Recent reviews by Retroscope

Not quite as dire as an overwhelming amount of these reviews warn. Yes, it is fairly buggy, which is frankly disgraceful for a paid game of this age. I haven't experienced anything fatally game-breaking yet tho.

As long as you stick to the legacy boards in offline mode, this is probably still the best clone of the classic land management board game out there. And provides the same nostalgic buzz.

Worth a couple of bucks.

Unplayable trash. On Nvidia cards anyway. The FPS drops down to 1 every few seconds of gameplay. None of the Google fixes work. I gather that Nvidia broke something during a recent update but are not addressing the problem (or even acknowledging it for that matter). The only fix I didn't try was downgrading my Nvidia drivers to an older version. It looks like a fun game, but it's not worth that amount of compromise.

Some people have reported issues with other AC games, but Origins is the only title I have personally experienced this problem with.

i7-4790K Quad core at 4GHz
RTX 2060
16Gb DDR3

Note: I feel that the Steam store contributed slightly to my situation (being sold a potato) because they clearly recommend Nvidia technology for this title in their specs table. However I do understand that they rely on the games distributor to provide them with accurate information. I have also raised concerns with both Ubisoft and Nvidia over this.

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UPDATE::
I re-tested this title again on May 5th 2021. I'm happy to confirm that performance has improved drastically. I'll replace this whole review with a fresh and unbiased one, once I've played through. I'm curious to know whether the fix was implemented by Nvidia or Ubisoft in the end.

This wheezy old distro of Fuse is every bit as usable as it ever was. You can still zip your exported .obj and upload it to Mixamo if you want. It works fine. I use it mainly for sculpting proxies, and the occasional base character. You DO NOT need to buy into Adobe's ridiculous Creative Cloud subscription. Just set up a free account and you can access Mixamo rigging.

Take a look at your alternatives;

*Makehuman - Free! But garbage. Customisation options are very poor, and everything comes out looking like the stonks meme.

*Character Creator 3 - By Reallusion. Good software, but very expensive. They will charge you full price for (essentially) a demo of the software, then charge you twice as much again to upgrade so you can actually pipeline it.

*Daz Studio - Another money-pit. The software is free, but there is zero customisation, unless you buy add-on morphs from their confusing store. Plus, it's a very bloated and clunky interface.

*Poser - Expensive. And like Reallusion, they will want you to pay double for a 'Dev' upgrade so you can export in game friendly formats. However, it does natively export .dae files which Blender handles quite well.

In my opinion Fuse (combined with GIMP and Blender) is still the best choice for getting started with character modelling, texturing, and rigging.

I've been looking for a solid franchise to fill the aching gap left in my soul after finally burning myself out on Skyrim. I'd love to see Elder Scrolls VI but as Todd Howard is dragging his feet and wasting everybody's time by sitting round and inspecting his bangle, I wouldn't even rush out to buy it at this point. If the fanbase means that little to him then it'll probably be a stillborn cash grab like TESO. Bethesda must be disgusted with him. Disgraceful.

But then there is Capcom! This is the first Capcom game I've played since the Eighties, and my first exposure to the Monster Hunter universe. My verdict? Absolutely fantastic! No, even fancier than that. Fantastique! Monster Hunter World is perfect in every detail!

The mechanics are a little daunting at first. There are tutorials and guides but they're easily sidestepped even if you're not trying. Youtube is a good resource for getting to grips with builds, resources, leveling, and all of that.

Now there aren't hundreds of different monsters, nor an over abundance of locations (at least at the rank I'm at anyway). But that's actually the addictive part. You get to know and love every inch of the maps. Every pile of bones. Every patch of grass. Each and every monsters habits, attack patterns, and tells. It's fun learning the terrain and all of the critters in depth. If it was open-world then it would be far too overwhelming, like Black Desert for example.

The crafting system also will take a bit of getting used to, but it is very satisfying. With armor and weapon progressions especially you will notice immediate boosts and benefits in game.

The multiplayer angle is perfectly balanced. No being compelled to accept endless friend requests and have to lead strangers round by the hand. No guilds to waste your time with meaningless missions. It has text and voice chat but most people don't, so there is no toxic community. Sadly that means a lot of people don't RP outside of Discord though. But it's very easy to open up a difficult quest to other players. If you're struggling to bring down a particular monster you can fire off an SOS flare and you're sure to have someone thrashing away by your side in no time at all.

I would definitely prescribe this game to anyone suffering from Skyrim withdrawal. To be taken once daily after eating. Fifty Sheckels is a bit steep for a non-console game but in this case you do get a really generous helping of bang for buck.

I'm seeing a lot of reviewers over there mentioning Portal...

Now you can claim that this game was innocently inspired by the whole test-chamber genre all you like. It has a gun manipulator, little functional cubes, a series of physics and logic based puzzles, and a binary dialogue driven narrative. Most damning of all it employs a minimal, brightly lit and glossy art style based around the colors black, white, and blue. I mean c'mon. It's so Portal it hurts a little. Portal without the passive aggressive singing bint. Without the superb vocal talents of Steve Merchant. It's Portal without.

But!

The truth is that Bulkhead Interactive built a nice game here. A worthy addition to the house of Squeenix. The graphics are quite pleasing and the puzzles are casually challenging enough to be addictive. The understory was a little derivative but well executed I guess. If you liked Portal then buy this.

Because it is Portal.

It's Portal without.

💀Formidable! Top drawer entertainment!💀

An engaging puzzle game with a pleasantly understated narrative. Framed beautifully in the post-Edwardian era. There are plenty of slow, dark clickers on the market but not many I would describe as properly reminiscent of Edward Gorey.

Right from the get go you are dropped into the gameplay with a pointed lack of orientation. This actually works to the games advantage as it encourages feelings of exploration and achievement. It's refreshing to find an accessible game which doesn't feel the need to spoon feed you through every action. The structure and progression are based on a branching tree so following a walkthrough can be challenging. Luckily however, the puzzles are mostly clearable with a little patience and note taking.

This is my first experience with the Rusty Lake universe and you may colour me suitably impressed. I'm very much looking forward to playing through Hotel, and Paradise next.

If you're looking for something halfway between Myst and Fran Bow then this is absolutely the game for you.

Preface: There is an established problem running this software with any Xbox style gamepad plugged in. If you are crashing upon launch or mouse movement then you actually have to go to the trouble of disconnecting your controller. It's an aching pain in the bangle but it will let you play.

This is a shortish adventure game with a clean vector art styling similar to other contemporary cell / tablet releases such as 'Enigma', or the beautiful 'Father and Son'. The well crafted audio design and consistent artwork both come together nicely to create an impressive immersion. The puzzles are fairly linear and easy to clear which is a relief considering how convoluted and frustrating some time travel games can be. It features a fairly well rounded narrative and the whole time-shift mechanic carries the gameplay very well.

Like many people however, my initial experience of this title was mostly negative thanks (presumably) to the poor decisions of team member Uni Dahl. Under his responsibility it was advertised as a free game, but then asked you for money part way through in order to continue. It was a disgraceful sales technique. I wanted to support the developers (House On Fire) but I didn't appreciate the arrogant and misleading marketing ploy.

I am pleased to have bought it as a Steam release with one transparent price tag. It's a genuine pleasure to finally play it through to completion. As a relaxing, casual diversion for a few hours, Silent Age on Steam is well worth your money. Very recommended.

Caution: You may feel the urge to grow a moustache for a short period after playing 👨🏻

I would rate this game a solid 7⅚ out of 12. Over all this is a well presented little game, and a worthy tribute to the classic Lucasarts format.

Value for money is dependant on who Skygoblin are as a company. If they are a small indie team then Journey Down is a fantastic achievement! They created a legit masterpiece and I would absolutely support them in future growth. However, if they are an established triple-A brand then they should have tried harder. In that instance the game is noticeably lazy and unpolished for the price tag. There's no attempt at lip-sync. There are sudden mic position changes in the middle of dialogues. The UI often seems clunkly and intrusive. For a big budget studio there are too many cut corners for my liking.

Souza did a brilliant job on the soundtrack but it just doesn't have the hook power you would get from masters like Jared Emerson-Johnson. This is no criticism. It's very well composed, performed, and looped. And it fits all of the scenes excellently. You just wouldn't find yourself listening to it as a standalone soundtrack outside of the game the way you would with Sam & Max or Grim Fandango.

As I love this genre I have to recommend buying it. I've played just about every point-n-clicker ever made since Flashback, and Journey Down feels to me like a game that was somehow already there in my library. Waiting for someone to come along and make it.

Note: I was all excited to see Robert Englund in the credits but sadly it's not the Freddy Kruger one.

Some bullet-point ups and downs. Ten hours in...

👍 Butt achingly beautiful engine; The Luminous technology blows even the RAGE engine straight out of the water and sends it skittering helplessly across the bathroom floor. You can tweak it until it looks absolutely breathtaking! I swear I would sell my own Granny for the chance to prod my sticky fingers around under the hood for a while. Well, someone's Granny anyway.

👍 Interesting combat system; From reading some of these reviews I was expecting a flaccid beat-em-up grind fest. Not so! Yes the system is more action based that previous titles, but it is very immersive and challenging. It's accessible enough for a gamepad user, but also responsive and well polished enough for the WASD army to enjoy.

👍 Official modding support; I haven't looked into the modding side of things yet but it seems pretty easy to bring in your own assets. I'm looking forward to experimenting with my own props and clothing. And perhaps some hats to cover up those disturbing hair-dos.

👎 Worst hair in a video game ever; It's obvious that Squeenix put a lot of time and effort into the hair but it just looks uncanny and upsetting on such lovingly textured meshes. I would much rather the processor real estate was used elsewhere instead. Looks like everyone's wearing weird, sickly wigs made out of a combination of wire wool and wet nylon. I understand that my old GTX card is probably not doing it justice but in my opinion if a feature doesn't break down elegantly on recent gaming cards, then it shouldn't be used.

👎 Worst driving mechanics ever; It feels super frustrating to be constrained so heavily in an open world title. I get that this is not GTA, but you do expect a certain level of immersion in a driving simulation which simply isn't here.

👍 Overall It fits in well with the FF franchise; The plot, the lore, the characters, art, and music all come together nicely to deliver that 'Final Fantasy feeling'.

❤️ Recommended AF ❤️

This is an enjoyable little point-n-clicker that's reminiscent of 1990's classics like Simon the Sorcerer, or the Discworld series. Unfortunately it also suffers from many of the same tortuous gameplay tropes. I yearn for an adventure game that can be reasoned through logically. Rather than having to do wrist aching search sweeps of the screen to find clues. Or wrack your brain over abstract interactions like; oh, did I try to combine the gum wrapper with the chicken beak already?

In spite of this, we have a fairly polished and graphically satisfying story. Perfect for guiding your little ones through their first virtualized fairy tale. The artwork is all lovingly hand drawn and quite similar to the work of Quinten Blake, if Blake were to ever paint fully realized scenes rather than isolated characters. The music is symphonic triple-A, but sadly a little bit short and loopy (with the odd ill fitting library sting thrown in here and there). Over all this is well worth playing if you are a fan of old school adventures.

Quick Side Rant; I'm Irish. There are soooo many talented Irish voice actors. Why is it a convention to hire an English or American actor to do an embarrassing 'Tah-tah-tah Potato' accent? Every freaking time there is an Irish character in a game? You wouldn't get away with that on a Chinese or Jamaican character. There would be blood on the dancefloor, my friend. Come on, game devs. You can do better.