While we’re at it with non-horror games: the level that introduced the flood in Halo CE really gave me a scare. I don’t know what it says about me, but I invited a friend over to play that level with me, lol. It’s a bit of a reach not being a horror game, but a great game with some tension here and there.
I watched some streams of Starfield, and I just can’t understand how they made a game that looks so dull and boring. Skyrim had some soul to it, I remember being wowed by the trailer. The world and music in Skyrim are really beautiful too. Yeah it’s a janky Bethesda game in many ways, but it is also more than that.
I recently finished Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. it’s a fun game, but I’d say it was a bit expensive for the overall length and simplicity of it. Still, I really enjoyed it.
I also downloaded the free version of Shadow Warrior on GoG. I am not playing it blind since I watched Civvie-11’s video on it already, but it’s way harder than I expected. It’s my first time playing a build engine game, but the weapons and combat feel very intense and satisfying to use despite the technical limitations of games back then. I think I will keep on playing on “who wants some wang” for now, but it’s taking some perseverance. Lo Wang is hilarious though, and it’s making the game way funnier than I expected. If I keep on enjoying it this much, I may give other old shooters a try as well.
I don’t know I had relatively little problem with Dark Souls 1 and 2, so I don’t get the people saying it’s the easiest game in the series. Something about the combat just didn’t mesh with me. No big deal though.
This is just one example of how boiling down a review to a number is flawed. My favorite reviewers of games in general have been Matthewmatosis and Mandalore Gaming. IIRC neither of them provides a final score of any sort. Even whether a game is “recommended” or not may come with some caveats depending on what you’re looking for in a game.
I felt this with Elden ring. Once I got past the starting area, it just felt like everywhere I went I’d find enemies that kill me in 1-2 hits if I made one wrong or mistimed move. I wish I had the skill or patience to get through it, but I just found it too time consuming to try those tough enemies again and again. Definitely may just be a skill issue on my part, so I don’t necessarily want to dissuade others from giving it a shot.