Heartburnt_Kid Reviews

Horizon Forbidden West (2022 Video Game)

Overhyped

[6/10 · 15 August 2023]

Forbidden West unfortunately has almost identical gameplay as its previous title with minimal if no game changing mechanics. Its predecessor was in a way more fun to play as it had the upper hand of offering first experience to the Horizon world. So, with the non-revolutionary gameplay it was expected from Forbidden West to have something unique that separates itself from the mentioned predecessor.

Unfortunately, the story and other aspects of the game is incredibly sub-par in comparison to most exclusive PS titles. The climbing mechanics is extremely wonky/buggy and continuously boring. The story is predictable and tedious to follow. Combine all these qualities with a huge open world map filled with billions of question-mark locations and you got yourself a 40ish hour experience with videogame dullness with the likes of Ubisoft games.

Magic: The Gathering Arena (2018 Video Game)

"Free to play"

[5/10 · 27 June 2023]

The game is unforgiving to beginners in terms of card resources. Getting outside of starter deck zone is pure hell. The daily missions only count the victories, which is terrible for new beginners as their chance of winning is almost zero. You can't realistically expect beginners to defeat anyone with their starter decks. They try to bring new players or maintain the player base by giving occasional free packs, but it would be wiser if they redesign the whole mission/battle pass section of the game.

Ignoring the mentioned "F2P" blockade tactics against new players MTG is one of the best TCG games with high regard on in-game lore and art. The animation or sound effects of various cards is a cherry on top of a genuinely fun card game. MTG Arena as of now is the only option if you want a modern and updated version of MTG on PC.

Dishonored 2 (2016 Video Game)

The importance of in-game atmosphere and lore

[8/10 · 3 January 2023]

Visually Dishonored 2 is a step-up to its predecessor even though it still has few performance issues. In terms of the story, I find it to be relatively same to the previous title. For a more "unique" experience I recommend playing as the empress/daughter.

The map levels are insanely decorative and elaborative with almost infinite details regarding the game's world. The exotic scenery of this game is a nice change to the cold and brutal atmosphere of Dunwall, the previous game's location. Gameplaywise, a lot is improved with new abilities that also make the non-lethal approach genuinely fun as opposed to the last game.

It would have been extremely fun to play as Emily only and have her father/Corvo guide her, lecture her etc. That way the story would have had many plot opportunities. Overall, this is a good stealthy game that is accompanied with an extremely atmospheric world full of in-game stories.

Dishonored (2012 Video Game)

Benchmark for stealthy games

[9/10 · 1 January 2023]

Dishonored is an extremely atmospheric game. It, being an old game, still overcomes modern games simply by its sheer quality. The world is creatively designed both in visuals and in the gameplay. The characters don't feel like soulless puppets and can make you feel engaged with the story.

The overall very smooth gameplay is joyful and satisfying with many abilities and weapons. The most iconic one being the teleporting ability, which is so fun, makes a crucial part to this game's identity. Unfortunately, the gameplay is limited as players, who seek good endings, must play accordingly to the non-lethal standards. This is a huge problem as it makes the experience less fun. I prefer endings to be based on in-game decisions rather than on the gameplay. Counting how much percent people did you kill so you could qualify for a good ending seems honestly like a nonsense to me.

Nevertheless, the game is still a masterpiece that holds up till this day. It brings new standards to stealthy games.

A Plague Tale: Requiem (2022 Video Game)

Well, I'm definitely not playing this again.

[9/10 · 22 October 2022]

What depressed the players in the earlier game is much amplified here. The sadness and desperation are well presented through the intense and excellent performance of voice actors. Main characters are a main key to this game's crucial core and uniqueness.

The environment and atmosphere are a visible upgrade thanks to the more interactive world and beautiful graphics. However, there is little change in the gameplay and the puzzles could have been more intriguing. There are too many tools which simplify the challenges thanks to the diversity of various items. The ways of solving them should be more inventive rather than being solvable in 5 different ways. This is of course just a personal preference.

As for the story it is rich in creating creepy energy in almost every chapter. The game seems to have no mercy in punishing every character's decision, it is also why playing this game was so depressing. There are still heartfelt moments but all of it is usually crushed with continuous tormenting emotional torture both for the player and the protagonist.

All in all, it was one hell of a game that constantly kept me in an emotional rollercoaster.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (2013 Video Game)

4ish hour of pure action and wild west experience

[7/10 · 20 June 2022]

Over the top gunplay is well combined with the addictive and satisfying killstreaks. The overall experience is unbothered by its old graphics as the gameplay is that good to make up for it. Story is simple and fun because the whole game is being narrated by the main character with a southern accent. A lot of the game's characteristics remind me of Borderlands, but this one is much better.

As for the cons, the wild west duels are extremely annoying, and the difficulty of the game is measured by the quantity of enemies. It's a good thing they aren't bullet sponges.

Borderlands 3 (2019 Video Game)

Good-ish

[7/10 · 25 May 2022]

Borderlands 3 is a butter-smooth game that finally eliminates the incredibly exhausting bullet-sponge experience. Not only that but maps are fun to explore because of their thematic uniqueness as opposed to those depressed vast open lands that are filled with repetitive enemies and monotonic colors. The fast travel option also saves a huge junk of your time. The vehicle gameplay could still be improved, sometimes I feel like I'm driving a yoga ball.

The story was not that bad. I mean since when was Borderlands famous for its writing? Campaign was well understandable and straightforward, although some of the scenes just seemed to be coming out of nowhere and has almost no buildup. Your character contributes very little if no interaction to the story. It would have been better to have only one character that players can choose which class to attach with.

Batman: Arkham Origins (2013 Video Game)

Good enough

[7/10 · 29 January 2022]

The expectation after the Arkham City was high and tragically Origins didn't live up to the hype. Coming from the previous game I was bombarded with this cold, almost colorless map. Enemies and overall mechanics seem to be unchanged, there simply wasn't anything revolutionary. If there was anything new, it was the number of bugs.

The main plot is easily forgettable and could be labeled as an unimportant cliche standalone story. Side quests don't have the same quality as the previous title had, I couldn't think of one worth remembering.

While being a weak game for Arkham standards, the game is still good enough for a casual player experiencing a Batman game for the first time. The addictive combat gameplay holds up and puzzles, yet being copy-pasted from the previous titles, are still fun to solve.

Batman: Arkham City (2011 Video Game)

Batman's another classic

[9/10 · 29 January 2022]

Arkham City introduces us with the new tropes of open-world games. Side missions are opened until you fulfill several repetitive chores but being an old game with visible dedication the chores are somewhat bearable as they tend to be a bit different from each other unlike the current side quest model that feels overwhelmingly repetitive and automated (e.g., Ubisoft).

Considering the age of the game I find the map to be beautifully developed. The mechanics behind grappling hooks is well made and you never get bored to travel around the city without the option of fast travel. Enemies are still copy-pasted but the combat gameplay remains addictively fun. The puzzles also make us realize what is special about Batman, his wide range of equipment helps us solve various puzzles and take down enemies.

I liked the story, but the ending feels slacked which denied a bit of that final accomplishment for the player. Batman's voice and character make me feel like I'm playing a robot, some of the dialogues are just plain or it seemed like it was more intended for the less mature audience. Nevertheless, the game is still a massive step forward from Arkham Asylum.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009 Video Game)

Truly a classic

[9/10 · 27 January 2022]

Arkham Asylum's map is designed so well that even it's 2009 graphics didn't ruin the intended creepy and mysterious vibe the game was giving. Playing this at nights makes the experience even more magical. The map is also elaborative with puzzles that have a wide range of variety in solving them, I was amazed by how interactive the Asylum's world was given the game's age.

The story is unfortunately a bit too short and sometimes gives very little background to the cast characters. However, because of its short playtime you don't feel fatigued with the repetitive enemies and bosses.

The combat mechanics was fun and addictive, no wonder why the upcoming titles have been using the same combat gameplay with minimal changes.

Stellaris (2016 Video Game)

The game is phenomenal in space politics and discoveries but tedious in fleet combat.

[7/10 · 17 November 2021]

Stellaris is fascinating in a way that it overwhelmingly introduces you to its rich world. The start feels so fun when you're discovering various star systems and deal with many new space issues. However, as the game progresses past the discovering era, you are getting burntout with gaming fatigue. Micromanaging your fleets and planetary administration slowly turn out to be a desk job with repetitive chores. It seems like 60 % of content is put in the beginning phase, the rest is just skipping time and maintaining your empire.

The space combat system is tiring as star systems are easily conquered if left unprotected (which most of the time they are) and because units move incredibly fast, fighting enemies is like a mouse and cat chasing game. The land combat is not even bothered to be having some kind of a personality, it is just an animation of pie charts.

The game is phenomenal in space politics and discoveries but tedious in fleet combat.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! (2014 Video Game)

A good spin-off for a Borderlands game

[6/10 · 18 September 2021]

Borderlands has always had this problem. The planning behind various quest locations is extremely inconvenient for players, with the enemy respawn system it is quite an uncomfortable adventure. Developers, please, either make locations of one quest stay on the same map or disable the enemy respawn system.

In comparison to the second game the gameplay offers better gunplay that reduces the bullet-sponge experience with better abilities and weapons. As for the story, it is much simpler but offers less content quantity. Apart from Jack's backstory the game isn't memorable for anything else.

Rainbow Six: Siege (2015 Video Game)

Ending the journey that started with Velvet Shell

[4/10 · 26 August 2021]

When I first played Siege, I admired the Ubisoft's take on modern tactical combat, which was like the SWAT games, it was also one of the best perks of Siege. Unfortunately, as the game progresses, two major problems have been already slowly growing. Community and money.

When Ubisoft went to the sci-fi world and added futuristic gadgets and powers for the operators, it was a matter of time when the game would lose its perk of great realistic tactical combat and turn into another new Black Ops game. With constant map changes and new flashy skins, I couldn't recognize the Siege I was playing. You don't need to regularly release new maps and ops, just work on the ops you already have and optimize the gameplay towards balance. Releasing new stuff won't fix the problems.

Community has gotten bigger and surely it brought new ways to make the game more unenjoyable. Cheaters are roaming through the servers without instant consequences, it takes days and months to finally ban them but that would be already too late for the damages they caused. Intentional teamkill is still not fixed properly and it's even worse when you meet a bad group of teammates.

A company hungry for money but not happiness of players. They would rather release new 50 sets of cosmetic items than fixing a single problem.

Cyberpunk 2077 (2020 Video Game)

The game lost its 1st impression but can still make amends as there are still many fans

[7/10 · 8 August 2021]

The amount of detail and incredible dedication for the cyberpunk architecture is beyond superior to many games. When I got a clear view to the city I gazed at the colorful neon signs to the point my head almost exploded of excitement. However when I started to take a closer look I could only see a buggy environment interaction that looks like it was made in 2010, characters are simply lifeless. You have a beautiful city that is inhabited by puppets without strings.

The story is too short but it is thankfully supplied with many side quests. I only wish some of those side quests would appear accordingly to completion of previous quests and not by passing time as you would have to either skip time or be stuck without side quests for a while. The story is actually one of few things that kept me being invested in the game.

The game overall felt very clunky. I prayed every time when something process demanding was happening as bugs are quite frequent. I can take bugs in gameplay but not in the story, some of the dialogues were swapped and misplaced which confused me a lot.

Playing this game was like playing something that should have been released a long time ago frankly because it brought nothing new, all of those gameplay features have already been implemented to other earlier released games and so with 2010 character mechanics and buggy gameplay it felt like a disappointment to fans as high expectations of futuristic gameplay and Cyberpunk atmosphere are crumbled.

Loki (2021–2023)

From a non-comic reader this was like a chore to watch

[5/10 · 19 July 2021]

A duo cop story where they would solve various crimes in different timelines and also trying to catch the second Loki was my hope for the show to evolve into. Unfortunately when the 3rd episode hits, it all went downhill.

The show then focused on a subpar awkard romance plot between the two Lokis. What was thought to be a selling point episode of different Lokis turned out to be an unnecessary episode full of forced Easter Eggs that didn't take any critical part in the main story. Sort of like how "Ready Player One" tried to shove every Easter Egg from video games into their movie.

The final villain was disappointing. The cringe "sassyness" that made his whole personality didn't help into making him a threatening and intimidating villain. That final episode felt like watching two Lokis solving an escape room.

The Division (2016 Video Game)

Beautiful yet repetitive

[5/10 · 10 July 2021]

Being an Ubisoft game the graphics are mesmerizing because of its careful attention to city details and rich snowy environment.

However, being an Ubisoft game it also has its problems with content quality. Story seems unimpressive, nothing much to remember. It feels like it is there just so the game can be advertised to have a campaign. Your character doesn't say anything, it looks more like you're controlling an NPC. A proper character that cares about city's inhabitants would be enough, unfortunately we have to spend 40ish hours with this faceless robot.

Difficulty is only measured in length of health bars and the quantity of enemy spawns. Gadgets and special weapons, which I hoped the gameplay was primary about, are used only for the 1/10 of combat time, the rest of the shootout feels like a boring gun fight against damage sponge enemies.

It's a game that mainly focuses on exploring the city and finding various loots.

Dota: Dragon's Blood (2021–2022)

Never played the game but...

[6/10 · 27 March 2021]

For someone, who knows nothing of the game, I think this was more of a forgetful but fun experience. Some of the voice acting dialogues felt as if they were recorded in a professional studio room and not as if they were from the atmosphere in the show. Some actors also sounded lifeless almost like they were only reading the scripts.

The story wasn't something to write home about, it was a fantasy show full of cliche plot stories, I'm sure most people will forget it in a month. The animation cuts most of the time bothered my comfort, there were so many frequent cuts where the whole screen turns to white blank screen. The battle scenes were rather tiring since they all looked the same and there was little progress in it. I think this show was more focused in the story.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

Actually good

[8/10 · 25 March 2021]

This movie provides one of the most over-cinematic scenes a superhero movie can do. The villains are well presented and give the audience the feel of actually being intimidated, not sure if it's because of their evil entrances or well performed voice. If that intimidation was kept for the whole movie, then it could be been a thrilling experience. Unfortunately their threat seems to be deteriorated in the later part of the movie.

The style of the cinematic shots and soundtrack of our heroes can be described as overdone, I think they tried to go for the Watchmen route (because of the overdone cinematic scenes of superheroes posing it felt like watching an advertisement for alcohol drinks). Almost every character has a dark origin which gives DC the unique "edgy" feeling. I think that extends the superhero genre and can also be a nice contrast to the Marvel movies.

The battle scenes are simply epic. Each character has a proper role in it, not like the last time where some characters were there only for the presence. Lois's and Martha's story length, on the other hand, was too long for its purpose, they wanted us to miss Superman but his return was not enough to justify the dreadful story of Lois and Martha. Other characters fit in their cliche superhero roles well.

Assassin's Creed: Rogue (2014 Video Game)

Black Flag's DLC

[4/10 · 28 February 2021]

Map design and its structures give you an opportunity to make a fine and smooth parkour walk, one of the best in the franchise to be honest. Unfortunately even with the great parkour system it can't be called to be one of the good AC games. Most of the gameplay elements can be recognized from Black Flag immediately because they just basically recycled everything from that to this game. It proves how Ubisoft is lazy and wants to milk more money from the franchise with the least effort possible.

While the story is unique it is still easily predictable, a lot of characters are just there and have zero impact on the story. It's short and feels unfinished.

Map is large and has many repetitive locations. Naval fights or sword fights are not enjoyable but rather tiring. Stealth thankfully is fun (especially with that parkour system).

The game did not catch much attention not because of the story or its setting but because how the progress is stagnated, uncreative and copied.

Need for Speed: Heat (2019 Video Game)

Who even buys this?

[2/10 · 28 February 2021]

The game is designed by greedy businessmen who force players to tiredly make a lot of points in order to upgrade and buy cars. Doing normal races and (side) missions will get you no more than a few points. As I could have guessed there are hundreds if not thousands of videos published on YT. Videos contain glitches, exploits and shady ways on how to obtain points, this not only makes the new players vomit but it also makes them lose interest in the game immediately.

Police cars are overpowered but that is to be expected. What is not expected are the demanded millions of points in order to progress further in game. If a player really wants to achieve the completion of the game then that player would need to farm points with numerous exploits published by YTbers (unfortunately the best and most efficient way to get points). If you were to play with with honor, then you would lose your interest immediately because it would take months.

The story is absolute disaster filled with dialogues that are on the same level of adult videos. Feels like a denied concept of Fast and Furious.

Need for Speed: Payback (2017 Video Game)

A twin of Fast & Furious we don't bring up at the dinner table

[3/10 · 28 February 2021]

Interesting story. Well, interesting enough for a racing game. It has mediocre car mechanics at best. Nothing new for a NFS game but that was never a surprise.

They have side missions too. Though I wouldn't call them that since you have to play them in order to actually get to play the main mission. I wouldn't care if I have to play every mission since I like to complete my game but in this case the side missions are so repetitive it ruins every good quality of this game. So you have this amazing mission with full adrenaline and expensive animation scenes and then you have like 100x of side missions where the goal is mostly the same and the animation looks like as if EA suddenly went for a low budget racing game from an Indie developer.

This probably shouldn't be a surprise for anyone but tuning your car looks like a casino. You have those colorful cards that drop randomly. You will unfortunately have to collect those, otherwise your car will be inferior towards other racing cars.

The Division 2 (2019 Video Game)

Repetitive

[4/10 · 24 February 2021]

A beautiful world with millions of details that even the real world doesn't have. The combat is improved with less bullet-sponge enemies but the gameplay overall is still repetitive. The story is disappointing as it feels vague and it doesn't make the player feel somehow at least connected and intrigued. You listen to a lot of background info about what happened during the crisis, yet you have minimal character and story interaction.

After a few missions you don't feel adventurous, the only thing I felt was exhaustion from all those tiring missions that have basically the same goal but just in different locations. This was more of a completing house chores than having fun.

What Ubisoft was trying to do was to prolong the game by repeating the same missions all over again. After the completion the map is all green and the player feels the final accomplishment. That all is crushed by the new enemies that overtake the map and then you have to do it all over again. (note that those enemies are not different than the last ones, just a few of different backlog audio recordings and a new type of enemy who this time is an actual bullet sponge robot).

Hollow Knight (2017 Video Game)

Unforgiving, punishing and agonizing

[6/10 · 13 February 2021]

Don't get fooled by the lovely art style and soothing soundtrack because after a few hours of gameplay you will realize that you've put yourself in a gameplay that is combined with the prestige difficulty of Dark Souls and crazy labyrinth creativity of Metroidvania. Each map is beautifully designed and also has their own distinctive soundtrack.

However the story felt short since 90 percent of the time you spend on this game will actually go to playing than watching cinematic scenes or reading character's dialogues.

Bosses in the early part of the game feel balanced, creative and enjoyable to fight against but as the game progresses the boss creativity stays behind. It honestly looked like some bosses were based purely on your luck and RNG.

The game is fun only for people who love extremely challenging games. This is definitely not a game for someone who's looking for comfort, relax or a fun game to play after a hard day at work.

Little Nightmares (2017 Video Game)

You could say that playing this game was a little nightmare too

[4/10 · 31 January 2021]

This is going to be THAT kind of review. Such a waste. The game's artwork is fascinating with the creepy and almost horror-ish atmosphere. What absolutely ruined the experience was the awful platform. The controls are extremely wonky, there is no way you can just sit back relaxing and playing this game.

Moving this character is like moving a crane, you need to be very cautious in not stepping too close to the edge of bridges or corners, and because the game has such a weird gameplay design it is very likely you will fall almost every 5 minutes. I can take a lot but I'm not gonna spend hours playing something I can't control well. I'm surprised I haven't broken my controller yet.

Star Wars: Battlefront II (2017 Video Game)

I find the lack of originality disturbing

[4/10 · 26 January 2021]

The video game's both story and action scenes match well to the style of SW film series. The story is a mix of cliche betrayal, near death action scenes and heroic overacting, but it still has its SW magic of amazing Sci-Fi creativity with the help of realistic graphics.

The combat gameplay is a hit-or-miss situation. Enemies are as bad as their movie versions, they only rush and shoot, the only thing that can actually kill you is when you are surrounded by every corner. The vehicle simulation is where the gameplay shines at most, controlling X-Wings, AT-AT's or TIE fighters was fun and it was also the first time you could actually control those vehicles in the history of modern video games.

I wish they worked more on the story. The start was promising but it only led to a typical action movie script.