- By Ash
- in Reviews
Even though Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous continues on with many of the ideas and gameplay elements from Pathfinder: Kingmaker, the two games aren't really connected on a story level. There's a few little references sprinkled throughout the world, and one major character does make a reappearance alongside a seemingly immortal pet cat, but for the most part you can have a great time with Wrath of the Righteous without even touching Kingmaker once.
That is exactly what I would recommend as well given that Wrath of the Righteous functions essentially as a bigger, better and bolder version of Kingmaker. There's a lot more variety in character builds and options, the combat encounters are expanded and the maps are more interesting, the story is better paced and doesn't take nearly thirty hours to get started, and there's a whole assortment of quality of life features to tie everything up in a nice little bow.
So if you're curious about what exactly Wrath of the Righteous does well, as well as where it stumbles and falls flat on its face, allow me to share my thoughts after rolling so many dice over the past week that I think I'll be seeing skill checks in my dreams for months to come!
- By Ash
- in Reviews
[Update]: As a part of the January 2022 update, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox has added a co-op mode on PC!
Despite being a long-running series the premise behind each Ys game can be very quickly summarized. You play as the ever-adventuring Adol Christin as he crashes yet another ship into yet another island, becomes involved in some sort of grand mystery, saves the world in a heroic fashion, and eventually leaves everyone behind with smiles on their faces and their priceless monuments in ruins.
While this does get a little bit silly sometimes, there is one very important upside - you can pick up just about any game from the main series and start there without worrying about previous context or who the characters even are. So if you're thinking about doing just that with Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, or if you're simply curious about how it compares to its predecessor Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, allow me to share my thoughts and impressions now that I've spent two rather eventful weeks with it.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
[Update]: The Chaos Wastes expansion has now finally arrived, and as expected, it's a pretty good one!
Once it arrives this April 20th, Vermintide 2's newest free expansion Chaos Wastes will have you brave the corrupted northlands in search of ancient and supremely powerful artifacts. Given that reality tends to take a back seat whenever the Chaos gods are involved, it should come as little surprise that these expeditions into the Chaos Wastes will have you venture across a variety of strange and surreal lands, consort with whatever benevolent gods will even listen to you, and naturally, explode thousands upon thousands upon thousands of rats and Chaos cultists.
Over the past few days I had a chance to explore pretty much everything Chaos Wastes have to offer, so if you're curious how all of this madness translates into actual gameplay, as well as how the rogue-lite Expeditions compare to the dreaded Weaves, allow me to share my thoughts now that I've managed to finally scrub the smell of charred Beastmen off my clothes.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Despite having some incredibly tough competition in the Souls-like genre, Nioh 2 has managed to genuinely impress me with its balance of combat, customization and exploration. Rather than simply copy games like Dark Souls and call it a day, Nioh 2 has brought in plenty of its own unique and interesting ideas, some of which are very likely to become staples of the genre moving forward.
So if you're wondering what the PC version of Nioh 2 is all about, as well as how exactly it fares when compared to the rest of the Souls-likes, allow me to give you my thoughts now that I've lived and breathed Nioh 2 for well over a week.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
During the first part of my World of Warcraft: Shadowlands review I detailed my thoughts on the leveling process, the Covenants and their themed zones, the overall presentation, and just how it all blends together. This second review, however, is going to be all about the endgame and the sort of content you'll be spending the vast majority of your World of Warcraft time on over the coming months.
So if you're curious what in the world Torghast is even all about, as well as how the new dungeons and raid compare to their Battle for Azeroth predecessors, allow me to share my thoughts after spending about a month delving through literally everything Shadowlands has to offer.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
[Note]: Shadowlands Review Part 2 - If you're curious about Torghast, Castle Nathria, the dungeons or the endgame as a whole, make sure to check out the second part of my review as well!
Instead of taking place in another set of previously unseen islands, World of Warcraft's Shadowlands expansion has decided to take things in a completely different direction by having us invade the afterlife itself! A good thing too, because as it turns out the Shadowlands are having an even bigger crisis than the one we faced with the Burning Legion. Luckily for everyone, there's nothing that solves problems faster than an entire avalanche of players that are willing to do literally anything for pair of slightly better pants!
As for what exactly the Shadowlands expansion has to offer, as well as how it stands up to both Battle for Azeroth and Legion, that I'll do my best to illustrate now that I've lived and breathed World of Warcraft for two full weeks.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Warcraft 3 holds a very special place in my heart. It was the first game that I ever took seriously, and also the first game that I genuinely wanted to be good at. It thought me how to work together even with complete strangers, how to learn and grow from defeat, and it sparked within me the spirit of competition that burns to this very day.
So when I heard that Blizzard is releasing a remastered version of Warcraft 3, my excitement knew no bounds! A bigger and better version of one of my favorite games ever? How in the world could this possibly go wrong!? Well, as it unfortunately turns out, in so many ways that even half a year later it can't hold a candle to the original.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Deep Rock Galactic is probably the most accurate representation of space Dwarves we're ever going to get. The four characters are a rowdy and almost permanently drunk bunch that enjoy mining for precious minerals, unleashing wanton destruction against anything non-Dwarf shaped, spending unbelievable amounts of time taking care of their luscious beards, and most frequently of all, shouting something about Karl.
So if you curious how all of this madness translates into actual gameplay, as well as how Deep Rock Galactic compares to the rest of the objective focused co-op games, allow me to give you my thoughts now that I'm well and truly addled from huffing flamethrower fuel for the past two weeks.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
When taken at face value, Remnant: From the Ashes is probably the most depressingly generic game in all of existence. It's a post-apocalyptic, co-op focused third-person shooter with numerous Dark Souls inspired elements, randomized levels, and naturally, a heavy emphasis on crafting. In other words, it looks like half of the Early Access games on Steam!
However, Remnant is anything but generic or unpolished. It manages to combine all of these highly varied elements into something far greater than the sum of their whole, with the end result being a thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly challenging action-RPG. So if you're wondering just what makes Remnant so interesting, as well as where exactly it falters, allow me to share my thoughts now that I've gone through two playthroughs.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
The Winds of Magic expansion has now arrived, bringing with it the largest amount of new content Vermintide 2 has ever seen. It added the Beastmen as a brand new enemy faction, Weaves as pre-set and highly challenging new mini-levels, an absolutely brutal Cataclysm difficulty setting, five new weapons to explore, as well as one new Beastmen themed map.
There really is a lot of content on offer, though the big question now is whether all of that content is actually good enough to stand under scrutiny. So if you're wondering just where Winds of Magic succeeds, as well as where it falls flat on its face, allow me to share my thoughts after spending a week getting repeatedly stabbed by the Beastmen!