Half Sword Demo

How about an Exanima game, but in first/third-person? Well, welcome to Half Sword. Since it’s only a very early demo, there isn’t too much to it, but what is there is good. The demo also shows great potential for the future – if a game ever is made, that is (but let’s hope). After playing it for a few hours there is much to like. For example, how armor acts as armor and gives you protection, and that any form of melee feels deadly – even a spoon can be turned into an effective weapon. So, if you ever felt like killing a dude slowly with rusty cutlery, this is a game for you!

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Alan Wake 2 is… boring

This isn’t a review, and there won’t be one since I just can’t be bothered to play this slow-moving molasses for a game anymore. I did put in another 3-4 hours after my initial impression post, which means I did get to play as Alan finally – in a game named after him. His part is better, but that isn’t saying much as both characters suffer from the same sluggishness in both gameplay and story. I just can’t take it anymore, and I usually love slow-moving survival horror. Something is just way off with everything.

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Alan Wake 2 – Very Early Impressions

I got the chance to try out Alan Wake 2, and what can I say? Already from the start, I feel once again we have a game hyped up by the gaming press to be the second coming of Jesus, but as a game, it leaves much to desire. At least to me. I’m not saying it’s bad per se, but so far it’s been incredibly bland on the gameplay department, mixed with technical issues and performance woes.

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage – Arabian Nights

The only reason I got this game was the promise of the franchise going back to its roots. While that remains true to a certain degree, it’s not the long-lost promise land of Grandpa’s old-school Assassin’s Creed gameplay. It’s mostly a mix between the original games in the series, and the RPG take on it that started with Assassins Creed Origin. I mostly blame this half-hearted attempt on the engine itself, since Assassin’s Creed Mirage shares that with Origin, Odyssey, and Valhalla. It looks pretty, there is no denying that, but everything that involves the player, as in parkour and the combat feels very floaty, just like in those titles. It has much less of a “simulation” approach than the former games which leads to the setting feeling less grounded and realistic. More on that down below.

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UnMetal – The Army of Mikes

We are back with another action-adventure game by Unepic fran. The last one I played from these guys was Ghost 1.0, which I thought was an excellent metroidvania. UnMetal is this game’s name, and while it manages to stand on its own, it’s a comedy spoof of the Metal Gear games and takes a lot of its content from them. From the sneaking and knocking out guards, to long inane conversations with villains with questionable motives. Not even the main guy is safe, as both mannerisms and visual appearance are very similar to the number one chain smoker Solid Snake. Now copying mechanics like this would be considered a bit weird, however, UnMetal takes the themes and makes one hell of a parody of it—and not only in writing: the gameplay is stand-out too!

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