Recent reviews by flashbackflip

DISCLAIMER
- I'm not a competitive PVP player
- I'm not a PVP player at all
- I'm not even a shooter lover frankly
- my fav genre is Turn Based Tactics/Strategy
- the only exceptions are Borderlands 3, Titanfall 2 and Helldivers as of lately
- I rated this as the 'thumb down' at first
- but it took me 2 days to fall in love and change the review

SO NOW
- I love this game
- even though I still suck at PVP
- coz that means nothing here!!


HERE'S THE STORY
At first I tried playing this on my steamdeck - i.e. i was playing with a controller.. and was VERY frustrated with my own skills coz I got pwned by bots.. not even by players.

Bots are 1) very agile 2) quite powerful
And tier I-II guns 1) have very low ammo 2) long reloads 3) spread
Synergy of these factors (plus controller with its lousy aiming) made my runs not fun but total frustration

That's weird as I play Helldivers2 on the steamdeck as well and i feel fine there on hard difficulties but anyway I was very sad coz the game looked interesting, still I almost decided that it's not my cup of Liber-Tea :BL3Shrug:

BUT!
I gave myself a chance to try to gitgud for some more time and installed it on my PC

MUAHAHAHAHAHA - that changed everything))
I still suck at PVP usually but it's okay coz the game is generous loot-wise and even when i lose all my tier IV guns i can remake them after a couple of runs

And the thrill of this game is so good that I don't mind to be killed by some weirdo every now and then


THE GAME HAS IT ALL
- atmospheric design
- great audio feedback (and great sound in general, including the music)
- challenge and tension to the point I might jump up on my chair))
- comprehensive game design
- mysterious world building
- and such a great EMERGENT GAMEPLAY with random riders that it is absolutely on ANOTHER LEVEL!!

I think if you came here and reading this - you might love it even if you're not a PVP/extraction lover (I'm not))
ONE piece of ADVICE tho - do not take PVP personally - you will absolutely forget what happened with ya as soon as you start the new run - because it is THAT good and engaging!


BTW
steamdeck runs it smoothly on almost all epic settings - the game is VERY WELL OPTIMISED

PS
Be real dudes!
DONTSHOOTers UNITE
see ya on the topside broz!

i don't usually write reviews... NAH! that's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥))
Ofcourse i write reviews for the really good or the really bad games!
This is Steam FFS!

this demo is just this - demo - but it shows the future gameplay right and i like what i see:
- metagame with promotions (and every unit IS different to a point)
- metagame with relations (several 'stores' where you can get stuff depending on your standings with the factions)
- metagame with progression (like in every decent TBS since x-com1/ufo)
- tactics game with... LOTS of rules you need to know - and it's a good thing! means there's a system layer under the pew-pew and the more complicated that layer is - the more interesting the game plays!

frankly - i started the mission with 'i play TBT/TBS for 40 years - i can handle this' - and i got my ass handed to me for the first two clean starts!! GREAT! Challenge finally!! After my defeats i went to read the manual XD

can't wait for the full release

i like it ALOT!

exactly what i dreamed of

yes - maybe could be more varied and polished BUT the strong points are in:
- choosing your own pace on the map
- full-scale playground for your army
- the army itself can be experimented with unlike campaigns
- different enemies = diff tactics
- random spawn points shake things up
- limited saves (yes, im a savescummer perfectionist so limiting saves actually streamlines the game flow for me)
- less Desperados-style tactic-puzzle vibes
- more actual RTS flow

Really hope this mode will evolve as more maps/units will be added to other campaign DLCs and then transferred here

Don't listen to nay-sayers - try it for yourself - you might LOVE it actually

some perspective:
1. I finished UFO and then XCOM, all Jagged Alliances (#1 + #2) back in 90s
2. my favourite genre is TBS and i played (and still playing) ALOT of them on hard difficulty (best of all is Battletech with BTA3062 mod by the way))
3. I LOVE challenge
4. I bought this game long ago to support devs but waited for the campaign to play it
5. I have no problems with understanding all the mechanics (finished all tutorials + have read the Wiki)
6. I have no problems neither with UI nor with 'multiple clicks' others complain about
7. I started the first campaign on 'normal' difficulty expecting it to be easy and thinking I'll restart on 'hard' soon

BUT...


- 'firing patterns' is just ATROTIOUS solution (thankfully fixed in the recent update)
- amount of enemies is overwhelming even on 'normal'
- enemies are bullet sponges - ALL OF THEM apart from a couple of lesser ones
- the result is just FRUSTRATING - i could not finish the first stage of the first campaign mission after retrying for several hours altering skills and loadouts - NOTHING helps - those bullet sponges just keep coming and overwhelming your 6-9 guys


STAY AWAY and observe from the distance if this gets fixed if you are interested in the genre - it has potential, but is UNPLAYABLE in its current state


if i may - i'd probably recommend several things:

1. to alter the behaviour of the enemies so they do not come at you ALL at once - maybe they should have some radii of the telepathic connection - so they get alerted not all, but in batches based on their locations
- i.e. if the battle starts with the one group - the other group, being somewhat far - stays unalerted
- this could help with the 'overwhelming' part

2. also, i'd ditched the ability to heal just by moving over remains of the killed units (now as they pass over the green goo left from the killed creature - they regenerate - which is just plain weird IMO)
- this could help a bit with the 'sponginess'

3. maybe - just maybe (as it needs testing) i'd cut the movement of some units a bit - so my team has some space to breathe as now instead of moving forward i have to tactically retreat and considering i get attacked right after the drop - there's not much space i can retreat to (and after they corner me - acid spitters begin to affect several of my guys at once, which leads to very fast casualties)
- this also should mitigate the 'overwhelming' effect

4. i'd definitely lowered the armor of the enemies - after all - WHY they are armored in the first place?? Some of them - like the ones that look like the aliens from "Aliens" movie (and maybe insect-like flying ones) - should have armor (they are visually hard-shelled). But others - like the ones crawling and the ones spitting look soft and squishy - so their armour feels illlogical, frankly
- dividing enemies by the armored/armorless types will not make the game easier IMO but adds tactical choice - i should decide if i should kill 3 unarmored ones in my turn or focus on 1 armored creature

5. don't throw at the player EVERY possible type of enemy at once!! Link the variety to the Global Turns (or something similar i don't remember the exact term). The point is let the player to deal with easy ones first (even in great numbers) and add more dangerous enemies as the campaign progresses
- this way you'll help with scaffolding (gamification term)
- also - this way player will be surprised on every game stage - from early to endgame

6. i scanned the hex - it said there's NO DANGER - i dropped - and got 40 bugs in my face! WTF!!??
- just FIX IT - this is plain stupid not to show a player REAL data on the situation before the drop!!!


as for 'attacking from the back' - it is just impossible as to attack ONE creature from the back i need to position my guy in the middle of the group of 4-8 enemies making it a suicidal tactics (remember - they are hoarding my team)

as for 'which types of enemies felt particularly unbalanced' - i can't say for sure as all of them seem to be very well armored and/or having so much HP that it FEELS (and i stress this 'feels' word because on paper it might look different) that all of them equally hard to kill - so, as i wrote above - i'd play more with the armour/HP values to give each species different time-to-kill FEEL.

on a side note - i must say that the diversity of the enemies is GREAT and it would be very interesting to fight against them IF i had time/space to actually FEEL their difference

ok - HEAR ME OUT, brothers!

I've read ENOUGH of reviews from people with distorted perspective on this GEM.

Well, the truth is this is NOT an RTS in a familiar way - this is more like Desperados or Space Marshall series - Real Time Tactics/Puzzle

But instead of locking you with 5-6 characters this game gives you brilliant meta-game of managing and upgrading every unit - from skills to equipment so you can kit out your army the way you like.

You can go with a handful of elite guys (the less you have the more kills each of them gets the faster they lvl up the less resources they burn + disbanding units and vehicles give you more resources). Or you can rollout with the horde of less proficient troops - YOUR CHOICE!

If you look at the game from this angle - you understand that 'save scumming' and 'tactical pause' are absolutely legit FEATURES and not an oversight!

This game is deep AND wide. Perceive it right and you will get alot of fun!

peace to all death to machines!
and if you are reading this - YOU ARE THE RESISTANCE ✊

PS/edit
✅ this game runs perfectly on Steam Deck OLED!
check the community layouts - i shared one there for you 🙂

doesn't work neither on my Deck OLED nor on my PC (5900x+rtx3070+32gb ram+ssd)

it just freezes on the menu screen :steamfacepalm::steamfacepalm:

absolutely infuriating!!

developers should develop straight hands for themselves and be banned from making games until then

such an underrated game it hurts me!!

this is a beautiful soul successor to Chris Roberts' PRIVATEER - one of the best space sims ever made

this one has it all:
- not-so-serious attitude
- beautifully stylized grafix
- great explosions
- funky flight model true to 6DOF
-option to turn off stability compensators allowing to fly in one direction and shoot another
- and everything else what you would expect

that said - the controls are a bit odd BUT as it turns out - they suit gamepad style of flying MUCH better than the 'usual' ones (like in Everspace2 for ex.)

:hssbnotice: another great thing about this game - it suits STEAM DECK perfectly (although being marked as unsupported) - just check the simple way to make it run on youtube!

it is so great - i bought it twice _ on GOG and here on Steam without any discounts - worth every cent :coolstar2022:

don't get me wrong - i like pixel grafix and colony sims (Space Heaven is a very good example of it done right) BUT these ugly pixels are made specially super-ugly and messy so you'd NEVER understand what's going on - i REALLY tried to like it (well.. frankly - just to see before liking)) BUT it is just ugly to the point of "WTF is going on in this ugly mess"
- disliked
- deleted
- sadly hasn't refunded

- started the game
- followed tutorial
- got a ship assembled from junk
- went to a derelict to scavenge (following tutorial)
- got scanned by some bozo who appeared to be a sec officer
- he asked to dock with my tug - so i undocked from the derelict
- he boarded and appeared he wanted to fine me for scavenging
whaaaat? i was following what i was told to do man!
- so i kicked him in the bollocks
- we were fighting for 15 real time minutes
- i was barehanded (and skilled in unarmed combat)
- he had a gun and tried to shoot me 4 times (missed)
- i looked at the floor and saw he dropped a police baton
- took the baton and was hitting him until he dropped coughing blood
- dragged him back to his ship docked with mine
- noone else was there
- i broke his transponder so his frends could not find us
- was looting his quality stuff for several days (in-game ones)
- left some O2 for the poor bastard to breathe (he was still passed out)
- undocked and flew back to the base
- sold the loot and payed for ship credit (also - for fuel, air, docking time and whatnot)
- now i'm gonna go back and check how is the poor bastard (also - to finish looting thrusters 'cos i found the tool i need to break the walls)

100 scraps from 10!!

PS
THIS is the experience i was (and is) expecting from Star Citizen!
This game proves uglly pixels and great gameplay loops always win over next-gen and no gameplay...

PPS
oh yeah! GET the HACKING skill - it opens all the doors (and crates) for you

DUDES!!!
I'm just an intro mission in - and done ALOT of dialogues, legwork and lurking around my teams skills - and i must say - THE GAMEDESIGN IS INCREDIBLE!!!

I was anticipating no less than incredible, but I am still surprised at every turn!
Every new layer - from skilltree to leverages to 'under the thumb' feature - just BLOWS MY MIND!

Not to mention the vastness of customisation - from the looks to the guns to the implants

if this is EA - then I can't imagine what will be in the final version))

SO COOL

Now pardon me - I gotta plan my first REAL CYBERHEIST but before that i need to talk to my agent done some 'legwork' and also - maybe recruit a new guy - so many things are happening in NewBoston - no time to chat- see ya on the Net


EDIT [1]

HACKING is very in-depth - it could be a separate game alone. Even though there's no explanations about its basic principles - it is very logical and understandable after a few trials and errors

BATTLE system is perfect IMO - very simple in its basic building blocks which allow alot of freedom in tactical solutions. I tried different approaches - and it works any way - be it stealth, stealth mixed with shooting or just raw bruteforce killing everyone


EDIT [2]

just finished the last heist - some takeouts
1. the game IS DOPE - already - with all its obvious EA flaws it is deep and enjoyable

2. the feeling of being in a MOVIE - is there! It REALLY reminded me such titles as Nirvana (with Chris Lambert), New Rose Hotel and very old Wild Palms series

3. what's even BETTER - the game gives strong vibes of books by Gibson, Sterling, Stephenson and i LOVE it

4. hacking is REALLY FUN - even without any tutorial/ It could be a separate game by itself (in fact i know a similar one on mobile))

5. i backed SATTELITE REIGN some years ago - it failed to deliver its full promise (and it was real-time) - so i'm VERY glad that CK:FP is delivering decent complexity ALREADY, being EA

6. have very high hopes on ProcGen after reading this article https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/cyber-knights-flashpoint-has-a-brilliant-tool-for-spinning-stories - with it being implemented this game can become my 'daily dose' and even replace the pinnacle of all tactics - BattleTech (BTA3062 modded)


EDIT [3]

Now (December 2023) - when guys ironed out tons of bugs and delivered QOL updates (27 updates in several weeks!!) - the game is POLISHED (but not feature complete yet)

Still - THE MOST important feature - Proc-Gen missions just dropped - so the amount of interwoven missions is ENDLESS now!


staying tuned for MOAR content
KUDOS to the Broz - the game amazed me on par with BG3

And if you've read up to this point - what are you waiting for - get the game - it is VERY PLAYABLE already and it gets EVEN better every two days (the rate of the updates)