deeply into the title’s abhorrent misgivings, allow me to explain the promise of Godfall, what it was meant to be. Advertised as a melee combat, combo heavy take on the “looter shooter” genre launching alongside the PS5, Godfall looked to many (myself not included) as a showcase of what next-generation online play should be. However, when November 13th finally came around, all of those hopes disintegrated swifter than Icarus’ wings under the scorching sun. Instead of a glorious simulation of god-like power, what we got instead was a glorified, generic live service title without a single spark of originality.
Image Credit: PlayStation
Now it’s par for the course to lead in with the narrative discussion, but to be blunt there’s not much to be said whatsoever. The story’s plot (which I won’t spoil here, but think Cain and Abel meets Clash of the Titans) and cast of characters are not compelling in the slightest, largely due in part to the overwhelming amount of storytelling clichés and the utterly basic motivation to defeat the main antagonist. Not much exposition as to why the plot is even happening is provided to you either, which left me feeling overall disconnected from the plight of the main protagonist. In truth, I ended up not caring about any of the narrative’s elements. But hey, so what if the story sucks, right? This is a looter: the gameplay loop, combat, and environments are what’s most important here. So, with that being said, does Godfall’s gameplay redeem it’s narrative woes? No, no it does not.
Image Credit: PlayStation
The missions you undertake in Godfall see you, Orin, travelling to different realms to amass power and allies to vanquish the scourge your brother has unleashed upon the world. It’s too bad, then, that all of these realms look largely similar. Like the story, the art-style doesn’t present an ounce of anything unique, and many objects are overly saturated with gleaming gold. There are areas that deviate from this design philosophy a smidgen, but along with being uninspired they are still few and far between. It’s adequate for what the title is trying to be, but graphically it all looks very last-gen and mostly unimpressive (apart from the consistent 60 FPS). Due to these bland environments, the desire to explore/replay levels past the main path is absent, especially when the potential loot gained from doing so all looks/performs the same as other weapon/ring types in their respective classes; culminating in a disgustingly linear experience. At this point, it may seem that I have nothing positive to say about Godfall, that I had no fun with the game entirely. Although upon reflection that is how I feel, I cannot deny that Godfall’s combat was pretty damn fun…at least for the first hour or so. It was surprisingly engaging at first, with easily chainable combos feeding into the player’s power fantasy smoothly. However, you’ll find yourself repeating combos quickly, and even with unlockable skills remains a button mashing fest. On top of this, the combat presents no challenge. It’s beyond easy, and unfortunately has no adjustable difficulty slider (resulting in the same set difficulty for everyone). To get a rough understanding of how benign the enemies in this game are, let me paint you a small picture: I’ve barely healed, and haven’t died at all throughout my playthrough. At. All. You’d think that even mini-bosses/bosses would present some difficulty, but that couldn’t be further from the case. Mini-bosses are just reskinned basic enemies, and main bosses’ attacks are highly telegraphed and repeated, allowing for more than enough time to avoid any attack. AOE’s (area of effect attacks) are even outlined for you, so unless you’re purposely not looking at the boss you can’t miss it. Even if you were to hypothetically fall in combat (as unlikely as that is), when you return to the boss arena: all your damage dealt to their health bar is saved! I would say the difficulty in Godfall is laughable, but that would imply that there’s something to laugh at. It’s nonexistent. And even then, that’s if you can even fight the boss without running into a game-breaking glitch. For example, TGP’s own Frank ran into a progression-halting bug that prevented him from venturing beyond the first boss. Upon the boss entering its second phase, it begins to utilize both a jump attack and a fire-damage based AOE. Due to the former maneuver, the boss positioned itself above a particular piece of geometry from which it could not come back down from. Additionally, the boss proceeded to spam the aforementioned fire attack, preventing Frank from even approaching the boss’ feet (the only part of it that could be hit). Since boss fight progression doesn’t reset upon death, Frank had three choices: throw his shield from a corner over and over again to defeat the boss, start a new character, or quit the game. I think it’s fairly obvious as to which option he chose, and I was not far behind him.
Image Credit: PlayStation
Godfall, frankly, brings nothing to the table. You’ve seen everything it has to offer before, and done better at that. The game lacks originality, creativity, and ingenuity across narrative, gameplay, and design elements alike. Even if the core mechanics are enjoyable for awhile, it’s only a matter of time before it turns into a bore, then a chore, and then finally a brutal slog. Assuming the mindless, repetitive combat is somehow up your alley, the game might just decide to throw a glitch at you from where there is no return; unless you wouldn’t mind restarting your progression from square one. Overall, Godfall is a pitiful excuse for a 9th generation launch title, and is absolutely disgraceful for trying to get $70 out of the consumer.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the newest installment in the gargantuan franchise, but it doesn’t feel that way at all. It’s reminiscent of a time when the Black Ops series wasn’t eviscerated and rebuilt as something unrecognizable, the era before 2015’s Black Ops 3. Cold War does everything in its power to harken back to the years of 2010 and 2012, but still manages to keep the experience modernized. It’s a treat for veteran and novice players alike, and it finally delivers the direct sequel to the original Black Ops that I never knew I needed. It doesn’t necessarily excel past the first two entries in terms of narrative quality, but compared to the series’ more recent releases? It’s lightyears ahead.
Image Credit: Call of Duty/Activision
Narrative
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is very much in the same thematic vein of the original title, but I can’t elaborate too far beyond that. I wish I could, however, I would have to spoil some major plot points of the story to accurately illustrate the striking similarities. Regardless, the overall themes of espionage, intrigue, and near psychedelic confusion are widely apparent and pay homage to the series’ roots by echoing the feelings and sensations I experienced all the way back in 2010. The story itself is well-written for what it is (a non-stop nitro-fueled action romp), but as previously iterated doesn’t really hold a candle to the classic plotlines of BO1 and 2. Although Cold War marks the return of fan favorite characters such as Mason, Woods, and Hudson, their addition isn’t enough to surpass what has already been done. This is also due in part to the new selection of voice actors, which was a remarkably strange choice to implement to say the least. The newly casted Mason and Hudson do an adequate job, but it is highly noticeable that they are entirely different people. Unfortunately, in the case of iconic character Sgt. Frank Woods, he has nearly been butchered. The new voice actor merely does an imitation of James C. Burns’ portrayal of the Vietnam vet, and it’s a passionless one at that. Voice acting aside, he doesn’t even seem like the same person, as he spats immature quips or childish humor throughout multiple parts of the campaign unprompted. However, the fresh faces Cold War introduces you to to fight alongside with aren’t half bad at all. In particular, Russell Adler and Lawrence Sims are fine additions to the CIA roster, and in a way feel like they have always been a part of the story without ever being in it prior to this point. Unfortunately, other new additions such as Park and Lazar are mainly generic, and by the end are just used to spout corny flirtatious dialogue that we’ve all seen a thousand times over at the least. Despite a character being new or old, they are all affected by the choices you make during the game. Yes, Cold War’s story features choice and consequence just like BO2, but to a substantially larger degree. The choices the player makes are anything but hollow, and do have legitimate consequences across the board. A lot of these decisions are minor, but there are those that definitely affect the outcome of certain missions, character story arcs, and eventually the ending itself; which opens the gateway for multiple playthroughs resulting in a higher replay-ability value than most other COD releases. It’s a phenomenal addition that matches the themes of the game splendidly, and I would very much like to see it continued in subsequent sequels where hopefully the player’s choices made in this title will carry over (to be clear, this mechanic should remain just in Black Ops; not added to Modern Warfare). The final aspect of the narrative I want to discuss is the fact that the main character of this franchise entry is a custom one that the player creates themselves. You can pick your name, skin color, gender, military/agency background, and stat bonuses from a series of preset options (apart from your name). Without spoiling anything, this feature fits snug into the plot of the story well, but I feel that a voiced main protagonist such as Mason would have been better in the end and strengthened the narrative by a long mile. The narrative of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a fresh and unique one, but it still manages to retain that classic Black Ops sensation of spectacle.
Image Credit: Call of Duty/Activision
Gameplay, Graphics, and Atmosphere
Moving from cover to cover, sliding in and out of hallways/corridors, and movement/agility in general is as smooth as can be. Personally I would have opted for dolphin diving instead, but sliding lends itself to the movement system much better than DD would objectively. Furthermore, raining down bullets and hellfire upon your foes has never felt so fluid in a COD title until now. The gunplay feels heavy/weighted, and the moments where your powerful shots connect with flesh and stop your enemies dead in their tracks is satisfyingly great. The levels you engage these Soviet combatants in are surprisingly open, which allows for exploration and multiple diverging pathways to objectives, along with opening the doorway to allow side objectives and the ability to collect hidden evidence for side missions to be implemented as well; a surprise for a COD game to be sure, but a welcome one. The backdrop for all of this, also known as the graphical fidelity, is intricately detailed and frankly magnificent. On Xbox Series X, I maintained a 4K resolution at 60 FPS with raytracing consistently all the way through three separate playthroughs, with no frame drops or stutters. In terms of the environment around you, foliage is dense and minutely detailed and urban areas are meticulously crafted too. Gun models are beautiful (the 1911 in particular is gorgeous), character models are near photorealistic, and explosions are as glorious as they are scorching. The attention to detail is massive, and is by far the most graphically intricate/stunning COD title I’ve played to date. Operating at peak capacity alongside the visuals is the background audio, mostly due in part to a fantastic OST that nails the retro and trippy themes of the story. The licensed music selection is on point for the 1981 time period as well. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War strives for a higher level of polish than its predecessors, and for the most part succeeds spectacularly.
Image Credit: Call of Duty/Activision
Conclusion
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a massive, proactive step in the right direction for the series. It’s a solid return to form for the franchise, and although there are a few minor missteps with the narrative it’s overall mostly inconsequential to the entire campaign experience. The buttery smooth gameplay and heightened visual fidelity go together hand-in-hand, creating one of the most fluid COD experiences of all time. Additionally, the atmosphere provided further immerses and entrenches the player in not just the story but the time period too. In the end, the campaign of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is just the beginning of Treyarch’s redemption arc, but it’s one hell of an innovative start: just to put it mildly. (It is worth noting, though, that Raven Software developed the campaign, not Treyarch, so hats off to the team over there above anyone else).
Thank you to Frictional Games for providing a review copy
When I first launched Amnesia: Rebirth, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve never played an Amnesia title before Rebirth, but I have always heard that its predecessors The Dark Descent and A Machine for Pigs were fantastic horror experiences that must be enjoyed at least once. I still have failed to do this, but after spending time with Rebirth I feel I can’t neglect them any longer, due to how phenomenally horrid this third installment is. This won’t be a full review unfortunately, however, as by the time our review copy arrived our team here at TGP had already been heavily preoccupied with compiling notes and working on coverage for the newly released Watch Dogs: Legion. Regardless, the title is too great to skip discussing outright, so this article will cover my earnest thoughts and honest impressions from the somewhat substantial slice of the game I’ve played through. Without further delay and before I lose my memory (bad joke, I’m aware), here are my impressions of Amnesia: Rebirth, the true sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
Image Credit: Frictional Games
There is one key aspect of Amnesia: Rebirth that makes this title as excellent as it is, one component that outshines everything else the game has to offer: atmosphere. In the beginning of the title, you are stranded via a supernaturally induced plane crash in the middle of a Middle-Eastern Desert in the 1930’s, with no satellite phone being invented yet to call for help. You wake up on your own and with barely any recollection of your past, and the game immediately drives home the point that you are isolated without allies, but not necessarily entirely alone; you are instantly hit with the sense of being watched with malicious intent, it’s apparent and further implemented deeper subtlety over time. This unsettling feeling is amplified even more due to your only human contact (corpses aside) being provided through regaining memories, which introduces compelling characters without even talking to them face-to-face. These relapses of memory are quite frequent, and therefore the player is consistently being provided meaningful exposition and backstory on a sprawling cast of characters with each slice of memory retained. When you’re not traipsing over the scorching dunes or restoring your memory, more often than not you’ll find yourself in a cave or some other underground area; which is where the horror of Amnesia: Rebirth shines and is put on full display. The unsettling atmosphere ramps up significantly in these sections, mainly due to the sound design. From the drops of water plummeting from the ceiling and smacking into the stone beneath you to infiltrating winds blowing through miniscule cracks of light and swooshing throughout the cave, the hollow emptiness of the noises around you really drives home the aforementioned sense of isolation and the fear of being lost in an unknown, desolate land. These sections in particular, and especially when in a confined, dark passage, personally give me a sense of claustrophobia; and I’m not even the slightest bit claustrophobic in real life! That, right there, is incredible fear factor that this game achieves so easily, which many other horror titles fail to come remotely close to even with much more, although forced effort. Additionally, at one point during my exhilarating underground escapades of Arabia, I discovered a special compass with supernatural properties. I won’t spoil the narrative specifics of this contraption, but it does allow the player to travel between two different worlds, or realities, or planes of existence: one of those three nonetheless. Going back and forth between the two worlds is not only a neat gameplay element, but it also provides the player with an amplified feeling of uneasiness by making it a bit difficult to discern what truly is “reality”. As I stated previously, however, I won’t speak a word of the story as that is the main reason to play through this title to the end; but what I will say is that the plot is immensely intriguing and dabbles in biblical/religious history and mythology from multiple cultures/civilizations embedded with supernatural elements, themes, and legends.
Image Credit: Frictional Games
But that’s enough about the atmosphere of Amnesia: Rebirth, because the intricate gameplay must be mentioned as well. First and foremost, the amount of items the player can interact with and examine is absurd compared to titles of any genre, including point-and-click adventure games. Almost every item is interactable, allowing the player to engage the environment with an unparalleled level of detail and finesse. The other main component of the gameplay is the fear mechanic, which I’m mostly indifferent to. Whenever you don’t have light in a darkened area or see something disturbing, your character’s fear level increases; if it increases too much, you’ll reach a game over. It makes sense narrative wise due to the main character’s history with mental health, but can be irritating in gameplay when you find yourself out of matches and trying to locate the route to progress.
Image Credit: Frictional Games
Regarding visuals, the graphics on display in Amnesia: Rebirth are adequate for the $30 USD retail price point. The art-style opts for a stylized appearance over photorealism, which fits the genre and game with no conflicts regarding the narrative or theme. In particular, the art-style is radiant when the player is present within the alternate plane of existence. Also, there aren’t an exorbitant amount of graphics options to fine-tune, but the necessary ones for the majority of players are there. Overall, Amnesia: Rebirth is a strong and formidable contender for the best horror game of 2020, and I believe it’s well-worth any horror fan’s time: this is a title to remember (and I will never apologize for any of these puns).
Thank you to 505 Games & All in! Games for providing the early review copy.
Ghostrunner is a title that I desperately wanted to love, and in some regards I do. The combination of first-person, parkour platforming in a dystopian cyberpunk setting, mixed with incredibly fast-paced combat whose difficulty is in the vein of Superhot is an excellent blend for a game, at least in theory. Two of those ingredients are superb, but there’s one that unfortunately, for the most part, tarnishes the entire experience. Because of that tainted ingredient, I was unfortunately unable to complete the game, and so this won’t be a full review with a final score; think of this as just my unfiltered, honest thoughts of the title based on the three or so hours I have played. Before we delve into that, however, the positive aspects of this game are undoubtedly worth mentioning as they are near phenomenal. To start, we’ll discuss the strongest part of the experience: combat. As previously mentioned, the combat featured in Ghostrunner draws inspiration from Superhot, yet at the same time is its polar opposite. Your character still dies in one hit, like the aforementioned Superhot, but unlike it time doesn’t only progress when you move. Instead, Ghostrunner encourages the player to constantly be on the move to avoid sustaining a fatal blow. This inverse is impeccable, and results in the combat being high-octane and adrenaline inducing. The one shot health increases the challenge, which forces the player to rely on not only speed but precision as well. The katana you brandish is the perfect weapon for this gameplay blend (although it doesn’t always work when trying to deflect bullets), and your character’s movement while dispatching enemy after enemy is extremely fluid, from running and sliding to dodging and weaving. There aren’t an absurd amount of inputs needed to pull these movements off either, as controls are minimal but intuitive. Next, let’s discuss the second compelling component of Ghostrunner: the setting. While the story is intriguing at first, I don’t know much past the initial three hours to fully judge it. However, from what I have played it shows great promise with its interesting, slightly unique premise that I won’t spoil here. The setting, though, fits the story and gameplay themes splendidly with a gorgeous digitized art-style that obviously borrows some elements from the beloved Shadow Warrior series. Furthermore the graphics, especially for a $30 USD title, are exceptional and fit the art-style perfectly. This is where my praise for Ghostrunner comes to an end though, as the final topic to be covered, platforming, is utterly abysmal and abhorrent.
Credit: 505 Games & All in! Games
I died to platforming sections at an exorbitant degree compared to gunfire. In short, the platforming level design is too intricate and requires far more precision than the gameplay mechanics allow, and the title doesn’t provide the player with any checkpoints mid-way through these sections (and before anyone asks, I’ll provide examples). The most often occurrence would be attempting a wall-run and sliding off of said wall and dying, even though my character clearly made contact with the surface. There were also instances of using the grappling hook successfully at first, but then being detached mid-transit or slamming into the hooks and falling. Other times, merely trying to scale a raised platform of unsubstantial height would result in yet another cycle of face-planting and falling to my doom. Finally, the dodge mechanic is inconsistent to say the least, as I had bullets track me through dodges and still kill my character. Ghostunner, overall, shows brilliant promise and potential with its gameplay, combat, setting and story; but is completely undermined by some of the most egregiously busted platforming mechanics I have ever experienced. I would wager a patch or rework of some of the level-design is necessary before expecting players to shell out their hard-earned cash.
Reviewed on Xbox One X (also available on PS4 & PC)
Introduction
When I returned to Lost Heaven, I truly felt as if I was in a dream of pure bliss. While the camera was soaring through the skyline of the city during the iconic intro, I was blown away. With every passing second, more and more of remade Lost Heaven became visible, and every scene was more beautiful than the last. As one of the few reviewers of this game that actually played (and loved) the original Mafia from 2002, I felt like this was a love letter composed directly to and for die-hard fans of the original classic, and that was my opinion just from the introductory cinematic! When it was over and I “accepted” that infamous life-changing cab fair as Tommy Angelo, that opinion was firmly solidified. In case you don’t plan on reading the full review, there’s one thing you have to know: if we’re going by definition, this is the best remake I have ever played. It is completely faithful to the original and doesn’t majorly alter anything in the story, nor did it change any core gameplay mechanics outside of refining them for the modern day/current generation. If you played and enjoyed the original, stop reading this review and go out and buy Mafia: Definitive Edition right this second, capisce? If you haven’t and you’re unsure of what the game even entails, and you don’t rightly know if you want to make the purchase, let me take care of that; all you have to do is keep on scrolling paisan.
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
Narrative
For the uninitiated, I’ll provide a brief synopsis of the early story and main protagonist to set the stage for the narrative discussion. Don’t worry, however, because even though the game is eighteen years old I won’t be elaborating on any spoilers or major plot events here. In the prologue, you start off as a cabbie by the name of Tommy Angelo, living an almost impoverished life on the straight and narrow in Lost Heaven (Chicago) in the year 1930. One night after completing a run-of-the-mill fair, you see two sharp-dressed gunmen running away from men of similar appearance who are firing on them. Rapidly running out of options, the two gunmen find you, and your cab, and put a gun to your head (this is a fair you can’t refuse). After begrudgingly complying, Tommy puts his foot to the gas in one of the most iconic openings to a game ever made, bobbing and weaving all over the place by driving like a madman in order to escape his pursuers. After losing their tail, the gunmen inform Tommy to take them back to their boss at Salieri’s Restaurant in Little Italy, where he’ll be compensated for his trouble. Tommy drops them off, and after a few tense minutes of awaiting the unknown, they come back out with an envelope of more money than he’s ever seen. Tommy got a small taste of the high life, but he wasn’t hooked just yet. He continued on the path of law abidance for a few more days, but during a fair was identified by one of his pursuers from the other night. Tommy was beaten along with his cab, but saw an opportunity to escape and took it. Running through alleyways and over obstacles, he makes it back to Salieri’s where he’s saved by the men he met the other night. After having a conversation with their boss, Tommy decides it’s time for payback, and his new life begins. That’s as specific as I’m going to get when it comes to plot details, as the real story begins after that. Nonetheless, though, the narrative exponentially becomes more and more captivating, enthralling, and exhilarating with every passing chapter. The plot and characters are incredibly well-written, with no dialogue or story beat being forced without proper build-up/exposition. Speaking of the characters, the new voice actors are phenomenal (I’d argue better than the original), especially when it comes to Tommy, Detective Norman, Paulie, and Sam; they breath believable life into their characters with every word spoken. Characters are also slightly more fleshed out than they were in the original, due to small added cutscenes that include more story details/dialogue that are a really nice touch by Hangar 13. They don’t impose themselves whatsoever, as they add more exposition and worldbuilding, along with further insights into characters such as Tommy and Sarah that were previously unseen/unknown; they are a fine addition and most welcome in my opinion. The story of the original Mafia has always been a fantastic classic and the best part of the experience, and this modern re-telling only enhances and expands upon the iconic narrative without negatively changing the soul of the beloved game.
Image Credit: Mafia Game
Gameplay
The gameplay in Mafia has always been the backdrop for the impeccable narrative, but that doesn’t indicate it’s subpar by any means. The best way I can describe the remake’s gameplay style, however, is a hybrid mix between a refined/smoother version of the original Mafia and Mafia III. It’s not bad, and although it’s not significantly altered from the original I still prefer the remake’s gameplay style, but it does have its fair share of flaws. Combat is where I experienced most of my gameplay gripes with Mafia: Definitive Edition, so that’s where I’ll start. Melee combat is nothing out of the ordinary; one of the only things worth mentioning about it is that the counter-attack doesn’t always work properly, resulting in Tommy taking an unfair hit, but it’s not a common issue. In addition, the camera can follow a bit too close to the player at times, resulting in getting struck by a melee attack out of view for instance. The gunplay, however, is solid and highly comparable to Mafia III‘s, but I feel it’s more inaccurate due to the larger crosshair present in the remake (which is a strange design choice in my opinion). This is one factor that results in the game’s hit registration being inconsistent, to say the least. A lot of the time, particularly with non handgun firearms, the crosshair will be red over an enemy but the shot will still miss when fired. This happens very often, and is pretty frustrating when it occurs multiple times in succession. Another inconsistent aspect of combat is damage received by the player. For example, majority of the time it takes four to five handgun rounds to die on normal difficulty, but there could be an instance where the player will die by two shots instead for no apparent reason. This doesn’t happen that much, but is still worth mentioning. On another two separate occasions, I burned to death from molotovs that had impacted near by but did not touch me whatsoever; there’s quite a bit of inconsistency when it comes to damage intake in Mafia: Definitive Edition. The cover system isn’t that reliable as well, as I died a few times due to the game forcing me into the wrong cover upon the input command, or because my player model got turned around by bumping into a box or crate. It works for the most part, but when it doesn’t it’s nothing short of infuriating. The final aspect of gameplay that we’ll cover is driving, and it can be extremely grueling. The vehicle handling is period accurate, but that doesn’t always allow for the best gameplay experience. Driving in the rain is painful and slow, and in a particular chase during a stormy mission is near unbearable. Regardless of rain or shine, however, civilian driver NPC’s will crash into you a lot, as their AI pathing could stand to take a tweak or two; so drive carefully. However, I am ecstatic to report that the absurd difficulty of the infamous race early on in the game has been toned down, but that doesn’t mean the problem has been solved. It’s still an awful, terrible portion to play through with your opponents’ AI still being unreasonably highly skilled. In Hangar 13’s defense, though, I don’t believe there’s much they could’ve done to fix that due to the nature of how those cars handle in real life. They could’ve removed the segment entirely, but that would’ve upset a large portion of the community. They could have, however, just made it into a cutscene; and I don’t think anyone who suffered through the original race would really mind. Overall, Mafia: Definitive Edition‘s gameplay is a modernized recreation of the original with some elements of M3 sprinkled in here and there, and I think fans will be satisfied with the final result: for the most part.
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
visuals and atmosphere
The graphics of Mafia: Definitive Edition are frankly a sight to behold. Beautifully rebuilt from the ground up, the city of Lost Heaven radiates the new life that has been bestowed upon it. The lighting, shadows, foliage, buildings, streets, car models, character models, gun models, and everything in between is magnificent compared to the original, and is still a significant upgrade from Mafia III to boot. In particular, the gorgeous weather effects instituted further illustrate the attention to detail of the remake, and even the skybox has seen a massive improvement from M3 as well. Even though completely remade, the game world still retains the immersive, gritty yet classy atmosphere of the original Lost Heaven. It hasn’t skipped a beat; and new, small added details such as your car radio becoming muffled and cutting in and out while you’re driving through a tunnel are appreciated, and only further enhance the immersion. Furthermore, the soundtrack only bolsters the experience, as the re-recorded orchestral score shines brightly in the title whenever it’s present. The radio stations have some great period-appropriate tracks as well, and although there are only two stations in the title it gets the job done well. The atmosphere that Lost Heaven provides is still the same wondrous work of art it always has been, and the modern visuals only enhance and exemplify that.
Glitches
It gives me a lot of joy to say that I only experienced two glitches throughout my entire playthrough of Mafia: Definitive Edition, and they were just minor bugs at that. Stealth wasn’t always accurate in my experience, as I got spotted from behind cover on two separate occasions. The checkpoints were not far behind me, though, so it wasn’t that much of a problem. The other glitch I experienced annoyed me a bit more as it happened so fast. It was during another stealth mission, where an enemy had spotted me out of the corner of his eye. Before I could even react, I was shot, which raised the alarm resulting in a mission failure. The problem? The gun wasn’t even in the enemy’s hands when he shot me, only appearing afterwards. It was completely unfair and a load of bull, but this only happened once so I digress. Mafia: Definitive Edition is nearly glitch-free, which you can’t necessarily say about most modern releases. Well done Hangar 13, this is a significant improvement from Mafia III.
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
Conclusion and final score
As I said in the beginning, Mafia: Definitive Edition is by far the best remake I have played up to this point in time. It is one-hundred percent faithful to the original, not altering the story in any way besides providing some more minor exposition and detail regarding beloved, classic characters. The gameplay is still a bit rough around the edges in certain places, but overall is a gigantic improvement over the 2002 original and is by far more accessible. The visuals and graphics have been completely rebuilt from scratch, but was done so with the utmost respect for the original, and in doing so retained the same incredible atmosphere. The experience wasn’t tarnished by an exorbitant amount of glitches either, as the only ones present are miniscule in the grand scheme. Mafia: Definitive Edition has reignited the fire of this slumbering franchise, and I must thank Hangar 13 for that. I won’t lie, I thought the series was nearly dead after Mafia III, having completely lost its identity and what made Mafia “Mafia”. But I believe in second chances, and this remake shows that Hangar 13 has finally come to realize what makes this beloved IP so special to so many. For the first time in a long time, I’m highly optimistic about the future of Mafia, and I can’t wait to see where the franchise goes next from here.
Earlier this morning, Microsoft announced that Bethesda Games Studios would be joining the Xbox family. According to them, the deal cost $7.5 billion to make and should close sometime in the latter half of next year. A press release was also written up by Phil Spencer himself, where he said
“Today is a special day, as we welcome some of the most accomplished studios in the games industry to Xbox. We are thrilled to announce Microsoft has entered into an agreement to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks. As one of the largest, most critically acclaimed, privately held game developers and publishers in the world, Bethesda is an incredibly talented group of 2,300 people worldwide who make up some of the most accomplished creative studios in our industry…”.
All of Bethesda’s owned studios will now be developing first-party IP’s for Microsoft, including “…Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.” according to the same press statement.
This means that series such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, DOOM, Quake, ESO, Dishonored, Prey, Wolfenstein, The Evil Within, Starfield, and many more will become exclusive to the gradually growing gaming giant’s platforms/services. In addition, all previous Bethesda titles will be made available on Xbox Game Pass as a bonus.
This is a massive win for Microsoft and Xbox exclusive titles, and they were in desperate need of one. Earlier this year, it was heavily rumored that Microsoft would be acquiring WB Games as their flagship studio, but that fell apart when WB decided to keep their gaming division after deeming it too valuable. Besides having Halo, Forza, Gears, and Obsidian, Microsoft didn’t have much to offer compared to Sony’s first party-titles, that is until now. For more updates on the surprise acquisition and all things Xbox, stick around at The Game Preview.
Thank you to Crytek for providing a review copy. (Reviewed on PC)
Introduction
First off, I want to make it clear that this review will be based on the merits of this title being a remaster, not necessarily the content of the original game itself. This review will also be short in comparison to other titles that have been covered here at TGP, as Crysis Remastered is an abhorrent technical disaster (so much so that it prevented me from completing the game in its entirety). The fantastic core gameplay, level design, and open-ended nature of the title and its mechanics are all still there, but that doesn’t make up for the numerous blaring flaws that are littered throughout. In short, stick to the original Crysis if you’re interested in another playthrough, as this remaster will leave you feeling sheer disappointment.
Image Credit: Crytek
Narrative, Gameplay, and Graphics
We all know the story of the original Crysis, but I’ll briefly discuss it here regardless. You are part of a United States spec ops team kitted out with futuristic nanosuits, which give you massive advantages over your enemies such as more armor, a cloaking function, a ludicrously fast running speed, and super strength to name the main abilities. You and your team are then dropped into North Korea to rescue a team of archaeologists, who went dark and are presumably being held hostage by NK leadership. However, not all is as it seems on the surface of the island, as something long forgotten buried beneath has awoken. I won’t spoil anything further, but in short the story gets the job done while being nothing to write home about. The gameplay, however, is always where Crysis has shined brightest. It’s incredibly fun, and requires solid strategy and decent marksmanship to survive encounters/ambushes. These combat scenarios are usually unique, forcing the player to adopt new tactics to come out on top. In particular, I recall playing a game of “cat and mouse” with cloaked enemies that had acquired their own nanosuits in a foggy graveyard, and switching from hunter to hunted while awaiting evac was exhilarating. Most combat scenarios, however, much like the level design itself are open ended; so you can attack the majority of objectives in any manner that you choose. Furthermore, checkpoints are limited compared to modern shooters, but that adds additional challenge which I personally welcome with open arms. There are some instances, though, where hit registration can be a bit finicky, and that combined with some enemies being bullet sponges is immensely frustrating (be sure to always aim for the head). When it comes to the topic of visuals, mostly everything has been enhanced but not to an extreme degree. However, the lighting, water reflections, foliage, shadows, and textures have all been noticeably enhanced, but not as much of an improvement compared to other remasters of late (especially when the game in question is thirteen years old with the original still being a viable option for players). Unfortunately, I have no further praises for Crysis Remastered, as the rest of this review will be a well-deserved critique.
Image Credit: Crytek
Glitches, Glitches, and Glitches
To put in bluntly, this is the most broken remaster I have ever played and should have never been released in this state. I played this on a high-end PC and had a myriad of issues, but apparently the Xbox One X version is completely unplayable to boot (not much word on PS4 performance, but I wouldn’t hold out any hope for a better experience on there). In fact, I suffered through so many blaring glitches that I truly wonder if there was ever any QA Testing done whatsoever. Below are the technical bugs I witnessed in my time with Crysis Remastered:
Game crashed as soon as I started a new game four times, even after updating drivers and lowering settings
Forced to play game on medium settings so it wouldn’t crash on startup, even though my rig is absolutely capable of running a game from 2007 (even though remastered) on higher settings
Instances where random shadows glide across the ground for no reason
A lot of pop in and pop out
Flickering textures (especially with trees)
Egregious audio skipping
Enemies driving invisible vehicles
Enemies spot you through walls from yards away
No subtitles even though I enabled them
Unnecessarily long loading times
Instance where game black-screens on loading into mission, requiring restart
Conclusion and Final Score
I can definitively say that Crysis Remastered is not worth the purchase at this current moment in time. Although the core gameplay is still incredibly solid and intuitive with a slightly interesting premise as the backdrop, you can still find and play that in its entirety with the original game (which still looks fantastic, by the way). This remaster has no benefits or advantages over the original release of the title, as you’re essentially paying for a glitch-ridden downgrade. If the issues listed above are patched then the visual enhancements would probably make the game worth the money at a slight sale, but until then I cannot recommend this game in good conscience. This should have spent a few more months in QA, and absolutely should have been delayed and pushed back much further than it initially was. Overall, Crysis Remastered is the most busted remaster I have ever played, and is unbearable alongside being practically downright unplayable.
Available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC (Reviewed on Xbox One X)
Introduction
When I first jumped into my playthrough of Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, I was genuinely excited. I personally never had the opportunity to play the original back when it released in 2012, but I had a very few select couple of friends who did. Back then, especially with one friend in particular, I was told that it was an incredible RPG that could go toe-to-toe with the likes of world-renowned titles such as Skyrim. Being only a kid, I took their word for it but still never spent the money to try it out for myself. Over the following years, I started to believe I may have missed out on something truly special. With a game that was designed by Ken Rolston (Oblivion), with art created by Todd McFarlane, and a story penned by R.A. Salvatore, how could it not be spectacular? Well, after all of this lost time I finally caved and pre-ordered Re-Reckoning, hoping this enhanced, remastered version would have made the long wait worthwhile. It is worth mentioning, however, that we did receive a review copy as well courtesy of THQ Nordic, but it arrived later than my own personal copy which is what this review will based off of. So, was fate kind and bestowed a title of the ages upon me? Or is KoA just an average, run of the mill RPG experience?
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
Narrative
Story and lore are by far the most important components of a role-playing game in my opinion, so I feel it should be discussed first. Don’t worry about any spoilers though, as you won’t find any here. When you first awaken from death and are thrusted into the war against the evil Tuatha, the story that is presented to you is initially intriguing. The exposition of the seemingly deep lore and world is done well, and did captivate me with compelling backstory and characters; but those feelings were fleeting. As I progressed through the game, I lost interest in all of this over time as it failed to keep me enthralled all the way through. By the conclusion, I ended up not caring all that much about the world and found it to be mostly unremarkable and not that memorable. I wasn’t encouraged to find out more about the world and its lore-filled mysteries either, as most of those details are behind quick one to two sentence conversations with generic NPCs you’ll find in any RPG (whose dialogue was boring enough to the point where I would just read the subtitles quickly and not let them finish talking). The main questline is by far the best storyline in the title, but I’d say objectively it’s just okay; nothing exceptional. However, choice is a complete illusion throughout the main quest, which is extremely counter-intuitive considering the premise of your character. Without delving into spoilers, the entire world of Amalur and its inhabitants are governed by the laws of fate, with all destinies being predetermined at birth. When your character rises from the dead at the beginning of the game, you quickly find out that you are immune to the cycle of fate, and that you have the power to turn the tide of the war and restore peace to Amalur in the face of a generic villain with generic world-conquering goals. Unfortunately, that’s all for show, as the main questline’s events are set in stone from start to finish. The only thing you can alter is the dialogue spoken, even with a maxed out persuasion skill which I had (and soon realized was a waste of all of my leveling). There are certain choices presented to the player that actually do make a difference in the way events play out, yet these choices are reserved only for the faction side questlines, and usually only pop up at the end of said questlines with just two possible paths to pursue. There are multiple factions throughout the game, five by my count, yet I only found one of them (The House of Ballads) to be unique. The rest were, like many other narrative aspects of this game, generic; to the point where I could draw similarities with other RPG faction questlines left and right. If these faction quests were more fleshed out and possibly a little longer, they could have easily become the best narrative component of the game, seeing as how your choices actually have an effect here. Besides the main quest and factions, there are plenty of standard side quests as well: but they are just as numerous as they are bland. They usually consist of uncompelling fetch quests used to fill up the game world and justify the existence of certain NPC’s, but nothing more. To be candid, these side quests felt as if they belonged in an MMORPG. Overall, I expected a much more in depth plot with varied choice and multiple, sprawling outcomes typical of a single-player RPG, but I was disappointed in what I found instead.
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
Gameplay and Atmosphere
If I had to sum up the gameplay of Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning in one word, it would have to be “average”. At first, combat is easy to grasp and fun with varied animations, move sets, and executions; but becomes extremely basic and overly repetitive very early on. Most of the time you’ll just be mashing X, Square, or Left MB to do your standard attack, as the damage of your special abilities (even when fully upgraded) is negligible. Additionally, while although rarely, sometimes attacks won’t even register: seemingly phasing through your enemy combatants. Furthermore, you will be ganked (outnumbered by opposing enemies) all of the time in combat, and it can be difficult to get attacks in since every time you take a hit you get stun locked, which can be stacked if you continue to get hit while stun locked. Assuming you’re proficient at timing your dodges and blocks, however, it still doesn’t matter; since there are some enemy attacks that are both unblockable and undodgeable, leading to cheap forced damage and our first example of artificial difficulty in KoA. Outside of clashing blades, the rest of the gameplay doesn’t seem to fair much better either. The game is open world, yet this has to be one of if not the most linear open world game I have ever played. There are large areas spread throughout the land of Amalur, but there are specific pathways connecting area to area that you must travel through in order to gain access to them. Even after unlocking fast travel locations, you’ll be retreading the same ground quite often: expect a lot of running around. The locales of the different regions are diverse enough from each other, but there isn’t much variation whatsoever when it comes to areas within those regions. This is most noticeable when it comes to areas such as dungeons or caves, as most of these look identical and definitely copy and paste some assets, leading to these locations becoming chores after about five hours in. The world in general, though, feels empty and desolate. It doesn’t feel lived in, with most open spaces filled with nothing but repetitive enemies of varying color pallets, with NPC’s relegated to towns only. It’s incredibly rare to find NPC’s outside of a settlement in the wild, I believe I only found two throughout my playthrough. Speaking of NPC’s, sometimes you will have one or two follow you for the duration of a quest, acting as a temporary companion of sorts. This is a curse more-so than a blessing, however, as they follow way too close to the player. This leads to frustration when you’re attempting to loot items and the NPC’s dialogue options repeatedly open up instead. These follower NPC’s also seek enemy engagements that the player may be trying to avoid/sneak past, which also leads to anger. If you do manage to pick up your loot, you’ll be immediately greeted with yet another annoyance. Inventory space, even though upgradeable, is extremely limited. Although most egregious in the early game, this problem will latch onto the player for the duration of their entire playthrough; requiring constant management and providing an insanely irritating gameplay loop. Before we discuss atmosphere, I did want to mention that the lockpicking in the title is inconsistent, and possibly broken to say the least. For one example, lockpicks used on average difficulty chests break just as easily as they would on hard difficulty chests, sometimes even easier. Another thing I would like to mention is that there is a massive artificial difficulty spike at the second to last main quest, which forced me to reload a save and do monotonous side activities to level up my character. There was no gradual progression of difficulty, in fact I was wiping the floor with everything prior to this, but the difficulty just jumps insanely high for no natural reason. This was clearly instituted to pad out the game’s length, a development strategy that I’m firmly against. However, it could also be due to the game being ridiculously easy outside of cheap ganks, as I only died once on Normal difficulty (which was due to my own idiocy, as I tried to grab loot out from under some man-eating, two-shotting plants). Despite all of these criticisms, one thing the title radiates with is passion, with a glorious art style and ambient music as the backdrop. They mesh together beautifully, and compliment each other swimmingly. It sets a wonderful sense of fantastical atmosphere, and even though visually dated is still a treat to look at and listen to throughout the player’s journey. The atmosphere is further bolstered by unique and interesting character models, whether they are enemies or non-hostile NPC’s: undoubtedly courtesy of Todd McFarlane. The gameplay does indeed have many faults, but it isn’t downright terrible; and the engaging atmosphere makes it a bit more worthwhile to deal with.
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
Content
At an asking price of $39.99 USD, the content on offer within Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is proportionate to the cost, that is only if you find the title enjoyable enough to continuously play it. I completed my playthrough at level 23 after 18 hours of gameplay, though for completionists it could take roughly upwards of 40 hours (personally, I don’t believe the game warrants a 100% playthrough, but to each their own I suppose). Additionally, all armor DLC and both story expansions are included as well, which provides approximately 5-15 hours of additional content depending on your playstyle and speed.
Performance and Glitches
In terms of performance, the game runs buttery smooth for the most part, however I did experience around three instances of frame drops throughout my playthrough. When it comes to the topic of glitches, though, I experienced a massive amount. They’re mostly minor, but combined they become an enraging irritant. The glitches and bugs I encountered in Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning are as follows:
Dialogue with no sound
Dialogue with overtly loud sound
Dialogue in general is quiet compared to other audio for seemingly no reason
Dialogue can be heard from far away if a voice line has yet to be finished and the player leaves the area
Audio glitch upon game start-up where all sound is absurdly loud and staticky, genuinely hurting my ears momentarily
Infrequent but noticeable screen-tearing
Several instances where player character’s lower body is invisible upon loading a save-game
Forced a very easy lock with a 100% success rate due to skill and lock pick still broke, the chest remained locked
Two instances where the game black-screened and crashed to Xbox dashboard (once during the final boss of the main quest)
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
Conclusion
To be blunt, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning was not the game I expected it to be at all. With the creative powerhouse that was responsible for it when it was originally developed by Big Huge Games, I thought that when KAIKO remastered it I was in for a treat. Sure there were some compelling aspects of the game, particularly the atmosphere, but the story and gameplay provided offer nothing out of the status-quo for RPG’s. On top of the myriad of poor design choices and rampant glitches, the boring and bland world of Amalur was a major detraction from my enjoyment of the title as well. KoA clearly had passion behind it, but that means nothing without the proper ambition. I wanted so much more from Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Recknoning, but I was unfortunately let down by a slightly above average experience in a world beaming with untapped potential.
When the original Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning released on February 7th, 2012, it quickly and unfortunately faded into obscurity. At the time, regardless of how many chose to play it, the game was generally loved by all of those who gave the title a fair shake. Over time, the title developed a cult following and a loyal one at that, eagerly awaiting more from the hidden gem. Fast forward to the present day, however, and their wishes have been granted. Developed by Kaiko and published by THQ Nordic, Big Huge Games’ Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is back. Re-branded and remastered as Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, this version of the original game bundled with all previous DLC content has been enhanced for the current console generation and PC. For now all I can give are my initial impressions of the title, since I haven’t had adequate time to pen a review; as our review copy arrived later than expected and I had to purchase the game for myself. However, a full review will be out very soon and posted over this coming weekend. Without further delay, let’s see how my first three and a half hours adventuring across Amalur played out.
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
Story, Gameplay, and Visuals
Firstly, I’d like to establish that this is my first time playing through Kingdoms of Amalur, so the narrative and lore (obviously along with all other aspects of the title) are completely new to my eyes. That being said (and without detailing any spoilers), the story immediately intrigued me and as I played through the opening of the game I found the narrative and lore to be increasingly compelling. The characters you’re introduced to provide meaningful exposition, and the conflict/world you’re thrusted into delivers a sense of urgency that personally made me invested in the title almost instantaneously (undoubtedly due to the writing of R.A. Salvatore). Upon completing this opening sequence, the world of Amalur and all of its Kingdoms await you. This is an open-world title in essence, however it has to be one of the most linear open worlds I’ve ever played through. While not entirely a negative aspect, I feel it does the game a massive disservice. Most of the gameworld is filled with large, open areas to journey through; but said open areas are connected by linear, compact connecting pathways. Unlike titles such as Skyrim or The Witcher 3 where you can travel from locale to locale in any manner/path that you choose, KoA doesn’t provide that extent of freedom for exploration. As a result, you’ll be retreading the same ground quite often. However, this isn’t as terrible as it sounds since the game world’s art style and ambient soundtrack is the backdrop for your questing, and oh is it beautiful. Sure it’s nowhere near photo-realism, but it isn’t trying to be whatsoever. It works wondrously for the fantasy setting, and to be candid I love it. Of course while out in the wilds, however, you will eventually come across something or someone that wants to kill you mercilessly. There are plenty of weapons/magical abilities at your disposal to engage in some fun yet easy to grasp combat, but it is incredibly simplistic. Most of the time (if your main weapon is of the melee variety) you will just be mashing x/square until your enemy is no more. Unfortunately, this can turn frustrating as there is a rare occurrence where an attack will do no damage whatsoever, seemingly phasing through enemy combatants. This, combined with enemies constantly stun locking the player with every hit while being ganked, is abhorrent. After defeating your adversaries, most will drop gold, weapons/armor, or some other form of loot. This, unfortunately, leads to two extremely irritating issues I have with the title. First off, if you have an AI companion following you, they stick to you like glue and as a result you will be constantly entering dialogue with them while you’re just trying to grab a dang sword. Additionally, once you successfully loot said item, you’ll be lucky if you can even keep it. Although upgradeable, inventory space is very limited and will require constant management in the early game. Luckily, though, KoA runs smoothly despite all of these complaints; I have yet to experience even a single frame drop.
Image Credit: Valve/Steam
Glitches and Technical Issues
There aren’t many bugs in KoA, as I’ve only been able to identify two thus far. The first, and mostly insignificant glitch of the pair, is some infrequent screen tearing. Throughout my near four hours played, I’ve only suffered through it twice. However, there are an immense amount of audio issues to the point where it’s egregious, and I’d argue almost completely busted. The following are the audio glitches I’ve already struggled through myself:
Dialogue with no sound
Dialogue with overtly loud sound
Dialogue in general is quiet compared to other audio for seemingly no reason
Dialogue can be heard from far away if a voice line has yet to be finished and the player leaves the area
Audio glitch upon game start-up where all sound is absurdly loud and staticky, genuinely hurting my ears momentarily
The Game Preview 